Timammy, R: Mombasa Swahili Women‘s Wedding Songs

Oral literature in Kenya has recently witnessed the publication of a number of works. However, most of them are aimed to be texts for secondary school students and very few are detailed. In this work, Rayya Timammy examines the genre of song in Swahili women‘s weddings in Mombasa, Kenya. She discusses the processes of a Swahili wedding where the songs are contextualized and their significance highlighted. Rayya focuses on the various linguistic and literary devices in the songs. She discusses the phonological, lexical, syntactic and semantic levels of language use in the songs and also highlights how Para-linguistic features are an essential part of a performance since words only are not sufficient to convey meaning. The study also provides a deeper understanding, familiarity and literary appreciation of the Swahili oral tradition not only to scholars but also laymen interested in wedding songs and oral poetry in general. This book is recommended for University Lecturers and all students with an interest in Oral Literature.