Tendi: six examples of a Swahili classical verse form with translations & notes
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Title
Tendi: six examples of a Swahili classical verse form with translations & notes
Description
Utendi wa Mwana Kupona [Mwana Kupona’s Poem] is one of the most popular poems in Swahili literature. It was written around 1858 by Mwana Kupona binti Mshamu (c. 1810-1860) for her daughter, Mwana Hashima binti Sheikh (1841-1933). Didactic in purpose, the author wrote it to instruct her daughter as to the proper behavior of a faithful and dutiful wife. She advises that while she should pay proper deference to her husband in all matters, she must nevertheless talk to him “as if he were a child.”
The poem has been especially popular among women, with the name “Mwana Kupona” frequently appearing even today in such public places as store fronts and market stands. It stands as a notable exception to the patriarchal tradition among Swahili poets of the time. While written literary texts were predominantly the work of men, women are noted for their important role as keepers of the oral tradition.
Call Number: PL8704.A2 A4
The poem has been especially popular among women, with the name “Mwana Kupona” frequently appearing even today in such public places as store fronts and market stands. It stands as a notable exception to the patriarchal tradition among Swahili poets of the time. While written literary texts were predominantly the work of men, women are noted for their important role as keepers of the oral tradition.
Call Number: PL8704.A2 A4
Publisher
New York: Africana Pub. Corp, 1971.
Language
Swahili, English
Collection
Citation
“Tendi: six examples of a Swahili classical verse form with translations & notes,” KU Libraries Exhibits, accessed November 25, 2024, https://exhibits.lib.ku.edu/items/show/6079.