GB 0102 MSS 34882, 47707-8, 47770, 47779, 47781, 47796-7, 53489-98, 53500-5, 53507-9, 53823-7, 53829, 54342, 193290-2, 196884, 205000, 210002-11, 210013-14, 228624, 253028-9, 256191, 263325 - Hichens, William

59 files

William Hichens's collection included manuscripts from the collections of the Swahili scholars W E Taylor and Alice Werner.
GB 0102 MSS 34882, 47707-8, 47770, 47779, 47781, 47796-7, 53489-98, 53500-5, 53507-9, 53823-7, 53829, 54342, 193290-2, 196884, 205000, 210002-11, 210013-14, 228624, 253028-9, 256191, 263325 1792-1943 Collection (fonds) 59 files Hichens , William , d 1944 , Swahili scholar

Employed in the Kenya administration; collector and editor of Swahili manuscripts; his research into Swahili was extensively based on correspondence and collaboration with other scholars, notably Sir Mbarak Ali Hinawy (Liwali of the Coast), Muhammed bin Abu Bakr Kijumwa of Lamu, and Alice Werner; his interests included the history of Swahili poetry, translation of Swahili poetry, and the history of the east African coast; of his verse translations from Swahili only a small proportion were published; his Azania Press (at Medstead, Hampshire) published Swahili literature; died in Mombasa, 1944. Publications: edited The Azanian Classics (2 volumes, Azania Press, Medstead, 1932-1934); with Alice Werner, The Advice of Mwana Kupona upon the Wifely Duty (Azania Press, Medstead, 1934); Diwani ya Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy. Pamoja na khabari za maisha yake ambazo zimehadithiwa ni W Hichens (Johannesburg, 1940). Identification of the collector of these manuscripts as the businessman William Lionel Hichens (1874-1940), suggested by some bibliographic data, is uncertain.

William Hichens's collection included manuscripts from the collections of the Swahili scholars W E Taylor and Alice Werner.

Various, including donation from Mrs E Hichens in 1945.

Collected papers, 1792-1943 (some undated), manuscript and typescript, of William Hichens, largely dating from the 1930s, comprising Swahili stories, verses, histories, and vocabularies, including transcriptions and translations of sources, and some correspondence of Hichens relating to Swahili literature.

Some files contain more than one item.

Unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
Swahili, with some Arabic and English. Mainly Arabic script, some Roman.

Incomplete handlist. Cataloguing is in progress under the Swahili Manuscripts Project at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds other collections on Swahili and other African languages, including papers of J W T Allen (Ref: PP MS 20), W E Taylor (various references), Alice Werner (Ref: MS 380393), and W H Whiteley (Ref: PP MS 42).

Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Sources: P J L Frankl, 'W E Taylor (1856-1927): England's greatest Swahili scholar', AAP, lx (1999), p 170; information from Annmarie Drury, Swahili Manuscripts Project, School of Oriental and African Studies; information from the Bodleian Library on William Lionel Hichens;

British Library OPAC: http://blpc.bl.uk

Library of Congress OPAC: http://catalog.loc.gov Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Jul 2002 African languages African literature Bantu languages Documents East Africa Fiction Hichens , William , d 1944 , Swahili scholar Information sources Lexicography Linguists Literary forms and genres Literature Manuscripts National literatures Nonfiction Poetry Prose Social scientists Swahili Translations Vocabularies

Various, including donation from Mrs E Hichens in 1945.

Collected papers, 1792-1943 (some undated), manuscript and typescript, of William Hichens, largely dating from the 1930s, comprising Swahili stories, verses, histories, and vocabularies, including transcriptions and translations of sources, and some correspondence of Hichens relating to Swahili literature.

Some files contain more than one item.

Unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

• English

• Latin

Swahili, with some Arabic and English. Mainly Arabic script, some Roman.

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds other collections on Swahili and other African languages, including papers of J W T Allen (Ref: PP MS 20), W E Taylor (various references), Alice Werner (Ref: MS 380393), and W H Whiteley (Ref: PP MS 42).

Incomplete handlist. Cataloguing is in progress under the Swahili Manuscripts Project at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English