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Ebyevugo is a genre of oral poetry in the Runyankore language, spoken by the Banyankore people of southwestern Uganda. [1] [2] Ebyevugo are mainly composed and performed to praise cattle, brides, warriors, and political leaders. They reflect the traditional pre-colonial occupations, values, and history of the Banyankore, especially the Bahima, who are cattle keepers. [3] [4]
Ebyevugo are believed to have originated from communal gatherings in people’s homes or beer parties, where people met to talk and share experiences. Ebyevugo were also used as a form of entertainment, education, and socialization. Ebyevugo are closely related to ibyivugo, the praise poetry of the Banyarwanda people of Rwanda, who share linguistic and cultural ties with the Banyankore. Both ebyevugo and ibyivugo contain characteristics that reflect the distinction between the cattle-keeping elite (Bahima/Batutsi) and the farming majority (Bairu/Bahutu) in the pre-colonial era. [5]
Ebyevugo are performed by individual poets, called abevugyi, who have the skill, creativity, and ability to memorize and recite the poetry. The performance of ebyevugo is usually accompanied by musical instruments, such as drums, flutes, and horns. [3] The performance is also interactive, as the audience responds to the poet’s calls with chants, claps, or cheers. The performance of ebyevugo is influenced by the context, the occasion, and the audience. Ebyevugo are still recited in the Ankole countryside, in homes and beer places, but the most common occasion for their performance is the okuhingira, the dowry and/or marriage ceremony. [1] [6]
Ebyevugo are significant for the preservation and transmission of the Banyankore culture, identity, and history. Ebyevugo celebrate the beauty, strength, and wealth of the Banyankore, especially their prized cattle. Ebyevugo also praise the bravery, heroism, and achievements of the Banyankore warriors and political leaders, such as kings and chiefs. [4] Ebyevugo are linked to the behaviors and attitudes of the Banyankole people and are essential to their well-being. They were taught to male members of society at a young age, and they grew up knowing how to compose them and respecting them. [6]
Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution, mostly open to improvisation.
A scop was a poet as represented in Old English poetry. The scop is the Old English counterpart of the Old Norse skald, with the important difference that "skald" was applied to historical persons, and scop is used, for the most part, to designate oral poets within Old English literature. Very little is known about scops, and their historical existence is questioned by some scholars.
Thai literature is the literature of the Thai people, almost exclusively written in the Thai language. Most of imaginative literary works in Thai, before the 19th century, were composed in poetry. Prose was reserved for historical records, chronicles, and legal documents. Consequently, the poetical forms in the Thai language are both numerous and highly developed. The corpus of Thailand's pre-modern poetic works is large. Thus, although many literary works were lost with the sack of Ayutthaya in 1767, Thailand still possesses a large number of epic poems or long poetic tales —some with original stories and some with stories drawn from foreign sources. There is thus a sharp contrast between the Thai literary tradition and that of other East Asian literary traditions, such as Chinese and Japanese, where long poetic tales are rare and epic poems are almost non-existent. The Thai classical literature exerted a considerable influence on the literature of neighboring countries in mainland Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia and Burma.
Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in the Chinese language or ryūka from the Okinawa Islands: it is possible to make a more accurate distinction between Japanese poetry written in Japan or by Japanese people in other languages versus that written in the Japanese language by speaking of Japanese-language poetry. Much of the literary record of Japanese poetry begins when Japanese poets encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang dynasty. Under the influence of the Chinese poets of this era Japanese began to compose poetry in Chinese kanshi); and, as part of this tradition, poetry in Japan tended to be intimately associated with pictorial painting, partly because of the influence of Chinese arts, and the tradition of the use of ink and brush for both writing and drawing. It took several hundred years to digest the foreign impact and make it an integral part of Japanese culture and to merge this kanshi poetry into a Japanese language literary tradition, and then later to develop the diversity of unique poetic forms of native poetry, such as waka, haikai, and other more Japanese poetic specialties. For example, in the Tale of Genji both kanshi and waka are frequently mentioned. The history of Japanese poetry goes from an early semi-historical/mythological phase, through the early Old Japanese literature inclusions, just before the Nara period, the Nara period itself, the Heian period, the Kamakura period, and so on, up through the poetically important Edo period and modern times; however, the history of poetry often is different from socio-political history.
Ankole was a traditional Bantu kingdom in Uganda and lasted from the 15th century until 1967. The kingdom was located in south-western Uganda, east of Lake Edward.
The qaṣīda is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode, passed to other cultures after the Arab Muslim expansion.
The Purananuru, sometimes called Puram or Purappattu, is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature. It is a collection of 400 heroic poems about kings, wars and public life, of which two are lost and a few have survived into the modern age in fragments. The collected poems were composed by 157 poets, of which 14 are anonymous and at least 10 were women. This anthology has been variously dated between 1st century BCE and 5th century CE, with Kamil Zvelebil, a Tamil literature scholar, dating predominantly all of the poems of Purananuru sometime between 2nd and 5th century CE. Nevertheless, few poems are dated to the period of 1st century BCE.
Islamic poetry is a form of spoken word written & recited by Muslims. Islamic poetry, and notably Sufi poetry, has been written in many languages including Urdu and Turkish.
Nkore is a Bantu language spoken by the Nkore ("Banyankore") of south-western Uganda in the former province of Ankole, as well as in Tanzania, the DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
Poetry as an oral art form likely predates written text. The earliest poetry is believed to have been recited or sung, employed as a way of remembering oral history, genealogy, and law. Poetry is often closely related to musical traditions, and the earliest poetry exists in the form of hymns, and other types of song such as chants. As such, poetry is often a verbal art. Many of the poems surviving from the ancient world are recorded prayers, or stories about religious subject matter, but they also include historical accounts, instructions for everyday activities, love songs, and fiction.
The Hororo or Bahororo are a Bantu speaking ethnicity who live mainly in the north of the former Kigezi District of south-western Uganda. In 1905, they were described by a British officer as a "quiet, inoffensive people" who owned cattle. They are made up mostly of the Hima ethnic group and the Iru ethnic group. They reside mainly in Rujumbura in south-western Uganda and are related to the Banyankole, Banyoro, Batooro, Songora and Tutsi peoples respectively. Rujumbura was ruled by the BeeneKirenzi sub-clan with Omukama Karegyesa as their last king. The Bahororo speak a dialect of Nkore-Kiga, Ruhororo. They are subdivided into clans that are similar to those of the kingdom of Ankole. Unlike Ankole, which was ruled by the Hinda clan, Mpororo was led by the Bashambo clan.
Algerian literature has been influenced by many cultures, including the ancient Romans, Arabs, French, Spanish, and Berbers. The dominant languages in Algerian literature are French and Arabic.
Ruhanga features in Bantu spirituality as the remote creator and sky-God, recognized among the Rutara people. The Bahima further recognise him as the arbiter of life, sickness, and death. However, unlike creator figures in other religious systems, Ruhanga is generally not a focus of worship.
"On the Pulse of Morning" is a poem by writer and poet Maya Angelou that she read at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993. With her public recitation, Angelou became the second poet in history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration, and the first African American and woman. Angelou's audio recording of the poem won the 1994 Grammy Award in the "Best Spoken Word" category, resulting in more fame and recognition for her previous works, and broadening her appeal.
Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage.
African poetry encompasses a wide variety of traditions arising from Africa's 55 countries and from evolving trends within different literary genres. The field is complex, primarily because of Africa's original linguistic and cultural diversity and partly because of the effects of slavery and colonisation, which resulted in English, Portuguese and French, as well as creole or pidgin versions of these European languages, being spoken and written by Africans across the continent.
An imbongi, or a Xhosa Praise Poet, is a member of the Xhosa community who performs ceremonial activities at important events. An imbongi is traditionally a male who recites emotive poetry, sings, explains family relationships, re-tells historical events, and comments on current affairs
Sesotho poetry is a form of artistic expression using the written and spoken word practiced by the Basotho people in Southern Africa. Written poetry in the Sesotho language has existed for over 150 years however, the oral poetry has been practiced throughout Basotho history.
Ekitaguriro aka Cow Dance is a traditional dance originating from Nkore or Ankole region which is located in the South Western Uganda. It is a celebratory dance that is performed by both men and women as an expression of gratitude for their cattle and to showcase local prosperity such as birth, marriage and abundant harvest. It is an integral part of social gatherings and events in the region, symbolizing the deep-rooted cultural significance of cattle in the community.
Kadodi dance is a traditional dance performed by the Bamasaba people, also known as the Bagisu or the Gishu, who live in the eastern part of Uganda and the western part of Kenya. Kadodi dance is mainly associated with the Imbalu the male circumcision ceremony that marks the transition from boyhood to manhood among the Bamasaba. Kadodi dance is also performed at other occasions, such as weddings, festivals, and cultural events.
