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The Poetic Nuggets of Kuyabila in Bweengwa: A Rendition of Shimatambo The Legend
Abstract
This paper is aimed at providing some poetic nuggets of kuyabila in Bweengwa, a rendition of Shimatambo the legend. The focus is on the definition, the characteristics, the poetic composition, classification, structure and style of delivery and the social functions of ziyabilo from Bweengwa. By using poetic nuggets of a central word kuyabila, which implies singing with a moderately loud voice, this paper shows that ziyabilo from Bweengwa, especially those of Shimatambo, have strength of possessive language that mirrors the lived cultural experiences of the people under study. Through this study, it has been revealed that the poems from Bweengwa are composed by individuals that have undergone transhumance. Shimatambo’s life is a good example and this study discovered that his life from the age of ten until twenty-five was mostly spent kumatanga herding cattle. Therefore, the term kumatanga is a word which means the place where herdsmen camp to herd their cattle. Through being kumatanga, an urchin whose interest is vested in acquiring the knowledge of family lineage, clan and the lineage of his cattle tends to evolve into a poet of kuyabila. The poems produced through kuyabila are characterised by oral delivery, elasticity, and spontaneity and dramatisation, among many other factors. Since Bweengwa’s economic activity is cattle-keeping, most of the poems praise cattle and their owners. Some poems mourn the death of loved ones. This paper has discovered that the happiness and difficulties one encounters in cattle-keeping, among them transhumance, give rise to kuyabila. The poems are performed when there are deaths of loved ones, sympathetic situations, or historical functions. The aesthetic value of ziyabilo from Bweengwa, especially those of Shimatambo, appear to provide the much-needed guidance and standard of kuyabila found in Southern Province. Key words: Poetic Nuggets, Kuyabila, Bweengwa, Shimatambo the Legend
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