Description

Book Synopsis
This book explores the influence of oral poetry on Somali politics. By reconstructing the history of the Somali nationalist resistance movement, mainly through the use of political oratory in verse form by its leader, Sayyid Mahammad 'Abdille Hasan', the 'Mad Mullah' of British history, Said Samater shows how an indigenous resource can be harnessed in a non-literate society, not only as a medium of mass communication but also as a tool for acquiring political power. He traces the intimate correlation between language, politics and oral poetry and seeks to suggest to students of African societies ways of examining indigenous forms of communication used by traditional African creators of large-scale organisations in the absence of writing, to influence public opinion. The book is an important contribution to the history of the Horn of Africa and its new material on the role of oral literature in a non-literate society will interest linguists, sociologists and anthropologists, as well as

Table of Contents
Preface; Introduction; 1. Elements of Somali pastoral oratory: Prose; 2. Elements of Somali pastoral oratory: Poetry; 3. Occupation and resistance: The rise of the Somali Dervishes; 4. Poetic oratory and the Dervish movement; 5. Myth and the Mullah; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism The Case of Sayid Mahammad Abdille Hasan 32 African Studies Series Number 32

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    A Paperback by Said S. Samatar

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      View other formats and editions of Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism The Case of Sayid Mahammad Abdille Hasan 32 African Studies Series Number 32 by Said S. Samatar

      Publisher: Cambridge University Press
      Publication Date: 3/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780521104579, 978-0521104579
      ISBN10: 0521104572
      Also in:
      General and world history

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      This book explores the influence of oral poetry on Somali politics. By reconstructing the history of the Somali nationalist resistance movement, mainly through the use of political oratory in verse form by its leader, Sayyid Mahammad 'Abdille Hasan', the 'Mad Mullah' of British history, Said Samater shows how an indigenous resource can be harnessed in a non-literate society, not only as a medium of mass communication but also as a tool for acquiring political power. He traces the intimate correlation between language, politics and oral poetry and seeks to suggest to students of African societies ways of examining indigenous forms of communication used by traditional African creators of large-scale organisations in the absence of writing, to influence public opinion. The book is an important contribution to the history of the Horn of Africa and its new material on the role of oral literature in a non-literate society will interest linguists, sociologists and anthropologists, as well as

      Table of Contents
      Preface; Introduction; 1. Elements of Somali pastoral oratory: Prose; 2. Elements of Somali pastoral oratory: Poetry; 3. Occupation and resistance: The rise of the Somali Dervishes; 4. Poetic oratory and the Dervish movement; 5. Myth and the Mullah; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

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