Firro and Slufay: The Traditional Litanies of the Iraqw

Abstract

The poetic appeal and potential of Firro and Slufay have often been alluded to but not rigorously studied owing to the inavailablility of reliable texts of a certain or desirable magnitude. This paper attempts, among other things, to provide such texts to enrich the already existing materials and to stimulate further research. The discussion of the qualities and procedures of this genre of Oral Literature is slanted towards seeing Firro and Slufay as communal poetry of the Iraqw which springs from and continues to be fuelled by their traditional litanies.