Publisher's Synopsis
This is a reproduction in photogravure of original pages from several manuscripts of a classical Swahili poem on the death of the prophet Muhammad. The poem bears witness to ancient lore concerning death and especially the death of that paradigmatic human being, the prophet, among African, West Indian Ocean and Islamic peoples. The text has a complete transliteration and translation of one manuscript, excerpts from others, and a quotation in a woven mat, with notes on how to decipher and edit texts and literature. It contains some Swahili text.
