Taashira na utendaji katika nyimbo za harusi za waswahili, kisiwani Unguja

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.