Utendi wa Tambuka

Utend̠i wa Tambuka or Utenzi wa Tambuka [The symbol "d̠" is a transliteration of the Arabic for the Swahili sound "dh" (IPA| [ð] ). Often this sound is written simply "z", hence the different spellings.] ("The Story of Tambuka"), also known as Kyuo kya Hereḳali (the book of Heraclius), is an epic poem in the Swahili language dated 1728. It is one of the earliest known documents in Swahili.

Known by various titles in English, including 'The Book of the Battle of Tambuka' and 'The Story of Heraclius', the story recounts numerous events of the Byzantine-Arab Wars and Byzantine-Ottoman Wars between the Muslims and Romans (the contemporary name for the Byzantines). The Byzantines were represented by the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Heraclius. The story covers a period from 628 (the Battle of Mu'tah) to 1453 (the Fall of Constantinople). [Knappert 1977:8.] 'Tambuka' is the Swahili rendering of Tabuk, a city located in the north-western Saudi-Arabia.

Background and authorship

The oldest manuscript of the epic is dated 1141 on the Islamic Calendar, corresponding to 1728 AD. It was written at Yunga, a royal palace in the old city of Pate (the palace has since been destroyed). In strophe 1124-1125, the author notes that the 'king of Yunga' (that is, the then Sultan of Pate) asked him to write an epic on the heroic deeds of the first followers of the Holy Prophet. The author identifies himself in one of the final stanzas (1146) as Mwengo, son of Athumani or Osman. Not much is known about him other than that he wrote at the court of the Sultan of Pate, that he was not a young man anymore in 1728, and that some other poems are ascribed to him. [Knappert 1977:15-16.] He also had a son, Abu Bakr bin Mwengo, who wrote an imitation of his father's epic somewhere in the middle of the 18th century. [Knappert 1969:81.]

Like other manuscripts of the period in Swahili, the "Utendi wa Tambuka" is written in the Arabic script, the so-called "ajami" style. The language used is a northern dialect of Swahili called Kiamu; some manuscripts however show influence from Kigunya (another northern dialect), while others show traces of Kiunguja, the dialect of Zanzibar. [Knappert 1977:9.]

Form

The "Utendi wa Tambuka" is a prime example of the Swahili poetic form of "utenzi". Utenzi verse form consists of four-line stanzas, with each line having eight syllables. The last syllables of the first three lines rhyme with each other, while the fourth line has a rhyme that is constant throughout the whole of the epic. This last rhyme thus serves to tie all stanzas of the epic together. Most Swahili words have penultimate stress, resulting in every line having at least penultimate stress. Within a line of eight syllables there are no further meter requirements. [Knappert 1977:30-32.] The verse form can be illustrated by the first stanza of the poem: [In Knappert's Latin transcription, based on the Arabic manuscript "U".] )

:Bisimillahi kut̠ubu:yina la Mola Wahhabu:Arraḥamani eribu:na Arraḥimu ukyowa

The first three lines all end in "-bu". The last syllable of the fourth line ends in the vowel "a", and this sound is found at the end of every stanza of the poem. When recited, this last syllable is sustained for some time and given emphasis.

Content

The central figure of the poem, and the most heroic one, is Ali ibn Abi Talib, a full nephew on the father's side of the Prophet. He is nicknamed "Haidar", the lion, and in the course of the poem many other praise names are applied to him. Ali was married to the oldest daughter of the prophet Muhammad.

The second hero in order of magnitude is Umar ibn al-Khattab.

ee also

* Swahili literature

Notes and references

* Gérard, Albert S. (1990) "Contexts of African Literature". Rodopi.
* Knappert, Jan (1958) "Het Epos Van Heraklios". (Dutch edition and literal translation)
* Knappert, Jan (1969) 'The Utenzi wa Katirifu or Ghazwa ya Sesebani', "Afrika und Übersee", Band LII, 3-4, 81-104.
* Knappert, Jan (1977) "het Epos van Heraklios. Uit het Swahili vertaald in het oorspronkelijke metrum". Amsterdam: Meulenhoff. (Dutch translation in the original meter).
* [http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/perl/Project/showSwahiliItem.pl?ref=MS%2045022a Summary of the plot of the poem] at the Swahili Manuscripts Project at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London.