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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Taarab and Swahili prose
Author:Aiello Traore, Flavia
Year:2001
Periodical:Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere: Schriftenreihe des Kölner Instituts für Afrikanistik
Issue:68
Pages:123-128
Language:English
Geographic term:Tanzania
Subjects:songs
Swahili language
literature
Abstract:This paper discusses the relationship between orality and written literature not from the point of criticism, but of creative writing. It examines how one kind of oral poetry - 'taarab' songs - has been dealt with within creative writing in Tanzania by analysing three Swahili prose works, namely 'Wasifu wa Siti Binti Saad' by Shaaban Robert (1958), 'Utengano' by S.A. Mohamed (1980) and 'Siku njema' by K. Walibora (1996), in which 'taarab' appears in the narration - both thematically and stylistically. It shows the continuities but also the different ways in which symbolism and literary techniques are used by the authors. The paper concludes that especially in the works 'Utengano' and 'Siku njema', the cross-communication between poetry and prose has been interestingly employed by the writers in the construction of their novels. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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