Wamitila [1] has explained that oral poetry is part of a culture that is passed down from one generation to another. Oral poetry has a ritualistic structure, a songistic structure and a narrative structure. In addition, there is a special arrangement in the performance of oral poetry such as sound and repetition to give strength to words and ritualistic actions. The language used in oral poetry is heavy, full of metaphors and symbols that are understood and recognized by members of the community who are involved in the beliefs and attitudes referred to. This argument is in line with Muiruri [2] who says that oral poetry uses a poetic and unique language that is different from other genres of oral literature. It uses imagery to ensure the attention of the audience. It is loaded with figurative language in abundance to bring more appeal to the audience. So what remains is to be able to analyze how the use of Oral Poetry interacted with Modern Taarabu-Mipasho. Majigambo is one of the key elements in the genre of Oral Poetry. According to Wamitila [3], the purpose and content do not only arise in a literary work but are the product of the relationships and interactions of various elements and techniques in the work in question.

The Interaction between Modern Arabic-Language and Oral-Exaggerated Poetry

Bragging: Mulokozi [4] admits that boasting is composed with great skill for the purpose of boasting. Usually, the boaster praises his prowess in various matters such as his bravery in war, love, work and so on. Muiruri [2] adds that the structure of boasting depends on the goals of the composer and the tradition he represents. Of course, being a champion in art is an act of dignity and heroism. Modern Taarabu-Mipasho singers are not left behind in this. Boasts have appeared in many of their songs either intentionally or by chance. Examples of how a complementary interaction emerged between pride and Modern music Taarabu-Mipasho is like in the Full Stop- Khadija Kopa appendix. In this appendix, the character silences everyone so that he can speak. The person who silences others must have a voice and so this character tries to show his dominance by silencing everyone else so that he can speak. He boasts by saying that whoever wants to speak must ask permission from him. So, he is the one who gives others the opportunity to speak, meaning that he is the one with authority. He says this as evident in the following  passage:

• Full stop, everyone is quiet, I'm talking about the bell

• Fullstop, stop making noise, and don't let yourself defend yourself

The character also boasts about how beautiful she is and how skilled she is at stretching her waist. In her song, the character acts out stretching her waist and stretching her eyes. She seems to be aware of her features and shows them when needed. Stretching her eyes is used by women as a way to emphasize their beauty. This character understands the importance of bragging about herself using her beauty. In this context, she has used her beauty well until the man she loved has betrayed her romantically to the point of falling in love with her. This is evident in the following lines:

• And I know how to lie. He loves me, he tells me the truth

• I'm right there, I'm tearing it apart

The character continues to boast that he has a sweet taste and that is why the man in question in this context does not let him go. He warns all those who like to steal other people's husbands that the time has come to stop this habit. They will not get this opportunity again and they will be left out because the champion of waist-slitting has arrived on the scene. Considering himself superior, he challenges his female rivals to a competition so that he can stop their bad habit of stealing other people's husbands. He tells them this in the following passage:

• I have a very sweet taste, that's why he doesn't want to come out

• Now, you thieves of the masters, I tell you, you will be left to take

Finally, the character criticizes them by mocking them, saying that they are inferior people. They are not even worthy of any meaningful love. Therefore, the only one who is valuable and worthy of meaningful love is him! Seeing them as inferior, he despises them, saying that they are suitable for poor lovers in the alleys. These are lovers who do not have money, who do not know how to love or be loved. Not having money makes them do their business in the poor environment of the alleys, dirty, unsuitable, uncivilized and at low prices. Therefore, even the love they engage in is inferior. This is why the character told them the following:

• You guys, your alley types, are the ones that suit you

Khadija Kopa adds that her opponents cannot even bring a truckload of healers, perform a sacrifice and slaughter cats. She boasts here that she has established roots in this field of love. Medicine cannot defeat her. She is strong enough to not be harmed by healers. She said a while ago that she knows how to love by stretching her waist and widening her eyes. Any tactics from her opponents do not threaten her because she is a champion of love. This    she has   hinted at  in the   following words:

• Even if you bring a whole truckload of doctors, my empire has already arrived

• Cry out to the spirits and sacrifices, and even slaughter cats

Moreover, in this context, the character shows a belief in the ideology of superstition in Swahili society. As Sengo states, ideology is a living institution in the cultures of all human societies. Superstition is a small part of people's beliefs. Islam and Christianity do not teach or encourage this ideology. But some believers find themselves leaning towards this area of life. The beliefs of the Swahili people of coastal Kenya include the belief in the existence of spirits - jinni, devils; the power and ability of these spirits to protect farms, property, cities, help cure diseases, and devils to cast spells. These beliefs have a place in all Swahili folklore. The character's knowledge has made the man referred to reject him. He boasts that he is the African baby cute (beautiful) with his flawless complexion and is still desirable (You cannot have my property, my African baby cute).

Women who have applied cosmetics (chromolites) have changed the color of their faces to be white and attractive to men. However, sometimes these faces are affected by getting black and brown patches and are therefore unattractive. Women who apply different oils to change the color of their skin do this in the belief that those with brown skin are more attractive. Once they succeed in changing the color of their skin, these women feel superior to their dark-skinned counterparts and even become proud. However, the character criticizes them when she boasts of her black skin without any spots that are of a real African child. She says that she never desires the skin with spots that have offended her. She boasts that even with her black skin she is still attractive to men (I have my color, and I still burn). The character says this as evident in the following excerpt:

• Your carols, which give you violence

• So, your carolines, I will ban them here

• I have my own color, I don't want a black face

• I have my color, and again I'm still burning   

In showing how she controlled her love, the character boasts about how strong it is. She explains how she settled down with her husband without any worries because he is a real child. In the relevant context, she shows that love is not built on the color of the painted skin but is built by a woman like her who has the necessary sexual knowledge. She even has no one to argue with for her lover. She is alone. She is not worried because she knows how to control their love. She boasts that no one can argue with her in her possession of love as is her statement in the following context:

• You can't own me, cute African baby

• First of all, I am alone, I am calm, I have no doubts

• I am settled with my husband, a reliable child

Bragging has also emerged and interacted with the drama, expressions and dialect of the feed in the appendix. How Do You Know If You're Not a Slanderer - Mwanaidi Shaaban The character in this attachment boasts about how beautiful she is, who doesn't need to advertise herself in her speech, for example, Although I'm not a boaster, nor am I one to boast, but I don't hide my beauty. Then he mocks his gossip-loving companion that he has nothing to do and cannot prevent the blessing he has received as he is quoted singing in the following line: Get angry now, you won't get angry, you learn to know things but be ready to accept the changes that have occurred.

The speaker, who in this context is the protagonist, boasts that he has nothing to fear even if his fierce opponent decides to use any means including going to witches. Witches are involved in various aspects of human life as they are believed to have miraculous powers to achieve things. In the context of this song in the following section, the protagonist boasts about his intimidation by those who envy him even if they decide to go to witches to block his prayer. He claims that God has remembered him and made him successful in his life. In the following passage, the protagonist tells his enemies:

• Keep digging me up, go to the witches and pray, know that God does not strike with a stick

• Your manners, understand, I have succeeded, I have been guided, I have been blessed

The subject claims that he has been blessed with good clothing and is no longer a khanga. The khanga is a traditional garment worn by coastal Swahili women. In normal circumstances, a woman is expected to have several khangas, and they must be clean. If she has only one, it is a sign of poverty. Moreover, she is said to be driving a Rav4, a large, luxurious car. He also participates in the prestigious group of Modern Arabic- Melody. These have been included in the following appendix:

• You see, you saw me wearing

• I won't stop, I won't stop wearing noodles

• I don't stop, I don't stop riding the Rav4

• You see, I'm going to the melody

• I won't stop, I won't stop going to the melody

In this context, the character boasts of his success because Allah has opened the doors of blessings for him. In his motto, he says that it is difficult to block the sun with a sieve because his luck from Allah cannot be blocked in any way, just as the sun cannot be blocked by any object or device. The sun is very high and must shine when its time comes. It is not easy for a human being to reach the sun to block it. Thus, the blessing of this character is high, placed in a position that is elevated and shining. No one can block it in any way. This is why this character emphasizes his statement in the following verse:

• They want to block the sun with a sieve

• You can't block the sun, you can't block it with a sieve

• You can't block out the sun, you can't block it out

   

The character continues his boasting by mocking the referred to person that even if he tries his best to use all means to prevent his blessing, he will not be able to. He mentions efforts to close the doors of blessing, nail the doors, build a wall around it and even put guards to guard it, all of this is in vain since God has opened the blessing for him. This would be a great effort to want to block the character's blessings to ensure that they do not reach him. However, his luck is not blocked by anyone. The character here has used the opportunity to boast about how blessed he is. How can doors that are already closed be nailed, a wall built and even guards put to guard them! The one who can use all these means to prevent something may be a person with great anger or hatred. Just one of these methods is enough. The character is trying to explain that the blessing released upon him by God can never be blocked! To emphasize his message, the character mocks his colleague as in the following appendix:

• The doors you closed, knock on the nails, make the wall build too

• Put someone to watch over you, you won't see me move, now God has opened it for me

Appendix - Utalijus Jiji- Afua Suleiman continues the sub-interaction of artists' boasting in Modern Taarabu-Mipasho. In this appendix, there are two women, one of whom boasts about how she managed to find the husband of the other. In her boasting, she mentions her good qualities that led the man in question to love her while sarcastically pointing out what caused the other woman to be abandoned. She boasts about how knowledgeable she is when she criticizes her for her lack of knowledge of love, something that really annoyed her husband (My wife has no knowledge, my lover has annoyed her). This is why the subject received this husband when he ran to her as she explains in the following excerpt. 

• Come to me, I have received you, Come to me, I have received you.   

Instead of apologizing to the woman who wronged her by taking her husband away, this woman continues to boast that she has nothing to stop her from taking the man in question ( Even if you blame me, I will take yours), and distracts him by giving him what he missed from the first woman. She has decided to give him sweets and everything he missed from the first woman. After this man was given everything he needed in love, he forgot himself and became confused as the following passage indicates:

• Even if you blame me, I will take yours

• You wronged Penzi, you did things to him

• The chachandu will taste it, but you will not give it to them

• The Lord went mad, unable to bear it

The subject continues to boast about how he has given the subject man a cure for things he had never been given before (He gave me a team, I gave him a cure,) until the subject man humbled himself and obeyed everything he was told. (Amri greeted, knees to me). He accuses his partner that after the subject man was given passionate love, he came to blame himself that his first love was not good for him, he had lost his way. These are the boasts of how he was clever in giving the subject man a cure as in the following passage:

• He put a team together for me, I gave him medicine

• I gave him rare things, he has never seen them before

• Amri greeted me, kneeling down to me

• While blaming himself, he lost his way towards you

This woman's pride is evident in the way she describes how the man in question treats her. She sits down and has everything she needs brought to her in the house. (I am brought in.) He never bothers to search as he explains in the quoted data (You wander with the path, Magomeni, Buguruni, the paths will break). In a normal situation, a sexually satisfied man does whatever he wants to his girlfriend, up to bringing everything inside her.

This woman doesn't stop there but continues to boast about her delicious tea recipes as she herself says in I'm cooking mandazi, and ginger tea for my friend. This is the situation that the character in this song finds himself in, as he boasts, he has been able to satisfy his lover sexually, as the character says in the following appendix: Then I give a dose, which makes my partner sleep.

However, the situation is different with the second woman. The woman in question has no one to earn a living for her and bring her home. She has to worry about earning a living; worries that are exacerbated by the way the men are harassing her along the way. Moreover, she has to engage in extra activities such as prostitution to be able to meet her needs. These earning activities have made her talk on the streets and even make her marriages unstable. This situation is described in the following appendix:

• You are divorced, because of your bad behavior

• You shower in the kitchen, you cook in the bathroom

• Oh, you will cry, my friend, the city will know

According to Finnegan [5], another important characteristic of oral literature songs and which is also found in Modern Taarabu-Mipasho is the presence of a character in the singing of songs to convey the character’s message. The character has the decision to direct the song through subsidiary interaction such as talking to the audience in the middle of the song after pausing the song to capture their attention and convey the message properly. In the following examples, various Modern Taarabu-Mipasho artists have demonstrated the use of subsidiary interaction between boasting, allegory, sayings and drama through dialogues in their songs to achieve their boasting. First is in the following appendix of -Nilijua Mtasema-Khadija Yusuf. The character says,

“Hello my dear brother, raise that sail. That's the wind, not the wind. It's a homo ehh. Just one sail. J4, pull that joshi. Musa bezi, pull the jelali. Captain Chidi boy, tighten that adema, don't let go. If you didn't know, this is the ship, sir. When the engine is full, it travels by sail. Halili is on the way and the journey continues.”

In this conversation on Modern Taarabu-Mipasho, the character boasts that he is the chiriku of truth, there is no other. Listen to the original Chiriku, if you hear another, that duplicate). The flag being raised up means that now he is in the field and it is his chance to be seen. He claims that he is the ship that everyone must know when he says If you didn't know, this is the ship, sir). His mastery is as famous as a ship that cannot sleep on the way. When it starts a journey, it must complete the course.

The character in these lines is still continuing his boasting to show that he is an expert in this field of music. He is not a young lemon that has no water). He claims to be mature in his singing as he says No research, no right speech. Here he means that his songs are not random, they are songs that are the result of compositions with a wealth of knowledge and creativity. That is why he said that when the anchor is cast in the water , the ship will have arrived. If you see an anchor cast in the water, know that the ship has arrived. Here, the character is the ship. The anchor is cast in the water to give the ship stability when it has reached the edge of the sea. The anchor in this context may be the character's knowledge that enables him to immerse himself in the composition of fame and thus make his ship (singing) stable.

Similarly, the interaction between the boasting and Modern Taarabu-Mipasho is evident in the appendix Top in Town-Khadija Kopa. This character boasts through these words: 'Children, you have said too much, a big car is coming now, make way, make way, make way.' Here the character boasts that he is a big car that is coming to the field now. He calls others ' children' meaning that they are not as mature as he is in singing mipasho. He insists that they should give him a break, that is, leave him, give him his place because he is not like them (the children) so that he can show them the right way to sing.

Other claims in Modern Taarabu-Mipasho are explained in the appendix Funga Kazi-Machupas Family in the following paragraph:

• This is a message, please reach someone

• The mask of a scout, who invaded the city

• It's true that I didn't succeed, but I didn't surpass you

• You are laughed at by hundreds, you boast about yourself

In this passage, the character boasts about his bravery while comparing himself to a Fulani woman. The character gives his companion the message that he is just a model (caricature) who has conquered the city but people despise him for his poor character. The line Stop criticizing your colleagues, and you have not yet fulfilled is a warning to the Fulani. On the other hand, this warning indicates that the character is the one who has fulfilled it. The character boasts about his ability when he orders the Fulani to quit his job, leave the city and look for another job if he has offended him as in the line This Now quit your job, I will not leave you. He claims to be ready to fight for his position and is willing to do anything as long as he gets rid of the Fulani. I am happy to fight, I know war. Then he implies that he is not afraid even with the sword. He is blessed by God and no threats can shake him. This is implied by the following passage:

• Now close the work, I will not leave you

• I am happy to fight, I know war

• Even if you come with a sword, know that the blacksmith will cut you

• It is useless for me to burn, God's will does not extinguish it

Majigabo has emerged in Modern Taarabu-Mipasho which has been referenced, thus demonstrating the interaction between the genres of Majigabo and Mipasho. Artists have been able to use the Mipasho platform to boast and explain their various qualities that gave them a better position than their peers. After examining the songs of the Mipasho, it was found that no genre can stand on its own without influencing other genres. The interaction of genres in Modern Taarabu-Mipasho was caused by a process of intertextuality that enabled the relevant works to borrow, speculate, quote, imitate and even refer to other genres either in genre or content without considering the imaginary boundaries of the genre.

1. Wamitila K.W. Dictionary of literature: terminology and theory. Nairobi: Focus Publication Ltd, 2003.

2. Muiruri P.K. Excellent preparation for KCSE oral literature: questions and answers. Palco Enterprises Ltd, 2006.

3. Wamitila K.W. Literary critique: fundamentals of literary analysis. Nairobi: Focus Publishers Ltd, 2008.

4. Mulokozi M.M. "Branches of oral literature." Mulika, no. 21, 1989, pp. [specific pages not provided]. Dar es Salaam: Institute for Swahili Studies.

5. Finnegan R. Oral literature in Africa. Open Book Publishers, 2012.