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Proverbs are one of the important oral literary genres in various cultures. Though in many societies and for a long time proverbs are regarded as succinct fixed artistic form, and authoritative which contain a general truth, wisdom and experience of the society and its creators are elders or anonymous, these characteristics are increasingly challenged today. This paper, therefore, intends to examine how Swahili literary writers and social network users participate in the creation and spread of Swahili modern proverbs in Tanzania. Data of this study were collected from Swahili literary works and websites. The findings reveal that the need to address and cope with today’s environment and change of worldview of the present generation are among the important factors to the emergence of the modern proverbs. It is also noted that modern Swahili proverbs are not only found among the Kiswahili literary writers and social network users, but also other people and avenues., Methali ni moja ya utanzu muhimu wa fasihi simulizi katika tamaduni mbalimbali. Ingawa katika jamii nyingi na kwa muda mrefu methali zimekuwa zikichukuliwa kama usemi mfupi wa kisanaa, wenye mamlaka, ukweli, maarifa na tajiriba ya jamii, na watungaji wake ni wazee au hawajulikani, sifa hizi siku hizi zinazidi kudadisiwa. Makala hii, kwa hiyo, inalenga kuchunguza namna waandishi wa fasihi ya Kiswahili na watumiaji wa mitandao ya kijamii wanavyoshiriki katika uundaji na usambazaji wa methali za kileo za Kiswahili nchini Tanzania. Data za makala hii zilikusanywa kwa kupitia kazi mbalimbali za fasihi ya Kiswahili na kutembelea tovuti. Matokeo ya data yanaonesha kuwa haja ya kuakisi mazingira ya sasa na mabadiliko ya kimtazamo kwa kizazi cha leo ni miongoni mwa sababu zinazochangia katika kuibuka kwa methali za kileo. Aidha, methali za kileo za Kiswahili si tu zinapatikana miongoni mwa wanafasihi wa Kiswahili na watumiaji wa mitandao ya kijamii, bali pia zinatumika na watu na miktadha mbalimbali.

Proverbs are one of the important oral literary genres in various cultures. Though in many societies and for a long time proverbs are regarded as succinct fixed artistic form, and authoritative which contain a general truth, wisdom and experience of the society and its creators are elders or anonymous, these characteristics are increasingly challenged today. This paper, therefore, intends to examine how Swahili literary writers and social network users participate in the creation and spread of Swahili modern proverbs in Tanzania. Data of this study were collected from Swahili literary works and websites. The findings reveal that the need to address and cope with today’s environment and change of worldview of the present generation are among the important factors to the emergence of the modern proverbs. It is also noted that modern Swahili proverbs are not only found among the Kiswahili literary writers and social network users, but also other people and avenues., Methali ni moja ya utanzu muhimu wa fasihi simulizi katika tamaduni mbalimbali. Ingawa katika jamii nyingi na kwa muda mrefu methali zimekuwa zikichukuliwa kama usemi mfupi wa kisanaa, wenye mamlaka, ukweli, maarifa na tajiriba ya jamii, na watungaji wake ni wazee au hawajulikani, sifa hizi siku hizi zinazidi kudadisiwa. Makala hii, kwa hiyo, inalenga kuchunguza namna waandishi wa fasihi ya Kiswahili na watumiaji wa mitandao ya kijamii wanavyoshiriki katika uundaji na usambazaji wa methali za kileo za Kiswahili nchini Tanzania. Data za makala hii zilikusanywa kwa kupitia kazi mbalimbali za fasihi ya Kiswahili na kutembelea tovuti. Matokeo ya data yanaonesha kuwa haja ya kuakisi mazingira ya sasa na mabadiliko ya kimtazamo kwa kizazi cha leo ni miongoni mwa sababu zinazochangia katika kuibuka kwa methali za kileo. Aidha, methali za kileo za Kiswahili si tu zinapatikana miongoni mwa wanafasihi wa Kiswahili na watumiaji wa mitandao ya kijamii, bali pia zinatumika na watu na miktadha mbalimbali.

This paper seeks to examine how women express themselves in Swahili through household cultural artefacts in Tanzania. The paper focuses on words or texts written on the cultural artefacts, especially food covers and hand fans. We analyze these two artefacts together due to the fact that in Swahili society they are mainly used by women at homes and they have some parallels in the content of their texts. Although these artefacts are found in various parts of the country, they are mostly widely available in the coastal areas. The data of this paper, therefore, were collected in three coastal areas in Tanzania, namely Kilwa, Tanga and Dar es Salaam. The paper uses the Semiotic Theory in the analysis of of its data. It is generally revealed that food covers and hand fans serve as an important means of communication among Swahili women. The artefacts present issues of the women while at the same time communicating their messages to a wider audience.

Over the last two decades Bongo Fleva music has become a popular form of entertainment as well as a key cultural element among Tanzanian urban youth. The objective of this paper is to examine the role of pseudonyms in this musical genre in Tanzania. It focuses on how Bongo Fleva artists adopt their pseudonyms and discusses their role in identity formation among urban youths in contemporary Tanzania. The paper argues that pseudonyms in Bongo Fleva, as in various other fields, have an important role to play in portraying one’s identity, culture, characteristics, profile, actions, hope and imagination.