Swahili Ode

Titi la mama litamu, hata likiwa la mbwa,
Kiswahili naazimu, siafayo iliyofumbwa,
Kwa wasiokufahamu, niimbe ilivyo kubwa,
Toka kama mlizamu, funika palipozibwa,
Titile mama litamu, jingine halishi hamu.

One's mother's breast is sweetest canine it may be,
And Thou, Swahili, my mother-tongue art still the dearest to me,
My song springs forth from a welling heart, I offer this my plea
That those who have not known thee, may join in homage to thee.
One's mother's breast is sweetest, no othe so satisfies.

Lugha yangu ya utoto, hata sasa nimekua,
Tangu ulimi mzito, sasa kusema najua,
Ni sawa na manukato, moyoni mwangu na pua,
Pori, bahari na mto, napita nikitumia,
Titile mama litamu, jingine halishi hamu.

The speech of my childhood, now I am fully grown
I realize thy beauty and have made it all on my own
And thou refreshest my spirit like the scent of roses blown
Through desert and o'er ocean may I make thy praises known.
One's mother's breast is the sweetest, no other so satisfies.


Swahili ode by Shaaban Roberts.
Translation by Ali A Jahadhmy.