Sifa mojawapo ya umahiri wa Shaaban Robert ni namna anavyounda katika maandiko yake taswira mbalimbali za viumbe wenye mbawa kama vile ndege wakubwa ‘wahamao’, ndege waimbao, malaika na wadudu, kwa minajili ya kuwajengea wasomaji wake motifu za upazo, ukwezi na safari. Wahakiki mbalimbali wameusadifu ufundi wake wa kuunda taswira za kisitiari na ishara katika fasihi ya Kiswahili kwa ujumla. Hata hivyo, uchunguzi wa hakiki zao kifani una mapengo haswa katika kubaini taswira na ishara zitokanazo na kiumbe ndege. Makala haya yanachambua namna Robert anavyotanabaisha kanikinzani mbalimbali kupitia taswira za ndege. Robert amefuzu kuchota taswira za ndege kutoka katika mitholojia ya ndege ya wanajamii wake ili kuwagusa kisitiari wasomaji wake. / One of the key aspects of Shaaban Robert’s artistic techniques is his remarkable molding of winged creature images in the form of extraordinary migratory birds, songbirds, angels and winged termites to infuse the motif of ascendance, progress and journey. So far critics of Robert’s works have given this significant artistic tool a very low prominence in spite of its recurrence in his writings. This paper argues that Robert devulges two opposing forces through scary bird imagery. Robert successfully displays his creative artistry by supplanting the bird mythology drawn from the reservoir of folkloric knowledge of his people to appeal metaphorically to his readers’ senses.

Sifa mojawapo ya umahiri wa Shaaban Robert ni namna anavyounda katika maandiko yake taswira mbalimbali za viumbe wenye mbawa kama vile ndege wakubwa ‘wahamao’, ndege waimbao, malaika na wadudu, kwa minajili ya kuwajengea wasomaji wake motifu za upazo, ukwezi na safari. Wahakiki mbalimbali wameusadifu ufundi wake wa kuunda taswira za kisitiari na ishara katika fasihi ya Kiswahili kwa ujumla. Hata hivyo, uchunguzi wa hakiki zao kifani una mapengo haswa katika kubaini taswira na ishara zitokanazo na kiumbe ndege. Makala haya yanachambua namna Robert anavyotanabaisha kanikinzani mbalimbali kupitia taswira za ndege. Robert amefuzu kuchota taswira za ndege kutoka katika mitholojia ya ndege ya wanajamii wake ili kuwagusa kisitiari wasomaji wake. / One of the key aspects of Shaaban Robert’s artistic techniques is his remarkable molding of winged creature images in the form of extraordinary migratory birds, songbirds, angels and winged termites to infuse the motif of ascendance, progress and journey. So far critics of Robert’s works have given this significant artistic tool a very low prominence in spite of its recurrence in his writings. This paper argues that Robert devulges two opposing forces through scary bird imagery. Robert successfully displays his creative artistry by supplanting the bird mythology drawn from the reservoir of folkloric knowledge of his people to appeal metaphorically to his readers’ senses.

Marehemu Shaaban Robert is well-known in Russia not only among specialists, but also in the circles of the reading public at large. It was in Russian (the only European language) in which Shaaban Robert´s prose writings were translated for the first time for the general reader. The creative work of Shaaban Robert occupies a special place in the scientific research of Russian scholars. They regard him as a philosopher, a distinguished public figure, a founder of modern literature in Kiswahili who connects centuries-old traditions of Swahili oral and written literature with the demands of modern times. Affirming new social ideals and expressing views of the new intellectual elite, Shaaban Robert, through his literary works, directly participated in the development of the political and philosophical ideas of his country.

Marehemu Shaaban Robert is well-known in Russia not only among specialists, but also in the circles of the reading public at large. It was in Russian (the only European language) in which Shaaban Robert´s prose writings were translated for the first time for the general reader. The creative work of Shaaban Robert occupies a special place in the scientific research of Russian scholars. They regard him as a philosopher, a distinguished public figure, a founder of modern literature in Kiswahili who connects centuries-old traditions of Swahili oral and written literature with the demands of modern times. Affirming new social ideals and expressing views of the new intellectual elite, Shaaban Robert, through his literary works, directly participated in the development of the political and philosophical ideas of his country.