Poetry is on Veiled Ridicule.

When people want to criticize others, they present it as concern. Some African oral poetry is not any different. The persona uses his or her 'concern' to ridicule some behavior such as laziness, betrayal, moral decadence and corruption. In the following poem, the theme of immorality is presented as follows:

THEY ARE ASKING FOR HER ALL OVER

They are asking for her all over

Have you seen our girl?

Has anybody come across Ciagitune?

The parents, the village mates and the clan elders

They are searching for her

Has anyone seen our daughter?

She is lost.

Some are saying that she went

Through the path to Mombasa

She was measured a dress at Chogoria

And others at Kagoco

A girl has been taken away.

The daughters of Mbeere land

You have no behaviour

Have you heard someone 

Selling herself

Being picked with saliva like a flea!

A big person yet not mature in deeds

Good-for-nothing girl!

In the first stanza, the speaker seems really concerned because a girl, Ciagitune, is missing. There entire community is said to be searching for her. In the second stanza, the reader learns that the whereabouts of the girl are actually known: "...she went through the path to Mombasa". The activities the girl engages in on her way there like fitting dresses at Chogoria and Kagoco portray her as a person out to impress. The last line in the second is stanza is quite explicit. It changes from: "She is lost." in the first stanza to : " A girl has been taken away." In the last stanza, the persona unleashes her scathing ridicule. She exposes the girl as a foolish, cheap and immoral person who has gone to engage in prostitution: "Selling herself". The poem also serves to admonish the other girls in the community by making the girl's behaviour as all inclusive. The persona says: "The daughters of Mbeere land/ You have no behaviour".

Use of direct translation gives the poem the local flavour. Expressions like "You have no behaviour" to mean 'you are ill-mannered' and "She was measured a dress" to mean 'she fitted a dress' show how people speak in that place. The persona also uses local figurative language like "Being picked with saliva like a flea", to mean being gullible, are used to create authenticity.

In conclusion, African poetry is at times used as a platform to ridicule immoral behaviour and caution young people against it.

Poetry is for Rewriting Political History

At times poetry is written to correct history. For example when the Europeans first came to Africa, the African people were cautious rather than greedy and foolish people we of the later generations think of them. Forget the narrative that they were a naive group of people who sold their birthright for a plateful of lentils. No. They were a proud and dignified people with a comprehensive political system. This is captured in the following excerpt from 'Stanley Meets Mutesa', a historical poem by David Rubadiri.

...

The village looks on behind banana groves,

Children peer behind reed fences

Such was the welcome

No singing women to chant a welcome

Or drums to greet the white ambassador:

Only a few silent nods from aged faces

And one rumbling drum roll

To summon Mutesa's court to parley

For the country was not sure.

The gate of reeds is flung open

There is silence

But a moment's silence -

A silence of assessment.

The tall black king steps forward,

He towers above the thin bearded white man

Then grabbing his lean white hand

Manages to whisper

Mtu mweupe Karibu

White man you are welcome

The gate of polished reed closes behind them

And the west is let in.

David Rubadiri

J. Kariara and E. Kitonga. An Introduction to East African Poetry. O.U.P.,1977.

The poem is about the first meeting between H.M. Stanley, the European explorer, and the Baganda of Uganda, represented by their King Kabaka Mutesa. The Baganda people are clearly apprehensive about the intrusion by the European, hence the 'silence'. But this is not to be mistaken for fear, no wonder the poet explains it as "A silence of assessment". In any case, the symbol of the tall black king towering over the thin bearded white man and grabbing his lean white hand shows that he (the King) could summon his physical power over the European if he so willed. 

The King is also presented as knowledgeable and well travelled. At the time, he can speak Kiswahili, "Mtu Mweupe Karibu", which is not native to Uganda but is the language that unites East Africa. This kingdom is also portrayed as democratic. When the white man arrives, Mutesa's court is summoned for a meeting. This means that he does not make decisions on his own. Rather, he is portrayed as a leader. The poet says that he "...steps forward." The shows that he is just a representative of his people. Sometimes, precolonial Africa is presented as a place where political leaders lorded over their people and therefore the mistakes made were purely because they were dictatorial.

In fact, it is the white man who is portrayed as hypocritical and ungrateful. When he is welcomed in good faith he instead decides to colonize Africa. This is clear from the last line where the poet says: "And the west is let in."

Poetry is about social interactions

Poetry at times, just deals with the way people interact with others. They could be neighbours, friends or colleagues. Sometimes we may not be truthful and other people can see through the lies.We are at pains to protect our reputation. An example is the following poem:

Famine
The owner of the yam peels his yam in the house:
A neighbour knocks at the door.
The owner of the yam throws his yam in the bedroom:
The neighbour says, 'I just heard
A sound, kere kere, that's why I came.'
The owner of the yam replies,
'That was nothing, I was sharpening two knives.'
The neighbour says again, 'I still heard
Something like bi sound behind your door.'
The owner of the yam says,
'I merely tried my door with a mallet.'
The neighbour says again,
'What about this huge fire burning on your hearth?'
The fellow replies,
'I am merely warming water for my bath.'
The neighbour persists,
'Why is your skin white, when this is not the Harmattan season?'
This fellow is ready with his reply,
'I was rolling on the floor when I heard of the death of Agadapidi.'
Then the neighbour says, 'Peace be with you.'
Then the owner of the yam starts to shout,
'There cannot be peace
Unless the owner of the yam is allowed to eat his own food.'

Macmillan Education: Sunburst: Poems for Junior and Secondary Schools by Ian Gordon.

See? Isn't poetry then just how we behave with other people? The owner of the yam does not want to share a yam with his neighbour.The lies he gives are humorous and the neighbour just knows he is lying. Finally, the owner of the yam is embarassed  and confesses that he just wants to eat his yam in peace. Therefore, when you fear reading a poem, just remember it could be just about how people interact.


 

Poetry is about expressing our love

Sometimes when we think of poetry, it is like a far-fetched concept or an activity that takes place in outer space. However the topic of the poem is on ordinary day to day life. It  could be on love that we have towards others like in the following poem.

When I See the Beauty on my Beloved's Face

When I see the beauty on my beloved's face,
I throw away the food in my hand;
Oh, sister of the young man, listen;
The beauty on my beloved's face.

Her neck is neck is long, when I see it
I cannot sleep one wink;
Oh the daughter of my mother-in-law,
Her neck is like the shaft of a spear 

When I touch the tattoos on her back,
I die;
Oh, sister of the young man listen;
The tattoos on my beloved's back.

When I see the gap in my beloved's teeth,
Her teeth are white like dry season simsim;
Oh, daughter of my father-in-law listen,
The gap in my beloved's teeth.

The daughter of the bull confuses my head,
I have to marry her;
True, sister of the young man, listen;
The suppleness of my beloved's waist.

(Amateshe A.D. (Ed). An Anthology of East African Poetry. Longman, 1988.))

If we look at the poem, we can see the speaker describing his loved one just as any other person in love.

First, he describes the aspects of his beauty in his society that he finds in his lover. These are: a beautiful face, a long neck, tattoos on the back gap in the teeth and a supple waist.

Secondly, he exaggerates the feelings he has towards his beloved just as many people do when in love. He says: 'When I see the beauty on my beloved's face, I throw away the food in my hand'; 'Her neck is long, when I see it , I cannot sleep one wink; and 'When I see the tattoos on her back I die'.

Finally he likens the beauty of his lover with the things he treasures in the community just like we do today. He says her neck is like the shaft of a spear and  her teeth are like dry season simsim.

Therefore, poetry is never far removed from our lives and we should never fear but embrace it.  


 

Poetry is on everyday life

Poetry may have been made to seem difficult to you by being on topics you are not familiar with. However, you start enjoying poetry through things or people that are just ordinary and believable. Sample the one below and see that there was nothing really to fear about poetry.

A Sudden Storm

    The wind howls, the trees sway,
The loose house-top sheets clatter and clang,
The open window shuts with a bang,
    And the sky makes night of day

    Helter-skelter the parents run,
Pressed with a thousand minor cares:
"Hey you there! Pack the house wares!
    And where on earth is my son?"

    Home skip the little children:
'Where have you been you naughty boy?'-
The child can feel nothing but joy,
    For he loves the approach of rain.

    The streets clear, the houses fill,
The noise gathers as children shout
To rival the raging wind without,
    And nought that can move is still-

   A bright flash!- a lighted plain;
Then, from the once- blue heavens,
Accompanied by noise that deafens,
    Steadily pours the rain.
                                 Pius Oleghe

(Julius Ochieng. Oral Literature & Poetry: A Simplified Guide to KCSE English. Intercen Books Publishing Company, 2022.)

The poem is about events that happen just before a storm. They are events that are familiar to us. For example, there is wind blowing strongly and iron sheets make noise, parents are worried about the whereabouts of their children and children seem to enjoy the whole show. Finally, the rain comes down. 

To make the poem more vivid, the poet incorporates sound devices like onomatopoeia - words formed from a  sound - like 'howls', 'clatter' and 'clang'. He also uses rhyme - words - that end in similar sounds like 'run' and 'son'. He also uses direct speech to make the scene authentic. He says: "...And where on earth is my son?"

There! Did you see anything to scratch your head about?  In trying to understand poetry first stick to what is familiar. Then, you will have fun.

It's about little beginnings

No one ever succeeded by being hard on himself. You started school with pre-school where the teacher said it was okay to sit at her desk. You then started playing with colours and she did not even raise a her finger when you draw senseless figures on her book. 

Less than a half an year later, you could write A up to Z on your own. You  Knew the colour of an orange and a banana and could also write 1 to 10. How is it then that people expect others to learn poetry as if they have lived with it all their life? Like any good education, Poetry should start with fun. We can share this little one with no strings attached, (like 'who do you think the speaker is?'...)

Two little Birds
Sitting on a tree
One called Peter
One called John
Fly away Peter
Fly away John
Come back Peter
Come back John

Did you feel it was too simple? That is how your poetry lessons should start: simply