Fumo Liyongo: The Story of the Pokomo Poet that Broke Free

Fumo Liyongo the Poet of the Pokomo
It is around 800 A.D, somewhere along the Tana River delta to the north of the East African Coast. A sturdy bright-eyed boy stands on a rock watching the hunters return, their bows tightly clutched in their hands.

The boy looks around and takes it all in; the simple life of women preparing the millet, children playing and hunters settling down. But this life was not meant for him because he was of royal bloodI the son of the ruler of the city-state of Shaka and heir-apparent to the throne. That is, until matters suddenly took an unexpected turn.

One evening, as the sun was setting, it lit the sky with a strange, frightening shade of orange. This was soon replaced by an eerie darkness. Maybe it was a sign from the universe: a sign that life as the people of the city-state of Shaka had known it was coming to an end.

Their ruler had just died, leaving behind two sons; Fumo Liyongo the older and Mringwari the younger. Shortly after their father’s death, in a turn of unexpected events, Mringwari was made ruler and Liyongo was imprisoned.

Somehow Fumi Liyongo managed to free himself from the clutches of bondage and fled to the mainland.

There, he adapted to a new lifestyle, putting the life of an aristocratic, coastal Arab aside to take on one revolving around such things as eating millet as a staple food, hunting with bows and arrows, drinking from forest pools and dancing to the beat of drums.

Fumo Liyongo gradually built himself a reputation for bravery, generosity and justice, and became the ruler of a new state.

His abilities as a ruler were crowned by the qualities he had developed while living in exile. The kindness, self-sufficiency, and communal responsibility of ‘the men of the bush’ blended well with the nobility of his royal blood.

So noble was he that, to this day, the very mention of his name elicits an emotional response among the coastal communities of the Pokomo and Swahili.

Liyongo is best remembered through his poetry, much of which he wrote in self praise.

Nine Swahili poems tell the story of Fumi Liyongo. The first eight are well known Swahili songs, most of which were first written down in the late 19th Century, though they are probably much older than that. The ninth poem is an extract from The Epic of Liyongo, composed in 1913 by Muhammad Kijuma, one of the greatest Swahili poets.

Today, there are many different versions of the Liyongo legend, as well as academic debates centred on his life and personality. The story of Fumo Liyongo the poet of the Pokomo continues to inspire.

Liyongo’s legacy lives on
The home of Liyongo, Tana River Delta faces a lot of threats which include incompatible land uses, climate change and degradation. If nothing is done to save such sites, we will lose a part of our culture and important biodiversity.