Al-inkishafi: A ninteenth century swahili poem
Abstract
Within the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya’s northern coa
st, creative writing has been thriving for at least
three
hundred years. Thanks to the coming to the region o
f Arab immigrants and the introduction of Arabic sc
ript,
the locals cultivated a strong literacy tradition e
specially in poetry. One of the region’s finest poe
tic
compositions, created about two hundred years ago,
is “Al-Inkishafi” which translates as “Soul’s
Awakening” (Hitchens, 1972) or the “Catechism of th
e Soul” (De Verre Allen, 1977).
In this article, I explore the thematic concerns of
the poem and their relevance today despite the fac
t that
two centuries have passed since the poem’s composit
ion. I also claim and demonstrate with illustration
s
from the poem the freshness, intensity and elegance
of its language. I then highlight some controversi
es o
the poem with regard as to whether or not the poem
is complete and whether the piece is not merely a
religious sermon rather than a work of art. I end t
he paper by stating my stand on the controversies.
URI
http://www.ijlass.org/data/frontImages/gallery/Vol._3_No._3/10._91-101.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11295/87114
Citation
Mberia Kithaka Wa(2015) Al-inkishafi: A ninteenth century swahili poem .ijlass, 3(3); pp. 91-101Publisher
University of Nairobi