dc.contributor.author | Mberia, Kithaka wa | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-07-10T11:33:10Z | |
dc.date.available | 2015-07-10T11:33:10Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2015-03 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Mberia Kithaka Wa(2015) Al-inkishafi: A ninteenth century swahili poem .ijlass, 3(3); pp. 91-101 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://www.ijlass.org/data/frontImages/gallery/Vol._3_No._3/10._91-101.pdf | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11295/87114 | |
dc.description.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. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | University of Nairobi | en_US |
dc.subject | Al-Inkishafi, Lamu archipelago, Swahili poem, Sayyi d Abdallah Nasir | en_US |
dc.title | Al-inkishafi: A ninteenth century swahili poem | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.type.material | en_US | en_US |