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As is the case with Sigurd, Liongo was killed because of a betrayal. He was betrayed by his son, who had unveiled the secret of Liongo's invulnerability. The only thing that could kill him was a copper nail or pin piercing his
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was a
Swahili writer and chieftain on the northern part of the coast of East Africa sometime between the 9th and 13th centuries. He is celebrated as a hero, warrior, and poet in traditional poems, stories, and songs of the
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tales. In one such story, a king organizes an archery tournament to lure Liongo into his court and seize him yet Liongo manages to win the tournament and escape. Some of the best known texts from the Liongo corpus are
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model. Liongo is sometimes described as a follower of traditional
African beliefs and sometimes as a Muslim. This had led some scholars to suggest that he could have lived around the 13th century, when
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in ancient
Swahili society, and gungu dances. Some narrate episodes from the hero's life, others are war hymns (for example, the
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Many elements of the epics of Liongo appear to relate to the transition of the East
African coastal society from
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dances) and, amid the confusion (and/or with the help of his mother), Liongo managed to escape.
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began creating settlements in East Africa and the
Swahili culture began to take shape.
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but a few songs about Liongo, in an archaic form of
Swahili transcribed into the
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Swahili writer and chieftain alive sometime between the 9th and 13th centuries
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or "Song of the
Warrior" in which Liongo celebrates the virtues of his
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coast claim to be Liongo's birthplace. He is supposedly buried at Ozi.
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Traditional stories of Liongo have many common traits with those of
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dances. Liongo himself is credited with many such songs and poems.
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is generally coherent in describing Liongo as a king or prince of
291:. In «Research in African Literatures», 17, pp. 464–473.
254:"Myths, legends, beliefs and traditional stories from Africa"
96:). Liongo is often represented as a master of the art of
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data. They describe ancient wedding rituals, the role of
298:. In «Weekend Magazine» (January 17, 1989), p. 23.
218:"Liyongo Working Group: information on the manuscripts"
68:Most of the literature on Liongo belongs to the
284:. In «Kiswahili», 53 (1-2), pp. 128–145.
205:http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2011033001
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289:The Identity of the Hero in the Liongo Epic
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100:, sometimes in terms very close to the
282:The Liongo Fumo Epic and the Scholars
242:Liongo's Fatal Weakness is Discovered
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296:The Liongo Epic and Swahili Culture
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19:For the Cameroonian village, see
306:The Swahili Saga of Liongo Fumo
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207:"More than stuff of legend"
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344:Characters in epic poems
56:. Several towns on the
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133:organization to a new
294:J. L. Mbele (1989).
287:J. L. Mbele (1986).
280:J. L. Mbele (1986).
324:African Mythology
111:Hadithi ya Liongo
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256:. Archived from
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121:Historical basis
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26:Fumo Liyongo
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21:Liongo, Fako
319:Liongo Fumo
135:patrilinear
127:matrilinear
54:Pate Island
333:Categories
264:2010-10-22
228:2010-10-22
193:References
171:Robin Hood
102:Robin Hood
153:Character
86:palm wine
58:Tanzanian
163:Achilles
159:European
147:Persians
138:Islamic
98:archery
64:Sources
42:rituals
39:wedding
308:(1926)
169:, and
167:Sigurd
113:, and
74:Arabic
30:Liongo
187:navel
179:gungu
175:giant
143:Arabs
131:Bantu
46:gungu
145:and
76:and
44:and
94:bow
28:or
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