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.