This paper argues a case for the preparation of reading materials in Kiswahili and other African languages in order to enhance adult education in Kenya. Adult education clientele are defined as those aged over 15 who (a) were either never enrolled in primary schools or dropped out before completing and (b) `graduated` and currently participate in community extension services. Cognisance of mothertongues as the best languages to begin basic literacy is taken. However, since the literacy so acquired should be useful to the individual at both local and national levels, one needs Kiswahili for wider communication. Therefore, reading materials, especially for post literacy and adult literacy teacher training should be in Kiswahili. This will not only guard against relapsing to illiteracy and misinformation but will also alleviate the scarcity of reading materials in the face of hard economic times in Kenya.

Since the very moment of their appearance two recent works of Euphrase Kezilahabi- Nagana (1990) and Mzingile (1991)- hold a very special place in the whole development ofKiswahili literature, giving a lot of puzzles for the reader and a lot of material for the scholars of literature. I\' m going to dwell upon only one aspect of the book - its generic origin; for I think that this question will sooner or later arise. To this effect, I would dare first narrate - very briefly - the contents of the book I would refer to it as `the book´, although it actually consists of two parts - but these parts are so closely related to each other, that it seems possible to speak of Nagana and Mzingile as one piece of work. To what literary genre shall we ascribe the latest work of Tanzania` s leading writer? I would dare to come forward with such a question, because within the structure of the book there seem to be at least four more or less easily tangible stylistic plans. The first one I would call a folkloristic plan, for Kezilahabi uses widely and vividly the elements of African folklore - from mythological concepts to folklore plots, inserted into the narration. The second stylistic plan of the book can be called that of a parable - a parable in the sense of a self-contained story conveying didactic message to a reader or a listener. The book is full of such stories. The next stylistic plan one can call that of science-fiction - or, I would rather say, of antiutopia, for the author draws apocalyptic pictures of the world after the nuclear war, implyin the technique inherent to science-fiction novels. Finally, another stylistic plan of the book can be called realistic - for the author gives, for example, the descriptions of modern city, where the Msichana-Mwokozi dwells, or of an African village, when he tells about the childhood of the main character, using the traditions of east African realistic novel, portraying shortly but vividly urban and rural life. I would say that this realistic plan takes smaller place than the other three - but it is by no means less noticeable.

Makala hii inachambua riwaya ya pili ya mwandishi maarufu wa Kiswahili, Euphrase Kezilahabi (*1944) iitwayo Kichwamaji (1974). Inajaribu kuzingatia mikondo miwili ya uchambuzi yaani inajadili kwa ufupi nadharia ipi au mkondo upi wa kimawazo unafaa zaidi katika kuichambua riwaya hiyo: udhanaishi au ufeministi. Je, inawezekana kuunganisha yote mawili? / In this essay, I would like to analyse the novel Kichwamaji (‘Empty-head’; 1974) by the well-known Tanzanian writer Euphrase Kezilahabi against the background of two philosophical theories: existentialism and feminism. I will first discuss existentialism and the existentialist elements in the novel. Then I will present feminist theory and focus on the female characters in Kichwamaji. I will argue that a feminist reading of the novel is impossible due to its predominant existentialist character.

Taking its depature point in a translation of a play by a Czech playwright and philosopher, Václav Havel, into Swahili, the article strives at a cross-cultural comparison of a pivotal concept of Havel`s thought, lidství (`humanity´), and an equally central concept of Swahili moral and philosophical thought, utu. The basis of this copmparison is, on the Czech side, an explanation of Havel`s concept and its grounding in existentialist philosophy. The Swahili side is presented in a two-step procedure. First, the semantic field of `humanity´in the Swahili language, comprising utu and several concepts related to it (especially ubinadamu), is analyzed. Second, the concepts belonging to the semantic field of utu are traced in the development of Swahili literature, as a prominent representative of intellecual discourses in the Swahili culture.

Makala haya yanashughulikia maswahli ya udhanaishi katika fasihi ya Kiswahili. Makala yanalinganisha riwaya mbili, Mgeni ya mwandishi wa Kifaransa anayeitwa Albert Camus na Kichwamachi ya mwandishi wa Kiwahili, Euphrase Kezilahabi, na kuonyesha jinsi riwaya hizo zinayofanana na zinavyotofautiana. Kwa vile Kichwamaji inafanana na Mgeni, ni sahihi humwita Kezilahabi mwandishi ya udhanaishi, lakini kuna tofauti nyingi pia baina ya riwaya hizo mbili. Tofauti moja ni kwamba Albert Camus anamtazama mtu peke yake na hali yake iliyotengwa kabisa na watu wengine, na Kezilahabi, licha ya mtu peke yake, anaizingatia jamii nzima na hali yake vilevile. Tofauti hii ni tokeo la sifa za communalism katika mawazo Kiafrika ya kimapokeo yanayotilia mkazo jamaa na jami, siyo mtu peke yake. / This article analyses and compares the the two writings Kichwamaji by Euphrase Kezilahabi and L´etranger by Albert Camus. Written in the tradition of existentialism, the two writings have many similarities but also differ in some important aspects. While Camus sees the individual just by itself, Kezilahabi also includes the whole family and is writing with it in the tradition of the african communalism.

The German philosopher and mathematican Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, maintained that this world god created was the best of all possible worlds. God could not have created a world that would contain a contradiction. In Descartes`opossed view, it was possible for God to create a world containing contradictions. The two philosophers`s dispute concerned the issue of what is it that is necessary, as opossed to that which is arbitrary, in a created world. Against this background, I would like to discuss William E. Mkufya`s novel, Ziraili na Zirani.

The title of this paper gives three variants of what historically is the same name: Koti = the present-day indigenous name of Koti Island; Ngoji = the older form of the same name; Angoche = the official name of the town, adapted from the name of the AKoti people EKoti is the language of Angoche, a town on the coast of Nampula Province, in Mozambique. EKoti is in most respects very similar to the neighbouring coastal varieties of Makhuwa, but it also has many lexical and morphological items that are derived from Swahili. My colleague F. U. Mucanheia, co-author of our forthcoming grammar of EKoti, has recorded a story about the origin of Koti Island and its people. In the present paper, I summarize the text of this oral tradition, and I compare it to the dynastic traditions from Angoche and to those found in the Kilwa chronicle, pointing out differences but also establishing links.

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.

Saad Yahya, born in Zanzibar in 1939, studied architecture and town planning in Great Britain and in Canada; since 1968 he has lectured at the University of Nairobi. He portrays everyday life of typical inhabitants of Zanzibar and Nairobi, displaying a penetrating understanding of their problems and of their state of mind, linked with a remarkable stylistic ability. He is an acute observer who presents his characters with humour and irony, but also with a profound insight. Furthermore, in his stories, under the surface of everyday activities there is always some hidden antagonism or passion, never spelled out, but only alluded to. Several years ago Yahya sent me the manuscript of two other stories which I hoped to translate and publish in Italy, but ultimately it was not possible. I have included one of them, called Nyoko-nyoko and consisting in five typewritten pages, in the syllabus of my literary courses in Naples and in Paris. It is a rare - if not unique - Swahili story in which the main character is a Mzungu, a white man: the British governor of an imaginary East-Aftican country called Nyalia, who has to abandon his post suddenly for unspecified reasons. He regrets to must leave the country he has learned to know and to like; however, behind the mask of liberality and tolerance is hidden a self-conceited racist. The story describes his last day in Africa after a long stay.

Texte remanié de: Th. État--Sci. du langage--Rouen. / Bibliogr. p. 271-282.