Seckou Barro Manuscript Collection
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Item Araabukaŋ Suukuwo: Arabic Devotional PoetryBarro, Mouhamadou (scribe)This manuscript is a copy of an Arabic poem with glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami. It was copied by Mouhamadou Barro, a son of Kemo Barro Diang.Item Pre-Islamic Poetry by Zuhayr bin Abī Sūlmā with glossesSūlmā, Zuhayr bin Abī; Diang, Kemo Barro (scribe)The manuscript is a copy of a pre-Islamic Arabic poem by Zuhayr bin Abī Sūlmā, who lived between the 6th and 7th century AD. He is regarded as one of the greatest pre-Islamic Arabic poets. The manuscript includes glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami.Item Tafsīr al-Jalālayn with bilingual glossesal-Suyūtī, Jalāl al-Dīn; al-Maḥallī, Jalāl al-DīnThe manuscrript contains the first part the Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, an exegesis of the Quran modeled on the one produced by a teacher and his student who are both named Jalāl: Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī (death date 1459) and his student, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī (death date 1505). The manuscript includes comments and glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami.Item Araabukaŋ Suukuwo: Arabic Devotional Poetryal-Wardī, 'Umar Ibn; Drame, Kang (scribe)The manuscript is a copy of a poem written in classical Arabic, which includes extensive glosses in Arabic and a few in Soninke Ajami. It was authored by ‘Umar Ibn al-Wardī. It was copied by Kang Drame.Item Sartoolu Minnu Faranfansita: Legal Texts with GlossesBarro, Ba Kadialy (scribe)The manuscript is written in Arabic with extensive comments and glosses in Arabic and Soninke. The manuscript deals with various legal subjects, including marriage law. It was copied by Ba Kajali Barro of Fouta-Touba in Guinea Conakry, a son of Kang Barro Diang and brother of the manuscript owner's father.Item Londi Kitaabu Saba: Collection of Three Islamic TextsHusayn, Abū Ismā‘īl; of Taslima, Mouhamadou; Barro, Mouhamadou (scribe); Diang, Kang Barro (scribe)Contains three manuscripts written in classical Arabic with comments and glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami. The first manuscript is a copy of a devotional poem authored by Abū Ismā‘īl Husayn. It was copied by Mouhamadou Barro, a son of Kang Barro Diang. The second manuscript deals with several themes, including the types of heavens. The final document is a poem by Mouhammadou of Taslima copied by Kang Barro Diang.Item Imru' al-Qaisal-Qais, Imru'; Barro, Aboubacar (scribe)The manuscript is a copy a poem by Umru' Al-Qais who lived in the 6th century AD. He is considered the father of Arabic poetry. His work is well known in Mandinka scholarly communities. The poem is written in classical Arabic with glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami. It was copied by Aboubacar Barro, a son of Kemo Barro Diang. Copies of the poem are found in other collections.Item Araabukaŋ Suukuwo: Arabic Devotional PoetryDrame, Kang (scribe)The manuscript is a devotional poem written in Arabic with comments and glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami. It was copied from the original by Salihu Drame also known as Kang Drame from the village of Diannah, Sedhiou. He was a student of the owner’s grandfather, Kemo Barro Diang. Drame was close to his teacher (Kemo Barro Diang) and was the best scribe he trained.Item Quranic Exegesis and Arabic Language Text by Al-Ḥarīrī of BasraDiang, Kemo Barro; Al-Ḥarīrī of Basra; Barro, Ba Kajali (scribe)Contains two manuscripts. The first one is a Quranic exegesis with comments and glosses in Arabic and Soninke Ajami. The second manuscript is a copy of a classical Arabic text dealing with the Arabic language and grammar authored by Abū Muḥammad al-Qāsim ibn ‘Ali ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī al-Ḥarīrī, also known as Al-Ḥarīrī of Basra (1054-1122). The exegesis was written by Kemo Barro Diang, the grandfather of the owner, and Al-Harīrī’s document was copied by Ba Kajali Barro of Fouta-Touba in Guinea Conakry, a brother of the manuscript owner's father. The name Kajali is the Mandinka version of al-Ghazālī.Item Mandinkakaŋ Suuku Ndiŋ: Short Mandinka Ajami PoemsDiang, Kemo Barro; Barro, Seckou (scribe)Contains two short Mandinka Ajami texts. The first one is a poem asking for God’s protection, and the second is a devotional poem praising Prophet Muḥammad.Item Alifaalu Toolu aniŋ Leetaro muŋ Bota Faransi: List of Leaders and Letter from France in Mandinka AjamiBarro, IssaContains a collection of short texts written in Mandinka Ajami. The first set includes a list of religious leaders and Imams of Pakao. The last one is a letter written by the owner’s brother (Issa Barro) who had just arrived in France and was informing him that the trip went well and that he made it safe to Paris.Item Al-Akhdarī in Mandinka AjamiDiang, Kemo Barro; Al-GhazālīThe manuscript is a Mandinka Ajami exegesis of the popular Mālikī jurisprudence text known as Al-Akhdarī, which is used across Muslim West Africa. The title, Al-Akhdarī, is based on the name of the Algerian scholar, Abū Yazīd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Ṣaghīr bin Muḥammad bin ʿĀmir, who authored the original text. Similar interpretations and commentaries of Al-Akhdarī in Ajami exist in other languages in West Africa. Al-Akhdarī is one of the key texts of Islamic jurisprudence studied in Islamic schools in West Africa. The author of the Mandinka exegesis of Al-Akhdarī, like many other Muslims in the region, used Mandinka Ajami in order to broadly disseminate the ethos and traditions of Islam among his people. His intention was to ensure that Mandinka readers understand Islamic jurisprudence in their own language so that they can practice their religion appropriately.Item Sali Dadaaraŋo aniŋ Janaaba Kuuwo: Correcting Prayers and Purification Shower in Mandinka AjamiBarro, SeckouContains a collection of notes on how to correct mistakes made in Islamic ritual prayers and how to wash oneself after sexual intercourse.Item Takhmīs al-Kawākib al-Durrīya with Soninke Ajami GlossesBūṣīrī, Sharaf al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Saʻīd; Muhammad, Abū 'Abdullāh; Diang, Kemo Barro (scribe)The manuscript is a copy of a Takhmīs poem of Al-Kawākib al-Durrīya Fī Madḥ Khayr a-Barīya also known as Qaṣidat al-Burda (Ode of the Mantle) by al-Busīrī (1211-1294). The author of the Takhmīs poem is Abū 'Abdullāh Muḥammad. It is written in classical Arabic with extensive glosses in Soninke Ajami. It was copied and commented in Soninke Ajami by the owner's grandfather Kemo Barro Diang.Item Poem by Al-Ilbīrī with Mandinka Glossesal-Ilbīrī, Abū Isḥāq; Gassama, Ousmane (scribe)The manuscript is a copy of the Arabic original written by Abū Isḥāq al-Ilbīrī (d.1067/1068), a poet and a Mālikī jurist, who lived in al-Andalus in the 11th century. He is well known in the Muslim world for his poem on the benefits of seeking knowledge and the conduct that seekers of knowledge must cultivate. The manuscript was copied by Ousmane Gassama, who added the extensive glosses in Ajami in order to enable Mandinka Ajami literates to access the content of the poem.Item Buuñaaro Leetaro aniŋ Suukuwo: Invitation Letter and an Ajami PoemBarro, Seckou; Diaby, El-hadji SidiyaContains two short documents written in Mandinka Ajami. The first text is an invitation note sent to local leaders (whose names are listed in the document) to ask them to attend the yearly memorial of the deceased scholar, Kemo Barro Diang (the grandfather of the owner of the texts). The second document is a copy of a popular Mandinka Ajami poem titled Teeroo I Tuloo Loo (My Friend, Listen!) dealing with religious ethics written by El-hadji Sidiya Diaby of Taslima.Item Araabukaŋ Suukuwo: Arabic Devotional Poetryibn 'Abdullah, Abū ‘Abbās Aḥmad; Barro, El-hadji Sankoung (scribe)The manuscript is a copy of the original devotional Arabic poem authored by Abū ‘Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Abdullah. It was copied by the Mandinka scholar, El-hadji Sankoung Barro, the oldest son of Kemo Barro Diang. The poem deals with numerous Islamic topics and includes extensive glosses in Arabic.Item Hamziyya with Mandinka Ajami GlossesBūṣīrī, Sharaf al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Saʻīd; Al-Ghazālī; Barro, Kemo Sadio (scribe); Salimou, Mouhamadou (scribe)The manuscript is a copy from an Arabic original written by Imam al-Ghazali with recent glosses in Mandinka Ajami, which was made thirty two years ago. It discusses the importance of knowledge. It highlights how the benefits dwarf the difficulties that one necessarily encounters in the quest for knowledge.Item Images of Seckou Barro, his family and the community of Salikegne(2018-10-08) Ngom, IbrahimaImages of manuscript owner Seckou Barro (white kaftan), his family and the community of Salikegne, Sedhiou, Senegal, for the manuscript digitization work done in October 2018.