Hailing from Namagondo village, Ukerewe Island in Lake Nyanza, Euphrase Kezilahabi’s literary wit scaled his career to professorship. His deep interest in literature and philosophical ideas already germinated when he was attending secondary school, the Catholic seminary Nyegezi. It was at this time when he wrote Rosa Mistika. Later, he joined the University of Dar es Salaam where he earned a BA and later a MA degree, with a thesis on the “father of modern Swahili literature”, Shaaban Robert. His singular intellectual ability earned him a placement as Assistant Lecturer at the same University until he enrolled for a second MA degree and subsequently a PhD degree at the University of Wisconsin Madison. His specialty on African philosophy and literature allowed him to graduate and acquire professorship. He went back to teach at the University of Dar es Salaam, before in 1995, he moved to teach at the University of Botswana where he continued to teach until he suffered from a stroke in 2017. After having returned to Dar es Salaam for the last two years of his life, he passed away on January 8, 2020. May his soul rest in peace. 

His literary composition comprised poetry, drama, novels and short stories. Rosa Mistika (1971) exposes realities of educational life for girls in the context of Ukerewe and Mwanza, at the time of its writing. His further long-lived novels are Kichwamaji (1974), Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo (1975), Gamba la Nyoka (1979), Nagona ([1987/]1990) and Mzingile (1991). While Rosa Mistika is perhaps still the most popular of his novels (followed by Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo), Nagona and Mzingile stand out as the most complex of his novels which have caused numerous debates in literary scholarship. His collections of poetry include Kichomi (1974), Karibu Ndani (1988) and Dhifa (2008). His choice of and advocacy for poems in free verse dismissed the traditionally structured approach in composition and gave way to an intense debate on the conventions of Swahili poetry. His drama Kaptula la Marx (1978) gained popularity across Tanzania and abroad since it talked about politics of socialism and self-reliance that was prominent in Tanzania at the time. His short stories appeared in newspapers such as Mwananchi that were later adopted in several books such as Mbonde Msokile’s guide on composing short stories (1992) and Kyallo Wamitila’s collections of short stories (2004, 2007, 2010).

His philosophical wit creatively brought seemingly unimaginable abstract ideas to life. It delved into questions on God’s existence, humanity, ontology, the meaning of life and existentialism. He also dealt with sensitive social and political issues such as the dichotomy of “tradition” and modernity, gender roles, and Ujamaa, the Tanzanian variant of African socialism. While Kezilahabi’s earlier work is rooted in realism, he later started a new paradigm of writing in Swahili literature, variously analysed as experimentalism, post-realism and post-modernism. Some of its characteristics are a playful combination of different genres, a combination of oral and written literature from both Tanzania and across the world, fragmentation, minimalism and a sophisticated use of imagery informed by an aesthethic and philosophical agenda of its own kind. He remained an ambassador for Swahili language and literature by writing his work in Swahili, while advocating writing in African languages, and writing in indigenous languages in general.

This Baraza, conceived by Lutz Diegner (Lecturer in Swahili Language and Literature, Humboldt University Berlin), served to honour and remember Euphrase Kezilahabi by shedding some light on his life and work. After some opening remarks by co-hosts Kai Kresse (Vice Director and Professor of Anthropology, ZMO) and Lutz Diegner, Neema Benson Sway (Lecturer and Researcher, Institute of Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es Salaam) started a series of presentations by giving a brief outline of Euphrase Kezilahabi’s life and work. Alena Rettová (Professor of African and Afrophone Philosophies, University of Bayreuth) dealt with Kezilahabi’s philosophical thought by highlighting some of its major features to be found in both this academic and fictional work. Roberto Gaudioso (Researcher in Swahili Literature, University of Napoli) spoke about his poetry and his different approaches to Kezilahabi’s poetry as a researcher and a poet himself. Lutz Diegner then went on to focus on his novels and his ability to discuss complex subjects in simple language. Furthermore, he emphasized Kezilahabi’s ample use of several stylistic devices in his works, such as metaphors, allegories and symbols. Josefine Rindt (BA African Studies, Humboldt University, MA student in Gender, Intersectionality and Politics, Free University Berlin) and Lena Dasch (BA African Studies, University of Bayreuth, MA student in African Studies, Humboldt University Berlin), subsequently gave a short insight into one of Kezilahabi’s best-known novels, Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo, and demonstrated how relevant it is to (re-)read this novel nowadays, especially against the backdrop of the year 2020.

In several rounds of discussion chaired by Neema Benson Sway and Erasto John Duwe (Lecturer and Editor, Institute of Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es Salaam), participants from Tanzania, Kenya, the US, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany – among them a number of doyens of Swahili literature like Farouk Topan, Abdilatif Abdalla, Catherine Ndungo, Kyallo Wamitila, and Aldin Mutembei – engaged in a rich discussion about Kezilahabi’s work, his methods and ideas.

As Marehemu Kezilhabi rests in peace, the world and his readers will miss his unique approach to literature and philosophy.

SWAHILI TRANSLATION

Akitokea katika kijiji cha Namagondo kilichopo Kisiwa cha Ukerewe katika Ziwa la Nyanza, utaalamu wa fasihi wa Euphrase Kezilahabi ulimpa uprofesa. Mapenzi yake ya fasihi na mawazo ya kifalsafa yalianza alipokua akisoma seminari ya kikatoliki Nyegezi kwa masomo yake ya sekondari. Wakati huo huo alikuwa anaandika riwaya ya Rosa Mistika. Baadaye alijiunga na Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam akahitimu masomo ya shahada ya kwanza na ya pili alipoandika tasnifu juu ya “Baba wa fasihi ya Kiswahili ya kisasa”, Shaaban Robert. Umahiri na ueledi wake wa kisomi ulimfanya aajiriwe kama mhadhiri mwandamizi katika chuo hicho mpaka alipoanza shahada yake nyingine ya pili na baadaye shahada ya uzamivu katika Chuo Kikuu cha Wisconsin Madison. Ubobezi wake katika falsafa na fasihi za Kiafrika ulimwezesha kuhitimu masomo yake huko. Alirejea Tanzania akafundisha Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam mpaka mwaka 1995. Baadaye alihamia kufundisha katika Chuo Kikuu cha Botswana mpaka alipopatwa na mshtuko mwaka 2017. Miaka miwili baada ya kurejea Dar es Salaam, alifariki mnamo tarehe 8 Januari 2020. Roho yake ilale mahali pema peponi.

Utunzi wake wa kifasihi ulijumuisha mashairi, tamthilia, riwaya na hadithi fupi. Rosa Mistika (1971) inaelezea hali halisi ya maisha ya kielimu kwa watoto wa kike wa maeneo ya Ukerewe na Mwanza katika kipindi ambacho kitabu hicho kiliandikwa. Riwaya zake nyingine zilizodumu kwa muda mrefu ni Kichwamaji (1974), Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo (1975), Gamba la Nyoka (1979), Nagona ([1987/]1990) na Mzingile (1991). Japokuwa Rosa Mistika ni moja ya riwaya zake maarufu Zaidi (ikifuatiwa na Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo), Nagona na Mzingile ni changamano zaidi na zimesababisha majadiliano ya kina katika ulimwengu wa fasihi. Diwani zake za mashairi zilizochapishwa ni Kichomi (1974), Karibu Ndani (1988) na Dhifa (2008). Chaguo lake la kuandika mashairi huru lilikinzana na kanuni za kimapokeo za uandishi wa mashairi likichochea mjadala mkali juu ya utunzi wa mashairi. Mchezo wake wa kuigiza uitwao Kaptula la Marx (1978) ulipata umaarufu ndani na nje ya Tanzania kwa sababu ulizungumzia siasa za Ujamaa na Kujitegemea ambazo zilikuwa ni siasa za Tanzania wakati huo. Hadithi zake fupi zilizochapishwa katika magazeti kama Mwananchi na baadaye kutolewa vitabuni pia, kama vile katika kitabu cha utangulizi wa hadithi fupi cha Mbunda Msokile (1992) na mikusanyiko ya hadithi fupi ya Kyallo Wamitila (2004, 2007, 2010).

Umahiri wa fikra za kifalsafa za Marehemu Kezilahabi ulimfanye ashughulikie masuala yasiyoweza kufikirika kirahisi. Alijikita katika maswali magumu kama vile kujiuliza kama Mungu yupo, pamoja na maswali mengine ya utu, ontolojia, maana ya maisha na uwepo kwa ujumla. Aliandika pia juu ya masuala nyeti ya jamii kama vile mila na desturi, mahusiano ya kijinsia na sera ya Ujamaa  ya Tanzania ya wakati ule. Pamoja na kuwa kazi zake za mwanzo zilijikita katika uhalisia, alianzisha nyanja mpya ama mikondo mipya ya fasihi ya Kiswahili ambayo imechambuliwa kama fasihi ya (ki)majaribio, fasihi ya (ki)uhalisia-baadaye ama fasihi ya (ki)usasaleo. Baadhi ya sifa za fasihi ya aina hii ni kuchanganya mandhari na nyakati tofauti, na kuunganisha fasihi simulizi na fasihi andishi za kutoka ndani na nje ya Tanzania. Nyinginezo ni matumizi ya vipandevipande kimaudhui na kimtindo (fragmentation), uchache wa kimtindo (minimalism) na matumizi mapana na ya kina ya jazanda (lugha ya picha) – zote zikichangia katika ajenda ya kiujumi na ya kifalsafa ya aina yake. Marehemu Kezilahabi alikuwa balozi wa lugha na fasihi ya Kiswahili kwa kuandika kazi zake kwa Kiswahili na kuwahamasisha waandishi wenzake kuandika kwa lugha za Kiafrika na lugha za asili kwa ujumla.

Baraza hili likiongozwa na Lutz Diegner (Mhadhiri wa Lugha na Fasihi ya Kiswahili, Chuo Kikuu cha Humboldt Berlin), lililenga kumkumbuka Marehemu Euphrase Kezilahabi, maisha yake na kazi zake. Baada ya kukaribishwa na Kai Kresse (Makamu Mkurugenzi wa Utafiti na Profesa wa Anthropolojia, ZMO) na Lutz Diegner, Neema Benson Sway (Mhadhiri na Mtafiti, Taasisi ya Taaluma za Kiswahili, Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam) alitambulisha wasifu na kazi za Euphrase Kezilahabi kwa ujumla. Alena Rettová (Profesa wa Falsafa za Kiafrika, Chuo Kikuu cha Bayreuth) alizungumzia sifa za falsafa yake Marehemu Kezilahabi ambazo zinapatikana katika kazi zake za kitaaluma na za kifasihi. Roberto Gaudioso (Mtafiti wa Falsafa ya Kiswahili, Chuo Kikuu cha Napoli) alizungumza juu ya ushairi wa Marehemu na mkabala wake wa kiutafiti kuyachambua hayo mashairi akiwa mtafiti na mshairi yeye mwenyewe wakati mmoja. Lutz Diegner aliendelea na wasilisho la kuwapatia hadhira vionjo vya riwaya zake Marehemu akisisitiza mkabala wake wa kiuandishi wa kujadili masuala mazito kwa lugha nyepesi, na matumizi mapana na ya kina ya mbinu za kimtindo kama vile jazanda na tamathali za semi, kwa mfano sitiari, istiara na ishara. Josefine Rindt (shahada ya Masomo ya Kiafrika, Chuo Kikuu cha Humboldt, mwanafunzi wa shahada ya uzamili ya Jinsia, Utegemezano na Siasa, Chuo Kikuu Huru cha Berlin) na Lena Dasch (shahada ya Masomo ya Kiafrika, Chuo Kikuu cha Bayreuth, mwanafunzi wa shahada ya uzamili ya Masomo ya Kiafrika, Chuo Kikuu cha Humboldt Berlin) waliizungumzia riwaya ya Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo ya Marehemu Kezilahabi na kuelezea umuhimu wa kukisoma kitabu hiki (tena) leo hii ingawa ni ya zamani kidogo.

Katika majadiliano yaliyoongozwa na Neema Benson Sway and Erasto John Duwe (Mhadhiri na Mhariri, Taasisi ya Taaluma za Kiswahili, Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam), washiriki kutoka Tanzania, Kenya, Marekani, Uingereza, Ufaransa, Italia, Uswisi, Ucheki na Ujerumani – kati yao maprofesa na wabobezi mashuhuri wa fasihi ya Kiswahili kama Farouk Topan, Abdilatif Abdalla, Catherine Ndungo, Kyallo Wamitila, na Aldin Mutembei – waliyatajirisha majadiliano hayo juu ya kazi na mawazo ya Kezilahabi.

Marehemu anapopumzika kwa amani, ulimwengu wa wasomi wenzake na wasomaji wake wote kwa ujumla watamkumbuka kwa kazi zake za kipekee zilizokuwa na mchango usio na kifani katika fasihi na falsafa ya Kiswahili.

Dubbed as Swahili speaking Omani, these youth who were born to a generation of people often considered to have ‘returned’ to Oman from Zanzibar and other places in East Africa in the 1960s and 1970s face a myriad set of opportunities and challenges from social through economic in the broader context of Omani identity formation.

One of the circumstances that affect their sense of belonging is the sometimes challenging situation of finding adequate spaces for speaking and being Swahili, while also being Omani. While many young people manage to find creative ways to claim Omani belonging through their Swahiliness, others withdraw from speaking Swahili publicly as they seek to avoid disdainfully being labelled as “Africans” – of supposedly lesser status. Despite the derision, some young Omanis are promoting Swahili language and culture both in Oman and overseas. Some of them through You Tube channels where they teach Swahili, some sell or promote Zanzibari food in the streets of Muscat or on Instagram. Not only does this keep the language alive but it also motivates Omani youth a space to feel and be both Arab and African.

Jobs and better prospects for life are one factor driving the migration of a new wave of Omani-Zanzibari young people who are seeking “to build a life” (kujenga maisha) for themselves. Even though Oman offers more jobs than Zanzibar, they struggle getting equal work opportunities. This is due to Oman’s latest nationalization policies that reserve work distribution to national citizenship.

Bringing together the perspectives of both Zanzibari-Omani and Omani-Zanzibari young people allow for a contemporary understanding of the young generation’s Omani identity formation; and place on the broader spectrum of the so-called Zanzibar Diaspora. Follow through a complete Zoom conversation here.

Swahili Translation

Wakijulikana kama waOmani wazungumzaji wa Kiswahili, vijana hawa wanakabiliwa na fursa pamoja na changamoto za kijamii na kiuchumi katika muktadha mzima wa kuwa wenyeji wa Omani. Vijana hawa wanalelewa na kizazi kinachotambulika kama “kimerudi” Oman kutoka Zanzibar na maeneo tofauti Afrika Mashariki miaka ya 1960 na 1970.

Changamoto moja inayoathiri uenyeji wao kwa wakati mwingine ni hali ukwasi wa hadhira ya kuongea nayo Kiswahili na kuwa mswahili, wakati huo huo kuwa waOmani. Wakati vijana wengi wameweza kubuni njia mbali mbali za kuwa wenyeji kupita uswahili wao, baadhi yao wamejiengua kuongea Kiswahili hadharani. Hii yote ni kuepuka kuitwa “Wa-Afrika” ambayo inaangaliwa na baadhi ya watu kama hadhi ya chini. Mbali na kushushwa huko, baadhi ya vijana wa Omani wanakuza lugha na tamaduni za Kiswahili ndani na nje ya Oman. Baadhi yao hufundisha Kiswahili kupitia mtandao wa You Tube. Wengine huuza chakula cha kizanzibari katika mitaa ya Muscat au katika mtandao wa Instagram. Pamoja na jitihada hizi kukuza lugha, zinatoa nafasi kwa vijana wa Oman kujisikia Wa-Arabu na Wa-Afrika wakati mmoja.

Kazi na tumaini la maisha mazuri ni moja ya sababu zinazopelekea uhamaji wa vijana wa Ki-Omani-Zanzibari. Pamoja na Oman kutoa kazi nyingi zaidi kuliko Zanzibar, wanahangaika kupata usawia wa nafasi za kazi kutokana na sera mpya zinazotoa kipaumbele cha kazi kwa raia wa Omani.

Mjumuiko wa mitazamo wa vijana wa Zanzibari-Omani na Omani-Zanzibari unatoa fursa ya kuelewa ukuaji wa uenyeji katika Omani kwa vijana na kutengeneza dhana nzima ya “Zanzibar Diaspora”. Fuatilia mazungumzo mazima kutoka Zoom hapa.

Baraza with Liese Hoffmann (Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies)

In her lecture, Liese Hoffmann gave insight into the context of her PhD research, in which she explores the concepts and practices of education and upbringing in Sunni girls’ schools in Tanga, Tanzania. In her presentation she introduced impressionable ethnographic examples of her research, in which she describes the everyday life of Muslim pupils in the madrasa. Furthermore, she describes how she accompanied these students in the context of her field work, how as a researcher she behaved in spheres of the family and schooling, and how there she herself became a student again. In her lecture, she situates the madrasa in the context of Islamic upbringing in East Africa and elaborates on the discourses of teachers and pupils in relation to the different forms of schooling in Tanzania. A further focus of her research lies in how the Islamic mediation of morals and knowledge is put into correlation by these students in relation to their personal curriculum vitaes and future plans. In the following discussion the presenter elaborated on details and revelations of her ethnographic field work in response to the inquiries of the audience.

Baraza with Obala Musumba (Humboldt University Berlin)

Obala Musumba talked about one chapter of his doctoral thesis on the two latest novels of Nuruddin Farah. In this chapter he deals with how children are staged in plots of war and how Farah created these child protagonists in his two novels. In regard to this, Obala Musumba in his speech reflected upon the post-colonial phase by referring to Frantz Fanon and the African philosophers Mbembe and Mudimbe, among others. In contrast to Farah’s previous novels, these two do not play in Mogadishu/Somalia, but in Nairobi/Kenya and Norway. A question with which the speaker opened up the discussion to his audience was whether the author Nuruddin Farah had lost hope in Somalia and expects the reconstruction of Somalia to come from Somalia’s youth who grew up abroad in a peaceful surrounding.

Baraza with Neema Benson Sway (University of Dar es Salaam)

Neema Benson Sway reported about her progressing doctoral thesis that discusses the motive of laughing in Swahili-speaking crime novels. This motive has until now not been taken into account elaborately in the literary analysis of Swahili literature. In an amusing and convincing manner, Neema Benson Sway explains how laughing and its related literary stylistic methods "comedy", "joke", "ridicule", "fun", and "mockery" are utilized in various Swahili-speaking crime novels and are expressed in different forms.

In the concluding discussion round the presenter clarified questions by the the audience, that was partly foreign to the subject matter, in a charming fashion.

Baraza with Kai Kresse (Freie Universität Berlin/ZMO), Hassan Mwakimako (Pwani University, Kilifi, Kenya), Irene Brunotti (Leipzig University) and Clarissa Vierke (Bayreuth University).

In ten-minute contributions the discussants reviewed the recently published book by Kai Kresse in which he explores the ideas and public discussions that have shaped and defined the experience of Kenyan coastal Muslims. The event was enriched by a video commentary of Tanzanian professor Hamza Njozi (Muslim Universitity of Morogoro) who draw parallels with the experience of Tanzanian Muslims and praised the book for its ethnographical and collaborative sensitive approach.

You can find an english translation of professor Njozi's video comment here.

Baraza with Abdilatif Abdalla (Leipzig University) and Kai Kresse (Freie Universität Berlin/ZMO)

Together Abdilatif Abdalla and Kai Kresse remembered the late Swahili poet Ustadh Ahmad Nassir Juma Bhalo, who deceased on January 9th, 2019.  Abdilatif Abdalla’s older brother was born in the Kenyan coastal metropolis Mombasa in 1936. He became known in particular through his collections of poems “Malenga wa Mvita” (Oxford University Press, 1971), “Poems from Kenya: Gnomic Verses in Swahili” (University of Wisconsin Press, 1966), “Taa ya Umalenga” (Kenya Literature Bureau, 1978) as well as through his epic “Utenzi wa Mtu ni Utu” (Macmillan, 1979) in which he elucidates utu as key term for understanding humans as moral beings, and he lays out an ethics based on this.

Ustadh Ahmad Nassir was a guest at ZMO at the first baraza in 2008. You can find more information on this event here.

Dr. Harrison Mwalima of Deutsche Welle produced a radio feature about this baraza. You can listen to it here.