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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Images of the temporal world in Hausa verse
Author:Pilaszewicz, S.ISNI
Year:1988
Periodical:Africana Bulletin
Issue:35
Pages:67-80
Language:English
Geographic term:West Africa
Subjects:Hausa
poetry
Abstract:Hausa Islamic verse has mainly arisen out of classical Arabic prototypes. As for its content, one of the main themes is the presentation and description of the character of the world. Hausa poets tend to describe the temporal world in terms of the basic Islamic image as 'vile' or 'transient', in contrast to the Hereafter, which is 'pure' and 'eternal'. In order to depict the unstable character of the temporal world Hausa poets tend to make use of two images: the world as a fickle harlot or as a skittish mare. The personification of the world as a prostitute, which can probably be traced back to the Koranic commentary by at-.Tabar¯i (d. 923), can be found not only in homiletic poems, but also in some other categories of Hausa verse (panegyrics and historical poems) as well as in popular songs. The poetic imagination of Hausa poets, however, does not limit itself to Arabic sources. It has drawn many images from its own environment and culture: the temporal world is compared to a skittish mare, a she-ass, a house of stalks, a grass-shed, a car for hire, and a house for rent. Ref.
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