Swahili Qiṣṣati Yūsufu
Swahili manuscript in Arabic script, on paper, black and colored ink red ink. Lamu island, Kenya, 1937 AD by the scribe Muhamadi Kijuma
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Beauty before your eyes
story by Annachiara Raia.<em>Qiṣṣati Yūsufu</em> is the longest version of the Yusuf story in Swahili verse form in Arabic script. <em>Qiṣṣati Yūsufu</em> was composed on the island of Lamu on the northern Swahili Muslim coast of Kenya, the cradle of traditional Swahili literature in Arabic script. The alleged author is Muhamadi Kijuma, who, among other things, was a well-known poet, calligrapher, musician and wood-carver. Reading the lines of this beautiful handwritten poem will guide you through the calligraphic and ornamental devices that make this story not only pleasing the ear, but also the eye.