African And African Diaspora Writers Codexery

Muhammed Said Abdulla

Pioneer of Swahili popular literature and creator of the detective Bwana Msa.

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Muhammed Said Abdulla was a Tanzanian Swahili novelist born on 25 April 1918 in Makunduchi, Zanzibar.[1][2] He is often credited as a pioneer of Swahili popular literature.[1] He died in March 1991.[1]

Life and work

He then worked as an inspector for the state Civil Health Department.[2] During his time there, he was responsible for editing the Swahili Bulletin produced by the Department of Agriculture.[2] In 1948, Abdulla took on the role of editor for the newspaper Zanzibari.[2] The Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 resulted in the deaths of Abdulla's family members.[3]

Released as a novel in 1960, this work departed from the folktale conventions then common in Swahili writing.[4] The novel introduced Bwana Msa, a detective who appears in the majority of Abdulla's later writings.[4]

What the cited sources add

The Berliner Zeitung article notes that Abdulla's novels are popular school reading in his homeland.[5] The same source identifies Abdulla as a health authority inspector, journalist, and crime novelist.[5]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Muhammed Said Abdulla" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Abdulla, Muhammed Said", Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2010, p. 22 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Muhammed Said Abdulla" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zúbková, "Dictionary of African Biography", Oxford University Press, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Muhammed Said Abdulla" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Inusah, "Muhammed Said Abdulla,Father of Swahili Literature was born on this day", Face2Face Africa, 2019-04-25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Muhammed Said Abdulla" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zúbková, "Dictionary of African Biography", Oxford University Press, 2008; BLZ, "Mit "Der Geisterwald der Ahnen" liegt erstmals ein Krimi des sansibarischen Schriftstellers Muhammed Said Abdulla in deutscher Übersetzung vor: Mord auf Swahili", Berliner Zeitung, 2010-07-07; Romańczuk, "The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women", Routledge, 2024-08-02; Lindfors, "Comparative Approaches to African Literatures", BRILL, 1994-01-01 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. BLZ, "Mit "Der Geisterwald der Ahnen" liegt erstmals ein Krimi des sansibarischen Schriftstellers Muhammed Said Abdulla in deutscher Übersetzung vor: Mord auf Swahili", Berliner Zeitung, 2010-07-07. facts only, no text reused. berliner-zeitung.de

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Muhammed Said Abdulla (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year did Muhammed Said Abdulla die?

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Not quite. The answer is 1991.

2. In what year was Muhammed Said Abdulla born?

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Not quite. The answer is 1918.

3. In which place was Muhammed Said Abdulla born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Makunduchi, Zanzibar.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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