Abstract:
This study set out to analyze the use of symbolism and performance of Swahili songs during
wedding in Unguja. The research was carried out, completed and the findings given. Chapter
one of this thesis mainly explains the statement of the problem which was a knowledge gap
on the use of symbolism and performance of Swahili songs during weddings. There are also
research questions that include identification of symbols and ritual performances that are
significant for the wedding ceremony and the establishment of the meanings of the symbols
used in the songs and ritual performances. Chapter two lays down what other scholars have
written on symbolisms, Swahili songs and performances. The chapter also explains
Performance and Semiotic theories as guiding theories of the study. Chapter three explains
the methodology used in the research, which are mainly interviews and participant
observations, though in certain song performance contexts where cultural prohibition does
not allow a man, a female research assistant was employed. The chapter also explains that the
collected data was descriptively analyzed by coding in order to group the songs with
symbolisms and songs with ritual performances that are significant to the wedding ceremony
separately. Chapter four presents the findings on the use symbolism, which shows that
symbolisms in wedding songs have a cultural significance in underscoring to the bride and
the groom, the expected life as a couple. In chapter five, the researcher has given findings on
performance which demonstrates the necessity of ritual performance as an accompaniment to
the wedding songs that are sung as ritual songs. Chapter six discusses the implications of the
use of symbolism in wedding occasions to show that they are semantically significant and
performance which are ritually significant during weddings in Unguja Island. These findings
therefore confirm both research questions which the research had set out to answer and
contribute significantly to the field of oral literature, in particular on the songs of the Coastal
people of East Africa.
