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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Mahdist Oral Praise Poetry as a Historical Source: Qurashi Muhammad Hasan's Qasa'id min Shu'ara'al-Mahdiyya |
Author: | Sharkey, Heather J. |
Year: | 1994 |
Periodical: | Sudanic Africa |
Volume: | 5 |
Pages: | 95-110 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Sudan |
Subjects: | oral poetry historical sources Mahdiyya History and Exploration Education and Oral Traditions Literature, Mass Media and the Press |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/25653247 |
Abstract: | This paper assesses the importance of Mahdist praise poetry for Mahdist historical studies. It describes a compilation devoted to oral praise poetry of the Mahdist period (1881-1898): Qurash¯i Mu.hammad .Hasan's 'Qa.s¯a'id min shu'ar¯a' al-Mahdiyya' (Odes from the poets of the Mahdiyya), published in 1974 by the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Sudan. Mahdist praise poetry was an oral medium, composed by 'munshids' (reciting praise poets) who received a salary from the Mahdist State. Qurash¯i Mu.hammad .Hasan's study is based on the repertoire of two informants whom he knew. First, the paper provides information on the nine poets presented by Qurash¯i Mu.hammad .Hasan: A.hmad wad Sa'd, Mu.hammad wad al-Tuwaym, A.hmad Ab¯u Shar¯i'a, A.hmad wad Tam¯im, A.mad al-Qala', A.hmad wad Sulaym¯an, [Mu.hammad] al-Zayn Ab¯u Kas¯aw¯i, al-Manb¯ur Mu.hammad, and Mu.hammad wad S¯urkitt¯i. Next, it considers the political and cultural significance of the poetry in the Mahdiyya period, during the Mahdist revolution (1881-1885), and in the post-Mahdiyya period. Notes, ref. |