Wallo is the home of Awlaya and Muslim Poets. There are numerous Shrines ofrnAw/ayo. most of which serve as seats of higher Islamic learning, loci of pilgrimage, andrncenters of poetic composition. This thesis attempts to discuss Islamic Oral Poetry in itsrnSocial context. In considering the literary and social aspects of this popular oralrntradi tion, this thesis aims to identifY the various poetic genres of Islamic Oral Poetry,rntheir occasion of recital , their contents, functions and stylistic quality. To discuss therntradition and practice of co mposition, performance and transmission of Islamic OralrnPoetry is also another objective of this thesis.rnData were collected from six waradas in Wallo through three successive field trips thatrnare carried out from July 1997 to January 1998. The methods of collecting data includernparticipant observa ti ons, interviews and case histories. These three methods enable thernresearcher to record songs and poem recitals from their actual performance, to elicitrninformation from poets, rel igious leaders and other believers. Instruments employed torncollect data are of three kinds, namely, tape recording, note taking and photographing.rnThe Wallo Muslims designate their poems collectively as ajam. Ajam is poetryrnprimarily composed to be performed in religious ceremonies. Ajam is composed byrnspeciali st and expen poets. Specialist poets have good knowledge of the Qur'an, andrnother Islamic texts and familiar with the miracles of certain Awalya. This class of poetsrnbear a title called iv/adih and compose their poems in written forms. The other group ofrnpoets is locally known as hayya bay The hayya bay is an unlettered poet. Hernpractice cenain genres like the qissa and the hayya which do not necessarily requirernknowledge of Qur'an or involve many Arabic words like other genres. Women poetsrnbelong to this class of poets.The Wallo Muslims grouped thei r poems in four genres. These are: tawhiid, matkrn(Ma lh), qissa and hayya. Tawhiid is a didactic genre aiming at straightforwardrnreligious instructions and moral lessons. Ma lk is a descriptive poetry, a verbal portraitrnof the prophets and certain Awlaya. Qissa is a dramatic narrative dealing with miraclesrnand myth, where hayya is a poetry of self-expression.rnThe perlo rmance of aj am takes place in occasions and ceremonies which are agreed tornbe Islamic. Therefore, Islamic holidays such as, Eid-al-Fatir, Eid-al-Adahaa (Arafa),rnivhiwlid and the Ramadall nights Du 'aa are events that bring large audience at onernplace and time. However, ceremonies like the Wa dajja, and the weekly hadrat at thernvarious shrines are the most common occasions and ceremonies of ajam recital