Song for the scholars

If Ghana be the land of my roots,
Then I'll celebrate the early scholars -
Resplendent in my ancestry.
Let me start with Muhammed al-Gamba;
The first imam of Kumasi.

The founder of Koranic education,
Deep in an Akan heartland -
The city of the Ashanti.
Service of prayers and amulets;
Trusted advisor to the royalty.

Respected representative,
Of the eminent ones -
The elders of northern Ghana.
He was known as 'Baba';
Son of the imam of Gambaga.

Some were born in Mamprugu,
Gonja or Dagomba.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bonduku and Katsina.

Muhammed al-Katsiniwa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Bringing scholarship to the Dagomba.

Let us go now,
To the town of Salaga -
Of kola nut and of slavery.
To meet a pupil of al-Hajj Umar;
The poet Muhammed al-Salghawi.

He wrote of celestial activity,
The recording of a comet -
Salaga of Islamic study.
Praises to al-Hajj Umar;
A poem to al-Tijani.

He wrote of conflict also,
The civil war that bloodied his town -
The exile of the scholar.
Born in beloved Salaga;
Dying in distant Accra.

© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013.
Some were born in Mamprugu,
Dagbon or Gonja.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bonduku and Katsina.

Muhammed al-Katsiniwa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Scholarship to the Dagomba.

Now we have spoken of the pupil,
Let us speak of his teacher -
Of al-Hajj Umar.
In the Salaga constellation;
He remains the shining star.

Born in Kano,
Great city-state of Nigeria -
Family migration to Gonja.
He wrote on diverse subject matter,
From corruption to influenza.

Founder of the first mosque,
And Koranic school -
In the district of Kete-Krachi.
He wrote of mosque construction;
And the social effects of poverty.

Some were born in Mamprugu,
Dagbon or Gonja.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bondoku and Katsina.

Muhammed al-Katsinawa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Bringing scholarship to the Dagomba.

Now we'll go further north,
To meet Muhammed al-Mustapha -
The imam of Gonja.
From the Kamaghate lineage;.
Of those known as Wangara.

The main writer of the chronicle,
Known as Kitab al-Ghunja -
From the mid-eighteenth century.
It tells of kings and Muslim clerics;
Of Asante and it's dynasty.

© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013.
A much respected figure,
Within the Gonja ulama -
Great historian of the Volta.
Served the Asantehene;
As well as the Yagbongwura.

Some were born in Mamprugu,
Dagbon or Gonja.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bonduku and Katsina.

Muhammed al-Katsinawa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Bringing scholarship to the Dagomba.

© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013.

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