More than just warriors: Mythical and archetypal images of the hero in Swahili literature

Abstract

Since ancient time until today, the image  of the hero has influenced literary works universally. The “hero” becomes mythical only after his death, and through forms of remembrance that can be realized in other literary productions in which his figure is re-create and transmitted through fictitious characters. The central focus of my paper is to examine, within archetypal theories on myth and “hero”,  the  great figures of two Swahili warriors, namelyLiongo Fumo, one of the greatest warrior-hero figures of the Swahili oral tradition, and the chief Mkwawa of the Hehe people, who fought against the German rule in the former Tanganyka, whose deeds have been reinvented and described in modern written literature. Both Liongo Fumo and Mkwawa have acquired the status of mythical warriors, and as other East African heroes, they inspired poets and writers becoming  symbols of bravery and national consciousness to which the historical and cultural memory of old and new generations refer. Despite the importance given to the figure of the two great heroes, part of my work has been dedicated to the presentation of those who can be defined as ‘minor heroes’, who nevertheless represent a way of generational change to look at literature as to a bridge that combines tradition and modernity through historical and mythical memory.