Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari

The theme of this paper is farautar jarumta ‘heroic hunting’ in the north-western part of Nigeria. The paper pays particular attention to the kirari ‘praise-epithets’, also called koɗa kai ‘adulation of the self’, of the mafarauta ‘hunters’ as one of the cardinal features of this kind of hunting. I...

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Main Author: Shamsuddeen Bello
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Hamburg University Press 2022-12-01
Series:Afrika und Übersee
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup1/afrikaunduebersee/article/view/247
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author Shamsuddeen Bello
author_facet Shamsuddeen Bello
author_sort Shamsuddeen Bello
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description The theme of this paper is farautar jarumta ‘heroic hunting’ in the north-western part of Nigeria. The paper pays particular attention to the kirari ‘praise-epithets’, also called koɗa kai ‘adulation of the self’, of the mafarauta ‘hunters’ as one of the cardinal features of this kind of hunting. It traces certain dramatic elements, such as stage/space, costume and props, dramatis personae, plot, impersonation, and the spectacle as well as the singing and drumming that are an important part of performance of kirari. It further examines poetic elements in Ummaru Usman Malalo’s famous kirari Saka-cira; these elements are grouped into genealogy-based, action-based, and metaphorical yabo ‘praise’. The paper shows that, although the delivery of kirari has, in some studies, been analysed as a song text, it requires performance along with the dramatic elements which belong in a performance. The analysis of Saka-cira – which has never previously been studied – shows that in their kirari, mafarauta utilise poetic devices to portray, embellish, and exaggerate events, comparing themselves with, or even declaring themselves to be an animal or a natural phenomenon. The analysis in the paper relies on the Hausa version of the kirari. It utilises a transcribed version of Saka-cira, interviews, observations, and secondary literature.
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spelling doaj.art-2a5849c05b164b7585c486be7a54ad302023-09-07T18:30:05ZdeuHamburg University PressAfrika und Übersee0002-04272749-09712022-12-0195110.15460/auue.2022.95.1.247Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirariShamsuddeen Bello0Umaru Musa Yar'adua University The theme of this paper is farautar jarumta ‘heroic hunting’ in the north-western part of Nigeria. The paper pays particular attention to the kirari ‘praise-epithets’, also called koɗa kai ‘adulation of the self’, of the mafarauta ‘hunters’ as one of the cardinal features of this kind of hunting. It traces certain dramatic elements, such as stage/space, costume and props, dramatis personae, plot, impersonation, and the spectacle as well as the singing and drumming that are an important part of performance of kirari. It further examines poetic elements in Ummaru Usman Malalo’s famous kirari Saka-cira; these elements are grouped into genealogy-based, action-based, and metaphorical yabo ‘praise’. The paper shows that, although the delivery of kirari has, in some studies, been analysed as a song text, it requires performance along with the dramatic elements which belong in a performance. The analysis of Saka-cira – which has never previously been studied – shows that in their kirari, mafarauta utilise poetic devices to portray, embellish, and exaggerate events, comparing themselves with, or even declaring themselves to be an animal or a natural phenomenon. The analysis in the paper relies on the Hausa version of the kirari. It utilises a transcribed version of Saka-cira, interviews, observations, and secondary literature. https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup1/afrikaunduebersee/article/view/247Hausaheroic huntingkirarichantsperformancedrama
spellingShingle Shamsuddeen Bello
Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari
Afrika und Übersee
Hausa
heroic hunting
kirari
chants
performance
drama
title Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari
title_full Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari
title_fullStr Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari
title_full_unstemmed Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari
title_short Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari
title_sort bridging the hiatus dramatic and poetic elements in malalo s kirari
topic Hausa
heroic hunting
kirari
chants
performance
drama
url https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup1/afrikaunduebersee/article/view/247
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