TITLE:
Kirari as Autobiography in Hausa Praise Poetry
AUTHORS:
Chaibou Elhadji Oumarou
KEYWORDS:
Hausa, Oral Autobiography, Kirari, Niger, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Literary Study,
Vol.6 No.3,
July
13,
2018
ABSTRACT: This study shows that autobiography exists in oral
civilizations by exploring Kirari in
Hausa praise poetry. The study focuses on the forms of Kirari that clearly bring out the autobiographical elements that
illustrate the autobiographer’s conscious awareness of the singularity of his
or her life and achievements and the uniqueness of their identity among the
members of their community and/or profession. These forms of Kirari are identified in excerpts from
Hausa hunters’ heroic self-praise and from Bakandamiya by the singer Maman Shata Katsina.