A T h e s i s sub m i t t e d by
M o h a m m a d I b r a h i m M o h a m m a d A b o u Egl
For the D e gree of PhD.
A t T h e U n i v e r s i t y of L o ndon
D ecem b e r 19S3
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"Thy L o r d hath dec r e e d that ye w o r s h i p none save Him, and (that ye show)
k indness to parents. If one of them or both of them w e r e to attain old
age with thee, say not "Fie" unto t h e m nor repulse them, but speak unto
t h e m a g racious word. A n d lower unto t hem the w ing of s u b mission through
mercy, and say: M y Lord! H a v e m e r c y on t hem both as they did care for me
w h e n I was l i t t l e " ,
Q u r a n 17: 23-24,
To my parents
- 3 - A b s t r a c t
/>
T he Life and Works of Muhamadi Kijuma
T he p urpose of this thesis is to investigate the life and w o r k s of
Muhamadi K i j u m a of Lamu. L a m u is one of the districts of Ken y a ' s Coast
Pro vince. K i j u m a ' s life (1855-1945) spans a l m o s t the entire colonial
period.
Li t t l e was known about his life and w o r k s before this research worker
started c o l lecting K i j u m a ' s own man u s c r i p t s found in E u r o p e and East
Africa, d o c u m e n t s of the period, and facts f r o m the m e m o r i e s of the old
people at L a m u w ho were still alive w h e n this worker a r r i v e d there in
1980.
Kiju m a was a scribe, calligrapher, com poser of songs and dances, m u s i c i a n
and maker of m u s i c a l instruments. In the first chapter, Kijuma's
g e n e a l o g y and his life is dealt with in detail.
Th e remaining c h a p t e r s i n vestigate m o r e closely the v a r i o u s a c tivities in
w h i c h he engaged, p a r t i c u l a r l y after his retu rn from Zanzibar in 1908.
T h e first of these w as the singing c o m p e titions in w h i c h Kiju m a took an
active part, and by whi c h the C o l o n i a l Office in L a m u m a n a g e d to change
the pol itical, e conomic a nd social structure of L a m u to replace it with
its own. The c u l t u r a l and the religious aspects of these singing
c o m p e titions are discussed. Th e orig i n of what is c a l l e d in Swahili
tarabu has been discovered, as well as the fact that it was Kiju m a who
imported it into Lamu, that Kijuma was a m o ving force amo n g s t those who m ade tarabu known all over East Africa, and that he was the first to make
; a kinanda in Lamu, and to compose the dances c a l l e d M w asha and K i n a n d a .
T h e m a i n tool of the singing c ompetitions was the S wahili song, and the
f o l l o w i n g subject dis c u s s e s Kijuma's s o n g s , and deals e s p e c i a l l y with
K i j u m a ' s m afumbo "Kiddles and metaphors", and to sh,ow that these mafumbo
w e r e u s e d by K i j u m a in his songs only, hot in his poems. T h e bulk of
these songs w e r e c o l l e c t e d from Kijum a ' s compatriots in Lamu, Matondoni
a n d M o m b a s a in Kenya, and are edit ed here for the first time. Kijuma's
c o m p o s i n g of songs inspired h i m to compose also long po e m s and to copy
t h e m o u t artistically. Therefore, the third subject c o m p rises all the
l i t e r a r y w o r k s wh i c h K i j u m a either compo s e d and scribed, or only
-s c r i b e d . Some of these h ave been identified for the fir s t time as being
K i j u m a ' s compositions, or as simply scribed by him. Other manuscripts
ha v e b e e n i d e n t i f i e d as being the w o r k s of other poets, although it has
b een a l l e g e d by other Swahili scholars that they w e r e Kijum a ' s
c o m p ositions. K i j u m a ' s sources for composing these p o e m s have also been
identified. T h i s t h i r d subject shows that Kiju m a i n d irectly p a r t i c i p a t e d
in p r e s e r v i n g N o r t h e r n Swa h i l i literature, and p r o d u c i n g v a l u a b l e data
upon w h i c h the schol a r s of Swahili are still depending. The main sources
for this s ubject w e r e K i j u m a ' s m a nuscripts found at the S c hool of
O r i e n t a l and A f r i c a n Studies, London, in the U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e of
D a r - e s - S a l a a m , and in Hamburg, and Kijum a ' s c o r r e s p o n d e n c e with his
E u r o p e a n clients. K i j u m a ' s talents enabled h i m to p r o d u c e m a n y works of
v i s u a l art, i n c l uding t itle-pieces for his manuscripts. So, the fourth
s ubject is: K i j u m a as a craftsman ( F u n d i ) . Under this heading, all
K i j u m a 1s a v a i l a b l e works of visual art are discussed, showing that he was
s k i l l e d in sculpture, wood-carving, drawing, calligraphy, tailoring, and
d e c o r a t i v e knitting. It is important to note that K i j u m a introduced many
s y m b o l s in these a r t i s t i c works. T h e s e symbols are d i s c u s s e d and
d i s p l a y e d for the first time. The fif th subject deals with Kiju m a ' s
religion.
- 5 -
T h i s research w o rker came, later, to realise that the title of this
thesis mig h t h ave been: K i j u m a ' s religion, bec a u s e it w a s found out, by
reading all about this subject, that all the p r e c e d i n g s ubjects are
r elevant to the q u e s t i o n s whi c h arise in the c o n s i d e r a t i o n of this
subject. In a d d i t i o n to this, it is the only aspect of K ijuma's life
whi c h Swahili scholars and m i s s i o n a r i e s have w r i t t e n about in some
detail. T h e y have c o n s i d e r e d K i juma as a Christian, but judging by the
a v a i l a b l e data, K i j u m a must have been a Muslim. T h e sixth and final
subject, dis c u s s e s Kijum a ' s p e r s o n a l i t y , e x t r a p o l a t i n g from his own p o e m
Siraji which is t r a n s l iterated, translated, and giv e n in the appendix.
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s
It is my p l e a s u r e to a c k n o w l e d g e a debt of g r a titude to m y supervisor
Dr, J an Knapp e r t w h o s e c onstant enc o u r a g e m e n t and advice, which a ttended
every stage of w r i t i n g this thesis, e n abled me to c o m p l e t e it. Thanks
are also due to: My tutor Mr. F.D.D. W i n s t o n w h o s e remarks p r oved
p a r t i c u l a r l y v a l u a b l e in ordering the material; to my teacher Sheikh
Y a h y a Al i Oma r i whose u n f a iling h elp m a d e the transliteration,
t ranscription, and t r a n s l a t i o n of the Swahili texts, in this thesis,
possible; to Bibi M a r y a m u M, a l - B a k a r i y of L a m u and her kind sisters,
Bibi Fatuma, Bibi Zena, and the late Bibi Asia for m a k i n g the mafumbo
found in K i j u m a ' s songs e a sily understood; to Prof. Dr. Ernst Damm a n for
sup p l y i n g me w i t h copies of all his corre s p o n d e n c e w i t h Kiju m a and the
Swahili m a n u s c r i p t s of K i j u m a found in Hamburg; to Revd. John W i l l i a m s o n
for showing m e his Swahili collection, made by Kijuma, and for g i ving me
copies of some of this collection; to the c o n t e m p o r a r y Swahili poet
A b d i l a t i f A b d a l l a for his p r o v i d i n g the phone t i c s ymbols for all the
Swa hili poems, of K i a m u , found in this thesis; to Mrs. C a r o l i n e F a w s y and
Mis s Jill M a n l e y for c o r r e c t i n g and reviewing m y i n i t i a l l y clumsy
English; to all those m e n t i o n e d in the B i b l i o g r a p h y as sources of
information; to Mrs. S.A, J a c o m b for her typing this thesis; and to
Dr. J.E.M. M aw for her saying to me: "I am here your s e c o n d mother",
after she had learned that m y dear young mother died on 15th Apr i l 1982,
l eaving her o nly will: "Do not let my son, Mohammad, know of m y death
w h i l e he is a b r o a d studying", but later I knew of her death from my
friends.
To a number of Inst i t u t i o n s I am e s p e c i a l l y grateful: A l - A z h a r U n i v e r s i t y
of Egypt through w h i c h I got m y sc h o l a r s h i p and w h i c h m a d e my stay here
for the last six years pos sible.
- 7 -
T h e libraries of the Scho o l of O r i e n t a l and A f r i c a n S t u d i e s of London,
and of the U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e of D a r - e s - S a l a a m for their good facilities
w h i c h w e r e easily obtainable.
I w i s h to r e c o gnise my deep debt to m y fai thful and b e l o v e d wife, Nadia,
w h o m ade m y study and stay here very com f o r t a b l e and enjoyable; and to my
daughter Asm a a and son I b r a h i m for forgiving me for not finding them
eno ugh time to p l a y with.
A l l e n
A.W.
B.S.O.A.S.
E.A.L.B.
E.D.
H a m b u r g
Sh. Hinav/y
J.K.
J.W.
Lambert
L . H .
Meinhof
Ms.
Mss.
S . O . A . S ■
Swahili
U.C.D.
W.H.
W.T.
Z. E . S .
A b b r e v i a t i o n s
= Mr. J.W.T, Allen.
= Dr. A l i c e Werner.
= P e r i o d i c a l p u b l i cation, Bulle t i n of the S c h o o l of O r i e n t a l
Studies, whi c h came in 1938 to be named: Th e School of
O r i e n t a l and A f r i c a n Studies, L o n d o n University.
= East A f r i c a n L i t e r a t u r e Bureau.
= Prof. Dr. Ernst Dammann.
= The a r c h i v e s of the Seminar Fur A f r i k a n i s c h e Sprachen,
U n i v e r s i t y of Hamburg.
= S h i e k h Mbar a k Ali Hinawy, Liwali of Mombasa.
- Dr. J a n Knappert, London.
= Revd. J o h n W i lliamson, Nairobi.
= Mr. H.E. Lambert, Nairobi.
= Prof. L y n d o n Harries, Madison.
= Prof. Carl Meinhof, Hamburg.
= M a n u s c r i p t found in S.O.A.S.
= M a n u s c r i p t s found in S.O.A.S.
= S c hool of O r i e n t a l and Afr i c a n Studies, L o n d o n University.
= B u l l e t i n of the East A f r i c a n I n t e r - T e r r i t o r i a l L anguage
C o m mittee, w h i c h in the 1 9 6 0 ‘s b e came known as: J ournal of
the E ast A f r i c a n Swahili Committee, and in the 1970's
b e c a m e known as: J o u r n a l of the Ins t i t u t e of Swahili
R e s earch, U n i v e r s i t y of Dar-es-Salaam.
= U n i v e r s i t y Col l e g e of Dar-es-Salaam.
= Mr. W i l l i a m Hichens,
= Revd. W i l l i a m Taylor.
= Z e i t s c h r i f t fuer E i n g e b o r e n e n Sprachen, Ham burg.
- 9 - TABLE OF CONTE N T S
pp.
A b s t r a c t 3 - 5
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s 6 - 7
A b b r e v i a t i o n s 8
T a b l e of C o n t e n t s 9 - 14
Chapter I 15 - 42
1 .
Muhamadi K i j u m a ' s G e n e a l o g y A n d His Life, 152. Kijuma's G r a n d f a t h e r Omari. 15
3. Kijuma's F a ther A bu Bakari. 16
4. K ijuma's Mother Mwana Kamari. 17 - 23
5. K ijum a ' s Life. 23 - 37
6. Notes. 38 - 42
Chapter II 43 - 91
1 .
The Sin g i n g C o m p e t i t i o n s which Kijumaorg a n i s e d under the colonial g o v e r n m e n t ... 43 - 46
2. N go m a va Dhili, 46 - 52
3. Ngo m a ya Mwasha. 52 - 58
4. The visit of Sultan H a m o u d to L a m u in 1901,
and the orig i n of the tarabu. 59 - 69
5. Ngo m a ya Beni (in Lamu), 69 - 79
6. Ngoma ya Beni o u t s i d e Lamu. 79 - 81
7. The economic, cultural, and r e l igious a s pects
of the singing competitions. 82 - 85
8. Notes. 86 - 91
Cha p t e r m 92 - 157
1 .
Ki juma the composer of songs, (and his useof the mafumbo). 92
-
1082. The songs w h i c h are relevant to K ijuma's
s inging competitions. 109 - 126
3. Love songs. 126 - 147
4. M i s c e l l a n e o u s songs of Kijuma. 147 - 152
5. Notes. 153 - 157
C h apter IV 158 - 279
A Kijuma as a S c ribe and a poet. 158 - 169
B Kijuma and W.T.: 170 - 179
1. T h e G o s p e l of St. John. 170
2. U t e n d i w a Kozi na Ndiwa. 171 - 179
C Kijuma and A.W., (Meinhof, and Lambert). 180 - 223
1. A c r o s t i c on the Divine Attributes. 181
2. A c r o s t i c of D ura L. Mandhuma. 182 - 183
3. U t e n d i w a Nana Werner. 183
4. Kisa cha S a y y i d n a Isa. 183 - 186
5. U t e n d i w a M kunumbi by Muh. Kijuma. 186 - 191
6. Utendi wa Yusufu. 191 - 194
7. U t e n d i wa Mwana Kupona. 195
8. Liongo, and T a khmis of Liongo. 195 - 196
9. Shairi la Liongo. 196 - 197
10. U t endi or H adithi ya Liongo. 198 - 202
11. L y r i c s a t t r i b u t e d to L i o n g o (Ushuhuda). 202 - 206
12. Lamu. 206 - 207
13. F r a g m e n t s of Utendi wa Yusufu. 207
14. L i s t of D i v i n e Names. 207
15. L ist of Birds. 207
16. Utendi w a Ayubu. 207 - 209
17. Mashairi from the Lamu Chronicle. 209 - 211
18 .
Habar i za ... s a b a a . 211 - 212- 11 -
19. K i s a cha Kijana, 212
20. H a b a r i ya uzuri w ake wa^ sura za Muhammad. 212
21. U t e n d i w a Hunaini. 212 - 213
22. U f u n g u o M a n e n o ya Miiraji. 213 - 214
23. K i s a cha Kijana. 215
24. Inkishafi. 215 - 216
25. Tabaraka, 217
26. U t e n d i wa K u t a w a f u Muhammad. 218 - 219
27. M i k i d a d i na Mayasa. 220 - 221
28. S t o r i e s about the p e o p l e of Shela. 221
29. K u k u na Kanu. 221
30. N g a m i a na Paa. 221 - 223
D Kiju m a a n d W.H.: 224 - 237
1. K i s a cha Kadhi na Haramii. 224 - 225
2. K i s a cha Kadhi. 225
3. Siraji. 225 - 227
4. U t e n d i w a Esha. 227 - 229
5. W a j i waji. 229
6. N a s a r a w a Arabu. 230 - 231
7. K h a b a r i ya W a g a n g a .... 231 - 233
8. Binti Yusufu. 233 - 234
9. Mzigo. 234
10. Shufaka. 235
11. K h a b a r i juu ya asili ya Shiraa. 235
12. V i s a vya Sun g u r a na Fisi. 235 - 237
E Kijuma and E.D.: 238 - 242
1. W e d d i n g customs in old Lamu. 238
2. A b d u r - H a h m a n i na Sufiyani. 238 - 239
3. Kishamia, 239
4. A p o e m f r o m Siu. 239
5. A p o e m in the Siu-dialept. 240
6. U t endi w a Safari. 240
7. Hini ni A.I.U. 240 - 241
8 ♦ Utendi wa Herekali. 241 - 242
F Kij uma and J . W . : 242 - 245
1.
K ha b a r i ya Katrifu. 242 - 2432. U t e n d i w a M u s a na Nabii Khidhri. 244 - 245
G Notes. 248 - 279
C h a p t e r V 280 - 333
1.
Kij uma as a c r a f t s m a n (Fundi). 280 - 2812. Kijuma as a w o o d - c a r v e r and a sculptor. 281 - 286
3. Kijuma as a wood-carver. 287 - 294
4. Kijuma as an artist of drawing and
calligraphy. 295 - 318
5. Kijuma as a d esigner of title-pieces. 318 - 319
6. Kijuma as a tailor and a knitter. 319 - 321
7. Notes. 322 - 333
Chapter VI 334 - 401
1.
Kijuma 's religion. 334 - 3592. Kisa cha S a y y i d n a Isa. 360 - 376
3. Utendi w a Mkunumbi. 376 - 377
4. Utendi or H a d i t h i ya Liongo. 377 - 378
5. Siraji:
•
378 - 3806. Nasara w a Ara bu. 380 - 382
7. Wed d i n g c u stoms of old Lamu. 382
8. Utendi w a Safari. 382 - 385
9. A.I.U, 385 - 388
10. Notes.
- 13 -
394 - 401
C h a p t e r VII - 402 - 417
1. Kijuma as a person. 402 - 404
2. Kijuma the believer. 404 - 405
3. Kiju ma the f a mily man: 405 - 407
i) A s a son, v. 405
ii) As a husband. 405 - 406
iii) A s a father. 406
iv) A s a relative. 407
4. Kijuma as a m e mber of society. 407
5. Kijuma the friend. 408 - 410
6. Kijuma the opponent. 410 - 411
7. Kijuma as neighbour. 411
8. Kijuma as employee. 412
9. Kijuma as employer. 412
10. Kijuma and the n e e d y and the ha ndicapped. 412
11. Kijuma and the l azy and trouble makers. 413
12. Kijuma as a guest. 413
13. K i juma p e rsonally. 413 - 415
14. Notes. 416 - 417
A p p e n d i x A 418 - 475
Siraji 418 - 470
N otes
A p p e n d i x B
471 -.475
476 - 480
M andari "The picnic". 476 - 480
3ix C 481 - 482
T h e account of Mzee S a l i m Kheri on Sul tan
H a m o u d ' s visit to Lamu. 481 - 482
A st a m p e d letter f r o m Bwana A b d a l l a K hatibu
of Lamu.
B i b l i o g r a p h y I l l u s t r a t i o n s
L i s t of illustrations.
3 Exs,
22 Figures.
24 Plates.
- 15 - C H A P T E R I
Muham a d i K i j u m a ' s G e n e a l o g y
An d H is Life
B y the court e s y of Bi. Zena M. al-Bakariy, one of K i j u m a ' s relatives, I
w a s able to obta i n the g e n e a l o g y of Muhamadi Kiju m a (abbr. Kijuma) from his pater n a l side. This g e n e a l o g y was written, by K i j u m a himself, on 14
p a g e s of wh i c h I have a copy. His full name was : M u h a m a d i Kijuma bin
A b u - B a k a r i bin Omari bin A b u - B a k a r i bin Othmani bin M u h a m a d i bin Ali bin
M u h a m a d i bin Omari bin M u h a m a d i bin A b d a l l a bin A b u - B a k a r i bin Muhamadi
bi n A b d a l l a bin I b r a h i m u bin Y u s u f u al -Bakariy. T h i s Y u s u f u al-B a k a r i y
wa s born in a v i l l a g e c a l l e d Samaail at Muscat in Oman. W e do not know
when, but this a l - B a k a r i y and some m embers of his family em i g r a t e d from
S a m a a i l to a town c a l l e d Y a f i i in the m o u ntains of H a d ramawt. F rom
Y afii, one of three brot h e r s of the fami l y e m i g rated to Lamu, one to
Ngazija, and another to B a r a w a . 1 Th e name of the one who emi g r a t e d to
L a m u is not known. T h i s family had been and still is known in L amu as a
r e s p e c t e d family f r o m which the g o v e r n i n g Cou n c i l of L a m u town used to ha v e a member, 2 K i j u m a m e n t i o n e d no par t i c u l a r s about his forefathers
except for his g randfather, Omari.
K i j u m a ' s G r a n d f a t h e r Omari
A l l K i j u m a wro t e about his g r a n d father is that he w as a p r i n c i p a l Sheikh
3 4
of L a m u (Mzee wa mji) during the reign of the S u l t a n S a i d bin
S u l t a n of Zanzibar wh o reigned from 1832 until 1856. N o t h i n g m o r e is
kn o w n about him, but his child r e n and some of their d e s c e n d a n t s are known
by name to Bw. A b d a l l a K h a t i b u of Lamu.
Bw. Omari had the following descendants:
Omari
r .1
A b u Bakari E sha Abd a l l a J u l a Titi Toma
K i juma M u h . K h a t i b u Omari Fatima Gaifadi A b d a l l a Imam"7
H e lewa 5
A b d a l l a Kh a t i b u A b d a l l a
Esha
K i j u m a ’s Fath er A b u-Bakari
T he only thi ng K i j u m a m e n t i o n e d about his father w a s that he was also a
p r i n c i p a l s h eikh of Lamu, during the reign of the S u l t a n Majid
Lamu, and also a seaman. H e used to sail for trade be t w e e n Lamu,
Zanzibar, and the C o m o r o Islands. 9 So, his p e r m a n e n t job seems to have
been agriculture, and his occas i o n a l one was m a r i t i m e trade. He m a rried
a lady called Kamari. A c c o r d i n g to all the p e o p l e of L a m u that I
interviewed, she was a Sharifa. T h i s title is g i v e n to w o m e n who s e
fathers or both p a r e n t s c l a i m to be descendants of Fatimah, the daughter
of the P r o p h e t Muhammad. Sha r i f a (= Mwana) K a mari b o r e h i m Kijuma in about 1355. 10 Later on she w as d i v o r c e d and Bw. A b u - B a k a r i died. What
w e can extract is that he d i e d well b e f o r e his e x - w i f e Mwa n a Kamari, who died in 1881, 11 b e c a u s e K i j u m a ' s life-history tells us that he was
b r ought up by his mother Mwana Kamari, not by his father Bw. Abu-Bakari,
as we shall see.
(1856-1870) of Zan zibar 8
Bw. A b u - B a k a r i was a p r o f e s s i o n a l farmer in
- 17 -
T h e r e is a sentence, w r i t t e n by Kiju m a in a letter 12 sent to J.W. on
7th R a m a d h a n 1 359/October 1940, from, which we can c o n c l u d e that Kijuma
inherited a d h o w f r o m his father. T he sentence reads: "Na marikabu,
ikisa kungia vita, m a r i k a b u kaizanya = C o n c e r n i n g the dhow, after the war h ad started, I sold it."
W e know that K i j u m a ' s father was a seaman, and being a seaman, he may
w e l l have had a dhow, if not several dhows, of his own. This suggests
two things, one is that K i j u m a inherited that dhow f r o m his father, and
the second is that Bw. A b u Bakari m u s t have b een rich for he owned also
farmland.
K i j u m a ' s Mother Mwana Kamari
W e must first endeavour to ascertain the name of Mwana K a m a r i ' s father,
b ecause she w as a d i s p u t e d daughter according to a let ter from Kijuma to W . H * in O ctober 1937. 13 T h e letter reads: "My m o t h e r ' s n a m e is
Kamari. The r e are two big quarters in Lamu c a lled M t a m w i n i a nd Mkomani.
T h e leader of M tamwini wa s a l - S heikh A b d u r - R a h m a n i bi n A h m a d i a l -Husainiy
who w as a Sha r i f u (i.e. a ma n whose father or both p a r e n t s c l a i m to be
descen d a n t s of Fatimah, the daughter of the P r o p h e t Muhammad) and a
judge. The leader of Mkomani was al- S h e i k h Muham a d i bin Abu-Bakari,
A l - S h e i k h M u h a m a d i bin Abu-B a k a r i mar r i e d Fatuma bint Ahmadi, the sister
of a l - S h e i k h A b d u r - R a h m a n i . After that, al- S h e i k h M u h a m a d i and al- S h e i k h
A b d u r - R a h m a n i q u a r r e l l e d w i t h each other until they w e r e about to fight
each other. Aft e r m y moth e r had been born, a l - S h e i k h Muha m a d i lawfully
w a n t e d to take her to his home, (it implies that K a mari w as not born in
the house of a l - s h e i k h Muhamadi) but a l - S heikh A b d u r - R a h m a n i refused. It
a p p r o a c h e d the poi n t of war. A l - S h e i k h A b d u r - R a h m a n i told a l - S heikh
Muha m a d i : ' Y o u r daughter is not yours.'
A f t e r that, they gave their back to each other, (i.e. they ignored each other). Before a l - s h e i k h Muhamadi died, he had made a will for his
d a u g h t e r Kamari. He said: "I shall die but Kamari is m y child, so, give
her her i n h e r i t a n c e ' . A f t e r he died, her inheritance was given to her
but a l - S h e i k h A b d u r - R a h m a n i refused to accept it and retu r n e d it. All
o l d p e o p l e in L a m u k n e w this story. One day my m o t h e r received a letter
s e n t to her and n a m i n g her Kamari bint Muhamadi. W h e n she replied to the
let ter, she signed it in her first name Kamari only. She did not m e ntion
her f a t h e r ' s n a m e b e c a u s e of the m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g b e t w e e n her and her
uncle. My m o t h e r ' s m o t h e r was a Sharifa, Fatuma bint A h m a d i . ”
A n y one who reads this letter, will c onclude at first that al-Sheikh
M u h a m a d i w a s the father of Mwana Kamari since she wa s add r e s s e d in the
letter a s Kama r i b int Muhamadi, w h i l e her own son K i j u m a did not give his
o wn v i e w about the proper name of his mothe r ' s father in the letter, nor
a n y w h e r e else. But it is likely that her father w a s not al-Sheikh
M u h a m a d i but S h e e H a madi wa Shee wa Pate, for the f o l l o w i n g reasons:
1. T h e r e is no one I met in L amu who disagreed that Mwa n a Kamari was a
Sharifa. It is stated in Kijum a ' s letter to W.H. that the mother
of Mwana K a m a r i was a Sharifa, It is w ell known also in L amu that a l - S h e i k h M u h a m a d i A b u - B a k a r i 14 was not a Sha rifu. So, if Mwana
Kama r i was a daughter of a l - S heikh Muhamadi Abu - B a k a r i , the people
of L a m u w o u l d never call Kama ri a Sharifa, b e c a u s e this title can
not go to d e s c e n d a n t s through the mothe r ' s side only but has to go through the father's or both p arents 15 since the c h i l d r e n have to
c a r r y their f a t h e r ’s names. Furthermore, K i j u m a h i m s e l f m e n t ioned
hi s mother Kama r i as the one w h o s e g e n e alogy g o e s back to the Banu Has him, 16 the same family to w h i c h the P r o p h e t M u h a m m a d belonged.
- 19 -
2. T h e best friend of Kijuma, Mzee S a l i m Kheri of L a m u told me that
M wa n a K a mari was a daughter of Mwen y e Shee H a m a d i wa Shee wa Pate
w h o was a Sharifu. That is why Kamari was c a l l e d a Sharifa by all
th e p e o p l e of Lamu.
3. W h e n K i j u m a m e n t i o n e d the c hildren of a l - S h e i k h Muha m a d i bin Abu
B akari to W.H., he did not include the name of Kamari. He named
these c h i l d r e n as: N y e k a i bin Muhamadi, K h a d i j a bint Muhamadi, and Z u h u r a {= N a n a mkuu) bint Muhamadi.17
Finally, the q u e s t i o n that remains to be solved is: W h y a l - S heikh
M u h a m a d i d id not stop clai m i n g fathe r h o o d of Kamari to the extent that he
wr o t e a will for her?
1 o
A c c o r d i n g to K i juma, a l - S h e i k h Muha m a d i had m a n y wives. If a M u s l i m
w an t s to m a r r y m o r e than one wife, he is not all o w e d to keep m ore than four w i v e s at one time. 19 A l - S h e i k h M uhamadi being m a r r i e d to so m a n y
wives, m u s t have d i v o r c e d others, or others mig h t h a v e d ied w h i l e they
w e r e m a r r i e d to him. His w i f e F a tuma bint Ahmadi, w a s among those w h o m
he divorced. B ut a c c o r d i n g to the Islamic rules, the w i f e has the right
to ask her h u s b a n d for a divorce, and he has to c a r r y it out. So, we can
a s s u m e that F a t u m a w as the one who a s k e d a l - Sheikh M u h a m a d i for a d i vorce
b e fore b e c o m i n g p r e g n a n t by him, and he unw i l l i n g l y had to car r y it out.
T h i s m i g h t h ave m a d e h i m c o mpose "The thankless woman". 20 H e felt
bitter, and b e c a u s e of this b i t t e r n e s s he might have i ntended to create
t r o u b l e for F a t u m a * s family. It seems proba b l e that F a t u m a mar r i e d Shee
H a m a d i w a Shee wa Pate, and gave bi r t h to Kamari w i t h i n nine months after
she h ad been d i v o rced. It seems a lso p r o b a b l e that F a t u m a stayed at her
f ather*s home for abo u t three months to be clear of the p revious
marriage. T h e s e three m o n t h s are c a lled in Isl a m 'Eddah, a legally
p r e s c r i b e d p e r i o d of w a i t i n g during whi c h the woman m a y not rem a r r y after 21
b eing divorced.
If, then, we a s sume that she remarried three mont h s after the divorce,
an d gave birth to Kamari w i t h i n about six m o nths of the new marriage,
a l - S h e i k h M u h a m a d i w ill have known that his ex-wife F a t u m a gave birth to
Kamari w i thin o n l y nine m o n t h s (i.e. 3 for the 'Eddah and about 6 for the
p r e g n a n c y and a birth) of divorcing her, while the n o r m a l period required
for such a birth should be about 12 m o n t h s (3 for 'Eddah and 9 for the
pregnancy). H e mi g h t the r e f o r e have found it logical to c l a i m Kamari as
his ow n daughter, and to make his cla i m a sound one, w o u l d have w r i t t e n a
w i l l for Kamari; but his will was refused by the f a m i l y of Fatuma, and it was she who had the right, as said before,
21
to say w ho the father ofK ama r i was. W e m a y assume, then, that she said that it w a s Shee Hamadi,
not Sheikh Muhamadi. That is w h y her family r e fused the will of Sheikh
Muh amadi. Co n s e q u e n t l y , we h a v e to agree with F a t u m a and her family that
K ama r i w as the daughter of Shee Hamadi w a Shee wa Pate. Thus, the
c omplete name of Mwana K a m a r i must be accepted as K a m a r i wa Shee Hamadi
w a Shee w a Pate. That is f r o m her p aternal side; her m o ther was Fatuma
b int A h m a d i al-Husainiy. Bw. A h m a d i a l - H u s a i n i y had the following
descendants:
Ah m a d i al- H u s a i n i y
Mwana Jahi A b d u r - R a h m a n i23 I 24
F a t u m a (Nana Shee)
M u h a m a d i bin Fadhili Salih K a m a r i Zainaba Nana
(Kake) Amini
Ali = Bwana Sena22
M uha m a d i A b d a l l a F a t u m a ■ A b d u r - R a h m a n i
- 21 -
M w a n a Kamari was a d e s c e n d a n t of the M a s h a r i f u - f a m i l y . A c c o r d i n g to Lamu
people, she was a d e v o u t Muslim. K i juma states that his m o ther had been
25 26
to M e c c a five times for the pilgrimage. She was v e r y rich.
Bei n g a rich d e vout Muslim, she f inanced a lot of poor p e o p l e to go to
M e c c a for the pilgri m a g e . T h i s financial help went on to the extent of
m a k i n g her son, Kijuma, jealous about his mothe r ' s wealth. Then, his
m o ther told him: "Do not feel a n g r y Muhamadi, Al l a h has given me this
w e a l t h and He w i l l g i v e you the same, but lit tle by little until you 2 6
die". It is p r o b a b l e that that p a rticular f eeling for K i j u m a was e x p r e s s e d by his m o t h e r in the following stanza:27
Siisi, w e w e na mimi I do not know what there is b e t w e e n y ou and me
H u t e k i hun eni nami Y ou do not smile, you do not speak with me
Ni h a s i r a h a z i k o m i It is your anger, it does not end.
She w a s consi d e r e d a scholar ( m w a n a c h u o n i }. 26 It is likely that she
w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y her son, Kijuma, to Mecca for the p i l g r i m a g e in about 1865, i.e. w h e n K i j u m a was about 10 years old. 28 In about 1875, she
took h i m and w e n t to Zan zibar to c l a i m her right of inh e r i t a n c e in front
of the S u ltan B a r g h a s h (1870 - 1888). Some mem b e r s of her family tried
to take some of her i n h e r itance unjustly. She went to the S u ltan and put
the case in his hands. He c o n s i d e r e d it and o r d e r e d the L i wali of Lamu, Suud Hemed, to g ive her the inheritance which she wa s claiming. 26 Mzee
S a l i m Kheri has stat e d that Kiju m a went with his moth e r to Mecca twice
after he had g one w i t h her to Zanzibar. This s t a t ement a l lows us to
c o n c l u d e that duri n g the years 1876-1877, Kiju m a went to Mecca with his
mo t h e r for the p i l g r i m a g e twice. Kiju m a used to respect her d e eply and
obey her in eve r y respect.
No t only did he do this, but he also adv i s e d his son H e l e w a to obe y the ad v i c e of his g r andmother. 29 Her h u s b a n d Bw. A b u - B a k a r i bin Omari was
not her first husband. She m arried twice. The first one was Muhamadi
bin Ahmadi, She bore h i m a daughter called T a m b a k e and a son called 26
Ahmadi. K i j u m a h i m s e l f m e n t i o n e d his sister T a m b a k e in his report to . . 30
E.D.. It is not kno w n w h ether Mwana Kamari was d i v o r c e d or widowed.
The second hus b a n d was Bw. A b u Bakari bin Omari al-Bak a r i y . She bore h i m one son c a lled Kijuma. 9 T h e r e is ano ther point to m e n t i o n in
conn e c t i o n with Mwa n a Kamari. It c oncerns a stanza c o m p o s e d by the q pe o p l e of L a m u in w h i c h the n a m e of Mw a n a Kamari is m e n tioned, thus:
A l o a n d a ni A z i z a A T he one who started is A z i z a
N a K a mari kaoleza A nd Kama r i followed (imitated) her
K u p o n a ame m a l i z a Then, K u p o n a c o m p leted it.
Bi. Azi z a w as the wife of Bw. Zena. She bore h i m Fatuma, Abd a l l a and Muhamadi. 31 M w a n a K u p o n a is a well kno wn lady b e c a u s e of her poetic
advi c e to her daughter. 32 O p i n i o n s differ about the signi f i c a n c e of
this stanza's composition. It is said that this s t anza concerns these
t hr e e ladies w ho w ere going to Mecca for the p i l g r i m a g e w i t h o u t taking a 9
M a h r a m w ith them.
•
T h e M a h r a m is a man who is re l a t e d to a woman in a•
de gree of c o n s a n g u i n i t y p r e c l u d i n g marriage. 33 Th e M a h r a m should
a c c o m p a n y his female r e l a t i v e as long as he is able, both p h y s i c a l l y and
fi nancially, to m a k e the journey. O t h e r w i s e the lady should go with
other female friends. If such friends are not a v a i l a b l e then she may go
alone. Other p e o p l e say this stan za concerns these three ladies because
t h e y either w e n t alone t o .Zanzibar for claiming their proper share of the inheritance, 26 or bec a u s e they stood up against their relatives by
34 acc e p t i n g b r i d e grooms who w e r e refused by those rel a t i v e s .
In 1881, M w a n a K a mari died.27
- 23 -
Kiju m a ' s Life
A l t h o u g h the exact year of Kijum a ' s birth is not known, we can assume
wi t h reas o n a b l e confi d e n c e that he was born in about 1855. One of
K i j u m a ' s relatives c a l l e d Bw. A b d a l l a Skanda 35 said that he was told by
his father that K i j u m a lived 114 years. We w i l l learn later that Kijuma
died in 1945. T h a t w o u l d p l a c e K ijuma's birth as being in 1831. This
s tatement of Bw. Skanda is s u p ported by a comment w h i c h is fou nd in Ms.
53491, reading: "Muhamadi bin A b u - B a k a r i bin Omari of L a m u w as alive in
1262/1850". If he a c t u a l l y was alive in 1262, we s h ould correct the
equi v a l e n t C h r i s t i a n year for 1262. It is 1845, not 1850 as is written in this Ms. (53491). So, the statement in this Ms. indicates that Kijuma
was born before 1845, It m e a n s that the i n formation of Bw. A b d a l l a
Skanda ma y be correct. But returning to the other s o urces f r o m Lamu and
from the events w h i c h took place in Kiju m a ' s li fe-time, we can conclude
that he w a s born in about 1855, and not after this date because:
1. T h e r e is a note sent b y M i s s i o n a r y C h e e s e f rom L a m u to W.H. in 1936. T he n ote reads: "Kijuma is about 80". 3 6 It seems that
that M i s s i o n a r y u s e d to mix w i t h Kijuma b e c a u s e he w as m e n t i o n e d in the U t e n d i wa Safari 37 of Kijuma, in stanza 56. So, he might
have known a p p r o x i m a t e l y Kijum a ' s age.
2. Most of the L a m u p e o p l e I met, including the b e s t friend of Kijuma,
Mzee S a l i m Kheri, and the relative of K i j u m a ' s Bw. A b d a l l a Khatibu,
a g reed that K i j u m a was about 90 years w h e n he died. K n o w i n g that
K i juma d i e d in 1945, he must have been b orn in about 1955.
3. In a d d i t i o n to these two reasons, there are the e v ents whi c h will
follow in this chapter.
W h e n he was born, his m o ther called h i m Kiju m a "little Juma". Juma is a
proper name, one of the c o m m o n e s t for, men in the I s lamic world. It
refers to the h o l y day of the week. This holy day is Friday, and is
c a lled in A r a b i c al-Jumah. Kijuma, in the Swahili language, is the
dimin u t i v e f o r m of Juma. W h e n K i j u m a ' s mother was asked b y her
compat r i o t s w h y she c a l l e d h i m Kijuma, she answered: "If he has many
talents, p e o p l e w i l l be surprised. T h e y will enquire: 'Why was such a
clev er pers o n with so m a n y talents called Kijuma'. If he has no talents, 9
it will be a s u i t a b l e n i c k n a m e for him". If one asks p e o p l e in Lamu
w h y they think Mwa n a K a m a r i w as of this opinion, t hey answer that Mwana
Kama r i was a very intell i g e n t lady. This, in m y view, m e a n s that his
mother w a s t r y i n g to p r o t e c t herself a g ainst any m i s f o r t u n e which might
d e s c e n d upon h im as a result of an unexp e c t e d s t u p i d i t y of his, and which
m i g h t prevent h i m f r o m using his creat i v e talents, if this w ere the
case, every one w o u l d u n d e r s t a n d that his m o t h e r was not to blame, and
that the one to be b l a m e d w o u l d be K i j u m a himself. T h e p e o p l e wo u l d say:
"Yes, indeed, his m o ther had a right to call h im that." Thus, the
i n t e l ligence of his mother is reflected in his name. B e f o r e leaving the
n a m e Kijuma, I have to ac k n o w l e d g e that Swahili scholars are divided over
the w a y of w r i t i n g this name. Some w r i t e it K i j u m w a and othe r s Kijuma.
T h e p r esent writer p r e f e r s K i juma because, as we h ave a l r e a d y seen, the
n a m e (Kijuma) is the d i m i n u t i v e form of Juma not Jumwa. W h e n we learn
that the d i m i n u t i v e p a r t i c l e in the Swahili lang u a g e is the "ki", then,
the dimin u t i v e f o r m of J u m a should be K i j u m a not Kijumwa. In addit i o n to
to be t r a n s l i t e r a t e d into Kijumwa, but always, in all of his writing, w h i c h has to be t r a n s l i t e r a t e d as Kijuma.
this, K i j u m a hi m s e l f never wrote or even
- 25 -
K i j u m a grew up as a chi l d in the a f o r e m e n t i o n e d family. In about 1861,
he was sent to the c h u o , an E l e m e n t a r y School. H is t eacher was Mwa l i m u A b d a l l a whose g r a n d f a t h e r w as A b d a l l a Hamidi. T h i s chuo is used now as
shops; it stands just besi d e the m o s q u e of Nna L a l o in Lamu. He was sent
to the chuo in about 1861, as the age of six is the a v e r a g e age at whi c h
p a r e n t s used to send their c h i l d r e n to the chuo in S wahili society. T he
p u p i l s were taught in this chuo to read A r abic script, to write it, and
to b e have p r o p e r l y b oth in s o c i e t y and towards par ents. After this stage
is completed, the p u pils b e g i n to learn the Q u r a n by heart. Kijuma h i m s e l f referred to his chuo in his Siraji. 38 In about 1865 when
K i j u m a was ten yea r s old, and w h i l e he w as still in the c h u o , he
ac c o m p a n i e d his m o t h e r to M e c c a for the pilgrimage. It was the first
time that K i j u m a went to Mecca. H e returned to L a m u to resume his
s c h o oling in the c h u o . A r o u n d 1870, he left the c h u o , after he had
ga i n e d knowledge of writing, reading, and reciting some of the short
Q u r a n i c surahs by heart, to join the lectures of M w e n y e M a n s a b u in the
A r r a u d h a - m o s q u e in Lamu. T he name of Mwenye M a n s a b u is in full; S a yyid
Ma n s a b u A b u - B a k a r i bin A b d u r - R a h m a n i bin A b u - B a k a r i a l-Husainiy. As we
see, his family is the same as the f a mily of K i j u m a ’s grandmother, Fatuma . 39
bint A h m a d i al-Husainiy. T h a t is w h y the p e o p l e of L a m u refer to
M w e n y e Ma n s a b u as an uncle of Kijuma. Mwen y e M a n s a b u w a s a teacher of Islamic culture, a poet, and an ou t s t a n d i n g c a l l i g r a p h e r of Swahili in A r a b i c script. 40 N ot o nly an o u t s t a n d i n g calligrapher, but als o an
artist. Th e r e are some p a i n t i n g s and other arti s t i c items, made by him, found in the m u s e u m of Zanzibar. 41 H e lived f rom 1243 to 1340/1829 - 1922. 40 He s t u d i e d at Mecca and at the mosq u e of B a i t u l'-Mukaddasi in
Jerusalem. 9 It is p r o b a b l e that M w e n y e Man s a b u is the one who gave his
st udent Kijuma the i n s p i r a t i o n to c o mpose poetry, to paint, and scribe
Mss, in his fine hand.
L a t e r on, we shall see to what extent Kiju m a beca m e an artist, poet and
scribe. W i t h M w e n y e Mansabu, K i juma may have stu d i e d R i s a l a h "The
m essage"; S a finah "The ship"; G h a y a h "The aim" - and Durar "pearls".
T h e s e four A r a b i c books deal with Islamic jurisp r u d e n c e for beginners.
C o n c e r n i n g A r a b i c grammar, K i j u m a must have stu died the book of
a l - A g r u m i y y a h b e c a u s e this book was studied by all the beg i n n e r s in A r a b i c grammar on the E a s t A f r i c a n coast. 42 The r e are other a dvanced
co u r s e s in these subje c t s but I b e lieve that K i juma d id not a t tend them
as w e shall see later. K i j u m a might have continued his stu dies with
M w e n y e M a n s a b u for about five s u c c e s s i v e years. A f t e r that, his study
w as i n t e r r u p t e d by great events in his life. In 1875, he a c c o m panied his m o t h e r to Zanzibar. 43 In 1876 and 1877, he again a c c o m p a n i e d his
m o t h e r to M e c c a for the pilgrimage. 44 T he jour ney f r o m L a m u to Mecca
and b a c k to L a m u took a w h o l e year, t r a velling in a d h o w by sea. He
r e t u r n e d f r o m Mecca, and w e n t back to his studies, but it seems that his
m o t h e r a r r a n g e d h is m a r r i a g e dur ing that year, 1878. It seems so because:
1. M z e e S a l i m K h e r i said that his mother had h i m m a r r i e d before she
died.
2. I t w a s a c o n v e n i e n t time for K i j u m a to get m a r r i e d as he was about
23 years old.
A l l t h a t is known ab o u t his first wife is her first name, Maryamu.26
J u s t b e f o r e he m a r r i e d Maryamu, his mother gave h i m the name M uhamadi.
26
Sin c e then, he b e c a m e known as Muha m a d i Kijuma. Hism o t h e r g a v e h i m this n a m e Muham a d i w h e n she felt h a p p y with the w a y he
w a s p r o g r e s s i n g , and when she saw the e n couraging si g n s of his career.
Sh e f o r e s a w then that her w i s h for her son to b e c o m e a scholar might be f ulfilled*
- 27 -
In addi t i o n to this, I b e l i e v e that she r ealised that her son was to be
m a r r i e d a nd later on w o u l d become a father w ho w o u l d need to obtain a
good p o s i t i o n in society, so, he must be giv en a good prop e r name and not
a d i m i n u t i v e name. In 1881, Mwana Kamari, Kiju m a ' s b e l o v e d mother died,
suspe c t i n g that her son secr e t l y loved the n g o m a , and tried to learn
music. Mwana K a m a r i h ad sometimes felt suspicious about her son's
in c l i nation t o wards the n g o m a . She r e p eatedly s c o l d e d h i m about it, but 26
e ach time he was a ble to clear himself from such suspicion. H a ving
c l e a r e d himself, however, he felt a n g r y b e cause of her scolding. The stan z a which his mother c o m p o s e d 45 w a s also likely c o n n e c t e d with these
suspicions. Furth e r m o r e , he p r o b a b l y became i n t e r e s t e d in m u sical
i n struments at the time he v i s i t e d Zanzibar and A r a b i a w i t h his mother in
1875-7. K i j u m a was the first one in L a m u to m a k e and introduce the k i n a n d a , or g a m b u s i , to Lamu. 46 This is a stringed i n s trument of the
type of a g u itar and is p l a y e d in m u c h the same way. It us u a l l y has
seven strings, six of w h i c h w e r e p r e v i o u s l y m a d e of sheep gut, and later
of t w isted silk. T he se v e n t h is the bass string w h i c h m i g h t be made of copper wire. 47 Aft e r M w a n a K a m a r i * s death, K i j u m a p l a y e d his kinanda
publicly.
A c c o r d i n g to Isl a m i c law, 48 the fortune of Mwana Kamari, m o n e y m cash,
houses, and wells, was d i s t r i b u t e d b e t w e e n her children. 49 Thus,
K i j u m a fou nd him s e l f in p o s s e s s i o n of some of his m o t h e r ' s fortune, with
a free hand to spend it on anyth i n g he liked - I bel i e v e that the thing
whi c h he loved most at that time was the ngoma and not education, bec a u s e
in about 1882, he left his lessons in the A r r a u d h a - m o s q u e to take part in the n g o m a . 50 Since then he never returned to the les s o n s but entered
the w o r l d of singing c o m p e t i t i o n s 50. This change of c o u r s e wa s the
m ain t u rning point in his e n tire life.
T h e story of h o w he t u rned to the w o r l d of singing c o m p e t i t i o n s was told
*
by h i mself to his r elative Bw. A b d a l l a Khatibu: "While I w as receiving
l essons f r o m M w e n y e M a n s a b u in the m o s q u e of Arraudha, news came to me
that the faction of M t a m w i n i had b e aten the faction of M k omani in the
si nging competition. H a v i n g received this news, I left the m o sque and
w ent out to take part in the competition." W h e n Bw. A b d a l l a Kha t i b u
a s k e d h i m w h y he did not return to the mosque to resume his schooling,
K i j u m a answered: "I was seduced by the devil, and d e s c e n d e d to the world
in the w a y of the P r o p h e t A d a m when he wa s ordered not to eat from the 9
tree, but he did". It is obvious here that K i j u m a later regretted
his a c tion of leaving the m o s q u e to indulge in his h o b b y of p a r t i c i p a t i o n
in singing competitions. A l t h o u g h K i j u m a c o n s i d e r e d it his destiny, he
later blam e d him s e l f for doing it, because, in his own words, he compared
s t u d y i n g in the m o s q u e to sta y i n g in paradise, and leaving the m o s q u e to
A d a m ' s fall f r o m paradise. F urthermore, K i juma found out later that a
pe r s o n cannot make friends w ithout obtaining one of two things,
knowledge, i.e. education, or wealth. At the end of his life, he wished he cou l d be either a scholar or wealthy. T he fol l o w i n g song 51 of his
o wn c o m p o s i t i o n r e veals this:
N a t a k a kwenda chuoni N i h i f a d h i kula kara 52
K w a n d a iande Y a s i n i
^ A
Y a pili a l - B a k a r a
H u w a p a t a p i wen d a n i
Mtu aki w a fukara
I want to go to school
T o recite all the Q u r a n by heart . 53
Star t i n g with Y a s m
T h e n a l - B a k a r a h ^
H o w can a pers o n m a k e friends
If he is poor?
A f t e r he had left the mosque, he divo r c e d his first w i f e Bi. Maryamu.
-
29-
U p o n a s king w h y he d i v o r c e d his wife, I always received the answer that
Kiju m a was mkali sana "very hot t e m p e r e d 1*. H e had no c h i l d r e n by her, F r o m about 1883, he show e d an irresistable love for carpentry. 55 That
love w as bas e d on his love of art, his wish to increase his money, and
his e a g e r n e s s to d e f e a t his opponents in the ngoma by making
m a s a n a m u . ^ H is love of c a r p e n t r y had induced h i m to take some lessons on the subject f r o m Fundi Hama d i Soyo. 26 T he stu d e n t was too
intelligent to r equire a long time to learn the art of c a r p entry
(u s a r u m a l a ). After a short time, K i j u m a himself beca m e a teacher of this
art. One of his s tudents who r eceived lessons f r o m h i m w as called Tabibu. 57 T he items w h i c h our carpenter used to m a k e were doors,
chests, m a s a n a m u , g a m b u s i , frames, and tables. He h i m s e l f used to have
one of these tables. In the 1930's he gave it to his son H e l e w a in Zanzibar, 58 S p e c i m e n s f r o m most of these items are i l l u s t r a t e d in this
thesis. A b o u t two years later he b e came very d e t e r m i n e d to learn the art 59
of carving. T h e o p inion of p e o p l e in Lamu is d i v i d e d conce r n i n g the teacher of K i juma in the art of carving. Some say that he learned it
fr o m his own o b s e r v a t i o n of the carved doors a r ound h i m in Lamu.
Othe r s say: "In just one night, K i juma ma n a g e d to learn it from a fundi
wh o s e name is for gotten. That fundi taught h i m how to carve only one
flow er on a piece of wood, but he did not teach h i m a n y m o r e because he
w a s a f raid that K i j u m a would one day become his rival in the art. After
that p a r t i c u l a r night and thr o u g h K i j u m a ' s keen o b s e rvation, he was able
to learn the art to p erfection". In these two yea r s d u r i n g which he
lea r n e d the art of carving, two important events took p l a c e in his life.
T he first w as his journey to A r a b i a for the fourth a nd last time in about 26
1884, His i n t e ntion thi s time was not to m a k e the pilgrimage, but to learn the m u s i c a l tun es from the m u s i c i a n s there, inc l u d i n g the Tur k i s h
soldiers.
K i j u m a himself told his frie n d M w e n y e Ala w y of W a sini about this
i ntention of 1884 w h e n the latter w a s v isiting L amu just b e f o r e the First 6 0
W o r l d War, K i j u m a r e t u r n e d to L a m u after he had a c q u i r e d enough
e x p erience of the r e q u i r e m e n t s of the kinanda to be able to make one of h is own. He w as the first p e r s o n to construct the kinanda in Lamu,46
In brief, K i j u m a c a m e back to L a m u f r o m A r a b i a q u a l i f i e d not only as a
c omposer of m u s i c a l tunes but also as a maker of the m u s i c a l instruments
of his time. For a p e r s o n who cou ld make a kinanda I bel i e v e it wou l d
h ave been easy to make drums and tambou r i n e s as well. In other words,
K i j u m a was a ble to m a k e these instruments. The seco n d event which took
p l a c e in his life during those two years was his second marriage, to Bi.
F a t u m a bint B w a n a Ali Kitole, known as Kina n a the d i m i n u t i v e f orm of nana
■Lady", in about 1885. Her g r a n d mother was a member of the famous and r e s p e c t e d family a l-Mahdaliy. 26 I h ave to a c k n o w l e d g e that Mzee S a l i m
K heri was not t o t a l l y sure whe t h e r this wife of K i j u m a w a s the second or
the third one. If she w a s the third, the third w i f e who w i l l be
m e n t i o n e d later w o u l d be the second, replacing this one. K i j u m a * s p o e t r y
p r e s e r v e s some s t anzas p r a i s i n g his w i f e K i n a n a as follows:
1.
K i m o cha kadiri
C ha kiasi sana
M i y o m o mizuri
H a t a akinena
K a m a santuri
Kimba w a n g u nana
Of m e d i u m stature
Of the right size
Bea u t i f u l lips
Even when speaking
It is like the g r a m o p h o n e
W h e n m y lady sings
61
-
31-
2 .
Siwe zi kuwanga
Wahedi wahedi
Zitafute zake
A n
Kama m a w a r i d i M uwilini ite
H a r u f u nda udi
r* r*
I can not enumerate (her qualities)
One by one
Her cheeks
Are like roses
The smell of her body's sweat
Is the a romatic aloe itself.
3.
Siwezi kuwanga
Y o t e kutamka
Nac h a ya kuzinga
M a m b o kufujika
pua ni upanga I m ezosifika
I can not enumerate
M e n t i o n i n g all
I a m afraid of tur ning in ci r c l e s
A n d the wor d s would be s p o i l e d
T he nose is str aight like a sword
A n d it has become famous.
Actually, our p o e t w a s right to be afraid, as he w r o t e in stanza 3,
b e c a u s e his a ffairs d i d b e come d i s o r d e r e d and he d i v o r c e d his wife K i nana
b e fore 1900. E v e r y time I ask Kiju m a ' s c o m p a triots about the reason for
div o r c i n g his wife, the answer I received was that he w as mkali sana
"Very hot t e m p e r e d " . H e was the kind of p e rson w ho does not accept any
arg u m e n t s bet w e e n a w i f e a nd her husband, as stanzas 172-176 in his p o e m Siraji explain. 62 K i n a n a bore h i m o n l y one son c a l l e d Ali, known as
Helewa, in about 1885. K i j u m a called his son H e l e w a in the same w a y in
w h i c h Mwana K a m a r i called h er son Kijuma. H e l e w a is d e r i v e d from the
word h a l u a , a c o mmon sweet m a d e m a i n l y from sesame-seed. In a lost song, K i juma p a r a p h r a s e d the name Hele w a as a toy made of sweets. 9 Helewa
died in 1951, 66 years old. 63 This means that he w a s b orn in 1885.
H e l e w a grew up in Lamu.
