Knowledge Is Rhythm : Versifying Philosophy in Wolof Sufi Poetry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Minerba, Emiliano.

Series:

Perspectives on Regional and National Literatures Series

Perspectives on Regional and National Literatures Series ; v.3

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (252 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin/Boston : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2026.

Summary:

How can poetry convey philosophy and embody knowledge?This book addresses this question through a study of Wolofal, the Islamic religious poetry in Wolof that flourished with the rise of the Muridiyya brotherhood in Senegal.

Contents:

Intro

Knowledge Is Rhythm

Contents

Towards philology and poetics, again and again

Dalilu

Dalilu - translation

1 Introduction

2 The Quest for Authentic Knowledge: The Development of Muridiyya and its poetry

2.1 Islam in Senegambia throughout history

2.1.1 Sufi proselytism in pre-colonial Senegambia

2.1.2 The birth of the Muridiyya

2.2 Muridism in thought and literature

2.2.1 Islamic poetry in Senegambia

2.2.2 Knowledge as action

2.2.3 Semantics of maʿrifa

2.2.4 Semantics of xam-xam

2.2.5 Xam-xam as maʿrifa in practice

2.3 Methodology: the experience of the text

2.3.1 Poetry: knowledge, art and action

2.3.2 The text as a living body

3 Samba Jaara Mbay: poetry as spiritual communication

3.1 A biographical sketch

3.2 Embodied knowledge: Layoo naak réew mi

3.3 The šayḫ and the society: Gànnaara

3.4 Sound inaccessible knowledge: Ǧaḏb al-Maǧḏūb

3.5 The sea and the fish: Boroom Tuubaa

3.6 Conclusive remarks

4 Moor Kayre: the pursuit of harmony between heart and mind

4.1 Biographical sketch

4.2 A neglected poet

4.3 Between taʿlīm and tarbiya

4.4 Between Muḥammad and Bamba

4.5 Feeling ḥaqīqa

4.5.1 Echoing concepts: ḏikr and fikr

4.5.2 More echoes: xalam, xol, xel

5 Mbay Jaxate: the quest for true knowledge

5.1 A biographical sketch

5.2 Poetics of persona-verità

5.3 The self, the words, the actions: Ma tàgg Bamba

5.4 Pushing to meaning, pushing to action

5.5 Knowledge and action: a manifesto

5.6 Praise-song, praise-philosophy

6 Muusaa Ka: turning ẓāhir into bāṭin

6.1 The poet's life

6.2 The poetics of tempestas

6.3 Outer and inner nature: Njuuj-Njaaj

7 From verse to xam-xam: at the end of the path

7.1 From maʿrifa to xam-xam

7.2 Poetry and the embodiment of knowledge

References

Scholarly Works.

Manuscript Sources

Name Index

Wolof terms

Arabic terms.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

3-11-223364-6