A popular Zulu song from Johannesburg. The singer refers mockingly to the repressive apparatus of the apartheid state.
Come here my beloved,
Come, give me a kiss…
The Eggs
A Shona children’s song from Zimbabwe. “Zinjanja”, mentioned in the chorus, refers to a hill to the east of Harare where the ruins of an ancient temple are located. This is believed to have been built by the Torwa Rulers who lived there from approximately 1450 to 1693 AD.
There were once some girls,
There were once some girls,
Let’s go to Zinjanja…
Where the Blue-Grey Bulls are Grazing
A song from the Kipsigis people of the Kericho highlands in south-west Kenya, celebrating the beauty of the landscape. The description is almost entirely in terms of the singer’s cattle and of the scene’s colours.
We live at the field of Kagipsirich,
We live where the calf, the calf plays with the calabash…
Five Creatures
The Best Dance
A wonderfully self-confident dance song from Somalia. The poem distinguishes the best grass for grazing and the best for hay-making or winter fodder.
The best dance is the dance of the Eastern clans,
The best people are ourselves…
Song of the Wrestler
A Yorùbá song from Nigeria, sung by the wrestler as a prayer as he enters the arena. Each of the images takes for granted the wrestler’s natural superiority.
O Rat, help me to knock him down.
O Broken Stalk, assist me to lay him low…
