The last of the bards: the story of Habibu Selemani of Tanzania (c. 1929-93)

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Periodical article

Title:	The last of the bards: the story of Habibu Selemani of Tanzania (c. 1929-93)
Author:	Mulokozi, M.M.
Year:	1997
Periodical:	Research in African Literatures
Volume:	28
Issue:	1
Pages:	159-172
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Tanzania
Subjects:	griots songs
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3819926
Abstract:	The 'enanga' (trough zither) is an important musical instrument in Africa's interlacustrine region. Habibu Selemani was one of the most outstanding bards in the 'enanga' heroic poetry tradition. He was a Haya, born in Kiziba, one of Tanzania's former kingdoms, in 1928 or 1929. He grew up in Lukurungo village, a leading centre of 'enanga' tradition. By the time he was 13, Habibu was already performing 'enanga'. In the mid-1940s, he moved to the court of Omukama (Chief) Rugabandana at Kabale, where he came into contact with the Kabala School of 'enanga' poetry. Since 1967 Selemani was continually harried by researchers, connoisseurs of traditional music, etc. In the 1980s, the wave of researchers and recorders continued unabated. The present author, who met Selemani in the early 1960s, describes the 'enanga' tradition in Tanzania, its role in the emergence of nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s, and Selemani's performance of this genre. Selemani, who died in 1993, remained relatively unknown outside Tanzania because the tradition he represented was not known outside its homeland. Bibliogr.