Epic Poetry In Swahili

A brief review of all of the known Swahili epic poems and some other narrative songs, the 48 alphabetically listed entries contain summaries of the poems and offer some limited critical comment. Also included is an introduction explaining the history of the tradition and the research methods of the author.

Originally published as author's thesis (doctoral)--BIGSAS, Bayreuth, 2009.

This work contains a very condensed grammar of literary Swahili, the traditional literary language. It serves as a vehicle for the Islamic literature, both prose and poetry, including the town chronicles, as well as the long didactic poems on moral duties.