Muyaka Bin Haji Al-Ghassani: The Story of the Star Poet of the Swahili

Muyaka Bin Haji Al-Ghassani: Star Poet of the Swahili
In Kenya, the Swahili people are known for their unmatched skill in poetry, dating centuries back. Sadly some of the earliest authors of secular poems in Kiswahili remain unknown.

However, the work of one outstanding poet has been recorded and he is remembered by name: Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy, born in 1776 in Mombasa on the East African coast.

His poetry dates from the first half of the nineteenth century but was recorded in the late 1880s in Swahili-Arabic as well as in Roman transliteration. It describes, criticises and makes fun of topical events, at the time.

Muyaka used Kimvita a Swahili dialect commonly spoken in Mombasa. He enjoyed word play and double meanings using a rich and extensive vocabulary, often with archaic words but all the while respecting the dictates of the popular Mashairi verse form.

Mashairi is lyric poetry characterised by strict thematic and stylistic concerns. In Muyaka’s time, any violation could lead to the exclusion of the deviant author from the ranks of accepted poets.

Muyaka is recognised particularly as an outstanding composer of quatrains which were considered the ideal for philosophical and topical themes. A Quatrain is complete in four rhymed lines.

However, Muyaka also experimented with other poetic styles, on topics such as love politics and domestic life. In the last category he used his own experience to write about the challenges posed by marital relationships, especially polygamous ones like his own.

Muyaka’s concern with the political situation in the early 19th-century is shown in poems that encourage the Mazrui rulers of Mombasa to oppose the overlordship of the sultan of Muscat, who was then ruler of the city states along the Kenyan coast.

The preface to his collected poems, “Diwani ya Muyaka”, gives us an insight into his dual role as a commentator on his times and a voice of contemporary opinion.

One of Muyaka’s poetic epics “Bao Naligwa” is about a traditional board game called Bao, commonly played in East African communities.

Nalipohiteza Bao, Bao la mti haiba,
nali hiishika ngao katikati hajishiba;
nikiteza kwa vituo hafunga kwa namu haba
ndipo nambapo 'shurba' oani Bao naligwa!

Mtaji nalohiuta nalihiuta hashiba
nami nikaziokota hata hajaza kibaba
Baole likatakata msi namu ya akiba
ndipo nambapo 'shurba' oani Bao naligwa!

The words mtaji, namu and takata are common in the game of Bao and Muyaka uses different interpretations of them in his play on words.

Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy died in 1840 and is not only remembered for his own poetry but also for the inspiration he has had on contemporary Kiswahili poets.

Muyaka Bin Haji Al-Ghassaniy's legacy lives on
The East Africa coast supports rich wildlife populations, some which are found nowhere else in the world. In terms of biodiversity, coastal forests in Kenya such as Shimba Hills, Lower Tana River forests, Witu Forest Reserve, Arabuko- Sokoke Forest; Diani Forest and Kaya Ribe, host all globally threatened species occurring along the coastal strip.

The region also has a rich cultural diversity. There are over 1,200 documented cultural and historical sites and monuments at the Coast under the National Museums of Kenya.