Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides an excerpt of a 2009 Stanford University pdf entitled "The Spread of Islam in West Africa: Containment, Mixing, and Reform from the Eighth to the Twentieth Century".
I share excerpts of online books and articles or difficult to find books as a means of alerting readers to these resources and encouraging people to read the entire article/books, if possible.
Information about Niger is included in this post as a preface to this pdf excerpt along with a YouTube sound file of what I believe is the correct way of pronouncing the West African nation name "Niger".
This post also includes a brief article about how the nation of "Niger" got its name.
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
I was motivated to research this topic because of the news that I read today that four United States service members were killed in the West African, heavily Islamic nation of Niger http://abcnews.go.com/International/soldiers-killed-niger-ambush-identified/story?id=50326955. RIP.
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INFORMATION ABOUT NIGER
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger
"Niger or the Niger.... officially the Republic of the Niger,.... is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest country in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara Desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of about 21 million[12] is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the country. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far-southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and is consistently one of the lowest-ranked in the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI); it was ranked last at 188th for 2014.[6] Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger faces serious challenges to development due to its landlocked position, desert terrain, inefficient agriculture, high fertility rates and resulting overpopulation without birth control,[13] poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
Nigerien society reflects a diversity drawn from the long independent histories of its several ethnic groups and regions and their relatively short period living in a single state. Historically, what is now Niger has been on the fringes of several large states. Since independence, Nigeriens have lived under five constitutions and three periods of military rule. Following a military coup in 2010, Niger has become a democratic, multi-party state. A majority live in rural areas, and have little access to advanced education. 71.3% of the population cannot read as of 2015, one of the lowest literacy rates in the world."...
-snip-
[This portion revised October 7, 2017]
There are several YouTube sound files that claim to provide the correct pronunciation for the name of the West African nation of "Niger". Most of those sound files gives at least an approximation of an English language pronunciation for the nation name "Niger" that conforms to the pronunciation of the larger and more widely known nearby nation Nigeria. However, the second pronunciation that Wikipedia gives -which is also found on at least one YouTube sound file- is the French pronunciation of the name "Niger".
Since Niger was colonized by the French, and French is one of their national languages, I believe that pronunciation "nee-jer" (or similar forms) is the correct one. That French pronunciation of "Niger" is given in this YouTube sound file
How to Pronounce Niger - PronounceNames.com
Pronounce Names, Published on Jan 6, 2013
Audio and video pronunciation of Niger brought to you by Pronounce Names (http://www.PronounceNames.com), a website dedicated to helping people pronounce names correctly....
*Needless to say, the discussion threads of those YouTube sound files are full of racist "n word" comments, including stereotypical references to fried chicken...
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From https://www.britannica.com/place/Niger
WRITTEN BY: Finn Fuglestad, Diouldé Laya
LAST UPDATED: 9-15-2017
[...]
Niger, officially Republic of Niger, French République du Niger, landlocked western African country. It is bounded on the northwest by Algeria, on the northeast by Libya, on the east by Chad, on the south by Nigeria and Benin, and on the west by Burkina Faso and Mali. The capital is Niamey. The country takes its name from the Niger River, which flows through the southwestern part of its territory. The name Niger derives in turn from the phrase gher n-gheren, meaning “river among rivers,” in the Tamashek language.
-snip-
It should be noted that the name of the more widely known West African nation of "Nigeria" also comes from the Niger river. However, the first syllable in the nation name "Nigeria" is pronounced "nigh", rhyming the word "high" and not "nee" ("knee") like the first syllable in the French pronunciation of the nation name "Niger".
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PDF EXCERPT:
https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Islam.pdf SPRING 2009
The Spread of Islam in West Africa: Containment, Mixing, and Reform from the Eighth to the Twentieth Century
"While the presence of Islam in West Africa dates back to eighth century, the spread of the faith in regions that are now the modern states of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Nigeria, was in actuality, a gradual and complex process. Much of what we know about the early history of West Africa comes from medieval accounts written by Arab and North African geographers and historians.
Specialists have used several models to explain why Africans converted to Islam. Some emphasize economic motivations, others highlight the draw of Islam’s spiritual message, and a number stress the prestige
and influence of Arabic literacy in facilitating state building. While the motivations of early
conversions remain unclear, it is apparent that the early presence of Islam in West Africa was linked to trade and commerce with North Africa. Trade between West Africa and the Mediterranean predated Islam, however, North African Muslims intensified the Trans-Saharan trade. North African traders were major actors in introducing Islam into West Africa. Several major trade routes connected Africa below the Sahara with the Mediterranean Middle East, such as Sijilmasa to Awdaghust and Ghadames to Gao. The Sahel, the ecological transition zone between the Sahara desert and forest zone which spans the African continent, was an intense point of contact between North Africa and communities south of the Sahara. In West Africa, the three great medieval empires of Ghana, Mali, and the Songhay developed in Sahel.
The history of Islam in West Africa can be explained in three stages, containment, mixing, and reform. In the first stage, African kings contained Muslim influence by segregating Muslim communities, in the second stage African rulers blended Islam with local traditions as the population selectively appropriated
Islamic practices, and finally in the third stage, African Muslims pressed for reforms in an effort to rid their societies of mixed practices and implement Shariah. This three-phase framework helps sheds light on the historical development of the medieval empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay and the 19th century jihads that led to the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate in Hausaland and the Umarian state in Senegambia.
Containment: Ghana and the Takrur
The early presence of Islam was limited to segregated Muslim communities linked to the trans-Saharan trade. In the 11th century Andalusian geographer, Al-Bakri, reported accounts of Arab and North African Berber settlements in the region. Several factors led to the growth of the Muslim merchant-scholar class in non-Muslim kingdoms. Islam facilitated long distance trade by offering useful sets of tools for merchants including contract law, credit, and information networks. Muslim merchant-scholars also
played an important role in non-Muslim kingdoms as advisors and scribes in Ghana. They had the crucial skill of written script, which helped in the administration of kingdoms.
Many Muslim were also religious specialists whose amulets were prized by non-Muslims. Merchant-scholars also played a large role in the spread of Islam into the forest zones. These included the Jakhanke
merchant-scholars in [name region], the Jula merchants in Mali and the Ivory Coast, and the Hausa merchants during the nineteenth century in Nigeria, Ghana, and Guinea Basau,]. Muslim communities in the forest zones were minority communities often linked to trading diasporas. Many of the traditions in the forest zones still reflect the tradition of Al-Hajj Salim Suwari, a late fifteenth-century Soninke
scholar, who focused on responsibilities of Muslims in a non-Muslim society. His tradition, known as
the Suwarian tradition, discouraged proselytizing, believing that God would bring people around to Islam in his own ways. This tradition worked for centuries in the forest zone including the present day, where there are vibrant Muslim minority communities.
[...]
From the eighth to the thirteenth century, contact between Muslims and Africans increased and Muslim states began to emerge in the Sahel. Eventually, African kings began to allow Muslims to integrate. Accounts during the eleventh century reported a Muslim state called Takrur in the middle Senegal valley. Around this time, the Almoravid reform movement began in Western Sahara and expanded throughout modern Mauritania, North Africa and Southern Spain. The Almoravids imposed a fundamentalist version of Islam, in an attempt to purify beliefs and practices from syncretistic or heretical beliefs. The Almoravid movement imposed greater uniformity of practice and Islamic law among West African Muslims. The Almoravids captured trade routes and posts, leading to the weakening of the Takruri state. Over the next hundred years, the empire dissolved into a number of small kingdoms.
Mixing: The Empires of Mali and Songhay
Over the next few decades, African rulers began to adopt Islam while ruling over populations with diverse faiths and cultures. Many of these rulers blended Islam with traditional and local practices in what experts call the mixing phase. Over time, the population began to adopt Islam, often selectively appropriating aspects of the faith.
The Mali Empire (1215-1450) rose out of the region’s feuding kingdoms. At its height, the empire of Mali composed most of modern Mali, Senegal, parts of Mauritania and Guinea. It was a multi-ethnic state with various religious and cultural groups. Muslims played a prominent role in the court as counselors and advisors. While the empire’s founder, Sunjiata Keita, was not himself a Muslim, by 1300 Mali kings became Muslim. The most famous of them was Mansa Musa (1307-32). He made Islam the state religion and in 1324 went on pilgrimage from Mali to Mecca. Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca showed up in European records because of his display of wealth and lavish spending. Apparently, his spending devalued the price of gold in Egypt for several years. The famed 14th century traveler Ibn Battuta visited Mali shortly after Mansa Musa’s death. By the fifteenth century, however, Mali dissolved largely due to internal dissent and conflicts
with the Saharan Tuareg.
[...]
The Songhay state patronized Islamic institutions and sponsored public buildings, mosques and libraries. One notable example is the Great Mosque of Jenne, which was built in the 12th or 13th century. The Great Mosque of Jenne remains the largest earthen building in the world. By the 16th century there were several centers of trade and Islamic learning in the Niger Bend region, most notably the famed Timbuktu. Arab chroniclers tell us that the pastoral nomadic Tuareg founded Timbuktu as a trading outpost. The city’s multicultural population, regional trade, and Islamic scholarship fostered a cosmopolitan environment.
In 1325, the city’s population was around 10,000. At its apex, in the 16th century, the population is estimated to have been between 30,000 and 50,000. Timbuktu attracted scholars from throughout the Muslim world.
[...]
The Songhay’s major trading partners were the Merenid dynasty in the Maghrib (north-west Africa) and the
Mamluks in Egypt. The Songhay Empire ended when Morocco conquered the state in 1591. The fall of the
Songhay marked the decline of big empires in West Africa. Merchant scholars in Timbuktu and other major learning centers dispersed, transferring learning institutions from urban-based merchant families to rural pastoralists throughout the Sahara. During this period there was an alliance between scholars, who were also part of the merchant class, and some warriors who provided protection for trade caravans. Around the 12th and 13th century, mystical Sufi brotherhood orders began to spread in the region. Sufi orders played an integral role in the social order of African Muslim societies and the spread of Islam through the
region well into the 20th century.
Reform in the Nineteenth Century: Umarian Jihad in Senegambia and the Sokoto Caliphate in Hausaland
The 19th century jihad movements best exemplify the third phase in the development Islam in West Africa. Specialists have highlighted the ways in which literate Muslims became increasingly aware of Islamic doctrine and began to demand reforms during this period. This period was significant in that it marks a shift in Muslim communities that practiced Islam mixed with “pagan” rituals and practices to societies that completely adopted Islamic values and established Shariah.
[...]
In 1802, Uthman Dan Fodio, a Fulani scholar, led a major jihad. With the help of a large Fulani cavalry and Hausa peasants, Uthman Dan Fodio overthrew the region’s Hausa rulers and replaced them with Fulani emirs. The movement led to centralization of power in the Muslim community, education reforms, and transformations of law. Uthman Dan Fodio also sparked a literary revival with a production of religious work that included Arabic texts and vernacular written in Arabic script. His heirs continued the legacy of
literary production and education reform. Uthman Dan Fodio’s movement inspired a number of jihads in the region. A notable example was the jihad of al Hajj Umar Tal, a Tukulor from the Senegambia region. In
the 1850s, Umar Tal returned from pilgrimage claiming to have received spiritual authority over the West African Tijani Sufi order. From the 1850s to 1860s, he conquered three Bambara kingdoms. After Tal’s defeat by the French at Médine in 1857 and the subsequent defeat of his son in the 1880s, his followers fled westward spreading the influence of the Tijani order in Northern Nigeria. Although the French controlled the region, colonial authorities met another formidable enemy. Samori Toure rose up against
the French and gathered a 30,000 strong army. Following his death, French forces defeated Toure’s son in 1901. The French occupation of Senegal forced the final development of Islamic practice where leaders of Sufi orders became allies with colonial administrators.
Although European powers led to the decline of the Umarian state and the Sokoto Caliphate, colonial rule did little to stop the spread of Islam in West Africa. The British used anti-slavery rhetoric as they began their conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1897. The Sokoto Caliphate ended in 1903, when British troops conquered the state. Colonial authorities attempted to maintain the established social order and ruled through Northern Nigerian emirs. Despite the efforts of colonial authorities, colonialism had far
reaching effects on Northern Nigerian Muslim society.
Modern communication and transportation infrastructure facilitated increased exchange between Muslim communities. As a result, Islam began to spread rapidly in new urban centers and regions such as Yoruba land. Similarly in the French Sudan, Islam actually spread in rates far greater than the previous centuries. Although Muslims lost political power, Muslim communities made rapid inroads in the West Africa during the early 20th century.
[...]
The legacy of the medieval empires and nineteenth century reform movements continues to have relevance in present day Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Nigeria*, as well as many neighboring communities. Muslim communities have existed in West Africa for over a millennium, pointing to
the fact that Islam is a significant part of the African landscape.
-snip-
Notice that "Nigeria" is mistakenly given two times in this sentence. Undoubtedly, one of these references was meant to be "Niger".
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Showing posts with label Islam in Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam in Africa. Show all posts
Friday, October 6, 2017
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Names For The Days Of The Week In Arabic & In Seven (African) Bantu Languages
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides information about and lists for names of the days of the week in Arabic and provides general information about Bantu languages.
This post also presents information about and names for days of the week in seven Bantu languages in Africa: chiShona, Kikongo, Kikuyu, Kimbundu, KiSwahili, Lingala, and Luganda.
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that provides information about and lists for day names in various African languages. Click the "African languages days of the week" tag to find other posts in this ongoing series.
The content of this post is presented for linguistic, cultural, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/an-excerptfrom-joseph-k-adjayes-book.html for more historical and cultural information related to the names of the days of the week in KiSwahili, Lingala, and Luganda.
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/names-of-days-of-week-in-nine-south.html for Part 1 of a two part series on the names for days of the week in nine South African languages. The link for Part II is given in that post. All of the featured languages in that series are Bantu languages.
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ARABIC, INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM IN AFRICA, AND NAMES FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK IN ARABIC
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic#Arabic_speakers_and_other_languages
"Arabic ... is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world.[4] Arabic is also the liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims.[5][6][7] It is one of six official languages of the United Nations.[8] It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south.
Arabic is considered, in its standard form and dialects, a single language; it is spoken by perhaps as many as 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world,[9] making it one of the five most spoken languages in the world."
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Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Africa
"Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from Asia in the early 7th century. Almost one-third of the world's Muslim population resides in the continent.Most Muslims in Africa are Sunni; the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the various schools of thought, traditions, and voices in many African countries. African Islam is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic, and political conditions. Generally Islam in Africa often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems forming Africa's own orthodoxies.
It was estimated in 2002 that Muslims constitute 48% of the population of Africa.[2] Islam has a large presence in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast, and much of West Africa, with minority but significant immigrant populations in South Africa. However, Islam has encountered criticism and resistance in several nations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Spread of Islam in Africa
On the advice of Muhammad, in Rajab 8BH, or May 614AD, twenty three Muslims migrated to Abyssinia where they were protected by its king, Al-Najashi, who may have accepted Islam later. They were followed by 101 Muslims later in the same year. Most of those Muslims returned to Medina in 7H/628AD but some settled in the neighboring Zeila which was at that time part of Bilad al-Barbar. Those that settled there later built Masjid al-Qiblatayn. In 20H/641AD during the reign of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, Muslim troops took over current Egypt and conquered current Libya the following year. Muslims then expanded to current Tunisia in 27H/647AD during the reign of the third Muslim Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan.
The conquest of North Africa continued under the Umayyad dynasty,taking Algeria by 61H/680AD, and Morocco the following year. From the latter Muslim troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Europe in 92H/711AD. Islam gained momentum during the 10th century in West Africa with the start of the Almoravids movement on the Senegal River and as rulers and kings embraced Islam.[citation needed] Islam then spread slowly in much of the continent through trade and preaching.[3] By the 9th century Muslim Sultanates started being established in the Horn of Africa, and by the 12th century the Kilwa Sultanate had spread as far south as Mozambique. Islam only crossed deeper into Malawi and Congo in the second half of the 19th century under the Zanzibar Sultanate. Then the British brought their labor force from India, including some Muslim-Indian nationals, to their African colonies towards the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries."...
-snip-
This quote was reformatted for this post to enhance its readability.
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Excerpt #3:
From https://wordadayarabic.com/2013/02/17/days-of-the-week/
..."The Arabic word for “day” is يَوم (yawm), and properly the name of each day is يَوم plus the word from the list below (as, in English, we append “day” onto other words to create the names of the days: “Sun” + “day” = “Sunday,” etc.). However, you will often see يَوم omitted and the days simply called by the names listed below:
Monday = الإثْنَين (al-ithnayn)
Tuesday = الثَلاثاء (al-thalāthāʾ)
Wednesday = الأربَعاء (al-arbaʿāʾ)
Thursday = الخَميس (al-khamīs)
Friday = الجُمُعة (al-jumuʿah)
Saturday = السَبْت (al-sabt)
Sunday = الأحَد (al-aḥad)
Other than Friday and Saturday, these names are derived from the cardinal numbers.... So “Sunday” is literally “first day,” Monday “second day,” and so on.
“Week” is أسبوع (usbūʿ), from سَبَع (sabaʿ) or “seven,” and “days of the week” is أيام الأسبوع (ayām al-usbūʿ).
The makeup of the work week in the Arab world varies by country. Friday, you probably know, is the Islamic Sabbath. This is actually reflected in the word for “Friday,” which is derived from the verb جَمَعَ (jamaʿa), meaning “to collect,” which in other forms can mean “meeting” or “congregating,” and so the name of the day refers to the fact that Friday is the one day when Muslims are expected to attend a large congregational mosque for formal prayer services (Islam requires several daily prayers, but these can be done alone, in small or large groups, in small or large mosques or any other suitable location; the midday Friday prayer is the one obligatory weekly large group prayer in the mosque).
The traditional Islamic “weekend” was Thursday-Friday, mirroring our Saturday-Sunday, but globalization and the demands of interacting with non-Muslims for business have caused a number of countries to shift to a Friday-Saturday weekend, which means their work week and non-Muslims’ work week are only off by two days rather than four. Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the Yemen still practice the Thursday-Friday weekend according to the fine folks at Wikipedia, while Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, the Sudan, Syria, and the UAE use the Friday-Saturday weekend. Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia actually use a Saturday-Sunday weekend; this makes a certain amount of sense in the case of Lebanon, where Christians were in the majority at least until the mid-20th century, but I am at a loss as to why Morocco and Tunisia are on that schedule (or at least why they would be Saturday-Sunday while Algeria was Thursday-Friday until 2009, when it went to Friday-Saturday)."
-snip-
This excerpt replaces a shorter one that I initially quoted in this post and is reformatted for this post to enhance its readability .
This list is also found in Part I of the pancocojams series because Arabic influenced certain West African languages:
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/names-of-week-in-ten-traditional.html Names For Days of The Week In Ten Traditional Nigerian Languages.
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT BANTU LANGUAGES
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_languages
"The Bantu languages technically the Narrow Bantu languages (as opposed to "Wide Bantu", a loosely defined categorization which includes other Bantoid languages), constitute a traditional branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility,[3] though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages.[4] Bantu languages are spoken largely east and south of present-day Cameroon, that is, in the regions commonly known as Central Africa, Southeast Africa, and Southern Africa. Parts of the Bantu area include languages
from other language families (see map).
Estimates of number of speakers of most languages vary widely, due both to the lack of accurate statistics in most developing countries and the difficulty in defining exactly where the boundaries of a language lie, particularly in the presence of a dialect continuum.
The Bantu language with the largest total number of speakers is Swahili; however, the majority of its speakers know it as a second language. According to Ethnologue, there are over 180 million L2 (second-language) speakers, but only about 2 million native speakers.[5]
Other major languages include Zulu with 27 million speakers (15.7 million L2) and Shona with about 11 million speakers (if Manyika and Ndau are included).[6][7] Ethnologue separates the largely mutually intelligible Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, which, if grouped together, have 12.4 million speakers.[8]
[...]
The technical term Bantu, meaning "human beings" or simply "people", was first used by Wilhelm Bleek (1827–1875), as this is reflected in many of the languages of this group. A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use words such as muntu or mutu for "human being" or in simplistic terms "person", and the plural prefix for human nouns starting with mu- (class 1) in most languages is ba- (class 2), thus giving bantu for "people". Bleek, and later Carl Meinhof, pursued extensive studies comparing the grammatical structures of Bantu languages."...
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THE NAMES OF DAYS OF THE WEEK IN FIVE BANTU LANGUAGES IN AFRICA.
(This list is given in alphabetical order, with the exception of KiSwahili since the names of the days for a number of these languages were influenced by KiSwahili.)
KiSwahili (Swahili)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language
"Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. It is a lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and southeastern Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[7] The closely related Comorian language, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is sometimes considered a dialect.
Estimates of the total number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million.[2][8] Swahili serves as a national language of three nations: Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is related to Swahili. Swahili is also one of the working languages of the African Union and officially recognised as a lingua franca of the East African Community.[9]
A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast.[10]
[...]
Origin
Swahili is traditionally regarded as being the language of coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya. It was formalised after independence by presidents of the African Great Lakes region but first spoken by natives of the coastal mainland. It spread as a fisherman's language to the various islands surrounding the Swahili Coast. Traders from these islands had extensive contact with the coastal peoples from at least the 2nd century A.D., and Swahili began to spread along the Swahili Coast from at least the 6th century. There is also cultural evidence of early Zaramo people settlement on Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania.
The earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa in 1711 A.D. in the Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies. The original letters are now preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa, India.[12]
[...]
Name
Kiswahili is the Swahili word for the language and is also sometimes used in English. The name Swahili comes from the plural sawāḥil (سواحل) of the Arabic word sāḥil (ساحل), meaning "boundary" or "coast", used as an adjective meaning "coastal dwellers". (The same word is the origin of the term Sahel.) With the prefix ki-, it means "coastal language", ki- being a prefix attached to nouns of the noun class such as languages.”...
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Excerpt #2:
From http://www.surfacelanguages.com/language/Swahili/reviewwords/Days-of-the-week.html
"Monday - Jumatatu
Tuesday - Jumanne
Wednesday- Jumatano
Thursday- Alhamisi
Friday- Ijumaa
Saturday- Jumamosi
Sunday- Jumapili"
-snip-
Note this sentence clip: "ki- being a prefix attached to nouns of the noun class such as languages.”...
The prefix "ki" is also found in other languages that are highlighted in this post (as well as in the names for some of the days of the week in those languages).
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chiShona (Shona)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_language
"Shona or chiShona, is the most widely first spoken Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Central Shona varieties: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika and Korekore. Based on Clement Doke's 1931 report, Union Shona or Standard Shona was developed from the Central Shona varieties. Because of the presence of the capital city in the Zezuru region, that variety has come to dominate in Standard Shona.
Shona is an official language of Zimbabwe. Other countries that host Shona language speakers include Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa due to the influx of economical refugees fleeing the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
The larger group of historically related languages (called Shona languages by linguists) also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Kalanga (Western Shona), but speakers of those languages prefer their distinct identities and usually reject any connection to the term Shona."
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Excerpt #2
[Shona] Days of the week
"Monday: muvhuro
Tuesday: chipiri
Wednesday: chitatu
Thursday: china
Friday: chishanu
Saturday: mugovera
Sunday: svondo"
-snip-
-snip-
Notice the prefix "chi" in the language name "chiShona". This prefix is used in some Bantu languages to designate language. Here's an quote about other examples of this "chi" prefix used to designate Bantu languages:
"Chewa, also known as Nyanja, is a language of the Bantu language family. The noun class prefix chi- is used for languages,[4] so the language is also called Chichewa and Chinyanja (spelled Cinyanja in Zambia, and Cinianja in Mozambique)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewa_language
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Kikongo (Kongo)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongo_language
"Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages and is spoken by the Kongo and Ndundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from the region and sold as slaves in the Americas. For this reason, while Kongo still is spoken in the above-mentioned countries, creolized forms of the language are found in ritual speech of Afro-American religions, especially in Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti. It is also one of the sources of the Gullah language and the Palenquero creole in Colombia. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kongo, with perhaps two million more who use it as a second language.
Kikongo is the base for a creole used throughout the region: Kituba, also called Kikongo de L'état or Kikongo ya Leta ("Kongo of the state" in French or Kongo), Kituba and Monokituba (also Munukituba). The constitution of the Republic of the Congo uses the name Kitubà, and the one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo uses the term Kikongo, even if Kituba is used in the administration.
[...]
English words of Kongo origin
The Southern American English word "goober", meaning peanut, comes from Kongo nguba.[8]
The word "zombie" comes from Kongo nzombie, meaning "dead.". "Nfumu ya nzombie" is "Chief of the dead", or God.
The word funk, or funky, in American popular music has its origin, some say, in the Kongo word Lu-fuki.[9] [10]
The name of the Cuban dance mambo comes from a Bantu word meaning "conversation with the gods"."..
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.masteranylanguage.com/c/r/o/Kongo/DaysOfWeek/2 Kongo Days Of The Week
"Kimosi - Monday
Kizolé - Tuesday
Kitatu - Wednesday
Kiyá - Thursday
Kitanu - Friday
Sabala - Saturday
Lumingu – Sunday"
****
Kikuyu (Gikuyu)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_language
"Kikuyu or Gikuyu … is a language of the Bantu family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people (Agĩkũyũ) of Kenya. Numbering about 7 million (22% of Kenya's population),[4] they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya.[5] Kikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. Kikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu subgroup of the Bantu languages, which stretches from Kenya to Tanzania. The Kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call Kĩrĩnyaga.
Dialects
Kikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kîrînyaga, Mûrang'a, Nyeri and Kiambu. The Kikuyu from Kîrînyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects – the Ndia and Gichugu who speak the dialects Kĩndia and Gĩgĩcũgũ. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "Gĩcũgũ" as opposed to "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya, the largest town in Kîrînyaga. Other home towns for the Ndia, where purer forms of the dialect are spoken, are located in the tea-growing areas of Kagumo, and the cool Kangaita hills. Lower down the slopes is Kutus, which is a bustling dusty town with so many influences from the other dialects that it is difficult to distinguish between them.
The unmistakable sing-song Gichugu dialect (which sounds like Embu, a sister language to Kikuyu) can be heard in the coffee-growing areas of Kianyaga, Gĩthũre, Kathũngũri, Marigiti. The Gichugu switch easily to other Kikuyu dialects in conversation with the rest of the Kikuyu.
**
Excerpt #2:
From https://quizlet.com/134014970/kikuyu-days-of-the-week-flash-cards/ Days Of The Week In Kikuyu
"Monday
(Mũthenya) wa mbere - the first day (not in common usage)
Jumatatũ
From Kiswahili (in common usage)
Tuesday
(Mũthenya) wa kerĩ - the second day
Wednesday
(Mũthenya) wa gatatũ - the third day
Thursday
(Mũthenya) wa kana - the fourth day
Friday
(Mũthenya) wa gatano - the fifth day, (Mũthenya)
Juma From Kiswahili
Saturday
Mũthenya) wa Jumamothi
From Kiswahili
The logical (Mũthenya) wa gatandatũ, is not used today.
Sunday
(Mũthenya) wa Kiumia
Literally the day of coming out/stopping what you are doing.
The logical (Mũthenya) wa mũgwanja - the seventh day - is not used."
****
Kimbundu (North Mbundu)
Note that Kimbundu is now considered one of two languages [the other being Umbundu) that are collectively called Mbundu.
Excerpt #1
From http://afkinsider.com/51513/most-commonly-spoken-bantu-languages/3/
Mbundu – 6 million [speakers]
"Mbundu is comprised of two langauges: Kimbundu, or North Mbundu, and Umbundu, or South Mbundu. They are spoken throughout Angola, and both reflect a heavy Portuguese influence from the country’s colonial period. A 1919 colonial decree banned the use of local languages in schools, making Portuguese obligatory. This reduced the number of native speakers, but Mbundu remains a prominently spoken language in Angola today."
****
Excerpt #2:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimbundu
"Kimbundu, or North Mbundu, one of two Bantu languages called Mbundu (see Umbundu), is the second-most-widely spoken Bantu language in Angola. It is concentrated in the north-west of the country, notably in the Luanda Province, Bengo Province, Malanje Province and the Cuanza Norte Province. It is spoken by the Ambundu.[4]"...
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbundu
Umbundu, or South Mbundu..., one of two Bantu languages of Angola called Mbundu (see Kimbundu), is the most widely spoken language of Angola. Speakers are known as Ovimbundu, who constitute a third of the Angolan people. Their homeland is the Central Highlands of Angola and the coastal region west of these highlands, including the cities of Benguela and Lobito. Because of recent internal migration there are now also large communities in Luanda and its surrounding province, as well as in Lubango."...
****
Excerpt #4:
[Excerpt from Folk-tales of Angola: Fifty Tales, with Ki-mbundu Text, Literal English Translation, Volume 1 by Héli Chatelain [1884] [Google books, page 270], given as is [without accent marks in the word "kizua"]
"Kia-lumingu The full form is kizua kis lumingu, i.e. the day of lumingu. This lumingu is the Ki-mbundu pronunciation for the Portuguese "Domingo", which again is the Portuguese pronunciation of the Latin "Domincus", i.e. "the Lord". Therefore, kia-lumingu means in its Latin origin "the day of the Lord". It is used for Sunday. The days of the week, in Ki-mbundu, are, Sunday, kia-lumingu; Monday, kia-xikunda, from Portuguese "segunda (fiera), i.e. second (holy day); Tuesday - kia-telesa, from "tercs"; Wednesday -kia-kinda from "quinta"; Friday, kia-sexta, from "sexta", Saturday- kia-sabalu, from "sabbado". In literary Kimbundu, these exotic names will probably be superseded by the native names Kia-Ngana, Kiaiadi, Kiatatu, Kianana, Kiatanu, Kiasamanu, Kiasambuadi"
-snip-
A digitized form of this book can be found at https://archive.org/stream/folktalesangola00chatgoog/folktalesangola00chatgoog_djvu.txt
****
Lingala
Excerpt #1
From
"Lingala (Ngala) is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo, as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. It has over 10 million speakers.
History
In the 19th century, before the creation of the Congo Free State, the Bangala (literally: 'river people') were a group of similar Bantu peoples living and trading along the bend of the Congo River that reached from Irebu at the mouth of the Ubangi River to the Mongala River. They spoke similar languages, such as Losengo, but their trade language was Bangi, which was the most prestigious language between Stanley Pool (Kinshasa) and Irebu. As a result, people upstream of the Bangala mistook Bangi for the language of the Bangala and called it Lingala (language of the Bangala), and European missionaries followed suit.
[...]
Name
European missionaries called the language Bangala, after the Bangala people, or Lingala. The latter was intended to mean '(language) of the Bangala' or 'of the River' (that is, 'Riverine Language'). However, this was an error, as the proper Bangi form would have been Kingala.[4] The name Lingala first appears in writing in a publication by the C.I.C.M. missionary Egide De Boeck (1903).
Characteristics and usage
According to some linguists, Lingala language is a Bantu-based creole of Central Africa.[5] In its basic vocabulary, Lingala has many borrowings words from different other languages such as in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
In practice, the extent of borrowing varies widely with speakers of different regions (commonly among young people), and during different occasions."...
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://afkinsider.com/51513/most-commonly-spoken-bantu-languages/7/
"Lingala – 10 million [speakers]
Spoken primarily in the northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and large swaths of the Republic of Congo, Lingala is the product of a blending of several dialects that were historically spoken by peoples living along the Congo River. There are several variations of Lingala, with Standard Lingala used most widely in public and official spaces (including in education and media broadcasting), while Spoken Lingala is more common in day-to-day use."
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://quizlet.com/55854930/days-of-the-week-in-lingala-flash-cards/
[Lingala Days Of The Week]
"Monday - mokolo ya loboso
Tuesday - mokolo ya mibale
Wednesday - mokolo ya misato
Thursday - mokolo ya minei
Friday - mokolo ya mitano
Saturday - mokolo ya mposo
Sunday - Mokolo ya yenga"
****
Luganda (Ganda)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luganda
"The Ganda language, Luganda, is one of the major languages in Uganda, spoken by five million Baganda and other people principally in Southern Uganda, including the capital Kampala. It belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Typologically, it is a highly agglutinating language with subject–verb–object word order and nominative–accusative morphosyntactic alignment.
With about four million first-language-speakers in the Buganda region and a million others who are fluent, it is the most widely spoken Ugandan language. As second language it follows English and precedes Swahili. The language is used in some primary schools in Buganda as pupils begin to learn English, the primary official language of Uganda. Until the 1960s, Luganda was also the official language of instruction in primary schools in Eastern Uganda.
[...]
Phonology
A notable feature of Luganda phonology is its geminate consonants and distinctions between long and short vowels. Speakers generally consider consonantal gemination and vowel lengthening to be two manifestations of the same effect, which they call simply "doubling" or "stressing".
Luganda is also a tonal language; the change in the pitch of a syllable can change the meaning of a word. For example, the word kabaka means 'king' if all three syllables are given the same pitch. If the first syllable is high then the meaning changes to 'the little one catches' (third person singular present tense Class VI ka- of -baka 'to catch'). This feature makes Luganda a difficult language for speakers of non-tonal languages to learn. A non-native speaker has to learn the variations of pitch by prolonged listening.[6]"...
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.buganda.com/ggulama.htm#daywk
"Ganda Days of the Week
Note: the week starts on Monday!
Classical Name
Kazooba
Walumbe
Mukasa
Kiwanuka
Nnagawonye
Wamunyi
Wangu
Alternative Name
Bbalaza
Lwakubiri
Lwakusatu
Lwakuna
Lwakutaano
Lwamukaaga
Ssande"
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post provides information about and lists for names of the days of the week in Arabic and provides general information about Bantu languages.
This post also presents information about and names for days of the week in seven Bantu languages in Africa: chiShona, Kikongo, Kikuyu, Kimbundu, KiSwahili, Lingala, and Luganda.
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that provides information about and lists for day names in various African languages. Click the "African languages days of the week" tag to find other posts in this ongoing series.
The content of this post is presented for linguistic, cultural, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/an-excerptfrom-joseph-k-adjayes-book.html for more historical and cultural information related to the names of the days of the week in KiSwahili, Lingala, and Luganda.
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/names-of-days-of-week-in-nine-south.html for Part 1 of a two part series on the names for days of the week in nine South African languages. The link for Part II is given in that post. All of the featured languages in that series are Bantu languages.
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ARABIC, INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM IN AFRICA, AND NAMES FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK IN ARABIC
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic#Arabic_speakers_and_other_languages
"Arabic ... is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world.[4] Arabic is also the liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims.[5][6][7] It is one of six official languages of the United Nations.[8] It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south.
Arabic is considered, in its standard form and dialects, a single language; it is spoken by perhaps as many as 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world,[9] making it one of the five most spoken languages in the world."
****
Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Africa
"Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from Asia in the early 7th century. Almost one-third of the world's Muslim population resides in the continent.Most Muslims in Africa are Sunni; the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the various schools of thought, traditions, and voices in many African countries. African Islam is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic, and political conditions. Generally Islam in Africa often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems forming Africa's own orthodoxies.
It was estimated in 2002 that Muslims constitute 48% of the population of Africa.[2] Islam has a large presence in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast, and much of West Africa, with minority but significant immigrant populations in South Africa. However, Islam has encountered criticism and resistance in several nations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Spread of Islam in Africa
On the advice of Muhammad, in Rajab 8BH, or May 614AD, twenty three Muslims migrated to Abyssinia where they were protected by its king, Al-Najashi, who may have accepted Islam later. They were followed by 101 Muslims later in the same year. Most of those Muslims returned to Medina in 7H/628AD but some settled in the neighboring Zeila which was at that time part of Bilad al-Barbar. Those that settled there later built Masjid al-Qiblatayn. In 20H/641AD during the reign of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, Muslim troops took over current Egypt and conquered current Libya the following year. Muslims then expanded to current Tunisia in 27H/647AD during the reign of the third Muslim Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan.
The conquest of North Africa continued under the Umayyad dynasty,taking Algeria by 61H/680AD, and Morocco the following year. From the latter Muslim troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Europe in 92H/711AD. Islam gained momentum during the 10th century in West Africa with the start of the Almoravids movement on the Senegal River and as rulers and kings embraced Islam.[citation needed] Islam then spread slowly in much of the continent through trade and preaching.[3] By the 9th century Muslim Sultanates started being established in the Horn of Africa, and by the 12th century the Kilwa Sultanate had spread as far south as Mozambique. Islam only crossed deeper into Malawi and Congo in the second half of the 19th century under the Zanzibar Sultanate. Then the British brought their labor force from India, including some Muslim-Indian nationals, to their African colonies towards the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries."...
-snip-
This quote was reformatted for this post to enhance its readability.
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://wordadayarabic.com/2013/02/17/days-of-the-week/
..."The Arabic word for “day” is يَوم (yawm), and properly the name of each day is يَوم plus the word from the list below (as, in English, we append “day” onto other words to create the names of the days: “Sun” + “day” = “Sunday,” etc.). However, you will often see يَوم omitted and the days simply called by the names listed below:
Monday = الإثْنَين (al-ithnayn)
Tuesday = الثَلاثاء (al-thalāthāʾ)
Wednesday = الأربَعاء (al-arbaʿāʾ)
Thursday = الخَميس (al-khamīs)
Friday = الجُمُعة (al-jumuʿah)
Saturday = السَبْت (al-sabt)
Sunday = الأحَد (al-aḥad)
Other than Friday and Saturday, these names are derived from the cardinal numbers.... So “Sunday” is literally “first day,” Monday “second day,” and so on.
“Week” is أسبوع (usbūʿ), from سَبَع (sabaʿ) or “seven,” and “days of the week” is أيام الأسبوع (ayām al-usbūʿ).
The makeup of the work week in the Arab world varies by country. Friday, you probably know, is the Islamic Sabbath. This is actually reflected in the word for “Friday,” which is derived from the verb جَمَعَ (jamaʿa), meaning “to collect,” which in other forms can mean “meeting” or “congregating,” and so the name of the day refers to the fact that Friday is the one day when Muslims are expected to attend a large congregational mosque for formal prayer services (Islam requires several daily prayers, but these can be done alone, in small or large groups, in small or large mosques or any other suitable location; the midday Friday prayer is the one obligatory weekly large group prayer in the mosque).
The traditional Islamic “weekend” was Thursday-Friday, mirroring our Saturday-Sunday, but globalization and the demands of interacting with non-Muslims for business have caused a number of countries to shift to a Friday-Saturday weekend, which means their work week and non-Muslims’ work week are only off by two days rather than four. Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the Yemen still practice the Thursday-Friday weekend according to the fine folks at Wikipedia, while Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, the Sudan, Syria, and the UAE use the Friday-Saturday weekend. Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia actually use a Saturday-Sunday weekend; this makes a certain amount of sense in the case of Lebanon, where Christians were in the majority at least until the mid-20th century, but I am at a loss as to why Morocco and Tunisia are on that schedule (or at least why they would be Saturday-Sunday while Algeria was Thursday-Friday until 2009, when it went to Friday-Saturday)."
-snip-
This excerpt replaces a shorter one that I initially quoted in this post and is reformatted for this post to enhance its readability .
This list is also found in Part I of the pancocojams series because Arabic influenced certain West African languages:
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/names-of-week-in-ten-traditional.html Names For Days of The Week In Ten Traditional Nigerian Languages.
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT BANTU LANGUAGES
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_languages
"The Bantu languages technically the Narrow Bantu languages (as opposed to "Wide Bantu", a loosely defined categorization which includes other Bantoid languages), constitute a traditional branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility,[3] though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages.[4] Bantu languages are spoken largely east and south of present-day Cameroon, that is, in the regions commonly known as Central Africa, Southeast Africa, and Southern Africa. Parts of the Bantu area include languages
from other language families (see map).
Estimates of number of speakers of most languages vary widely, due both to the lack of accurate statistics in most developing countries and the difficulty in defining exactly where the boundaries of a language lie, particularly in the presence of a dialect continuum.
The Bantu language with the largest total number of speakers is Swahili; however, the majority of its speakers know it as a second language. According to Ethnologue, there are over 180 million L2 (second-language) speakers, but only about 2 million native speakers.[5]
Other major languages include Zulu with 27 million speakers (15.7 million L2) and Shona with about 11 million speakers (if Manyika and Ndau are included).[6][7] Ethnologue separates the largely mutually intelligible Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, which, if grouped together, have 12.4 million speakers.[8]
[...]
The technical term Bantu, meaning "human beings" or simply "people", was first used by Wilhelm Bleek (1827–1875), as this is reflected in many of the languages of this group. A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use words such as muntu or mutu for "human being" or in simplistic terms "person", and the plural prefix for human nouns starting with mu- (class 1) in most languages is ba- (class 2), thus giving bantu for "people". Bleek, and later Carl Meinhof, pursued extensive studies comparing the grammatical structures of Bantu languages."...
****
THE NAMES OF DAYS OF THE WEEK IN FIVE BANTU LANGUAGES IN AFRICA.
(This list is given in alphabetical order, with the exception of KiSwahili since the names of the days for a number of these languages were influenced by KiSwahili.)
KiSwahili (Swahili)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language
"Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. It is a lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and southeastern Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[7] The closely related Comorian language, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is sometimes considered a dialect.
Estimates of the total number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million.[2][8] Swahili serves as a national language of three nations: Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is related to Swahili. Swahili is also one of the working languages of the African Union and officially recognised as a lingua franca of the East African Community.[9]
A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast.[10]
[...]
Origin
Swahili is traditionally regarded as being the language of coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya. It was formalised after independence by presidents of the African Great Lakes region but first spoken by natives of the coastal mainland. It spread as a fisherman's language to the various islands surrounding the Swahili Coast. Traders from these islands had extensive contact with the coastal peoples from at least the 2nd century A.D., and Swahili began to spread along the Swahili Coast from at least the 6th century. There is also cultural evidence of early Zaramo people settlement on Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania.
The earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa in 1711 A.D. in the Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies. The original letters are now preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa, India.[12]
[...]
Name
Kiswahili is the Swahili word for the language and is also sometimes used in English. The name Swahili comes from the plural sawāḥil (سواحل) of the Arabic word sāḥil (ساحل), meaning "boundary" or "coast", used as an adjective meaning "coastal dwellers". (The same word is the origin of the term Sahel.) With the prefix ki-, it means "coastal language", ki- being a prefix attached to nouns of the noun class such as languages.”...
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.surfacelanguages.com/language/Swahili/reviewwords/Days-of-the-week.html
"Monday - Jumatatu
Tuesday - Jumanne
Wednesday- Jumatano
Thursday- Alhamisi
Friday- Ijumaa
Saturday- Jumamosi
Sunday- Jumapili"
-snip-
Note this sentence clip: "ki- being a prefix attached to nouns of the noun class such as languages.”...
The prefix "ki" is also found in other languages that are highlighted in this post (as well as in the names for some of the days of the week in those languages).
****
chiShona (Shona)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_language
"Shona or chiShona, is the most widely first spoken Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Central Shona varieties: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika and Korekore. Based on Clement Doke's 1931 report, Union Shona or Standard Shona was developed from the Central Shona varieties. Because of the presence of the capital city in the Zezuru region, that variety has come to dominate in Standard Shona.
Shona is an official language of Zimbabwe. Other countries that host Shona language speakers include Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa due to the influx of economical refugees fleeing the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
The larger group of historically related languages (called Shona languages by linguists) also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Kalanga (Western Shona), but speakers of those languages prefer their distinct identities and usually reject any connection to the term Shona."
****
Excerpt #2
[Shona] Days of the week
"Monday: muvhuro
Tuesday: chipiri
Wednesday: chitatu
Thursday: china
Friday: chishanu
Saturday: mugovera
Sunday: svondo"
-snip-
-snip-
Notice the prefix "chi" in the language name "chiShona". This prefix is used in some Bantu languages to designate language. Here's an quote about other examples of this "chi" prefix used to designate Bantu languages:
"Chewa, also known as Nyanja, is a language of the Bantu language family. The noun class prefix chi- is used for languages,[4] so the language is also called Chichewa and Chinyanja (spelled Cinyanja in Zambia, and Cinianja in Mozambique)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewa_language
****
Kikongo (Kongo)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongo_language
"Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages and is spoken by the Kongo and Ndundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from the region and sold as slaves in the Americas. For this reason, while Kongo still is spoken in the above-mentioned countries, creolized forms of the language are found in ritual speech of Afro-American religions, especially in Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti. It is also one of the sources of the Gullah language and the Palenquero creole in Colombia. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kongo, with perhaps two million more who use it as a second language.
Kikongo is the base for a creole used throughout the region: Kituba, also called Kikongo de L'état or Kikongo ya Leta ("Kongo of the state" in French or Kongo), Kituba and Monokituba (also Munukituba). The constitution of the Republic of the Congo uses the name Kitubà, and the one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo uses the term Kikongo, even if Kituba is used in the administration.
[...]
English words of Kongo origin
The Southern American English word "goober", meaning peanut, comes from Kongo nguba.[8]
The word "zombie" comes from Kongo nzombie, meaning "dead.". "Nfumu ya nzombie" is "Chief of the dead", or God.
The word funk, or funky, in American popular music has its origin, some say, in the Kongo word Lu-fuki.[9] [10]
The name of the Cuban dance mambo comes from a Bantu word meaning "conversation with the gods"."..
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.masteranylanguage.com/c/r/o/Kongo/DaysOfWeek/2 Kongo Days Of The Week
"Kimosi - Monday
Kizolé - Tuesday
Kitatu - Wednesday
Kiyá - Thursday
Kitanu - Friday
Sabala - Saturday
Lumingu – Sunday"
****
Kikuyu (Gikuyu)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_language
"Kikuyu or Gikuyu … is a language of the Bantu family spoken primarily by the Kikuyu people (Agĩkũyũ) of Kenya. Numbering about 7 million (22% of Kenya's population),[4] they are the largest ethnic group in Kenya.[5] Kikuyu is spoken in the area between Nyeri and Nairobi. Kikuyu is one of the five languages of the Thagichu subgroup of the Bantu languages, which stretches from Kenya to Tanzania. The Kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in Central Kenya which they call Kĩrĩnyaga.
Dialects
Kikuyu has four main mutually intelligible dialects. The Central Province districts are divided along the traditional boundaries of these dialects, which are Kîrînyaga, Mûrang'a, Nyeri and Kiambu. The Kikuyu from Kîrînyaga are composed of two main sub-dialects – the Ndia and Gichugu who speak the dialects Kĩndia and Gĩgĩcũgũ. The Gicugus and the Ndias do not have the "ch" or "sh" sound, and will use the "s" sound instead, hence the pronunciation of "Gĩcũgũ" as opposed to "Gĩchũgũ". To hear Ndia being spoken, one needs to be in Kerugoya, the largest town in Kîrînyaga. Other home towns for the Ndia, where purer forms of the dialect are spoken, are located in the tea-growing areas of Kagumo, and the cool Kangaita hills. Lower down the slopes is Kutus, which is a bustling dusty town with so many influences from the other dialects that it is difficult to distinguish between them.
The unmistakable sing-song Gichugu dialect (which sounds like Embu, a sister language to Kikuyu) can be heard in the coffee-growing areas of Kianyaga, Gĩthũre, Kathũngũri, Marigiti. The Gichugu switch easily to other Kikuyu dialects in conversation with the rest of the Kikuyu.
**
Excerpt #2:
From https://quizlet.com/134014970/kikuyu-days-of-the-week-flash-cards/ Days Of The Week In Kikuyu
"Monday
(Mũthenya) wa mbere - the first day (not in common usage)
Jumatatũ
From Kiswahili (in common usage)
Tuesday
(Mũthenya) wa kerĩ - the second day
Wednesday
(Mũthenya) wa gatatũ - the third day
Thursday
(Mũthenya) wa kana - the fourth day
Friday
(Mũthenya) wa gatano - the fifth day, (Mũthenya)
Juma From Kiswahili
Saturday
Mũthenya) wa Jumamothi
From Kiswahili
The logical (Mũthenya) wa gatandatũ, is not used today.
Sunday
(Mũthenya) wa Kiumia
Literally the day of coming out/stopping what you are doing.
The logical (Mũthenya) wa mũgwanja - the seventh day - is not used."
****
Kimbundu (North Mbundu)
Note that Kimbundu is now considered one of two languages [the other being Umbundu) that are collectively called Mbundu.
Excerpt #1
From http://afkinsider.com/51513/most-commonly-spoken-bantu-languages/3/
Mbundu – 6 million [speakers]
"Mbundu is comprised of two langauges: Kimbundu, or North Mbundu, and Umbundu, or South Mbundu. They are spoken throughout Angola, and both reflect a heavy Portuguese influence from the country’s colonial period. A 1919 colonial decree banned the use of local languages in schools, making Portuguese obligatory. This reduced the number of native speakers, but Mbundu remains a prominently spoken language in Angola today."
****
Excerpt #2:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimbundu
"Kimbundu, or North Mbundu, one of two Bantu languages called Mbundu (see Umbundu), is the second-most-widely spoken Bantu language in Angola. It is concentrated in the north-west of the country, notably in the Luanda Province, Bengo Province, Malanje Province and the Cuanza Norte Province. It is spoken by the Ambundu.[4]"...
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbundu
Umbundu, or South Mbundu..., one of two Bantu languages of Angola called Mbundu (see Kimbundu), is the most widely spoken language of Angola. Speakers are known as Ovimbundu, who constitute a third of the Angolan people. Their homeland is the Central Highlands of Angola and the coastal region west of these highlands, including the cities of Benguela and Lobito. Because of recent internal migration there are now also large communities in Luanda and its surrounding province, as well as in Lubango."...
****
Excerpt #4:
[Excerpt from Folk-tales of Angola: Fifty Tales, with Ki-mbundu Text, Literal English Translation, Volume 1 by Héli Chatelain [1884] [Google books, page 270], given as is [without accent marks in the word "kizua"]
"Kia-lumingu The full form is kizua kis lumingu, i.e. the day of lumingu. This lumingu is the Ki-mbundu pronunciation for the Portuguese "Domingo", which again is the Portuguese pronunciation of the Latin "Domincus", i.e. "the Lord". Therefore, kia-lumingu means in its Latin origin "the day of the Lord". It is used for Sunday. The days of the week, in Ki-mbundu, are, Sunday, kia-lumingu; Monday, kia-xikunda, from Portuguese "segunda (fiera), i.e. second (holy day); Tuesday - kia-telesa, from "tercs"; Wednesday -kia-kinda from "quinta"; Friday, kia-sexta, from "sexta", Saturday- kia-sabalu, from "sabbado". In literary Kimbundu, these exotic names will probably be superseded by the native names Kia-Ngana, Kiaiadi, Kiatatu, Kianana, Kiatanu, Kiasamanu, Kiasambuadi"
-snip-
A digitized form of this book can be found at https://archive.org/stream/folktalesangola00chatgoog/folktalesangola00chatgoog_djvu.txt
****
Lingala
Excerpt #1
From
"Lingala (Ngala) is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo, as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. It has over 10 million speakers.
History
In the 19th century, before the creation of the Congo Free State, the Bangala (literally: 'river people') were a group of similar Bantu peoples living and trading along the bend of the Congo River that reached from Irebu at the mouth of the Ubangi River to the Mongala River. They spoke similar languages, such as Losengo, but their trade language was Bangi, which was the most prestigious language between Stanley Pool (Kinshasa) and Irebu. As a result, people upstream of the Bangala mistook Bangi for the language of the Bangala and called it Lingala (language of the Bangala), and European missionaries followed suit.
[...]
Name
European missionaries called the language Bangala, after the Bangala people, or Lingala. The latter was intended to mean '(language) of the Bangala' or 'of the River' (that is, 'Riverine Language'). However, this was an error, as the proper Bangi form would have been Kingala.[4] The name Lingala first appears in writing in a publication by the C.I.C.M. missionary Egide De Boeck (1903).
Characteristics and usage
According to some linguists, Lingala language is a Bantu-based creole of Central Africa.[5] In its basic vocabulary, Lingala has many borrowings words from different other languages such as in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
In practice, the extent of borrowing varies widely with speakers of different regions (commonly among young people), and during different occasions."...
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://afkinsider.com/51513/most-commonly-spoken-bantu-languages/7/
"Lingala – 10 million [speakers]
Spoken primarily in the northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and large swaths of the Republic of Congo, Lingala is the product of a blending of several dialects that were historically spoken by peoples living along the Congo River. There are several variations of Lingala, with Standard Lingala used most widely in public and official spaces (including in education and media broadcasting), while Spoken Lingala is more common in day-to-day use."
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://quizlet.com/55854930/days-of-the-week-in-lingala-flash-cards/
[Lingala Days Of The Week]
"Monday - mokolo ya loboso
Tuesday - mokolo ya mibale
Wednesday - mokolo ya misato
Thursday - mokolo ya minei
Friday - mokolo ya mitano
Saturday - mokolo ya mposo
Sunday - Mokolo ya yenga"
****
Luganda (Ganda)
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luganda
"The Ganda language, Luganda, is one of the major languages in Uganda, spoken by five million Baganda and other people principally in Southern Uganda, including the capital Kampala. It belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Typologically, it is a highly agglutinating language with subject–verb–object word order and nominative–accusative morphosyntactic alignment.
With about four million first-language-speakers in the Buganda region and a million others who are fluent, it is the most widely spoken Ugandan language. As second language it follows English and precedes Swahili. The language is used in some primary schools in Buganda as pupils begin to learn English, the primary official language of Uganda. Until the 1960s, Luganda was also the official language of instruction in primary schools in Eastern Uganda.
[...]
Phonology
A notable feature of Luganda phonology is its geminate consonants and distinctions between long and short vowels. Speakers generally consider consonantal gemination and vowel lengthening to be two manifestations of the same effect, which they call simply "doubling" or "stressing".
Luganda is also a tonal language; the change in the pitch of a syllable can change the meaning of a word. For example, the word kabaka means 'king' if all three syllables are given the same pitch. If the first syllable is high then the meaning changes to 'the little one catches' (third person singular present tense Class VI ka- of -baka 'to catch'). This feature makes Luganda a difficult language for speakers of non-tonal languages to learn. A non-native speaker has to learn the variations of pitch by prolonged listening.[6]"...
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.buganda.com/ggulama.htm#daywk
"Ganda Days of the Week
Note: the week starts on Monday!
Classical Name
Kazooba
Walumbe
Mukasa
Kiwanuka
Nnagawonye
Wamunyi
Wangu
Alternative Name
Bbalaza
Lwakubiri
Lwakusatu
Lwakuna
Lwakutaano
Lwamukaaga
Ssande"
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Seven Videos Of Nigerian (Hausa) Singer Nazir M Ahmad (with information about Islam In Nigeria & Kano, Nigeria)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases seven videos of Nigerian (Hausa) singer Nazir M Ahmad.
This post also includes brief information about Islam in Nigeria, Hausa culture, and Kano, Nigeria. Very brief information about Nazir M. Ahmad is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, educational, and aesthetic purposes.
In addition to the singing, I'm particularly interested in the traditional clothing, musical instruments, and dancing that is shown in these videos.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Nazir M Ahmad for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM IN NIGERIA
From http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/46.htm
"Islam is a traditional religion in West Africa. It came to northern Nigeria as early as the eleventh century and was well established in the state capitals of the region by the sixteenth century, spreading into the countryside and toward the middle belt uplands. There, Islam's advance was stopped by the resistance of local peoples to incorporation into the emirate states.
The Fulani-led jihad in the nineteenth century pushed Islam into Nupe and across the Niger River into northern Yoruba- speaking areas. The colonial conquest established a rule that active Christian proselytizing could not occur in the northern Muslim region, although in 1990 the two religions continued to compete for converts in the middle belt, where ethnic groups and even families had adherents of each persuasion."
-snip-
This excerpt was reformatted for this post for clarity purposes.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT HAUSA CULTURE
From http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Hausa.html
1 • INTRODUCTION
"The Hausa, numbering more than 20 million, are the largest ethnic group in west Africa. They are widely distributed geographically and have intermingled with many different peoples.
Islam arrived in the area by the fourteenth century*. By the fifteenth century, there were a number of independent Hausa city-states. They competed with each other for control of trade across the Sahara Desert, slaves, and natural resources. In the nineteenth century, the region was unified by a jihad (Islamic holy war) and became known as Hausaland. The British arrived and colonized the area in about 1900. Even during colonial times, the city-states and their leaders maintained some autonomy. Many Hausa traditions were preserved until late in the twentieth century.
2 • LOCATION
The Hausa people are concentrated mainly in northwestern Nigeria and in adjoining southern Niger. This area is mostly semiarid grassland or savanna, dotted with cities surrounded by farming communities. The cities of this region—Kano, Sokoto, Zari, and Katsina, for example—are among the greatest commercial centers of sub-Saharan Africa (Africa south of the Sahara Desert). Hausa people are also found living in other countries of west Africa like Cameroon, Togo, Chad, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ghana.
3 • LANGUAGE
Hausa is the most widely spoken language in west Africa. It is spoken by an estimated 22 million people. Another 17 million people speak Hausa as a second language. Hausa is written in Arabic characters, and about one-fourth of Hausa words come from Arabic. Many Hausa can read and write Arabic. Many can also speak either French or English."...
-snip-
* Other articles that I've come across (including the excerpts found in this post) give earlier centuries for the arrival of Islam in Northern Nigeria.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KANO, NIGERIA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kano
"Kano is the state capital of Kano State in Northern West, Nigeria. It is situated in the Sahelian geographic region, south of the Sahara. Kano is the commercial nerve center of Northern Nigeria and is the second largest city in Nigeria, after Lagos...
The total area of Metropolitan Kano is now 499 square kilometres (193 square miles), with a population of 2,828,861 as of the 2006 Nigerian census.
The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people. As in most parts of northern Nigeria, the Hausa language is widely spoken in Kano. The city is the capital of the Kano Emirate. The current emir, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was enthroned on 8 June 2014 after the death of Alhaji Ado Bayero, the thirtienth emir of Kano Emirate, on Friday, 6 June 2014. .....
In the 12th century Ali Yaji as King of Kano renounced his allegiance to the cult of Tsumburbura, accepted Islam and proclaimed the Sultanate that was to last until its fall in the 19th century...
Demographics
Kano is a Hausa and Fulani dominated city that is largely Muslim. The majority of Kano Muslims are Sunni, though a minority adhere to the Shia branch …. Christians and followers of other non-Muslim religions form a small part of the population and traditionally lived in the Sabon Gari, or New city.[21]"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT NAZIR M AHMAD
From https://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/NazirMAhmad
"Born on 4th September 1986 in Gwammaja, Ancient City of Kano State, Nigeria.
My first single was "Charyar Yar" which I sang in 2002."
-snip-
I'm assuming from reading some comments for that "Sarkin Waka" is another name or nickname for Nazir M. Ahmad. Is this correct? Google Translate gives this translation for these Hausa words "King of Track". Does this mean "King of Song"?
More information about Nazir M. Ahmad English and English translation (or summaries) of the songs that are featured in this post would be greatly appreciated.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Bazan sakeki ba Naziru Ahmad
Salamatu Faransa, Published on Nov 20, 2013
****
Example #2: Nazir M Ahmad - Kwankwaso Mazajen Duniya
Nazir M Ahmad Published on May 16, 2015
Wakar mai girma gwamnan Kano - Engr (Dr) Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
Google translate from Hausa to English "Great song governor...."
-snip-
Here's a comment from this video's discussion thread:
AMINU ALIYU TUKUR, 2015
"I like this song so much well done Naziru"
****
Example #3: Nazir M Ahmad - Gangar Jikinta Na Aura
Nazir M Ahmad Published on May 16, 2015
Ka aure ba'a sonka shiya fi komai rashin dadi a rayuwar aure
Google translate from Hausa to English"
Your marriage is not love plans more thick comfortable married life
My suggested translation [?] = You have a love-less marriage. Prepare for a better [more loving] married life.
****
Example #4: Nazir M Ahmad - Hanyar Kano 1
Nazir M Ahmad, Published on May 16, 2015
Soundtrack Video of award winning Hausa comedy movie - Hanyar Kano
****
Example #5: Nazir M Ahmad - Dallatun Zazzau (Muktar Ramalan Yero)
Nazir M Ahmad Published on May 17, 2015
Wakar mai girma gwamnan Kaduna - Muktar Ramalan Yero ta nadin sarautar sa a matsayen Dallatun Zazzau
-snip-
Google translate from Hausa to English- Song of the great governor of Kaduna - Muktar Yero appointment reign matsayen Dallatun Mondouqe
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread:
Ibrahim Mu'azzam, 2016
"True king of hausa music"
**
hadiza sk, 2016
"Masha Allah"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashallah
"Masha Allah (Arabic: ما شاء الله, mā shāʾa llāhu), also Masha'Allah, is an Arabic phrase that expresses appreciation, joy, praise, or thankfulness for an event or person that was just mentioned. While Masha'Allah is used as an expression of respect, it also serves as a reminder that all accomplishments are considered by Arabic speaking Christians and Muslims to be achieved through the will of God. It is generally said upon hearing good news....
he exact meaning of MASHALLAH is "what ALLAH wanted has happened"; it is used to say something good has happened, used in the past tense. INSHALLAH, literally "if ALLAH wills", is used similarly but to refer to a future event."
**
Ibrahim Mu'azzam, 2017
"Sarkin Wakah respect"
****
Example #6: mata ku dau turame official video by nazir m Ahmad (sarkin Waka)
Aminu Umar Nababa, Published on Sep 27, 2015
-snip-
Another copy of this video that was published by the same person gives this explanation:
"Sabon Sarki"means "New King"in Hausa language The album was release for the jubilation of the new crowned Emir of kano as the 14th Emir of kano state under the Fulani Rulers."
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread:
Nana Kwabena Anyimadu II, 2015
"I love this song but do not understand it. can someone pse explain what he's saying to me?
**
Reply
Goni Malah, 2015
"it's a congratulatory song for the new emir of Kano."
**
Reply
Ibrahim ABDULLAHI, 2016
"Sending his praises on the new grand monarch. Emir of Kano as he was chosen indisputably qualified.
Vast and exposed, Guided and adored, untouchable"
Gambali Mendeh, 2015
"seriously this traditional song is just killing me.......this is pure tradition....I love dat"
**
Usman Danmusa, 2015
"I love this congratulatory song. The message is clear, the beatings rhyme with the steps. Thank u Nazir"
**
Dodo Hambally Mahamadou BASSIROU, 2015
"I love, he tolk about the king of Kano, he explain that honorable Sanusi is a personality who respect people and help the population of Kano."
-snip-
Update June 26, 2017: Here's a comment that I received in response to the request for information about this song that I posted on this video's YouTube discussion thread:
sarauniyaGH, June 26, 2017
"Aw that's wonderful thank you for taking interest and displaying our culture sis :) regarding the actual song, the title "mata ku dau turame" basically means "women pick up your mortars". As you see the women rush back with mortars and pestles to beat with the rhythm. This is like a celebratory song for the current Emir of Kano, Nigeria. And yes Sarkin Waka is just a nickname of his, meaning "King of Music". Also these are recently composed songs. Hope I helped!"
****
Example #7: barahumi official video by nazir M. Ahmad (Sarkin Waka)
Aminu Umar Nababa, Published on Sep 27, 2015
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread:
Charlie Brown, 2016
"What does "Barahumi" Means..."
**
Reply
Aminu Magaji, 2015
"it's a nickname"
**
Baffa Kabeer, 2017
"He uses figure of speech 'metaphor' to compares him with something."
-snip-
UPDATE- February 12, 2017
Here's a response that I received from a YouTube commenter to this video (who wrote me 32 minutes ago; Btw: It's 3:11 AM EST here and I woke up, checked on this blog, and saw a message that I had a response to that video which speaks to the wonders of the internet-and more.
Abdulmalik Ofemile, 2017
"'Sarki' in Hausa language means King in English and 'sarakai' is the plural form. 'Sarkin waka' means 'King of music' in the same sense that Michael Jackson is 'King of Pop'. However, 'sabon sarki' in this song means new Emir. The song about the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II. In the song Nazir describes how Danmajen Kano Sanusi Lamido became Muhammadu Sanusi II Emir of Kano. 'Barahube' in this context is best understood by its use in the song. Nazir uses it to describe the Emir as the first among equals, a prince and Emir, blessed, favoured, highly educated, commands respect, overcomer, chosen by Allah among other. 'Barahube' seems to be an adjective that describes many things at once not as synonyms but as distinct features of any noun. Nazir uses 'Barahube' to describe how the Emir overcame opposition to ascend the throne of his fathers.
These songs are new compositions but they rendered with very traditional Hausa language use without insertions from 'Barikanci' or pidgin Hausa. This is not surprisinge comprising that this song refers to a conservative institution.
Hope this is useful for you"
-snip-
Here are my responses to Abdulmakik Ofemile:
"Abdulmalik Ofemile, thank you for sharing that information about this song in English (which is unfortunately) the only language that I speak or read -without help from online sites such as Google translate.
I knew about Hausa language but thanks also for mentioning Barikanci-pidgin Hausa. I didn't even know about that language :o(
I'll add your comment to that pancocojams post. It would be wonderful if you or someone else who speaks Hausa but also knows English could share information about the other 5 songs that are included in that post (by adding the comments to that post or to the YouTube videos).
Thanks again!"
****
Second response:
I meant to write the titles for the other six-not five-songs by Nazir M. Ahmad that are showcased in that blog post"
Bazan sakeki
Kwankwaso Mazajen Duniya
Gangar Jikinta Na Aura
Hanyar Kano 1
Dallatun Zazzau (Muktar Ramalan Yero)
mata ku dau turame official video (sarkin Waka)
I very much appreciate any information that you and/or any other person can give me about these songs. Also, the name that are given in parenthesis the names of other singers?
I apologize for my lack of knowledge about Hausa culture and music.
Best wishes to you!
****
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases seven videos of Nigerian (Hausa) singer Nazir M Ahmad.
This post also includes brief information about Islam in Nigeria, Hausa culture, and Kano, Nigeria. Very brief information about Nazir M. Ahmad is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, educational, and aesthetic purposes.
In addition to the singing, I'm particularly interested in the traditional clothing, musical instruments, and dancing that is shown in these videos.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Nazir M Ahmad for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM IN NIGERIA
From http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/46.htm
"Islam is a traditional religion in West Africa. It came to northern Nigeria as early as the eleventh century and was well established in the state capitals of the region by the sixteenth century, spreading into the countryside and toward the middle belt uplands. There, Islam's advance was stopped by the resistance of local peoples to incorporation into the emirate states.
The Fulani-led jihad in the nineteenth century pushed Islam into Nupe and across the Niger River into northern Yoruba- speaking areas. The colonial conquest established a rule that active Christian proselytizing could not occur in the northern Muslim region, although in 1990 the two religions continued to compete for converts in the middle belt, where ethnic groups and even families had adherents of each persuasion."
-snip-
This excerpt was reformatted for this post for clarity purposes.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT HAUSA CULTURE
From http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Hausa.html
1 • INTRODUCTION
"The Hausa, numbering more than 20 million, are the largest ethnic group in west Africa. They are widely distributed geographically and have intermingled with many different peoples.
Islam arrived in the area by the fourteenth century*. By the fifteenth century, there were a number of independent Hausa city-states. They competed with each other for control of trade across the Sahara Desert, slaves, and natural resources. In the nineteenth century, the region was unified by a jihad (Islamic holy war) and became known as Hausaland. The British arrived and colonized the area in about 1900. Even during colonial times, the city-states and their leaders maintained some autonomy. Many Hausa traditions were preserved until late in the twentieth century.
2 • LOCATION
The Hausa people are concentrated mainly in northwestern Nigeria and in adjoining southern Niger. This area is mostly semiarid grassland or savanna, dotted with cities surrounded by farming communities. The cities of this region—Kano, Sokoto, Zari, and Katsina, for example—are among the greatest commercial centers of sub-Saharan Africa (Africa south of the Sahara Desert). Hausa people are also found living in other countries of west Africa like Cameroon, Togo, Chad, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ghana.
3 • LANGUAGE
Hausa is the most widely spoken language in west Africa. It is spoken by an estimated 22 million people. Another 17 million people speak Hausa as a second language. Hausa is written in Arabic characters, and about one-fourth of Hausa words come from Arabic. Many Hausa can read and write Arabic. Many can also speak either French or English."...
-snip-
* Other articles that I've come across (including the excerpts found in this post) give earlier centuries for the arrival of Islam in Northern Nigeria.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KANO, NIGERIA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kano
"Kano is the state capital of Kano State in Northern West, Nigeria. It is situated in the Sahelian geographic region, south of the Sahara. Kano is the commercial nerve center of Northern Nigeria and is the second largest city in Nigeria, after Lagos...
The total area of Metropolitan Kano is now 499 square kilometres (193 square miles), with a population of 2,828,861 as of the 2006 Nigerian census.
The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people. As in most parts of northern Nigeria, the Hausa language is widely spoken in Kano. The city is the capital of the Kano Emirate. The current emir, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was enthroned on 8 June 2014 after the death of Alhaji Ado Bayero, the thirtienth emir of Kano Emirate, on Friday, 6 June 2014. .....
In the 12th century Ali Yaji as King of Kano renounced his allegiance to the cult of Tsumburbura, accepted Islam and proclaimed the Sultanate that was to last until its fall in the 19th century...
Demographics
Kano is a Hausa and Fulani dominated city that is largely Muslim. The majority of Kano Muslims are Sunni, though a minority adhere to the Shia branch …. Christians and followers of other non-Muslim religions form a small part of the population and traditionally lived in the Sabon Gari, or New city.[21]"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT NAZIR M AHMAD
From https://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/NazirMAhmad
"Born on 4th September 1986 in Gwammaja, Ancient City of Kano State, Nigeria.
My first single was "Charyar Yar" which I sang in 2002."
-snip-
I'm assuming from reading some comments for that "Sarkin Waka" is another name or nickname for Nazir M. Ahmad. Is this correct? Google Translate gives this translation for these Hausa words "King of Track". Does this mean "King of Song"?
More information about Nazir M. Ahmad English and English translation (or summaries) of the songs that are featured in this post would be greatly appreciated.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Bazan sakeki ba Naziru Ahmad
Salamatu Faransa, Published on Nov 20, 2013
****
Example #2: Nazir M Ahmad - Kwankwaso Mazajen Duniya
Nazir M Ahmad Published on May 16, 2015
Wakar mai girma gwamnan Kano - Engr (Dr) Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
Google translate from Hausa to English "Great song governor...."
-snip-
Here's a comment from this video's discussion thread:
AMINU ALIYU TUKUR, 2015
"I like this song so much well done Naziru"
****
Example #3: Nazir M Ahmad - Gangar Jikinta Na Aura
Nazir M Ahmad Published on May 16, 2015
Ka aure ba'a sonka shiya fi komai rashin dadi a rayuwar aure
Google translate from Hausa to English"
Your marriage is not love plans more thick comfortable married life
My suggested translation [?] = You have a love-less marriage. Prepare for a better [more loving] married life.
****
Example #4: Nazir M Ahmad - Hanyar Kano 1
Nazir M Ahmad, Published on May 16, 2015
Soundtrack Video of award winning Hausa comedy movie - Hanyar Kano
****
Example #5: Nazir M Ahmad - Dallatun Zazzau (Muktar Ramalan Yero)
Nazir M Ahmad Published on May 17, 2015
Wakar mai girma gwamnan Kaduna - Muktar Ramalan Yero ta nadin sarautar sa a matsayen Dallatun Zazzau
-snip-
Google translate from Hausa to English- Song of the great governor of Kaduna - Muktar Yero appointment reign matsayen Dallatun Mondouqe
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread:
Ibrahim Mu'azzam, 2016
"True king of hausa music"
**
hadiza sk, 2016
"Masha Allah"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashallah
"Masha Allah (Arabic: ما شاء الله, mā shāʾa llāhu), also Masha'Allah, is an Arabic phrase that expresses appreciation, joy, praise, or thankfulness for an event or person that was just mentioned. While Masha'Allah is used as an expression of respect, it also serves as a reminder that all accomplishments are considered by Arabic speaking Christians and Muslims to be achieved through the will of God. It is generally said upon hearing good news....
he exact meaning of MASHALLAH is "what ALLAH wanted has happened"; it is used to say something good has happened, used in the past tense. INSHALLAH, literally "if ALLAH wills", is used similarly but to refer to a future event."
**
Ibrahim Mu'azzam, 2017
"Sarkin Wakah respect"
****
Example #6: mata ku dau turame official video by nazir m Ahmad (sarkin Waka)
Aminu Umar Nababa, Published on Sep 27, 2015
-snip-
Another copy of this video that was published by the same person gives this explanation:
"Sabon Sarki"means "New King"in Hausa language The album was release for the jubilation of the new crowned Emir of kano as the 14th Emir of kano state under the Fulani Rulers."
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread:
Nana Kwabena Anyimadu II, 2015
"I love this song but do not understand it. can someone pse explain what he's saying to me?
**
Reply
Goni Malah, 2015
"it's a congratulatory song for the new emir of Kano."
**
Reply
Ibrahim ABDULLAHI, 2016
"Sending his praises on the new grand monarch. Emir of Kano as he was chosen indisputably qualified.
Vast and exposed, Guided and adored, untouchable"
Gambali Mendeh, 2015
"seriously this traditional song is just killing me.......this is pure tradition....I love dat"
**
Usman Danmusa, 2015
"I love this congratulatory song. The message is clear, the beatings rhyme with the steps. Thank u Nazir"
**
Dodo Hambally Mahamadou BASSIROU, 2015
"I love, he tolk about the king of Kano, he explain that honorable Sanusi is a personality who respect people and help the population of Kano."
-snip-
Update June 26, 2017: Here's a comment that I received in response to the request for information about this song that I posted on this video's YouTube discussion thread:
sarauniyaGH, June 26, 2017
"Aw that's wonderful thank you for taking interest and displaying our culture sis :) regarding the actual song, the title "mata ku dau turame" basically means "women pick up your mortars". As you see the women rush back with mortars and pestles to beat with the rhythm. This is like a celebratory song for the current Emir of Kano, Nigeria. And yes Sarkin Waka is just a nickname of his, meaning "King of Music". Also these are recently composed songs. Hope I helped!"
****
Example #7: barahumi official video by nazir M. Ahmad (Sarkin Waka)
Aminu Umar Nababa, Published on Sep 27, 2015
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread:
Charlie Brown, 2016
"What does "Barahumi" Means..."
**
Reply
Aminu Magaji, 2015
"it's a nickname"
**
Baffa Kabeer, 2017
"He uses figure of speech 'metaphor' to compares him with something."
-snip-
UPDATE- February 12, 2017
Here's a response that I received from a YouTube commenter to this video (who wrote me 32 minutes ago; Btw: It's 3:11 AM EST here and I woke up, checked on this blog, and saw a message that I had a response to that video which speaks to the wonders of the internet-and more.
Abdulmalik Ofemile, 2017
"'Sarki' in Hausa language means King in English and 'sarakai' is the plural form. 'Sarkin waka' means 'King of music' in the same sense that Michael Jackson is 'King of Pop'. However, 'sabon sarki' in this song means new Emir. The song about the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II. In the song Nazir describes how Danmajen Kano Sanusi Lamido became Muhammadu Sanusi II Emir of Kano. 'Barahube' in this context is best understood by its use in the song. Nazir uses it to describe the Emir as the first among equals, a prince and Emir, blessed, favoured, highly educated, commands respect, overcomer, chosen by Allah among other. 'Barahube' seems to be an adjective that describes many things at once not as synonyms but as distinct features of any noun. Nazir uses 'Barahube' to describe how the Emir overcame opposition to ascend the throne of his fathers.
These songs are new compositions but they rendered with very traditional Hausa language use without insertions from 'Barikanci' or pidgin Hausa. This is not surprisinge comprising that this song refers to a conservative institution.
Hope this is useful for you"
-snip-
Here are my responses to Abdulmakik Ofemile:
"Abdulmalik Ofemile, thank you for sharing that information about this song in English (which is unfortunately) the only language that I speak or read -without help from online sites such as Google translate.
I knew about Hausa language but thanks also for mentioning Barikanci-pidgin Hausa. I didn't even know about that language :o(
I'll add your comment to that pancocojams post. It would be wonderful if you or someone else who speaks Hausa but also knows English could share information about the other 5 songs that are included in that post (by adding the comments to that post or to the YouTube videos).
Thanks again!"
****
Second response:
I meant to write the titles for the other six-not five-songs by Nazir M. Ahmad that are showcased in that blog post"
Bazan sakeki
Kwankwaso Mazajen Duniya
Gangar Jikinta Na Aura
Hanyar Kano 1
Dallatun Zazzau (Muktar Ramalan Yero)
mata ku dau turame official video (sarkin Waka)
I very much appreciate any information that you and/or any other person can give me about these songs. Also, the name that are given in parenthesis the names of other singers?
I apologize for my lack of knowledge about Hausa culture and music.
Best wishes to you!
****
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Youssou N'dour - Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo (SMSL) examples & information
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases two examples of Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'dour's song "Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo" (also given as "SMSL"). Information about Youssou Ndour is also given in this post along with information about Mbalax music, and information about the religious leader Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Youssou N'dour for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUSSOU N'DOUR
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youssou_N%27Dour
"Youssou N'Dour ...1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, percussionist, songwriter, composer, occasional actor, businessman and a politician. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa.[1] From April 2012 to October 2012, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism and Culture, and from October 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism and Leisure.
N'Dour helped to develop a style of popular Senegalese music known in the Serer language as mbalax, which derives from the conservative Serer music tradition of "Njuup".[2] ...
N'Dour was born in Dakar to a Wolof mother and a Serer father. At age 12, he began to perform and within a few years was performing regularly with the Star Band, Dakar's most popular group during the early 1970s. Several members of the Star Band joined Orchestra Baobab about that time.
Despite N'Dour's maternal connection to the traditional griot caste, he was not raised in that tradition, which he learned instead from his siblings. His parents' world view encouraged a modern outlook, leaving him open to two cultures and thereby inspiring N'Dour's identity as a modern griot....
N'Dour is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history. His mix of traditional Senegalese mbalax with eclectic influences ranging from Cuban rumba to hip hop, jazz and soul won him an international fan base of millions...
Folk Roots magazine described him as the African Artist of the Century. He toured internationally for thirty years. He won his first American Grammy Award (best contemporary world music album) for his CD Egypt in 2005.
He is the proprietor of L'Observateur, one of the widest-circulation newspapers in Senegal, the radio station RFM (Radio Future Medias) and the TV channel TFM.
In 2006, N'Dour played the role of the African-British abolitionist Olaudah Equiano in the movie Amazing Grace, which chronicled the efforts of William Wilberforce to end slavery in the British Empire.[10]...
In 2011, N'Dour was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in Music from Yale University.[11]
In 2013, N'Dour won a share of Sweden's $150,000 Polar music prize for promoting understanding between faiths as well as for his music.[12]"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MBALAX MUSIC
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbalax
"Mbalax (or Mbalakh) is the national popular dance music of Senegal and the Gambia. Mbalax is a fusion of popular Western music and dance such as jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal. The genre's name derived from the heavy use of accompanying rhythms used in sabar called mbalax.
History and influence
Mbalax (meaning rhythm in the Wolof language), is a type of music that traces some of its technique to the conservative and the religious Serer music tradition of Njuup (the progenitor of Mbalax), developed in Senegal in the early 1970s. Like many other francophone West African countries the Senegalese popular music scene was partially influenced by soul, blues, jazz, R&B, and rock from the United States, varieté from France, Congolese rumba, and Latin pop from the Caribbean and New York (e.g., pachanga, son, charanga, salsa, and Latin jazz) .] In this mix of African diasporic sounds Senegalese fans and musicians wanted their own urban popular dance music so they began singing in Wolof (Senegal's lingua franca) instead of French, and incorporated rhythms of the indigenous sabar drum (see Mangin[1]). Dancers began using moves associated with the sabar, and tipping the singers as if they were traditional griots"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SERIGNE MBACKE SOKHNA LO
From https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/79078/archives-thematique/le-ph-nom-ne-serigne-mback-sokhna-l/&prev=search
"This great-grand-son of the founder of the Mouride brotherhood is one of the richest religious leaders and best known in the country and abroad, one of which everyone speaks and everyone wants to meet...
The mere mention of his name causes hysteria among some of his followers. His followers are unleashed to approach, touch, on his rare public appearances. Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo, whose real name is Mohamed Mbacke, great-grand-son of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who founded the powerful Mouride brotherhood of the late nineteenth century in the Senegalese groundnut basin, saw its heyday. Boroom Taif ak Beyla ("the master of Taif and Beyla," two villages deep Senegal), is "the man of that time," as the Mouride tradition designates one in each generation"...
****
From http://www.blackpast.org/gah/mouride-sufi-brotherhood
"The Mouride Sufi Brotherhood is a sect of Islam that boasts over four million followers today, mostly concentrated in Senegal and The Gambia.
The Mouride Sufi Order was founded by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba in 1883 in the Senegambia region of West Africa. At this period there was a great deal of social dislocation and economic hardship in this region because of the impact of colonialism. Bamba thought that people needed to be more directly connected with Allah through hard work and prayer. He also taught his pupils that they should be responsible for their behaviors, have a useful occupation, and should be self-reliant. Originally the followers of the Mourides were youth, former slaves, and soldiers of the colonial administration or those from the Wolof ethnic group…
Touba, the most famous Mouride city, is the largest city in Senegal outside of Dakar. It was founded in 1887 by Bamba’s sons and his followers. It is known as a center for groundnut production and most of Touba’s residents are active in farming and shipping the groundnut harvest. Some followers consider Touba to be a holier site than Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Touba also boasts the Great Mosque which is one of the largest mosques in all of Africa."...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Youssou ndour-Smsl
Sukalii221, Uploaded on May 24, 2008
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Omar Noir, 2008
"oh snap, this song is like a classic in mbalax. one Youssou's best.. :D"
**
niqua103, 2011
"proud to be wollof what a culture , deep i mean deep"
**
ndiogou mbathie, 2015
LE ROI DU MBALAX
-snip-
translation from French to English = King of Mbalax
****
Example #2:Youssou N'Dour - Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo
Omar Diop, Uploaded on Oct 3, 2011
Bercy 2oo4
-snip-
Bercy is where this concert was held.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases two examples of Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'dour's song "Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo" (also given as "SMSL"). Information about Youssou Ndour is also given in this post along with information about Mbalax music, and information about the religious leader Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Youssou N'dour for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUSSOU N'DOUR
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youssou_N%27Dour
"Youssou N'Dour ...1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, percussionist, songwriter, composer, occasional actor, businessman and a politician. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa.[1] From April 2012 to October 2012, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism and Culture, and from October 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism and Leisure.
N'Dour helped to develop a style of popular Senegalese music known in the Serer language as mbalax, which derives from the conservative Serer music tradition of "Njuup".[2] ...
N'Dour was born in Dakar to a Wolof mother and a Serer father. At age 12, he began to perform and within a few years was performing regularly with the Star Band, Dakar's most popular group during the early 1970s. Several members of the Star Band joined Orchestra Baobab about that time.
Despite N'Dour's maternal connection to the traditional griot caste, he was not raised in that tradition, which he learned instead from his siblings. His parents' world view encouraged a modern outlook, leaving him open to two cultures and thereby inspiring N'Dour's identity as a modern griot....
N'Dour is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history. His mix of traditional Senegalese mbalax with eclectic influences ranging from Cuban rumba to hip hop, jazz and soul won him an international fan base of millions...
Folk Roots magazine described him as the African Artist of the Century. He toured internationally for thirty years. He won his first American Grammy Award (best contemporary world music album) for his CD Egypt in 2005.
He is the proprietor of L'Observateur, one of the widest-circulation newspapers in Senegal, the radio station RFM (Radio Future Medias) and the TV channel TFM.
In 2006, N'Dour played the role of the African-British abolitionist Olaudah Equiano in the movie Amazing Grace, which chronicled the efforts of William Wilberforce to end slavery in the British Empire.[10]...
In 2011, N'Dour was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in Music from Yale University.[11]
In 2013, N'Dour won a share of Sweden's $150,000 Polar music prize for promoting understanding between faiths as well as for his music.[12]"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MBALAX MUSIC
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbalax
"Mbalax (or Mbalakh) is the national popular dance music of Senegal and the Gambia. Mbalax is a fusion of popular Western music and dance such as jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal. The genre's name derived from the heavy use of accompanying rhythms used in sabar called mbalax.
History and influence
Mbalax (meaning rhythm in the Wolof language), is a type of music that traces some of its technique to the conservative and the religious Serer music tradition of Njuup (the progenitor of Mbalax), developed in Senegal in the early 1970s. Like many other francophone West African countries the Senegalese popular music scene was partially influenced by soul, blues, jazz, R&B, and rock from the United States, varieté from France, Congolese rumba, and Latin pop from the Caribbean and New York (e.g., pachanga, son, charanga, salsa, and Latin jazz) .] In this mix of African diasporic sounds Senegalese fans and musicians wanted their own urban popular dance music so they began singing in Wolof (Senegal's lingua franca) instead of French, and incorporated rhythms of the indigenous sabar drum (see Mangin[1]). Dancers began using moves associated with the sabar, and tipping the singers as if they were traditional griots"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SERIGNE MBACKE SOKHNA LO
From https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/79078/archives-thematique/le-ph-nom-ne-serigne-mback-sokhna-l/&prev=search
"This great-grand-son of the founder of the Mouride brotherhood is one of the richest religious leaders and best known in the country and abroad, one of which everyone speaks and everyone wants to meet...
The mere mention of his name causes hysteria among some of his followers. His followers are unleashed to approach, touch, on his rare public appearances. Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo, whose real name is Mohamed Mbacke, great-grand-son of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who founded the powerful Mouride brotherhood of the late nineteenth century in the Senegalese groundnut basin, saw its heyday. Boroom Taif ak Beyla ("the master of Taif and Beyla," two villages deep Senegal), is "the man of that time," as the Mouride tradition designates one in each generation"...
****
From http://www.blackpast.org/gah/mouride-sufi-brotherhood
"The Mouride Sufi Brotherhood is a sect of Islam that boasts over four million followers today, mostly concentrated in Senegal and The Gambia.
The Mouride Sufi Order was founded by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba in 1883 in the Senegambia region of West Africa. At this period there was a great deal of social dislocation and economic hardship in this region because of the impact of colonialism. Bamba thought that people needed to be more directly connected with Allah through hard work and prayer. He also taught his pupils that they should be responsible for their behaviors, have a useful occupation, and should be self-reliant. Originally the followers of the Mourides were youth, former slaves, and soldiers of the colonial administration or those from the Wolof ethnic group…
Touba, the most famous Mouride city, is the largest city in Senegal outside of Dakar. It was founded in 1887 by Bamba’s sons and his followers. It is known as a center for groundnut production and most of Touba’s residents are active in farming and shipping the groundnut harvest. Some followers consider Touba to be a holier site than Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Touba also boasts the Great Mosque which is one of the largest mosques in all of Africa."...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Youssou ndour-Smsl
Sukalii221, Uploaded on May 24, 2008
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Omar Noir, 2008
"oh snap, this song is like a classic in mbalax. one Youssou's best.. :D"
**
niqua103, 2011
"proud to be wollof what a culture , deep i mean deep"
**
ndiogou mbathie, 2015
LE ROI DU MBALAX
-snip-
translation from French to English = King of Mbalax
****
Example #2:Youssou N'Dour - Serigne Mbacke Sokhna Lo
Omar Diop, Uploaded on Oct 3, 2011
Bercy 2oo4
-snip-
Bercy is where this concert was held.
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
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