| dc.description.abstract | The primary purpose of this study is two-fold: to translate Kasida ya Burudai into
English and analyse it using the theoretical model of archetypal criticism. This Swahili
paregyric was originally composed in Arabic and later translated into Swahili. Kasida ya
Burudai is not only venerated by the Swahilis but also by Muslims worldwide. It is recited
during Maulidi (Nativity) celebrations and its verses are said to have magical powers.
Although it is a masterpiece in the Muslim World, no scholar has looked into the archetypal
motifs in it. There is only one English version of the Swahili text. The focal points of the
six chapters are the archetytal motifs in Kasida ya Burudai.
The study also disputes the view that a translation is a mechanical production.
Contrary to a common belief that translation is impossible, it can be an exercise in creative
imagination. It has also been argued that Swahili Islamic literature is foreign. Basing our
arguments on what experts of psychoanalysis, literature, linguistics, religion, culture,
anthropology, translation and mysticism say, we argue on the contrary.
The first chapter is an introductory chapter and the last is the conclusion. It has the
summary of findings and recommendations for further research.
Chapter two deals with Swahili Islamic literature. The chapter attempts to answer
the question on whether Swahili Islamic literature is Swahili or foreign. There is an outline
of Swahili Islamic poetry and a discussion on another famous kasida, Kasida ya
Hamziyyah, which is a detailed biography of the Prophet Muhammad, and is also recited
during Maulidi festival. This outline of the Swahili Islamic poetry puts Kasida ya Burudai
into a broad perspective.
Chapter three is on al-Busiri, the original composer of Kasida ya Burudai, and
Sheikh Muhammad bin Athman Hajji al-Hilali(Mshela), the Swahili translator. We give
a biographical sketch of both al-Busiri and Sheikh Muhammad and discuss their works to
show how they share the same world view concerning Sufi Philosophy and Islam in
particular. The Chapter highlights the mystical experience the two poets share in their
adoration of their Prophet.
Chapter four deals with the origin and nature of the kasida and of both the title
Burudai and the literary conventions associated with the kasida genre. We argue that in
order to understand Kasida ya Burudai, it is important to have some knowledge about the
nature of the archetypal pre-Islamic kasida. We also compare and contrast the literary
conventions of both classical Swahili Islamic poetry and classical Arabic poetry. The
Swahili kasida and its stylistic features is traced to the pre-Islamic archetypal Arabic kasida.
The surnrnary of the whole text is given, dividing it into ten-sections (excluding the
traslator's prologue and epilogue), according to its themes, for convenience. The chapter
ends with a discussion on the style of the kasida and the translation of the whole text, verse
by verse. The themes in each verse are also discussed and the difficult words explained.
Wherever an archetypal idea is encountered, it is pointed out.
Chapter five is on archetypal motifs in Kasida ya Burudai. Some of the motifs
discussed are: Nur Muhammad (the Archetypal Light), Israi and Miraji (The Archetypal
Journey), Umm al-Kitab (The Holy Qur'an as an Archetypal Book), Euphrates and Kauthar
(The archetypal Rivers); the birth of a Divine Child archetypes, cave (the Archetypal
Home), the archetypes of numbers, Arabesque (the archetypal Art), Mountains (the Celestial
archetypes of Territories, Temples and Cities), the archetypal love, tree as an archetype,
Haqiqa Muhammadiyyah (The Archetypal Hero), sacred time and the myths of eternal
renewal, Names as archetypes, archetype of Paradise and Hades or Heaven and Hell, Water
and Waters motif, the Sun motif, the sacred stone motif, Sunnat al-Nabi (The custom of the
Prophet as exemplary History), Burudai (The Archetypal Dress) and Burudai (The
Archetypal Talisman and Amulet).
The results of the study has led us to reach five conclusions: Kasida ya Burudai is
not a mere mechanical translation but a composition like the original Arabic model, 2. The perso-Arabian prosodic forms were adopted by the Wanajadi or Wanamapokeo (Swahili
traditionalists), 3. The language used in the epic is mystical hence mythical. 4. Since
Kasida ya Burudai is a famous religious poem, it is most likely that it was one of the very
first works to be translated into Swahili and lastly the mythological archetypes cut across
the boundaries of all spheres of culture and are not confined to one culture, hence the
archetypal motifs in Kasida ya Burudai are universal.
Each chapter has an introduction, a conclusion and footnotes. There is also key to
the abbreviations used in the study.
There are five appendices. Appendix a is the list of the key informants, appendix
b is the list of experts the researcher interviewed. Most of the experts sent the researcher
valuable and relevant information. Appendix c is the list of the names of Nairobi Burdah
recitation and discussion group with whom the researcher participated and had discussions on Kasida ya Burudai. Appendices d and e are some of the twenty Swahili manuscripts
in Arabic script the researcher collected in the field. Twenty seven Arabic manuscripts
Arabic were purchased in Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia,
India, Canada and in the US. Appendix d (hereafter MA) is a manuscript obtained from
Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Umar al-Amudy of Shela. He 'inherited' it from Sheikh
Muhammad bin Amin and appendix e (hereafter UD) was obtained from the University of
Dar-es-Salaam Library and is catalogued as Manuscript No.161.
I transcribed into Roman characters Mss.UD, MA and KB (a manuscript Sheikh
Mohamed Said Matano got from an old man in Siyu). I used the last manuscript for my
English translation. Sheikh Matano was kind enough to transcribe for me from Arabic to
Roman characters two other manuscripts not included here. One of these two manuscripts
is similar to UD and I got it from the University of Dar-es-Salaam Library. It is catalogued
as Ms. No.131, pp.86-113, 20 x 16 em. The other one is a manuscript I obtained from
Ahmed Sheikh Nabhamy which he obtained from Faraj Bwana Mkuu. | en |
