The Influence of Christianity in Swahili Literature: The Case of Bongo Flavor Poetry Prophesies

Abstract

The influence of religion in Swahili literature has been a centre of Swahili literary scholarship discussions from the 1960s to 1980s. During the time, there were two schools of thought. The first argued that Swahili literature originates from God and that He is the first artist who transmits creative skills to Swahili artists. The second school of thought viewed Swahili literature as a product of socio-economic human activities, and that God has no place in it. By the late 1980s, the discussion on the place of God in Swahili literature appeared to be concluded by a good number of scholars supporting the second school of thought. Consequently, today scholars seem to be in agreement that God has no place in Swahili literature. This article, however, views this agreement as a serious oversight. Since the Swahili society believes in various kinds of gods and religions, there is no way their literature will be free from the influence of gods and religions. Therefore, this article presents the influence of Christianity in Swahili literature, citing examples from prophesies of bongo flavor poetry.