Imam Hussain & Karbala in Swahili Epics

A Majlis-e-Aza Being Addressed in Swahili Region 

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Sublime sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain also features in the language of coastal Swahili community in the form of epics. The poet who produced most noteworthy epic about martyrdom of Imam Hussain was Hemidi bin Abdallah Al Buhry. His family had settled in Tanzania in 1820 and its members are still known for their scholarly and saintly lives. The credit for highlighting Karbala narratives in Swahili language goes to Dr.Jan Knappert. His article titled “Al-Husain Ibn Ali in the Epic Tradition of the Swahili” was published by Muhammadi Trust-UK in ‘Al-Serat’(1975-83).Dr. Jan has also attributed some epics to Hemidi’s grandfather Said or Saeed in his work.

The 21st century azadar world is not much aware about contribution of Swahili scholars to literature on Karbala. They don’t know about Hemidi or his grandfather or for that matter even about Swahilis as a community. Swahili is an Arabic word that means coasts. The community is called Swahili as its members mostly mainly reside on the coastal area encompassing Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, adjacent islands of Zanzibar, Comoros and some parts of Congo and Malawi. They speak Swahili-a language belonging to Bantu branch of the Niger- Congo family. From numerical point of view, Swahilis can only be considered as a small ethnic group but their literature has acknowledged the significance of Karbala like Imamis settled in large number at other countries.

The quotes taken by Dr.Jan from the epic give an idea how in-depth was the knowledge of Swahili scholars about circumstances leading to the tragedy of Karbala and how immoral were the authorities of ‘Caliph’ Yazid. The poet, for example, describes the lax morals of Ibn Ziyad, the Governor of Kufa, in typical but compact and expressive Swahili style in these words:                 

 "Mwenye mke si mkewe mwenye mwana si mwanawe ni kama kuku na mwewe."(Swahili)

Translation :
“He that has a wife- not his wife, he that has a daughter- not his daughter -it is like the chicken and the kite”..( The poet means that anyone in the city who has a beautiful wife and daughter is in danger of seeing her raped by the tyrant, who will behave just as the kite behaves with the chicken. The kite is a common image in Swahili for the adulterer, the rapist; the chicken is the metaphor for a virtuous woman, full of fear of being attacked.)

The epic also deals with the situation when Muslim b. Aqeel  was deserted by the people of Kufa:

"Akatizama yamini asimuone awini

akiola shimalini asione nusurani. "

(When he looked South he saw no helper; when he looked North he saw no rescue).

Similarly, Imam Hussain’s departure for Maqtal(Battle-field ) has also been narrated in a heart-melting  way:

"Kamkalia Farasi Kinga umeme wa Kusi,

na wingu kubwa jeusi , lenye kiza na baridi. "

(“He sat on his horse, like the lightning that accompanies the South wind with a big black cloud, dark and cool”) .

"Akasimama Huseni Kawaaga nisiwani

kwa herini, kwa herini, nenda zangu sitarudi. "

(Husein stopped and said goodbye to the women

“Adieu, adieu, I go and shall not return)

How the martyrdom of Imam saddened the world has been portrayed in the epic in a very eloquent manner  :   "Wakalia na majini na nyama wote yakini

wa bara na baharini hata ndege na asadi. "

(Even the jinn cried and all the animals indeed,

of the land and (the fish) of the sea, even the birds and the lions).

(The article is primarily based on the work of Dr.Jan  Knappert (1927- 2005) was a well-known expert on Swahili language .It has been posted with the objective to create awareness about Karbala narratives in Swahili language and its scholars who produced epics on Imam Hussain. References can be made available on request. Photo Courtesy Google Image)