Mafumbo ya mwanamke katika mashairi teule ya Muyaka

Ikisiri Azma kuu ya makala hii ni kuchanganua mafumbo ya mwanamke wa Kiswahili wa karne ya kumi na tisa katika ushairi wa Kiswahili wa kipindi hicho. Kwa kutumia mashairi teule ya Muyaka, sura ya mwanamke huyo inabainishwa. Mwandishi anaongozwa na nadharia ya uhalisia hasa mhimili wa lugha unaosisitiza kuwa lugha sharti iambatane na wakati wake ili iweze kueleweka na wasemaji wake kimuktadha na kimatumizi. Mbali na kudurusu makala muhimu maktabani, mtafiti kwa kuelekezwa, alikwenda nyanjani kuwahoji Waswahili kuhusu utamaduni wao, hususan ule wa karne ya kumi na tisa. Katika makala hii, imedhihirika wazi kwamba, picha ya mwanamke wa Kiswahili inayochorwa katika mashairi teule ya Muyaka ina misingi yake katika utamaduni wa Waswahili wa karne hiyo. Makala hii itasaidia katika kuelewesha picha ya mwanamke wa Kiswahili wa karne ya kumi na tisa kama alivyosawiriwa katika ushairi wa Kiswahili wa karne hiyo.   Maneno muhimu: Mafumbo, uhalisia, utamaduni, shairi.   Abstract The main objective of this paper is to analyse puzzles depicting the Swahili woman of the 19th century as portrayed in the Kiswahili poetry of that era. Using Muyaka’s selected poems and employing the realism theory, this research identified several puzzles through the terminologies used, that contextualiSed and depicted the Swahili Woman of the 19th Century. The researcher used both library and field research. It is clear that the image of the Swahili woman as portrayed in the puzzles of the selected poems of Muyaka emanates from the Swahili culture of the 19th Century. This paper gives a clear understanding of the Swahili woman as portrayed in the Kiswahili poetry of the 19th Century.   Key terms: Puzzles, Realism, Culture, Poem.