African literature - Somali Poetry, Prose, & Oral Tradition

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Shire Jaamac Axmed published materials from the Somali oral tradition as Gabayo, maahmaah, iyo sheekooyin yaryar (1965; “Poems, Proverbs, and Short Stories”). He also edited a literary journal, Iftiinka aqoonta (“Light of Education”), and published two short novels in 1973: Halgankiii nolosha (“Life Struggle”), dealing with the traditional past in negative terms, and Rooxaan (“The Spirits”). Further stories from the oral tradition were written down and published in Cabdulqaadir F. Bootaan’s Murti iyo sheekooyin (1973; “Traditional Wisdom"/> <meta property="og:type" content="ARTICLE"/> <meta property="og:title" content="African literature - Somali Poetry, Prose, & Oral Tradition | Britannica"/> <meta property="og:description" content="African literature - Somali Poetry, Prose, & Oral Tradition: Hikmad Soomaali (“Somali Wisdom”), a collection of traditional stories in the Somali language recorded by Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal, was published in 1956. Shire Jaamac Axmed published materials from the Somali oral tradition as Gabayo, maahmaah, iyo sheekooyin yaryar (1965; “Poems, Proverbs, and Short Stories”). He also edited a literary journal, Iftiinka aqoonta (“Light of Education”), and published two short novels in 1973: Halgankiii nolosha (“Life Struggle”), dealing with the traditional past in negative terms, and Rooxaan (“The Spirits”). Further stories from the oral tradition were written down and published in Cabdulqaadir F. 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class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature">African literature</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/art/African-literature">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref57038"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature#ref57038">Oral traditions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280660"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature#ref280660">The nature of storytelling</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280661"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-riddle">The riddle</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280662"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-riddle#ref280662">The lyric</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280663"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-riddle#ref280663">The proverb</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280664"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-riddle#ref280664">The tale</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280665"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Heroic-poetry">Heroic poetry</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280666"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Heroic-poetry#ref280666">The epic</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref280667"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Oral-traditions-and-the-written-word">Oral traditions and the written word</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280668"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Oral-traditions-and-the-written-word#ref280668">History and myth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280669"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-influence-of-oral-traditions-on-modern-writers">The influence of oral traditions on modern writers</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref57048"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-influence-of-oral-traditions-on-modern-writers#ref57048">Literatures in African languages</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57053"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/The-influence-of-oral-traditions-on-modern-writers#ref57053">Ethiopian</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57051"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Hausa">Hausa</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57057"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Hausa#ref57057">Shona</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57054"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Somali">Somali</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280685"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Somali#ref280685">Southern Sotho</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57055"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Swahili">Swahili</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57059"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Swahili#ref57059">Xhosa</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57050"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Yoruba">Yoruba</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57058"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Yoruba#ref57058">Zulu</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref57044"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Literatures-in-European-and-European-derived-languages">Literatures in European and European-derived languages</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref280684"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Literatures-in-European-and-European-derived-languages#ref280684">Afrikaans</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57047"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/English">English</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57045"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/French">French</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref57046"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/African-literature/Portuguese">Portuguese</a></li></ul></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/African-literature">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/04/68004-050-3CF39874/Athol-Fugard-actors-John-Kani-Winston-Ntshona-1973.jpg" data-href="/media/1/8275/110724" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block 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Author of <em>A Dictionary of African Mythology</em>, <em>Story</em>, and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Harold Scheub</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Elizabeth-Ann-Wynne-Gunner/1178" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Elizabeth Ann Wynne Gunner</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Lecturer in African Literature, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Author of <i>A Handbook for Teaching African Literature.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Elizabeth Ann Wynne Gunner</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Meja-Mwangi" topicid="399986">Meja Mwangi</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/South-African-literature" topicid="555767">South African literature</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/Ethiopian-literature" topicid="194186">Ethiopian literature</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/Negritude" topicid="408139">Negritude</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/praise-song" topicid="473871">praise song</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/Swahili-literature" topicid="576148">Swahili literature</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/African-literature"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="2" id="ref57054">  <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><em>Hikmad Soomaali</em> (“Somali Wisdom”), a collection of traditional stories in the Somali language recorded by Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal, was published in 1956. <span id="ref1026858"></span>Shire Jaamac Axmed published materials from the Somali <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/oral-tradition" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">oral tradition</a> as <em>Gabayo, maahmaah, iyo sheekooyin yaryar</em> (1965; “Poems, Proverbs, and Short Stories”). He also edited a literary journal, <em>Iftiinka aqoonta</em> (“Light of Education”), and published two short novels in 1973: <em>Halgankiii nolosha</em> (“Life Struggle”), dealing with the traditional past in negative terms, and <em>Rooxaan</em> (“The Spirits”). Further stories from the oral tradition were written down and published in Cabdulqaadir F. Bootaan’s <em>Murti iyo sheekooyin</em> (1973; “Traditional Wisdom and Stories”) and Muuse Cumar Islaam’s <em>Sheekooyin Soomaaliyeed</em> (1973; “Somali Stories”).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><span id="ref1026860"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/poetry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Poetry</a> is a major form of expression in the Somali oral tradition. Its different types include the <em><span id="ref1026862"></span>gabay</em>, usually chanted, the <em><span id="ref1026863"></span>jiifto</em>, also chanted and usually moody, the <em><span id="ref1026864"></span>geeraar</em>, short and dealing with war, the <em><span id="ref1026866"></span>buraambur</em>, composed by women, the <em><span id="ref1026867"></span>heello</em>, or <em><span id="ref1026868"></span>balwo</em>, made up of short love poems and popular on the radio, and the <em><span id="ref1026869"></span>hees</em>, popular poetry. <span id="ref1026870"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sayyid-Maxamed-Cabdulle-Xasan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan</a> (Mohammed Abdullah Hassan) created poetry as a weapon, mainly in the oral tradition. Farah Nuur, Qamaan Bulhan, and Salaan Arrabey were also well-known poets. Abdillahi Muuse created <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="didactic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/didactic" data-type="MW">didactic</a> poems; Ismaaʿiil Mire and Sheikh Aqib Abdullah Jama composed religious poetry. Ilmi Bowndheri wrote love poetry.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Drama has also flourished in the Somali language, and here, as in the language’s other written forms, the oral tradition continues to have a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dynamic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dynamic" data-type="MW">dynamic</a> influence. In 1968 Hassan Shekh Mumin wrote the play <em>Shabeelnaagood</em> (<em>Leopard Among the Women</em>), which has to do with marriage and the relations between men and women in contemporary <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="contexts" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts" data-type="MW">contexts</a>. Verse influenced by Somali oral tradition plays a major role in this <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/dramatic-literature" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">drama</a>. Ali Sugule, another playwright, wrote <em>Kalahaab iyo kalahaad</em> (1966; “Wide Apart and Flown Asunder”), a play concerning traditional and modern ideas about marriage and relations between the generations.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A story by Axmed Cartan Xaange “Qawdhan iyo Qoran” published in 1967 in the journal <em>Horseed</em> examined the situation of women in traditional society. He wrote the first play in Somali, <em>Samawada</em> (1968), depicting women’s role in the independence struggle after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a>. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Somalia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Somalia’s</a> daily newspaper serialized stories as well, including works by Axmed Faarax Cali “Idaajaa” and Yuusuf Axmed “Hero.”</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/novel" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">novel</a> <em><span id="ref519598"></span>Aqoondarro waa u nacab jacayl</em> (1974; <em>Ignorance Is the Enemy of Love</em>)—the first novel published in Somali—<span id="ref519597"></span>Faarax Maxamed Jaamac Cawl criticized the traditional past. He made use of documentary sources having to do with the struggle against colonialism in the early 20th century, when forces under the leadership of Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan fought, among others, the British colonial powers. The two central characters in the novel, Cali Maxamed Xasan and Cawrala Barre, were based on historical characters. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/author" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">author</a> also brings the oral poetry tradition into the novel, its characters speaking in poetic language. The novel launches an assault on <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="ignorance" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/ignorance" data-type="EB">ignorance</a>, as the title suggests, born of, among other things, illiteracy. And it takes a positive view of Somali women. Customs having to do with marriage play an important role in the novel, especially the subverting of such customs for one’s own ends. Cawrala and Calimaax meet onboard a ship that has sailed from Aden, and they fall in love. But Cawrala has been promised by her father to another man. Because of a rough sea, the ship founders, and Calimaax rescues Cawrala from the water. Cawrala’s love for Calimaax intensifies, and her relations with her father are therefore strained. She sends a letter to Calimaax, who, because he cannot read, has Sugulle, his new father-in-law, read it to him, and this leads to difficulties with his wife’s family. When Cawrala learns of this, she is distressed. Then she learns that Calimaax died while at war. When Cawrala laments his death, her mother forces her to leave home. Then, at night, a voice comes to Cawrala, telling her that “a hero does not die.” And in fact, Calimaax did not die; he was wounded, but he survived. Alone and wounded, he must fight a leopard, and the words of Cawrala’s letter sustain him. In the meantime, Cawrala is miserable, and she debates with her parents and members of her <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a> whether she should marry the man her father has selected for her. She is forced to marry the man, Geelbadane. But she becomes so ill that he sends her back to her family. Calimaax, learning of this, sends a message to her family, asking that she be allowed to marry him. Her family agrees, but she dies before the marriage can take place. Two years after that, still suffering from his wounds and his love for Cawrala, Calimaax dies. A later novel by Cawl, <em>Garbaduubkii gumeysiga</em> (1978; “The Shackles of Colonialism”), has to do with contemporary history.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref280685"> <h2 class="h2"><span id="ref1025487"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sotho-language" class="md-crosslink ">Southern Sotho</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The first writer in the Southern Sotho language was <span id="ref1026871"></span>Azariele M. Sekese, who gathered Sotho oral traditions and published them in <em>Mekhoa ea Basotho le maele le litsomo</em> (1893; “Customs and Stories of the Sotho”). He also wrote a popular animal story, <em>Bukana ea tsomo tsa pitso ea linonyana, le tseko ea Sefofu le Seritsa</em> (1928; “The Book of Stories of the Meeting of the Birds, and the Lawsuit between Sefofu and Seritsa”). Historical events, a central focus in much early Sotho <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/literature" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">literature</a>, are depicted, for example, in J.J. Machobane’s <em>Mahaheng a matšo</em> (1946; “In the Dark Caves”) and <em>Senate, shoeshoe ’a Moshoeshoe</em> (1954; “Senate, the Pride of Moshoeshoe”), both of which treat events during the reign of the Sotho chief <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moshoeshoe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Moshoeshoe</a>. M. Damane wrote the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/historical-novel" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">historical novel</a> <em>Moorosi, morena oa Baphuthi</em> (1948; “Moorosi, the King of the Baphuthi”), the story of Moorosi and his dealings with the British. S.M. Guma wrote historical novels about King Mohlomi (1960) and Queen Mmanthathisis (1962). The <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="prolific" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolific" data-type="MW">prolific</a> B. Makalo Khaketla published a play in 1947, <em>Moshoeshoe le baruti</em> (“Moshoeshoe and the Missionaries”), and historical themes can be found in plays by E.A.S. Lesoro and B. Malefane, both of whom wrote dramas about the Zulu chief <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shaka-Zulu-chief" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Shaka</a>. Much of Sotho poetry is derived from the oral tradition; Zakea D. Mangoaela’s collection <em>Lithoko tsa marena a Basotho</em> (1921; <em>Praise of the Sotho Kings</em>) is the most outstanding example.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The giant figure in Southern Sotho literature is <span id="ref1026872"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Mokopu-Mofolo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Thomas Mokopu Mofolo</a>. His three novels were <em>Moeti oa bochabela</em> (1907; <em>The Traveller of the East</em>), <em>Pitseng</em> (1910; “In the Pot”; Eng. trans. <em>Pitseng</em>), and <em>Chaka</em> (1925; Eng. trans. <em>Chaka: An Historical Romance</em>). <em>The Traveller of the East</em> is clearly influenced by Bunyan’s <em>Pilgrim’s Progress</em> (which had been translated into Southern Sotho in 1872): it is an allegorical work that views Christianity as light and Africa as darkness. <em>Pitseng</em> has to do with conflicting views of marriage, Christian and traditional. <em><span id="ref1026873"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chaka-novel-by-Mofolo" class="md-crosslink ">Chaka</a></em> is a novel about Shaka; it is an effective blending of Sotho oral tradition and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="contemporary" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/contemporary" data-type="EB">contemporary</a> historical reality and, from the point of view of storytelling, a yoking of oral and literary forms. Mofolo depends on the oral tradition—more specifically, the traditional heroic cycle—for the formal structure of his work. But, like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chinua-Achebe" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Chinua Achebe’s</a> novel <em>Things Fall Apart</em> (1958), <em>Chaka</em> uses a stark element of realism to break with the romanticism and the circular ordering of oral tradition. By moving the novel’s central character, Chaka, out of the purely oral realm and into a more psychologically realistic mode, Mofolo is able to present his interpretation of the Zulu chief. Mofolo’s work is significant not only as a fictionalized historical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/biography-narrative-genre" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">biography</a> but as a crucial work positioned confidently on the boundaries of—and revealing the clear connection between—the oral and the written. Mofolo effectively brings the historical Shaka into the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="context" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context" data-type="MW">context</a> of a psychological Shaka, and it is the oral tradition that makes this complex layering process possible. In Mofolo’s novel the mythic being Isanusi, who serves as both an actor in the narrative and a commentator on it, enables Mofolo to generate this layering. The importance of <em>Chaka</em>, then, is not that it is history; it is not. It is a comment on history. Mofolo’s technique is derived from oral historians in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Southern-Africa" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Southern Africa</a>, who interlaced history with commentary. Mofolo’s inclusion of a character such as Isanusi keeps the novel from becoming overly <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="didactic" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/didactic" data-type="EB">didactic</a> and also sustains its status as a work of art.</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Sotho tradition is a central concern of B.M. Khaketla in his novel <em>Meokho ea thabo</em> (1951; “Tears of Joy”). In it a young man, Moeketsi, falls in love, but his beloved’s parents want her to marry someone else. He meets another young woman, but she is engaged to a man she does not know, and by now Moeketsi’s parents have chosen a bride for him. It turns out that he is the man selected for the young woman, and she is the woman selected as his bride. <em>Ramasoabi le Potso</em> (1937; “Ramasoabi and Potso”), by M.L. Maile, and <em>Sek’hona sa joala</em> (“A Mug of Beer”), by T.M. Mofokeng—both didactic, moralizing stories—were among the earliest dramatic works in Southern Sotho.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The conflict between Sotho tradition and the West, including Christianity, can be found in a number of Sotho works. Everitt Lechesa Segoete wrote the novel <em>Monono ke moholi ke mouoane</em> (1910; “Riches Are Like Mist and Fog”), which in a heavily moralizing way treats the conflict between Sotho tradition and the world of the whites: Khitšane falls in with a criminal, Malebaleba, goes to jail, and then is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="converted" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/converted" data-type="EB">converted</a> to Christianity by Malebaleba, who has become an evangelist. Albert Nqheku’s novel <em>Arola naheng ea Maburu</em> (1942; “Arola Among the Boers”) deals with the conflicts between Blacks and whites, between the rural and the urban, and between tradition and modernism. Playwrights such as Maile and Khaketla wrote of polygamy; others examined marriage (J.G. Mocoancoeng), love relationships (J.J. Moiloa, J.D. Koote, P.S. Motsieloa, V.G.L. Leutsoa, and J.S. Monare), and Christianity and tradition (Mofokeng).</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":7,"pagesTotal":13,"pageId":8275,"pageLength":1647,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":7,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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African literature - Somali Poetry, Prose, & Oral Tradition | Britannica