Mwana Kupona

Who is Mwana Kupona?

Mwana Kupona binti Msham was a Swahili poet of the 19th century, author of a poem called Utendi wa Mwana Kupona, which is one of the most well-known works of early Swahili literature.

Relatively little is known about her life. Her grandson Muhammed bin Abdalla reported in the 1930s that Mwana Kupona was born on Pate Island, and that she was the last wife of sheikh Bwana Mataka, ruler of Siu, with whom she had two children. Mataka died in 1856; two years later, Mwana Kupona wrote her famous poem, dedicated to her 14 year old daughter Mwana Heshima. Mwana Kupona died around 1865 of uterine hemorrhaging.