The Liyongo Epic: Some Comparative and Pedagogical Aspects

The Liyongo epic is an oral tradition that evolved and continues to flourish on the Kenya coast, among the Swahili, Pokomo, and other communities. In the world of scholarship, the Swahili tradition has been the most well-known because researchers have tended to focus on it, starting about a century and a half ago. This essay summarises current knowledge about the Liyongo epic, identifying themes and formal features that connect this epic to other epics of the world. The study proposes a method of teaching the Liyongo epic, focusing on episodes rather than on an overarching plot, because the tradition exists not so much as a coherent and continuous story but as a series or system of episodes involving the hero Liyongo Fumo.