The frame for this critical interpretation of the Kiswahili popular love song “Pili Mswahili” by Moreno Batamba et L’Orchestre Moja One (1981) is the discussion on African contributions to the making of modern Africa. The argument is that “Pili Mswahili” is an instance of the mwananchi’s, common person’s, agentive contribution to the establishment of Kiswahili as a national language in Kenya. The song is read as an urging of non-Swahili Kenyans to accept Kiswahili – which, in spite of its being an important lingua franca in Kenya, was, after all, the language of one ethnic group in a multi-ethnic state where “tribalism” is a major political factor – as their national language. It is shown that “Pili Mswahili” complemented the efforts of the makers and executors of government policy that had nation formation as the ultimate objective. Nation formation is understood to be a key strategy in the African appropriation of the African nation-state that started life as a colonial invention.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:85798 |
| Date | 05 June 2023 |
| Creators | Mboya, T. Michael |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 1614-2373, urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-857753, qucosa:85775 |
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