Arabic Poetry in West Africa

7/26/2019 Arabic Poetry in West Africa

1/24

Arabic Poetry in West Africa: An Assessment of the Panegyric and Elegy Genres in Arabic

Poetry of the 19th and 20th Centuries in Senegal and NigeriaAuthor(s): Abdul-Samad Abdullah and Abdul-Sawad AbdullahSource: Journal of Arabic Literature, Vol. 35, No. 3 (2004), pp. 368-390Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4183524.

Accessed: 25/07/2013 18:44

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

BRILLis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toJournal of Arabic Literature.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 130.88.182.18 on Thu, 25 Jul 2013 18:44:10 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=baphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4183524?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4183524?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap


2/24

ARABIC

POETRY

IN

WEST AFRICA:

AN ASSESSMENT

OF

THE

PANEGYRIC

AND ELEGY

GENRES

IN ARABIC

POETRY

OF

THE 19th

AND

20th

CENTURIES

IN

SENEGAL

AND

NIGERIA

ABDUL-SAMAD

ABDULLAH

The

University

of

Melbourne,

Australia

Abstract

This article

explores

the form

and

content

of

West African

Arabic

poetry,

with

par-

ticular

referenceto

Nigeria

and

Senegal.

It

analyses

several

key

poetic

features

of

this

region

of

West

Africa,

with the

focus

on

nineteenth

and

twentieth

century

poetry.

The

historical

contextis

both

the

period

of

European

colonisation

and the

pre-colonial

period.

The article

suggests

that

Arabic

poetry

was a mucholder

tradi-

tion in

the

region,

that

it

was

in no sense

challenged

by

colonial

rule,

and that

strong

religious

commitment

s visible

in its content.

This

study

surveys

the

key

influence

of Arabian

poetry

on West African

Arabic

poetry. tanalyses elevant extsandhighlightshe mportancef a number f significant

issues

relating

to this

area of

study

in the

research

of

West

African Islamic

litera-

ture.

The

study

also

explores

the

extent of

the intellectual

nfluence

of Islam. This

is

evidenced

by

the

irrefutable

presence

of Arabisation

at a

time

of Islamic

pene-

tration,

as defined

by

the distinctive

Islamic

character

of West African

Arabic

poetry.

West

African Arabic

poetry

of the

19th and

20th centuries

is classical

in

its

inspiration

and uses a

rich

repertoire

of

poetic

techniques

and the

full

range

of

poetic

forms.

The

poetry

is

religious

in most

of its

inspirations

and

concerns

and

is more

responsive

to the

oldest

tradition

of

Arabic verse

than

to

contemporary

non-African

Arabic

poetry.

Overall,

the

poetry

keeps

its

distance

from

philosophical

complexities

and

deep

intellect,

and

relies

instead

on

spontaneity

and

simplicity,

while

avoiding

artificiality. By

the

19th and

20th

centuries,

Arabic

poets

in

West Africa

had

completely

assim-

ilated the

Arabic

language,

which

gave

them

the

ability

to

compose

poetry

in this Islamic

language

in a

way

that

was not

much different

from

that of

the Arab

peninsula.

The

religious

tone runs

through

most of their

poetic

motifs

in the same

way

that the

zealous

tone dominates

Jihad

poetry.

Arabic

poetry

in West

Africa was thus

primarily

an

outgrowth

of classical al-Jdhili

and

al-lIslami

Arabic

poetry.

This

might partly

be due

to an environment

Koninklijke

Brill

NV,

Leiden,

2004

Also

available online

-

www.brill.nl

Journal

of

Arabic

Literature,

XXXV,

3

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/24

ARABIC

POETRY

IN

WEST AFRICA

that

was

closer

to Bedouin

life. It

is

worth

noting

that,

during

the

19th

and

20th

centuries,

the

majority

of

the

Arabic

poets

of

West Africa

did

not

have

access

to

collections

of classical

Arabic

poetry

of

all

of its

periods, except

for six or

seven

long

poems

(Mu'allaqdt)

of

pre-Islamic

poetry

(al-Shi'r

al-

Jdhill)

and

(Isldmi),

poetry

cited

in

some

books

of

al-Sirah

al-Nabawiyyah,

occasional

citations in the

scholarly

books of

various Islamic

disciplines,

and

religious

poetry

in

the

form of al-Mada'ih

al-Nabawiyyah (qasidahs

in

praise

of

Prophet

Mohammad).'

This

explains

more

clearly

the

influence of

Jdhili and

early

Isldmi

poetry

on

Arabic

poets

of

West

Africa,

in

terms

of

their

poetic techniques

and

styles. High

levels

of

linguistic

skill

reminiscent

of the classical

tradition

are nevertheless

achieved

despite

the

lack

of re-

sources

and

models

other

than a few classical texts

that

represent

a

very

small

portion

of

the

huge

poetic

history

of

the Arabic

language.

West African

poetry

is

thus

arguably

a

spontaneous

and

deep

internaliza-

tion

of

the

principles

of

classical

Arabic

verse

rather

than

simple duplica-

tion or imitation.

It

seems

to maintain a

strong

dialogue

with a culture that

had

become

universal

in

binding

Muslims

together

as

one

entity, regardless

of differences

of

race,

language

and land.

West African

poetry

seems to

derive

its

inspiration

from the Arabic

language

as

a

vehicle

of

the

language

of

religious

dialogue.

Hence, the West African Arabic poets of Senegal and

Nigeria

demonstrated this Islamic cultural

identity

at

its

highest

level

through

their

poetry

in

the Arabic

language.

This was

an

exceptionally

high

literary

achievement,

given

that Arabic

was not their first

language

and their

distance from

the Arabian

Peninsula.

As mentioned

above,

the Arabic

poets

of

West Africa derived their liter-

ary

culture from

books

containing poems,

which

explains

the relative

lack

of

innovative

poetry

in

some cases.

Also noticeable is the

eloquence

and,

sometimes,

the exoticism

which characterises the

language

of their

poetry

in

its different motifs. In contrast, their didactic poetry is characterised by pop-

ular

language

understandable

to

the

masses.

Metrically,

their

poetry rarely

departs

from

the

use

of

wide metres.

The most

favoured metres of

lyrical

poetry

in

general

are,

in

order of

frequency,

wide

(al-basit),

long

(al-tawil),

perfect

(al-kdmil),

ample

(al-wdfir),

and

light

(al-khafif).

The

poets

seldom

depart

from these five

meters,

for

they

are also the favourite

poetic

metres

of the master

poets

of

Arabia. Abf al-'Ala' al-Ma'arri

says:

In

poetry

it

is

generally

felt

that

there are

no

bettermetres thanthe al-basit

and

al-tawil,

found

in

the

majority

of

Arab

poetry. Among

the

poems

of the

masterpoets,the majority all in the al-tawilandal-basi.tpatterns.The metres

See Hunwick cited

in

Stefan

Sperl

and

Christopher

Shackle,

eds.

Qasida

Poetry

in

Islamic

Asia and

Africa

(Leiden.

New York. Koln:

E.

J.

Brill,

1996),

pp.

83-4.

369



4/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

BDULLAH

that are

prominent

n

all

poetry

number

ive:

three are the various

patterns

f

al-tawiland the first two are patternsof al-basit .. Threemetrescome after

those five: the first

pattern

of

al-wafir,

the

first

pattern

of

al-kdmil,

and the

second

pattern

of

al-kdmil.2

It is understood that Arabic

poets

of

West

Africa adhered

to

the

rhyming

rules of Arabic

prosody;

indeed,

defects

in

the

rhyme

schemes

of

their

poems

are seldom found. This

is without

question

an indication

of their

mastery

of Arabic

language,

since

rhyming poems

require

a

very

high

stan-

dard of technical

skill. One

of the essential

conditions

for

studying

the

char-

acteristics

of

Arabic

Poetry

in West

Africa

is an

account,

even a

brief

one,

of the origins of that poetry. This, in turn, requires an understandingof the

development

and movement

of

the Arabic

language

in the

region,

and

the

extent of its

spread

before

European

colonisation.

Islamic Arabic

culture

in West

Africa

extended as

far

as what is known

as the Western Sudanese

region (al-Suddn

al-Gharbi).3

This culture

had

trade and commercial

networks

which

spread

outwards

into other

regions.

Many

historians

emphasise

the

caravan trade

routes

that connected

Western

Sudan and

Egypt,

and in turn linked

these

to North

Africa

(modem

Tunisia)

and further

west to

al-Maghrib

al-Aqsd

(modem

Morocco).4

Some

of these

routes may have been in operation before the dawn of Islam, perhaps in the

second

century

C.E.,

although

they

were abandoned

for

security

reasons

in

the middle

of the third

century.5

This

relationship

was commercial

at

first,

but with

the

emergence

of

Islam and its

spread

into Western

Sudan,

the

relationship

took

on

a

religious

and

cultural dimension

from as

early

as the

seventh

century

C.E.

The

religious

relationship

merged

the

Muslims

of

this

region

into

one

group

which drew

its

way

of life and

moral values

from one

source-Islam,

with its holistic

approach

to life. It was

then

natural

for the Muslim

people

of Western Sudanto begin eagerly andattentivelylearningaboutIslam,wherein

they

believed the

value of all their

affairs

was

to be

found,

and also learn-

ing

its

language

in

order

to

carry

out

its rituals as

perfectly

as

possible.

As

a result

of

learning

the

Arabic

language

and Islamic

culture,

the Muslims

of

Western Sudan

became the

intellectual

elite of the

region.

Administration

and

planning

experts

in the

pagan

regions

actively

sought

Muslim assistance

2

Abu

al-'Ala1

al-Ma'arri,

l-Fusul

wa-al-Ghdydt

Bayrit:

al-Maktab

l-Tijari

il

al-Tiba'ah

wa-al-Tawzi'

wa-al-Nashr),

pp.

212-214.

3 It is that belt of West Africa thatextends,roughly,from latitude10 to 20 north,and

from

longitude

17 west

to 15 east.

4

Ahmad

Shaykhu

Galadanci,

Harakat

al-lughah

al-'arabiyyah

t

Nayjiriya

min sanat

1804

ild sanat

1966

(Ph.D.

dissertation,

Cairo

University,

1974)

p.

2. 'Ali

Abubakar,

l-Thaqdfah

al-'arabiyyah

t

Nayjiriya

min 1750

ild 1960.

(Bayrit:

'Abd al-Hafiz

al-Bassat, 1972),

p.

3.

5

M.

Hiskett,

The

Development

f

Islam in

West

Africa

(London:

Longman,

1984),

p.

13.

370



5/24

ARABIC POETRY IN WEST

AFRICA

in

running

their affairs. Muslims

occupied key positions

in

translation

and

management

n the

(pagan)

Ghana

Empire,

even before it

became

Islamic.6

This

continuedto

be the case even after the fall

of Islamic Ghana

and

its

replacement

by

the Islamic

Mali

Empire

in the

13th

century

C.E.7 The

importance

of

Islamic educationto the

people

of the

region,

and in

which

Arabic

played

a

primary

role,

is

further evidenced

by

the traveler Ibn

Battuitah's

1304-1368/1377

C.E.)

description

of the

Islamic

Empire

of

Ghana and the

great

keenness of its

government

and

people

to teach

their

children

Islamic

religion

and

Arabic

language.

They placed

a

particular

emphasis

on

the

memorization f the

Holy

Quran,

"shackling

heirchildren

if

they

show[ed]

negligence

in

memorizing

t,

the

shackles

removed

only

after

they

memorized t."8

Several historians

mention a visit that

Askiya

Muhammad

Ture,

the

founder of the

Askiya

dynasty

(1493-1591),

made to

Cairo

during

a

pil-

grimage

to

Mecca in 1497. He

asked the advice of

the

great

Caireneschol-

ars,

such as

al-Suyfiti,

concerning

the

development

of

education in the

region.

The

advice

given

to him

by

the

scholarshad

a

distinct and

effective

role

in

developing

education in Western

Sudan. The

Askiyas

themselves

also did much

to

encourage

education. Some of

them had

large

libraries,

andaddedto theircollections most of the new books and

manuscripts

which

arrived n

WesternSudan from

Egypt

and the Far

West.9

The

16th

century

Senkore

mosque

at

Timbuktu

developed

into a

flourish-

ing

centre of

Arabic

and

Islamic

education,

and

became the

favouritedesti-

nation

of

students

n

Western

Sudan.

Subjects

taught

there

includedMaliki

jurisprudence,

yntax,

morphology,

hetoric,

ogic,

history,

geography,

astro-

nomy

and arithmetic.The

Arabic

language

was the

language

of

education

and

administration,

nd

also became

one of the

well-established

anguages

of

communication n

the

popular

culturalcentres

of

the

region.'0

number

of towns in WesternSudan thusbecameintellectualcentres,with Timbuktu

a

good

example.

That

city

was

the

goal

of

many

scholarsof

the

period

who

sought

to

teach

in its centre

of

higher

education,

while

increasing

numbers

of

students

aspired

to sit in

its

learning

groups.

Thus,

Timbuktu

became

a

focus of culture

and intellect as

well as an

important

rade centre.1

6

Hiskett,

p.

22.

7 Peter B.

Clarke,

West

Africa

and

Islam,

(London:

Edward

Arnold

Ltd,

1982),

p.

38.

8

Ibn

Battutah,

Rihlat Ibn

Battutah

(Bayrit:

Dar

Sadir

wa-Dar

Bayrut), p.

690.

9

Abubakar,

p.

45.

10

Ibid.,

p.

46.

"

'Abd

al-Qadir

Zabadiyah,

Dawlat

Songhay

fi 'ahd

al-Askin

(al-Jaza'ir:

al-Sharkah

al-

Wataniyyah

li al-Nashr

wa-al-Tawzi'),

p.

100.

371



6/24

ABDUL-SAMAD ABDULLAH

Other

important

educational

centres

developed

in

Gao,

Wallata,

Gazar-

gamu (capital

of the mais of Borno from the

1480s),12

Kano,

and Katsina.

Along

with

Timbuktu,

these were the

key

Islamic

enlightenment

centres in

Western Sudan

during

the

early

period

of the

region's

Islamic

history.

In

addition to these

centres,

other

enlightenment

sources such as

mosques,

schools,

and

arbours were built

throughout

the

region.

Schools were set

up

under the trees and

in

the corridors

of

the

'ulama's houses

while

open

spaces

were used as

primary

schools, retreats,

and

prayer

rooms.

In

this

way,

Islamic Arabic education

moved

towards

development

and

prosperity

until it reached its

highest

standard

in the

kingdom

of

Sunghay

under the

Askiyas (1493-1591).

Evidence of the

flourishing

of

Arabic

language

at that time and of the

level of its

maturity

can

be seen in the seven

questions

sent

by

Hiaj

Askiya

Muhammad I of the

Sunghay Empire,

in

about

923/1502,

to Imam al-

Maghili

of Tlemcen

in

Algeria,

one of the

outstanding

Muslim academics

and scholars of his time and

Judge

of

Tuwat,

North Africa.

Askiya

I was

seeking

advice

on

a number

of issues. The

questions

were

said

to be con-

troversial

religiously

and

complex.

Each consisted

of,

linguistically,

more

than two

lines,

with

strong

and cohesive sentence

structure.

There is no

doubt that the writer was skilled in Arabic writing.'3 The answers and

advice that

al-Maghili

rendered influenced the

behaviour and outlook of

Askiya

I as a Muslim

ruler,

and had a

significant

impact

on the

history

of

West Africa

in

general,

and on its Islamic

history

in

particular.'4

It

was not

only

Muslims who

accepted

the Arabic

language.

Islam's lit-

eracy,

its

impressive

rituals,

and its annual festivals

were all

acceptable

to

polytheists

of the

region.'5

This,

in

turn,

created a

vigorous

connection

with

Arabic

culture that

profoundly

influenced the cultural

output.

Islamic in-

fluence

inevitably

coloured the intellectual

production

of these

societies,

since the producers in that field were Islamic intellectual elites who had

mastered the Islamic

religion through

the Arabic

language.

In the

great

cities

such as

Timbuktu,

Wallata,

Kano,

and

Katsina,

where

productive

activities

and trade

transactions took

place,

there

developed

a wide

circle

of

scholars,

thinkers and

judges

who had mastered

the Arabic

language

and

Islamic

thought.

Their

highly

variegated output

in

the

form of

commentaries,

juris-

prudence,

linguistics,

and documentation

of the

history

of the

region

fol-

12

John

Hunwick,

"The Arabic

Literary

Tradition of

Nigeria,"

Research

in

African

Litera-

ture

(2004),

p.

2.

http://iupjournal.org/ral/ral28-3.html

2004.

13

Zabadiyah,

p. 156.

14

Clarke,

p.

50.

'1

Hiskett,

p.

31.

372



7/24

ARABIC

POETRY

N

WEST

AFRICA

lowed

the

traditionalmodels

that Arab

culturehad

developed

in

Arabia

and

North Africa.16

The

Arabic

language

was not

only

mastered

by

the

Western

Sudanese,

they

used

the

flourishing

anguage

also

to

produce

high

quality

academic

and

artisticworks.

This continued

until the

society began

to

whither

fol-

lowing

the

invasion

by

the Moroccan

army

of

al-Mansur's,

which

overthrew

the

Songhay

Empire

n

1591. The

subsequent

period

saw a

decline into

stag-

nation

of

the

once-flourishing

Western

Sudanese

Arabic ulture.

Many

commen-

tators

consider

the

intellectual

productions

of this

period

as

impoverished

and

lacking

the

eloquence

and

lucidity

of

the earlier

models.

The

works

are typicallyafflictedby unnecessary

ramming

and

ingenue

expressions.'7

However,

this

period

of

stagnation

was

followed

by

a

resurgence

of

Islamic Arabic

culture

during

he

dynasty

of

the West

African

Nigerian

reli-

gious

reformer

Shaykh

Othman

Ibn

Fodiye

(1837-1903).18

This

renaissance

was

manifestednot

only

in

Othman's

own

writings,

but also in

the

writings

of his

brother,

Wazir

Abd

Allah

Ibn

Fodiye,

his

son,

Muhammad

Bello,

and

other

writers

of that

period.19

In

addition,

the

reformer

Shaykh

set

out for

his

people

an

organised

administrative

ystem

that

conformed

o

the

previ-

ous

Islamic

administrative

systems

in

Arabia;

he also

made

Arabic

the

official language. Lettersexchangedbetween ShaykhOthman Ibn Fodiye,

the

Caliph

of

Sokoto,

and

Shaykh

al-Kanemi

of

Bomo,

in

which the

latter

seeks

justification

or the

Jihad of

the former

against

the

Bomo

people,

who

by

all

historical

accountswere

Muslims,

are a

clear

testimony

to

the flour-

ishing

of

the

Arabic

language

during

that

period.20

This

efflorescenceof

Arabic

went

beyond

academicand

scientific

writings

to the

field

of

creative

iterary

writing,

which

reached ts

peak

in

the

second

half

of the

nineteenth

century,

particularly

with

linguistic

usage

variation n

lyrical

poetry.

The

remainder

of

this article

will

therefore

explore

the

char-

acteristicsof Arabicpoetry n thisregion.One characteristicwas thatArabic

poetry

belonged

to

high

culture;

hat

is,

it was

meant for

elite

Arabic schol-

16

Zabadiyah,

p.

156.

17

Ibid.,

p.

157.

18

Shaykh

OthmanIbn

Fodiye

or

dan

Fodio was

the

founder

of the

Sokoto

Caliphate

n

northern

Nigeria,

1754-1903. For

more

details,

see

Murray

Last,

The

Sokoto

Caliphate

(New

York:

Humanities

Press,

1967),

p.

3.

19

For moredetails on the intellectualactivitiesof this Jihadist eaderandthe membersof

his

immediate and

extended

family,

see

Boyd

and

Furniss'

"Moblize the

people"

cited in

Stefan

Sperl

and

Christopher

Shackle,

eds.

Qasida

Poetry

in

Islamic Asia

and

Africa

(Leiden.

New

York. Koln:

E.

J.

Brill,

1996),

p.

430.

20

For

more

details on

this

correspondence,

ee T.

Hodgkin

ed.,

Nigerian

Perspectives

(Oxford,

1975),

pp.

261-267.

373



8/24

ABDUL-SAMAD BDULLAH

ars who were able to

appreciate

poetic composition

in

Arabic.

In

Hunwick's

words, "The ability to

compose

Arabic verse came to be regarded as the

hallmark

of the

scholar,

even if

relatively

little

of

the verse

output

was

of

what one

might

call a

literary

nature."21

Another feature

of Arabic

poetry

of the

period

was its

vital

role in mobi-

lizing

support

for the Jihadists'

religious,

social,

and

political agendas.

Arabic

poetry

was

employed

in

promoting

and

defending

the

Jihadists' mil-

itant

activities,

as

well

as

linking

their Islamic

reform

movement

to

the

Islamic

legacy

in

order

to

validate

it.

The

genre

of

Arabic

poetry

initially

found an

audience

in the

Islamic elite scholars

who had

mastered

the

Arabic

language. Eventually, however, it won the hearts and minds of the Muslim

masses

through

versified translations into local

languages

such as

Hausa

and

Fulfulde,

which

were

heavily

influenced

by

Arabic

prosody

in

their

rhyme

and metre.

Poets

would

also

occasionally

write

parallel poems

in

Arabic and

either Hausa or

Fulfulde

for

the same

purpose.22

Discussing

the

qasida

in

Arabic,

Hausa,

and

Fulfulde,

according

to

Boyd

and

Fumiss,

"is

like

looking

into a

triangular prism

from each

of its three sides.

At the centre

is

a

group

of

writers

and

translators,

warriors and

leaders,

from

a

single

extended

family

under

the

Jihadist

leader,

Shehu

Usman

dan Fodio.

The

intellectuals

amongst them operated in all three languages, using them for different

purposes."23

Arabic

verse

preceded

Hausa

verse,

as

the

earliest

written

'ajami

Hausa

verse

dates from the

period

of the Sokoto

Caliphate.24

The

fact

that the form

of the Hausa

verse is

closely aligned

with the

stanza

patterns

of

Arabic

verse and with the metrical

patterns

of

classical

Arabic,

in

addition

to

its

being

a later

development,

affirms

that Arabic

poems

were the

first forms

of

written

poetry

or

literature

in

general

in the

region.25

It

is not

easy,

how-

ever,

to

gain

an

accurate

insight

into the

origins

of

Arabic

poetry

in

the

region and its early development. West African Arabic poetry preceding the

tenth

century

of

the

Hijrah

(16th

century

C.E.)

is not

documented,

which

makes

it

difficult to locate authentic

poems

from that

period.

The

historical

evidence, however,

points

to a

tradition

of

Arabic

language poetry

in

the

region

during

that time.

The 17th

century

West

African

historian

al-Sa'di,

21

Hunwick,

p. 84.

22

Asma'u

Bint

Shaykh

Othman

bn

Fodiye

was

famous

for

this

type

of

literary

exercise.

For

more

information

ee

Beverley

B. Mark

and

Jean

Boyd,

One

Woman's

Jihad

(Bloom-

ington,IN: IndianaUniversityPress,2000), pp. 94, 100.

23

Boyd

and

Fumiss,

in

Sperl

and

Shackle,

p.

429.

24

Boyd

and

Furniss,

p.

430.

25

For

more information bout

the

development

of

Hausa

verse,

see

Boyd

and Fumiss in

Sperl

and

Shackle,

pp.

429-30,

and

M.

Hiskett,

A

History of

Hausa Islamic

Verse

(London:

School

of

Oriental

and African

Studies,

1975).

374



9/24

ARABIC POETRY IN WEST AFRICA

for

example,

describes

the

ingenuity

of Sudanese

poets

in

his time and the

themes

they

covered,

but he does

not

quote

from the

poems.26

However,

the

fact that al-Sa'di commented on the

poets supports

the existence of Arabic

poetry during

or even

before his time.

Unfortunately, archaeological

or lit-

erary

evidence has not come down to us.

In his article on the Arabic

qasida

in West

Africa,

Hunwick cites verses

composed

in

Murrakesh

in

the late twelve

century

by

a

grammarian poet,

who seems to have

come from

Kanem on the northern shores of Lake

Chad,

as the first

example

of the

literary usage

of Arabic in West Africa.27

Although

conclusive evidence is

lacking,

it is not

unreasonable to

suggest

that Arabic

poetry

in West Africa

already

existed at a time that we do not

know

of and cannot be

guided

to. It is

impossible

therefore to

assert a

definite

beginning

or define the

period during

which the

poetry developed.28

For

these

reasons,

this article

will

examine

only poems

written from the thir-

teenth

century

of

Hijrah

(19th

century

C.E.)

onwards,

when the

picture

of

Arabic

poetry

in

this

region

is clear and

unambiguous.

The

range

of

poets

cited is also limited to

Senegal

and

Nigeria,

as

these countries have the rich-

est traditions of Arabic

poetry

in the

region.

The

inevitably

limited

scope

of

this

research does not allow the inclusion of Arabic

poetry

in the whole of

the West African

region.

West African Arabic

poetry

included two

poetic genres: lyrical

(al-shi'r

al-ghind'i)

and

didactic

(al-Shi'r al-ta'limi).

Lyrical

poetry represents

the

major-

ity

of

poems.

This

genre

also includes a wide

range

of

forms,

from

pane-

gyric

(al-madih)

to

elegy

(al-rithd').

Its

types

include

pride

(al-fakhr),

description (al-wasf),

love

(al-ghazal),

fortitude

(al-hamdsah),

militantism

(shi'r al-Jihdd),

complaint

and

nostalgia

(al-shakwd

wa

al-Hanin),

occa-

sional

poetry

(shi'r

al-mundsabdt),

and encomiastic verse

praising

the

Prophet

Mohammad

(al-madd'ih

al-nabawiyyah).

This

would indicate that

poets followed the path of Arabic poetry elsewhere, employing most of the

poetic

varieties and motifs

tried

by

the Arabic

poets

of the

Arabian

Peninsula. Due to the

limited

scope

of this

article,

only

two

poetic

genres

or

motifs,

the

panegyric

and the

elegy,

are

explored.

Panegyric

West African Arabic

panegyric poetry

resembles

in

style

the

panegyric

poetry

of the famous

al-Jahili

poet, Zuhayr

Ibn Abi

Sulma,

whose

style

was

commended by the second caliph, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab: "He was not rep-

26

'Abd

al-Rahman

al-Sa'di,

Tarikh

al-Sudan

(Paris:

Huids,

1898),

p.

218.

27

Hunwick,

p.

83.

28

Ibid.,

p.

84.

375



10/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

BDULLAH

etitious

in

what he

said,

and would

not

praise anyone beyond

what

the

per-

son deserved."29Omar is suggesting that Zuhayr would only applaud a truly

praiseworthy person,

unlike

some

profiteers among

the

panegyric poets

who

were

only

anxious to fill

their

pockets

with

gold

and

silver. To

the

West

African

poets, praise

seems to be an echo of admiration from the

depth,

of

the soul. Praise was to them an

expression

of the love of absolute ideals and

the

passion

for

pure

values.

The

objects

of

their

praise

were

mostly

scholars,

intellectual

leaders,

and

missionaries of Islam

who,

after

Allah,

were

responsible

for the

develop-

ment of

religious,

cultural, social,

and

political

life

in

Islamic societies

throughout the region. In addition to this, these poets of praise were them-

selves of the same calibre as the

praised figures.

Praise

solely

to earn

money

was a rare occurrence. Local

poets

who

praised

in local

languages

and

dialects

spared

the West African Arabic

poets

the burden of

earning

a liv-

ing through praise

alone.

As

equals

in social status to their

praised subjects

and in accordance with African

culture,

the West African Arabic

poets

regarded praise

for material

gain

as

demeaning

and reserved for local

profes-

sional

praise-makers,

who were

regarded

as

belonging

to the lowest levels

of

society.

Praise of an individual rendered by the West African Arabic poets for

people

in

high society

had a

strong political

and social

impact.

Moreover,

the translation of some of these

poems

from Arabic to the local

languages

meant that the

impact

finally

reached the masses.30

The values and ideals for which the Arabic

poets

of this

region praised

their

subjects

were little different from

those

for which Arab

poets

elsewhere

wrote

panegyrics.

Qualities

such as

justice, loyalty,

courage, generosity,

nobility, pride,

and

protection

of

neighbours

were attributes that Arab

poets

glorified.

Above

all,

however,

the Arabic

poets

of West Africa

emphasised

spiritual or religious aspects in their poems, as well as the religious con-

ception

of those common values. We

can

quote

here an

example by

the

Senegalese poet

Ahmad

'Ayan

Sih31 in which

al-Haj

Sa'id

al-Nfir,32

he de-

scendant of the well-known

Mujahid Shaykh

Omar

al-Ffiti,

is

praised.

The

poet

says,

after the characteristic

introductory

section,

common

in

classical

29

Muhammad bn Sallam

al-Jumahi,

Tabaqdt

uhul

al-shu'ard',

edited

by

M. M.

Shikir

(Jeddah:

Dar al-Madani dition

n.d.),

vol. 1:63.

30

To

understand

he

magnitude

f the

impact

of the translated slamic iterature

nd Arabic

verses or

qasida

to local

languages

on both clerics and

masses,

see

Boyd

and

Fumiss,

pp.

430-3.

31

Ahmad

Ayan

Sih

(b. 1913)

was one of the

most

skillful

Senegalese

Arabic

poets

of the

20th

century.

He wrote Arabic

poetry

of different

motifs but wrote

extensively

n

elegiac

and

panegyricgenres, especially,

in

praise

of the

Prophet.

32

al-Haj

Sa'id al-Nfr Til was an Islamic scholar

well known in

Dakar,

Senegal.

He was

one

of

the

great shaykhs

who wrote

extensively

in the field of Islamic

urisprudence.

376



11/24

ARABIC POETRY IN WEST AFRICA

Arabic

Poetry,

in which

there

is

mourning

for the relics and traces of

the

beloved

ones'

habitation33

Imam

Sa'id

al-Nfir,

Who

swept away

ignorance

rom

my family

and

my

homeland.

Each

of us drew academic distinction

Fromhis

precious

and

unmatched

writings.

He is

the

light

with which Allah the Beneficent

Illuminated ll

Senegal

with

educationand

perfection.

0

how wonderful

are

these words

that his

fingers

wrote to

me,

More

precious

than

a necklace

of

sapphire

and

pearls.

When he

disappeared,

ll

knowledgedisappeared,

Never to

return

until his

return.

He is the

refuge,

the

hero,

the

master,

And

the

learned

of

all

times,

in

generosity

and

perfection.

Many poets

before had used

the

qualities

the

poet

describes here.

Never-

theless,

the excellence of

'Ayan

Sih's

phrasing

from his

use

of

metaphoric

expressions gives

the

poem

characteristics of

good poetry

in

Arabic.

The

writ-

ing

is a

fluid

and

breathless

outpouring

of

love and admiration

for

al-Haj

Sa'id

al-Nfir's

qualities,

such

as his

outstanding

academic

merit

and

his

sig-

nificant role

in

eradicating ignorance

among

his

people.

Certain

expressions

such as

lahu

ta'dlifu

ghurin

("he

has

noble

literary

works"),

nufrun

'andra

bihi al-Rahmdnu

jumlatand

("he

is

the

light

with

which the

Beneficent illuminated all

Senegal"),

with

their

elements

of

exag-

geration,

are

appropriate

to

the

Arabic

panegyric

in

general.

Hence,

such

the

convention of

exaggeration

does not

contradict

the

claim

that West African

Arabic

poets give only

earned

praise,

as

was

mentioned

earlier.

The structure

of

the

poem

follows

the

model

of

the

Arabic

poem

described

in

studies

by

Arab

critics

such as

Ibn

Qutaybah

al-Daynawari

and

Ibn

Rashiq

al-Qayrawani.34

According

to

these

authorities,

the

Arabic

poem

characteristically

begins

with

an

introduction

professing

love,

followed

by

a

lamentation over

the

ruins

left

behind

by

loved

ones,

such

as

traces

of

a

ditch

and tent

pegs,

dry

camel

dung,

and

ashes from the

cooking

pit

of

an

old

campsite.

The

poet

recognises

the

spot

as one

where

he

once

enjoyed

a

love

relationship

with

a

maid

from

a

friendly

tribe

that

had

pitched

its

camp

in

the same

camping ground.35

This is

generally

followed

by

a

description

of the

journey

to

those ruins

and

traces of

the

beloved;

the

device

found is

in

both

pre-Islamic

and Islamic Arabic

poetry.

33

For

more details

on

the classical

Arabic ode

or

al-qasidah,

see

Ilse

Lichtenstadter,

Introduction

to

Classical

Arabic

Literature

(New

York:

Schocken

Books,

1976),

pp.

23-27.

34

Ibn

Qutaybah

al-Daynawari,

al-Shi'r

wa-al-Shu'ara'

(Dar

al-Kutub

al-'Ilmiyyah),

p.

27.

Ibn

Rashiq

al-Qairawani,

al-'Umdah

(Dar

al-Bayda':

Dar al-Rashad

al-Hadithah),

Vol. 1:225.

35

Lichtenstadter,

p.

24.

377



12/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

BDULLAH

In the

poem

of

praise

to

al-Haj

Sa'id

al-Nfir

above,

the

Senegalese poet

begins

with an

introductory

section

lamenting

the traces left behind

by

loved

ones. The

following

is an extract:

Is it

because

of

remembering

hose

in

al-bdn

and the

al-bdn

itself,

Or is it because

of

remembering

ertain

gazelles

when

you

see

another

gazelle

That

you

come to this ruin

crying

for

those who used to live there?

Then

give my

best

regards

o

my

homeland.

I

stay

awake

all the

night,sleepless,

And

my night

remains

as

long

as the doves

who

sing

on the branchmake

me

sad.

Forget

Salma,

who offered

nothing

but a

half-waking

vision.

Wheneveran

easterly

wind

through

he cherished

Sanliwitouches

my

cheek,

The tears flow down.

My

people

blame

me,

but one like me

would never

cry

over those

images,

Except

from far

away

and

long years

after.

My

heart is

imprisoned

n

the

dwellings

of those who have

gone,

But it found

nothing

except

remnantsof

past

events.

I

weep

for

disasters

hat still overwhelmme

And

keep

my

eyes

awake with tears.

By

Him whose

light

illuminated

he

universe,

Swordof Allah bringbackmy dignityand makeme forget.36

After

this

introduction,

the

poet goes

on to his main

subject,

which is

praise

of

Shaykh

al-Haj

Sa'id al-Nfir

for his

knowledge,

enlightenment,

guidance, courage

for the sake

of

Allah,

and his

numerous

writings,

as we

saw

in

the

previous

extract.

Sometimes,

however,

the

poet

begins

the

panegyric

with the nasib 'an

amatory

prelude',

rather than the conventional

address to the

ruins,

before

proceeding

to address the

object

of

praise.

In his

panegyric

to

Shaykh

Muhammad

al-Jilani,

the Amir and

army

commander,

the

Nigerian

poet

Muhammad al-Bukhari, son of Shaykh Othman Ibn Fodiye,37 begins with

expressions

of

love:38

Umm

al-Fadl struck

you

with

desertion,

And

you

remained ike

a

drunkard

mong

the

people.

I have in

my

heart a red-hot

coal,

Since she

kept

me

away

from

reaping

her close fruits.

She

came

up

in the

palace boasting,

with

pitch

black and

silky

hair

36

'Amir

Samb,

al-Adab

al-singhdli

al-'arabi

(al-Jaza'ir:

al-Sharkah

l-Wataniyyah

il

al-

Nashr wa-al-Tawzi',1978),Vol. I: 115.

37

He was one of the

sons of

Shaykh

Othman

bn

Fodiye

and

was active in academic

and

military pheres.

He was knownfor

his

eloquence

n Arabic

anguage

and wrote

many

qasidas

in Arabic.He died

in 1849.

38

Mohammad

l-Bukhari,

al-Mayl

'aid hubb

al-Nisa'

(Manuscript

n

private

collection

of

Shaykh

al-Muntaqa

l-Kashnawi),

p.

13.

For Arabic

text,

see

appendix

2.

378



13/24

ARABIC OETRY

N

WESTAFRICA

And

the

eyes

of

a

thirstygazelle,

with

the neck

of

a

gazelle,

A

firmshank

and

a bosom

of

gems

and

pearls.

After

this

erotic

and

physical description

of

his

beloved,

already

exploited

by

earlier

Arab

poets,

he returns to his

purpose

in a more

conventional

manner:

Forget

this,

and

speakagain

of

the one

who

crushed

our

enemies;

The

protector

of our homeland

and killer

of

the brave enemies.

The

poem

continues

with

praise

for his

subject's

courage,

toughness

in

war, kindness and softness towards friends, and bitterness towards the

enemy.

He

praises

the commander

as

abundantly generous, openhanded

and

fair,

and

says

that

he took

over

the

country

with

both

a

sword

and

courtesy.

Sweet

and

soft

to

his

friends,

But

bitter-tasting

o malicious

enemies.

A

hero, trustworthy,

who sacrificeshimself

In the

hard

days

of

the battlefield.

In

all the tribes thereis no

match

for

generosity

and

intelligence

To

Muhammad l-Jilani.

He

took

over

the

tribes and

their

affairs

Withhis sword,his generosity,his justice and his goodness.

If

you

come

as his

guest,

as a

needy stranger,

The

next

morning

you

will

awaken

wealthy

and well

protected.

There is

an

interesting

parallel

between

the

amorous

prelude,

in

which

the

poet

resists

his

feelings

for

the beautiful

beloved,

and

the

resistance

in war-

fare

that enemies

encounter

from

the

praised

one due to his

courage

and

faith.

Although

most

panegyric

expressions

are used

repeatedly

in Arabic

poetry

in

general,

the

West

African

poets

extended their

meanings through

allusions to the noble principles and values of Islam. These include piety,

frequent

reminders of

Allah,

deep

and

thorough knowledge

of

religion

care

for

orphans,

and

help

for

the

poor.

What the

Senegalese

poet

Dhu al-nun

(1877-1927)39

said in

praising Shaykh

al-Khidim

Ahmad Bamba

(1850-

1927)

exemplifies

this

technique.40

After the usual

passage

about

the ruins

(al-atldl),41

he shows the

position

of

the

Shaykh among

the

people:

His

right

hand is

so used

to

giving

That

he

would

not

distinguish

between

a man

from

Ya'mur

and

one

from

Ja'far.

39

A

Senegalese

Islamicscholarand

Arabic

poet

of

exceptional

poetic

skills and

original-

ity

(d. 1927).

40

Ahmad

Bamba Ambak

(1853-1927)

was an

Islamic

scholar,

the founding saint of

al-

Tariqahal-Muridiyyah

n

Senegal,

and a

highly respectedpublic

figure

of

spiritual

authority.

41

For

Arabic

text,

see

appendix

3.

379



14/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

ABDULLAH

With

this

Sheikh,

an

orphan

s never

oppressed

And a beggarneverrepulsed.

Here the

poet

alludes

to

concept

mentioned

in the

Quran:

"Therefore,

treat not the

orphan

with

oppression,

and

repulse

not

the

beggar"

(93:9-10).

Hence,

although

this

panegyric

poetry

is

structurally

formulaic,

it is

also

deeply

affected

by

associations

of a humane and

religious

nature.

The

pan-

egyric

also maintains

a

strong dialogue

with a culture

that

had become

a

universal in

binding

Muslims

together

as

one

entity,

regardless

of differences

of

race,

language,

and land.

Elegy

Elegy

is one

of the

most

frequent

poetic genres

among

the

Arabic

poets

of West

Africa.

Whenever a scholar or

a Muslim

leader

died,

poets

would

rush to

eulogise

him with sad

poems

lamenting

the death of what

they

saw

as

a

pillar

of Muslim

society,

a communal

society

in which

everybody

knows

everybody

else.

Thus,

the

poets

invite

every

member

of that

society,

which

functions

as

one

body

whose members

integral parts

are,

to

share

their sorrow for

the

loss of an

important

part

and

significant

source

of

inspi-

ration

in that communal

society.

There are

many

different

types

of

elegies,

such

as those for

scholars,

kings,

ministers,

fathers,

brothers,

friends,

hus-

bands,

wives,

and even for

cities. The

most

common

elegies

are for schol-

ars

and friends.

An

elegy

includes

lamentation

(nadb),

commemoration

(ta'bin),

and consolation

(ta'ziyah).

Elegiac

elements

are often

mixed with

praise.

This is a fundamental

fea-

ture

deeply

rooted

in

Arabic

poetry

in

general.

Indeed,

as Ibn

Rashiq

al-

Qayrawani

said:

There is no differencebetweenelegy and praise,except thatelegy indicates

it is intended

or

a dead

person

by

using

"was"

or "with

his

death

we lost so

and

so",

and similar

expressions

o make

it known

the

person

s dead.42

In

itself,

the

poetic expressions

of

Nigerian

and

Senegalese

elegies

were

similar to

those of the Eastern

and Western

Arabic

poetry,

but

the West

African Arabic

poets

further

developed

the

elegy

as

they

did the

panegyric

by

adding

new

values

with

religious

dimensions.

Among

the values stressed

were

piety,

knowledge,

teaching

and

guiding

people

to

ways

of

peace,

acceptance

of God's

destiny

for them and

for the

deceased,

total

submission

to His will, and the description of this world as illusory. The Nigerian poet

42

al-Qayrawani,

vol.

2: 147.

380



15/24

ARABIC

POETRY IN WEST

AFRICA

Asma'

Bint Othman Ibn

Fodiye

(1793-1865)43

elegizes

her

friend

'A'ishah,

saying:

To Allah I

complain

of the

many

anxietiesburied

deep

inside

my

heart;

For the loss of

leading

scholars and mastersof

religion,

And of

my

sisters,

all friends of

goodness

and

giving.

The deathof

my

beloved remindedme of those virtuous

and

righteous

isters

Who have

long

since

passed

away.

Righteous

and

devoutly

obedientto the

Lord,

Guarding

n the absence of their

husbandsall that Allah told them

to

guard,

Making

extra acts of

worship.

Greaterwas

my

distress, loneliness,

and

longing,

And the tears flowed down my cheeks,

For the

loss of the noble

A'ishah,

A woman who

possessed

all kinds of virtues:

Remembering

Allah,

giving

charity,

reciting

the

Quran,

Protecting

he

oppressed,

And

carrying

he burden

of

greatresponsibilities.

She was

the

guardian

of

orphans,

The comforterof

widows,

And a

pillar

of the

community

with her

gifts

of love and

tenderness.44

This

elegy suggests

that

women were

very

active

in

West African

Islamic

society.

Their activities

ranged

from benevolent activities such as

orphanage

welfare and

helping

the

needy

and

widows,

to

political

activities

such as

defend-

ing

the

oppressed

and

defending

the weak. This

is an indication

that

women

were active

socially

and

politically,

but at the

same

time did not

compro-

mise

their roles

wives,

mothers and sisters.

This

is

an

interesting phenome-

non

that is worth further

exploration.

Asma' Bint Othman

Ibn

Fodiye

elegizes

the same

friend

in

another

poem:

I

accept

what Allah has

decreed;

I

only express

in

my

words the

right

of

sisterhood.

There is no sin in makingan elegy;

The

Prophet

was

elegized

by

Abu

Sufyan

on

the

day

of his

death.

I am

crying

tears for

her out of

mercy,longing,

and true

affection.

The

Prophet

did

not forbid

this;

He

only

forbade

crying

out for

the dead with

"Oh"

and "Ah."45

43

Legendary

Islamic

scholar,

poet,

social and

political

activist

of her

time. For

detailed

information

regarding

his

highly

respected

and

authoritative

public

figure,

see

Beverly

B.

Markand Jean Boyd, One Woman'sJihad (Bloomington& Indianapolis:ndianaUniversity

Press,

2000),

pp.

1-61.

44

Asma'

Bint

Othman

cited in

al-Wazir

al-Junayd,

'Arf

al-Rayihdn

t

al-Tabarruk

bi

dhikr

al-Shaykh

Othman

Manuscript

n

the

private

collection of

Shaykh

al-Muntaqa

l-Kashnawi),

p.

43. For Arabic

text,

see

appendix

4.

45

Ibid.,

p.

45.

For Arabic

text,

see

appendix

5.

381



16/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

ABDULLAH

Her

brother,

Muhammad

al-Bukhari,

elegizes

his wife:46

0 sister of

Ahmad,

Losing you

has hastened

my

tears

with blood.

Sleep

has been driven

away;

Since

your

death was announced o

me,

My eyes

have

not closed.

What a

fine

girl

you

were,

Generousand

caring

for

your

husband.

Such excellent

and

perfect

behavior,

Made even better

by

beautifulmanners.

He ends with:

By

Allah,

my eyes

still

flow

with

tears

And

my

heart

is full of

pain.

But

I

accept

the

ruling

of the

Almighty,

the

Everlasting.

May

the

mercy

of the

Lord of the throne

Be an

unending

low

from which

you

may

drink.

Having

experienced

his

wife's

generosity

and

good

manners,

he finds all

other women undesirable:

With

my

love for

you

I need

no woman

but

you,

Daughter

of the

generous.

Since

I lost

you,

I see all women

as

sheep.

At the end

of his

elegy,

al-Bukhari

beseeches

God to shower

mercy

on

his

wife,

but with the

metaphor

of

asking

God to allow

her to drink of His

mercy. By

so

doing,

the

poet

indicates the

great

need

of his beloved for the

mercy

of

God,

a

need

that is similar to that

of the

drought-stricken

land for

water.

This

also alludes to the

Islamic belief

that

only

the

mercy

of God

ensures

life in the Hereafter.

The

poet

also

expresses

his

acceptance

of

the

destiny given

him

by

God in relation to

his wife's death.

This is an indica-

tion

of the

deeply

rooted

religious

connotation

to be found in the

Arabic

poetry

of this

part

of West Africa. God's

edicts are

actively

followed,

and

God

is considered a

force

in

deciding

human

destiny.

It is worth

mention-

ing

that the

elegy

is the

ultimate

way

of

inviting

others to share one's

grief

over

the

death of someone

who was

loved,

adored

and

respected,

and

who

is

sorely

missed.

Mourning

the deceased

by expressing

one's admiration

and

appreciation

of his

or her merits and of the

contribution the

person

made to

46

Mohammad

al-Bukharicited

in al-Wazir

al-Junayd,

Arf

al-Rayhdn

i

al-Tabarruk

bi

dhikr

l-Shaykh

Othmdn

Manuscript

n

the

private

ollection

of

Shaykh

l-Muntaqa

l-Kashnawi),

p.

23. For

Arabic

text,

see

appendix

6.

382



17/24

ARABIC POETRY IN

WEST AFRICA

the Muslim

community

in

general

and to

the

Islamic

cause

in

particular

is

the

highest

honour that could be

paid

by

the West

African

Arabic

poets.

This

article concludes with an

elegy by

the

Senegalese

poet

Ahmad

'Ayan

titled Dam'at al-Bdki "Tears of

a

weeping person."

This

is considered

an

elegy

for cities

(rithd'

al-mudun),

since

the

poet

mentions

countries, cities,

and towns that

enjoyed

Islam

and its

culture

in

the

past,

and

laments what

has

become of them

since

the

colonisers

seized

control.

These

places

include

Mali,

Futa,

Cayor,

Meseigh,

Kumbi,

Bundu,

Anjor,

Ghana,

Toro, Timbuktu,

Gurma,

Hausa,

Katsina,

and

Kano. He

also

mentions black

kings

such

as

Latjur

and

warrior-scholars such as

Haj

Omar

Tal. This

is

a

long poem,

so

only a few verses are

quoted

here:

O

you

who

united

the

people

in

glory

and

honour,

Awakening

hem from

humility

and

destruction,

Stop

in

Senegal

and

Sudan

For

lamenting

what

they

suffered or lack

of

blessing.

There

are

generations

rom East

and

West

That the

scholarsunited

in

Oneness

of

God.

Today,

the

enemies

split

them

apart

And

uniting

them

seems

a

dream.

Where

are

the

scholars who

once achieved

for

their

religion

the entire hon-

our of the world,Leaving nothingfor anyoneelse?

Where

are

the

kings

who

were feared

by

the lions

of the

jungle,

Where are

the

good

mannered

and

the

pleasant

ones?

Can

you

not

see that

the land

is

emptied

of the

trustworthy,

Of

the

scholars

with

their

wealth

of

erudition?

In

Futa

there is no

one

left of

the

family

of

Faruq

and

his

children,

Builders

of

glory

and honour.

Here

is

Cayorempty

of

Latjur

And

smotheredwith

shame.

Meseigh

used

to be

our

home

And

I

had

homes

throughout

Jolof.47

The

poet

seems to

bewail the

cities that lost their

previous

Islamic cul-

ture

because

of

the

schisms and

infighting among

Muslims

that can be

attributed to the

colonisers'

divisive

plotting against

Muslims and

Islam.

The

poet

describes

the misfortunes

that

afflicted the

region

with the

advent of

colonialism.

The

poem argues

that colonial

rule

has

destroyed

the

people's

minds,

value

system,

political

and

economic

structures,

and

culture,

educa-

tion,

social

harmony,

religion,

and

civilisation. Worst of

all,

in the

poet's

eyes,

is that

the

colonial

masters

destroyed

the

morals

and

creativity

of the

colonised and implanted the seeds of fear and disunity among them. Accor-

ding

to

the

poet,

the

colonial

subjects'

regaining

their

identity

and creativ-

ity

will

be

difficult

if

not

impossible,

let

alone

emancipating

themselves

47

Samb,

vol.

I:

117. For

Arabic

text,

see

appendix

7.

383



18/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

BDULLAH

from

mental

colonisation.

He

urges

the Muslims

of

the

region

to unite

and

overlook the superficial religious differences that separate them. He also

asks

them to be

mindful

that it

is

only

Islam

that can solve

their

problems.

It is

clear that

elegies

for cities

are

a form

of West

African Arabic

poetry

with close

relation

to

elegies

written in the

Islamic

East

in the aftermath

of

the

invading Moguls

and to

elegies

for

the cities of the

former Islamic Iberia

which

had

fallen

to the Christian

crusaders.

The Arabic

elegiac

poems

of West

Africa have

certain

features in

com-

mon,

such

as

the

pervasive

sense

of

personal

sadness as a basic

element.

The

poet

expresses

extreme

shock at the loss

of the deceased

and

presents

this as personal sorrow. Abstract sorrow is seldom expressed. However,

there is no

departure

from Islamic

teachings

in the

elegies

for

the dead. The

Islamic

elegy

is submissive

to the commands

of God.

The

poet

finally goes

back to

God to

accept

the

destiny

assigned

to

him

by

God,

as

can be

seen

clearly

in the extracts

from the

Nigerian

woman

poet

Asma'a

Bint

Othman

Ibn

Fodiye

and her

brother

Muhammad al-Bukhari.

Many elegies

also

begin

with

praise

of

God and

vilification

of

this

world,

as

seen

in Asma'a.

Likewise,

the

Nigerian

poet

Isma'il

Ibn Muhammad

starts

his

elegy

to

his

teacher,

the

scholar

Shu'ayb, by

saying:

Allah

is

the

greatest,

This world was created

or extinction.

It was not

created,

my

brother,

or

eternity.48

Other

elegies

avoid such

preliminary

introductions

and

move

directly

to

the

main

topic,

such

as in the extract

from

Muhammad

al-Bukhari

Ibn Othman

Ibn

Fodiye.49

A

single

elegy

may

combine

bewailing,

eulogy,

and consola-

tion,

in no

particular

order.

This is a common

feature

of the

elegies

of

the

West

African Arabic

poets.

48

Abubakar,

.

357.

49

Other

examples

of

poets

like Muhammad

l-Bukhari

bn

Othman

bn

Fodiye

include

the

Nigerian

Shaykh

Omar

Ibn Ibrahim

and the

Senegalese

Shaykh

Ahmad

Ayan

Sih.

384



19/24

ARABIC POETRY

IN WEST

AFRICA

Appendix

1

gY

3jS

6V3

C

L

e

l

4tuJ

1

UAL

zujli ^ Y 1

n

5

W5 J

A

1

~~AJ ~~~

~ CF

~~

J

jLaJ

^u

1)

JJL

l

jUj&

^tL

(^

J

L?

jjiwsW

1

1Al

AlJl

j

^Ub

jAi

OC

OIU,

@MJ,

>1

l

u6- J

jL^ ^jj

W-

GljA

l

-Ll

4i

uLJJL

stA

LA

^lc Cy Y ^-? i

AJ

AjAUi

1

-i

4

IJ^L

;rlX

l

jA

r

1

AM

Appendix

2

JJUlS )Ul

C(^

^

JluL

;P

AuJ

;JD

zEy4I lJi

W9Vl LLaJ zU41

t

,1A cl-\^

4ji

42L4 L

I ^

4i

~iJll

-C 13

385

'

OjL

J.../

c;J4

~'LjL

c4

.IO/ Lp

ViJAifJ

l

llr



20/24

ABDUL-SAMAD ABDULLAH

jL.^1i Jkalj M1..

Appendix

3

J^1

L)

A

LS14

jl

I

^LJ4J

AA^

AjLj

)AjJ t_a.a _j

bl

jj

,js

A )AIAIj 4e y

jaut-

a

j^

(j^

^

U)Zi4

1H

4i4

i

JaUaC.

bAJJ

U L

J

L)

~~yA lI J ~

*

A)

WLD

j^jpjij

l^ll

LîA

LN

(3^

â1,

(^Jji

J1 4*

Aj^^

AJ^

I^

tJj

(

J^J

(149^ .

^

A

j

JÂI

1A

jL^

+

J1

J^1

p1

Dâ

(JLJ,

^J

^jiAl

AS

1

C

Ja

L

J

^,jj1

4

(^j

4ji*

j4

,

,a-S

J

J

AAJ4

^

1

^

l

Aj^

a

S y

Ij

J^ c ,

1..,

~l

(c

--lC. 3

iAA

A

_

A

li

a

1

A' S

.

ZNL

->u

1

j

A A

AZ

(

j

A

kA L 4

386



21/24

ARABIC POETRY

IN

WEST

AFRICA

~~4A

~4A

oJ J A LU

Pbujy

l

4

UA4Jf

ojSl~~f4

Aj s 19

jli j

j^

ou

Aj

iW1^j

el^

yW XJ

j^xj

,-^1

lJUa.

^ej

W

.o

4

4.

l3

..

t,

mtb

ia2D

l .1 t

,c,"t:. " ,~.

jJ

A

M

ISjJtA

J

(*^

..

^LJj

Ljf

.

'

L

;

c-

/

l4.

,

Li

Appendix

4

Ja.h

.IS.l

.lj^

o1

CJje

jUj1

GIZ

1l. t,Ll-ll

ei

(JLUA1

(ss

(

4j

A

J

J(JiLal

^-ilu

t-jA o^

^UlAl

JA^J

ial3

jjall

4,4

(je

S.t.

(jIlj j^Df e sj MMaj

& L W laL1 Z )

JAIJ

^1

L

J J

49ir

l

L

4J 4 A

387



22/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

ABDULLAH

Jk

c"a

a

Lau

t

jLa

^j

1

4AK, oLC :JL&

L, I,

4I )

v

i

tJq

l

^,

I1

L

A4

_

Appendix

6

AjLo

IA

lj

)A.1C

iL

eu

:

jt

nj9

S

^11

^j

e\1

(j

L

13jj

A

J

91

LS1Wu;uS1LS

13 t 6

OlA,l

j

x

O

91

q1

ejDG1l

9J

+

tw..

J.

a1

|

^t^U

DoL


23/24

ARABIC POETRY

IN

WEST AFRICA

Appendix 7

'-L^

3

4)j

1l.

J

U^

(^

JJ

Ua^o

iLa

9

jiI9 4aL. y

i

1

L^>

yj

.

;l

I

i L1

Ji

j

^1

() 1-^

9c3^

+

" u '

# 1x11

)A

j i

L-IL

&4

4

U

L3A

_i

j

Ijt

D

*--^

LLi UJ

(.^t

,,_

.1

5

(jj

1.lj^l

v

J\^

4

sr^l

^_

1I

A

J

t- 2i 11

,'^ tIjA

L

flS'

_

^LI

?

A jai

y^s ai

U j

^

'>'*

J

J- 1]

NJ^

^

c

ai_

tlj jLJI

...

T

.

.;-^"

Y

e

(J^J11

eT

+

A

w

J

L_t^x1

i

1

.n^

s"

(vJo

J^ ,o sT^

cjj L^

(e

,a,

'

aj

j&

(5

/jl

aAJ

X,t...fj

(J^J

^

a

J

-

t"

Ds

'

L

(-

J^

D^

aJ

c-1

L

'"^'

(

j

>^

IA^

~j

'l-"


24/24

ABDUL-SAMAD

ABDULLAH

9

;-.Ij

Âjl

M

-Â

U-

4

tI4A

i

3

A- LA

(J^JI î

jl^.-

IjjeA

u-J

t;

-~ ~A AU La

^.9H

J^

1J d. '-1

^l

^lj

1 JL

Ulj

5

e j

(^tl

> Ua > ^j Ua1

J kA Jo c D

xLj

LuilS

A"\\.;.

A

LU l-II tU

1

J

L

IAJ^

J ^

oX

La

^t^3^

(^^

^-L^

(~~~~eJaul

390

Documents

Arabic Poetry in West Africa