Swahili Riddles from Coastal Kenya. Talk by Annachiara Raia at the Rift Valley Network Workshop
Riddles – known as vitendawili in Swahili – are an important part of oral art and represent a special type of social phenomenon. Language is used to transfer social constructions or concepts between individuals. This is enhanced through learning games and friendly competitions. Swahili literature has a long-standing tradition of literary riddles dating back to the late 19th and 20th century during which master poets used mafumbo for poetic duelling. In nowadays coastal Kenya, children may learn riddles in schools too, they can learn them by heart and be extremely quick with answering.
Annachiara Raia gave an online talk on 20 November 2020 - at the Rift Valley Network Workshop - on Swahili riddles from coastal Kenya (Mombasa, Lamu and Pate), explaining more on the Swahili formulae opening a riddling sequence while also paying attention on the structure of its performance, made of verbal and non-verbal interactions.
Watch the video of Annachiara's talk:
Posted on 8 March 2021, last modified on 8 March 2021