Ebrahim Hussein


Ebrahim Hussein is a Tanzanian playwright and poet. His first play, Kinjeketile, written in Swahili is considered "a landmark of Tanzanian theater." The play soon became one of the standard subjects for Kiswahili exams in Tanzania and Kenya. By 1981, it had already been reprinted six times.
Other plays written by Hussein include: Mashetani, an overtly political play; Jogoo Kijijini, an experiment in dramatic performance; and Arusi, in which Hussein expresses disillusionment with the Tanzanian political theory Ujamaa. Short plays of his include: Wakati Ukuta

Education

Hussein was educated at the University of Eastern Africa where he studied French and Theatre Arts. There he wrote some of his first few short plays, Wakati Ukuta and Alikiona - Consequences. These early works often focus on themes of tensions between the old and new generations and the tensions leftover from European colonialism. He was taught about the European structure of a "well made play", but became more interested in traditional African forms of theatre during his time there. Some of his early plays, like Alikiona, incorporate elements of Kichekesho, which is a comedic interlude found in the middle of many taarab performances.

List of works

Plays

While Ebrahim Hussein focused on research for his own thesis from 1970 to 1973, while the first thesis of his work, Drama and National Culture: a Marxist Study of Ebrahim Hussein by Robert Philipson, dates from 15 years later. He produced reflections on drama about his work to develop Swahili literature that regarded the crisis of East Africa, specifically in the 70s. At a conference on the meta-languages of literary studies, he then published a study on Aristotle . Many of his colleagues began studies on his oeuvre after this publication, which focused on Kenyan and Tanzanian criticism expressed in Kiswahili.

Ebrahim Hussein Poetry Prize

The Ebrahim Hussein Poetry prize is an honor awarded annually to the winner of the poetry contest under the same name. The contest was created by Safarani Seushi "as per wish of the late Gerald Belkin." Belkin was in the process of creating this award, to be named after "his friend and renowned filmmaker and playwright, Professor Ebrahim Hussein," when he passed away. Belkin's goal in establishing this award and prize fund was foster the careers of more Swahili Poets

The Shield of Tradition

Summary: Sesota, a serpent, terrorizes a village, so a young peasant is called upon to defeat Sesota. The peasant succeeds and the village rejoices. Over time, the evil the serpent brought grows again, causing the village to become more and more depraved. Eventually, Sesota returns, with no one to challenge him.
Analysis: This is a retelling of a Swahili folkloric story, where Sesota is defeated by being trapped in a pot rather than killed and eventually returning. In the retelling, Sesota represents colonialism that the "peasant" desperately tries to fight. Hussein is speaking to how the remnants of colonialism still remain and that any amount of western influence on African culture brings back that evil. Through this, the retelling also shows that there's no "good vs. evil" like in traditional stories, but that the world is far more morally grey. One significant moment is when the village is celebrating after Sesota's death; names of a variety of famous African writers and artists are listed. Hussein seems to be criticizing his fellow artists, saying that their work only comes during moments of joy, rather than it being used to combat oppression.