Story of Swahili (Africa in World History) by John M. Mugane

Author:John M. Mugane [Mugane, John M.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: African Studies
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Published: 2015-08-20T04:00:00+00:00

8: Writing Swahili in Arabic Characters

When used for writing African languages, the Arabic alphabet is referred to in Africa as Ajami from the Arabic word ajam, meaning “strange” or “foreign.” Ajami was used for drawing up trade and other legal documents, for private correspondence, for genealogies of the ruling families, for chronicles of towns, for literary works (primarily poems and epics), and for numerous other purposes.[219]Arabic script was also used to write Swahili, although the origins of the practice have been lost. It is alleged that the Portuguese destroyed centuries-old Swahili documents in Ajami in the sixteenth century when they razed Swahili towns, trying to bring them under their control.[220]

The Ajami script is at the base of most, if not all, Swahili poetry. Swahili versification, even when focused on secular topics, has a tone that is decidedly Muslim and thus Arabic in language. The word Bismillah—by which poets declare themselves to be Muslims—or a variant of it always prefaces a poem. It is usually, if not always, written in Arabic without modification for Swahili pronunciation. Closely following the Bismillah are incantations of the Prophet Muhammad and his family. These expressions of piety are seldom rushed and may take several verses in a poem or the entire opening paragraph in prose.

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