ISSN: 1570-0178

Archives of Popular Swahili is an electronic archive of spoken and written Popular Swahili texts. Popular varieties of Swahili are used as the primary medium or vehicle of Central-African popular culture. At the same time, Popular varieties of Swahili and the texts produced in them are among the most conspicuous materializations of this culture.

APS wants to preserve and document Popular Swahili texts with the aim of promoting the study and appreciation of non-Standard vernacular varieties of Swahili and their role in African culture and society.

APS will publish text materials that have remained unpublished or are otherwise hard to get. Such materials may include, for instance, private documents, such as letters, autobiographies, lyrics, religious tracts, out of print text collections, locally produced books, journals and magazines, or transcripts of field recordings. If you know of materials that may be included in APS, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail or regular mail.

Published Volumes

Listed here are all published volumes of APS. Each text, or corpus of texts, is published as a separate volume.

• 1. Letters to the editor from the section Habari za Kwetu in Mwana Shaba (Journal d'entreprise de l'U.M.H.K.)
• 2. The history of Zaire as told and painted by Tshibumba Kanda Matulu in conversation with Johannes Fabian
• 2(1) Introduction
• 2(2) First Session, Part 1
• 2(3) First Session, Part 2
• 2(4) Second Session, Part 1
• 2(5) Second Session, Part 2
• 2(6) Third Session, Part 1
• 2(7) Third Session, Part 2
• 2(8) Fourth Session  
• 3. Le pouvoir se mange entier - Power is eaten whole: A play by the "Troupe Théâtrale Mufwankolo" of Lubumbashi
• 3(1) Introduction
• Members of the Troupe Théâtrale Mufwankolo
• Cast of Le pouvoir se mange entier
• 3(2) Scene 1 - The law of the land
• 3(3) Scene 2 - Trouble brewing
• 3(4) Scene 3 - The case of the thief
• 3(5) Scene 4 - The hunter's visit
• 3(6) Scene 5 - The case of adultery
• 3(7) Scene 6 - Revolt in the fields
• 3(8) Scene 7 - The chief takes control - Order reestablished
• 4. Vocabulaire de ville de Elisabethville: A history of Elisabethville from its beginnings to 1965. Compiled and written by André Yav
• 4(1) Introduction
• 4(2) Facsimile of the original mimeographed text
• 4(3) Title page and table of contents (English translation)
• 4(4) Shaba Swahili version and English translation
• 4(5) Kalundi Mango's comments
• 5. Teachings of the Jamaa movement: Texts and commentaries transcribed, translated, and commented by Johannes Fabian
• 5(1) Introduction
• 5(2) Text 1: Of man (1)
• 5(3) Text 2: Of man (2)
• 5(4) Text 3: Of angels
• 6. L'art populaire de Mufwankolo.
  Entretien et spectacle transcrits et traduits par Ghislain Gulda El Magambo Bin Ali et Pascal Maloji Kabemba ( alias Pascal de Saint Malo), revu par Mutonkole Lunda Wa Ngoyi, présenté par Alain Ricard
• 6(1) "Je ne mourrai pas sans cravate": Introduction par Alain Ricard
• 6(2) Entretien avec Mufwakolo | Sketch: Mambo ina nipita (Je suis dépassé par les problèmes | Suite de l'entretien
• 7. "Magic and modernity": A conversation with a herbalist and practitioner of magic, transcribed and translated by Johannes Fabian  
• 8. Ukumbusho by Achille Mutombo
• 9. Vivre et exercer le métier de peintre sous la pluie des balles et des flèches empoisonnées des rebelles à Bunia, Congo-Zaïre. Témoignage de l'artiste Joseph (Jeef) Bosemo, recueilli par Pierre Sugabo Yakisabo, transcrit, annoté et traduit en français par Ibio Nzunguba
• 10. Language and labor: Conversations about work, language, and life, transcribed , translated, and commented by Johannes Fabian
  • Introduction
  • Text One
  • Text Two
  • Text Three
  • Text Four
  • Text Five
• 11. Swahili remembered: Two conversations, transcribed , translated, and annotated by Johannes Fabian
• Introduction
• Text One
• Text Two
• 12. Conversations about Katanga Genre Painting in the 1970s, transcribed , translated, and annotated by Johannes Fabian
• Introduction
• Text One
• Text Two
• Text Three
• Text Four
• Text Five
• Text Six
• Text Seven
• Text Eight
• Text Nine
• 13. Conversations with the painters Mwenze Kibwanga and Pilipili Mulongoy, transcribed , translated, and annotated by Johannes Fabian
• Introduction
• Text One
• Text Two
• Text Three
• 14. The Jamaa files
• Introduction
• Text One
• Text Two
• Text Three
• Text Four
• Text Five
• 15. “Prayer groups” in Lubumbashi: A conversation with Régine Tshitamba and members of her family, recorded 24. 6. 1986 at her home in Lubumbashi, Zone Kampemba, transcribed, translated, and commented on by Johannes Fabian
• 16. Churches proliferating – where will it end? A play by Mufwankolo and two members of his troupe, transcribed, translated, and annotated by Johannes Fabian
• 17. Swahili is elephant meat: A play by Mufwankolo and two members of his troupe, transcribed, translated, and commented by Johannes Fabian

You may also want to have a look at an annotated bibliography of Popular Swahili texts in books and articles.

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Last revised/updated: 6 February 2018
by Vincent de Rooij