| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study is to examine one form of Swahili sung
poetry, nyimbo, and the communicative competence which underlies the
performance of that poetic genre. It is ~ investigation of the con-
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text of appropriate performance behavior surrounding the use of nyimbo
in Swahili culture. The two types of nyimbo which are the focus of
this investigation are children's nyimbo and the adult nyimbo which
are sung in the context of ngomp performance.
The components of the performance of these nyimbo are described
following an adaptation of the sociolinguistic approach developed by
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Dell Hymes known as the ethnography of speaking. A set of categories
of nyimbo performance have been developed which are analogous to Hymes'
components of a speech act.
The Swahili people of Mombasa, Lamu, and Tchundwa share an understanding
of the rules for the performance of nyimb6 and are the wimbo
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community of this study. A brief overview of the geography, history,
and literature of this community appears in Chapter II.
Ngoma, a musical event which includes song, dance, and the playing
of musical instruments is the appropriate context for the performance
of adult nyimbo. The performance of the ngoma styles vugo, kishuri,
chakacha, msondo, mkwaju, mdurenge, goma, kirumbizi, chama, and ngoma
la panga are described in Chapter III. The components of the performance
of nyimbo za ngoma are those of setting, participants, ends or
goals, act sequence and content, key or manner of performance, and norms
of performance. The features which distinguish one nyimbo za ngoma
style from another emerge as these categories are compared. The instrumentalities
or medium of the performance of nyimbo za ngoma is the
singing vo~ce, accompanied by musical instruments. The musical structure
of nyimbo za ngoma ~s analyzed ~n Chapter IV.
The categories employed in the description of the nyimbo za ngoma
are applied to the performance of children~ nyi~bo in Chapter V, and
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the musical structure of these nyimbo is analyzed in Chapter VI.
This ethnography treats a sung poetry form in the context of the
total event in which it is performed. This method would have value
in application to other musical ~vents and in comparison with sung
poetry in other cultures.
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