A COMPARATIVE LITERARY ANALYSIS OF CATTLE PRAISE POETRY OF THE TONGA PEOPLE OF BWEENGWA AND CHIVUNA BY MICHELO MANFORD A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LITERATURE THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA LUSAKA NOVEMBER, 2016 “© 2016 by Manford Michelo. All Rights reserved” i DECLARATION I MICHELO, MANFORD hereby declare that the work in this research report is my work and that it has not previously been submitted for any other degree at this or other universities. SIGNED: .............................................. DATE: .............................. ii APPROVAL This dissertation by MANFORD MICHELO is approved as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Arts in Literature of the University of Zambia. Signed................................................ Date.................................................... Supervisor Signed................................................ Date..................................................... Examiner Signed................................................. Date..................................................... Examiner Signed................................................. Date..................................................... Examiner iii ABSTRACT This study attempts to look at comparative literary analysis of the cattle praise poetry between the people of Bweengwa and those of Chivuna. It utilizes four literary theories to arrive at findings and these include: social constructionism, ethnopoetics, literary onomastics and the main approach being formalism. The study was undertaken to establish the similarities and differences between the cattle praise poetry of Bweengwa and that of Chivuna. The non-cross section survey method was employed to identify poets who provided poems for this research. The poems were later recorded, transcribed and analysed to bring out the research findings. Among the findings from the social constructionism perspective were that Bweengwa people keep cattle in large numbers which are ritually inclined whereas the Chivuna people keep them in small numbers naturally. The fact of this matter is evidenced from the poems of both areas of study to a large extent also dependent on the area which produces it: Bweengwa people use cattle mainly for rearing and less for farming because of the nature of their land, whereas the Chivuna people use cattle for both farming and rearing. These traits are reflected in the content of the poetry because Bweengwa people own larger herds of cattle than the Chivuna people. However, from the perspective of onomastics it was found that both places use descriptive and possessive names. Literary devices such imagery, symbols, repetition, interjections, allusion, apostrophe, anaphora and hypophora were among the common terms found in the aesthetic content of the poems from both areas. To a large extent, there are more similarities than differences in the cattle praise poetry of Bweengwa and that of Chivuna. This could be attributable to the fact that the two areas are geographically located within Tonga land and therefore macrocosms of Tonga culture. The art of Kuyabila in both areas is not restricted to a few selected experts, but may be engaged in by any member of the community. Be that as it may, it is evident that not everyone is able to perform Kuyabila songs with a convincing degree of effectiveness and entertainment. Some individuals are more talented than others. In addition, since this study was concerned with a specific form of Kuyabila-cattle praise poetry-it is apparent from the textual evidence of both areas of practice that only those who have interacted with, or even own cattle can effectively perform cattle praise poetry. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank the almighty God for according me the opportunity to complete this research despite having some challenges. I appreciate my mother’s consistency on tracking my progress which gave me an impetus to work hard and complete my studies. To my supervisor Dr. Cheela Chilala, may the good Lord richly bless you for your unmerited advice and encouragement that you rendered to me when I abandoned this work for LLB programme. Without your timely advice I would not have sung the song of success. Your critical academic direction which sounded so harsh compelled me to work hard and in turn yielded value to this paper. You will always remain a model in my academic pursuits. To my godfather Dr. Panwell Munatamba, I thank you so much for the motivating lectures you offered as well as offering significant insight into my work. It is my wish you will read this final work you desired to supervise but for the sickness. Further, I wish to extend my gratitude to my lovely daughter Changu Michelo for giving me space from her attention whenever she needed Dad’s love. My daughter, without your presence that gave me the much needed encouragement and desire to work hard this work would not have been a success. To all my family members and close friends especially Ellah Twaambo who stood by my side during the time of this work, I say Leza Amuleleke! v DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this work to my beloved mother Esnart Kaliolio who never stepped her foot in a modern classroom but kept her promise of standing by my side all the way. My mother’s constant love and emotional attachment gave me the much needed drive to complete my research. She psychologically reminded me that education is the best equaliser in life and that the success of this work should mark the journey of my academic pursuits. Mother! I will always love you for your care and love. I will never have a mother better than you. You are simply the best. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... ii APPROVAL ................................................................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... v DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF TONGA PEOPLE .......................................................................................... 1 1.2 AIM OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.3 OBECTIVES OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................. 3 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS..................................................................................................................... 4 1.5 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...................................................................................................... 4 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................ 4 1.7 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 5 1.9 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 5 1.10 THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................... 6 1.11 DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT TERMS USED .............................................................................. 15 1.12 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................................ 17 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 17 2.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 17 2.1 GENERAL ASPECTS OF POETRY ................................................................................................... 17 2.2 THE POETIC ROOTS OF KUYABILA AND ITS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ....................... 21 2.3 RELATED ZAMBIAN POETRY ........................................................................................................ 27 2.4 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 28 vii CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................... 29 ANALYSIS OF BWEENGWA CATTLE PRAISE POETRY .................................................................. 29 3.0 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................