A Yorùbá dance song, very popular in the 1950s when Abu Bakry Olorun Nimbe, a medical doctor turned politician, was Mayor of Lagos.
I am greeting you, Mayor of Lagos,
Mayor of Lagos, Olorun Nimbe…
Oral Poetry from Africa
Filed Under: Protest & Satirical Poems
A Yorùbá dance song, very popular in the 1950s when Abu Bakry Olorun Nimbe, a medical doctor turned politician, was Mayor of Lagos.
I am greeting you, Mayor of Lagos,
Mayor of Lagos, Olorun Nimbe…
Filed Under: Protest & Satirical Poems
A short satire recorded in Yorùbá in the early 1950s by Ulli Beier, the German-Jewish scholar who went on to make distinguished contributions to Nigerian literature.
In Onalu’s reign we changed our dress frequently
In Kurumi’s time we used cloth on the finest material…
Filed Under: Protest & Satirical Poems
An Udje song, or satirical song from the Urhobo people of the northwestern part of the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria. Udje were sung during the festivals held irregularly, but usually in December, in honour of local deities, who are here named at Djudu and Ogode.
Fortitude, indeed we need it,
a wrong step warns us not to be careless in repeating it…
Filed Under: Protest & Satirical Poems
An Acoli poem from Uganda, describing the process of cataracts gradually clouding the eyes of a teacher, eventually resulting in blindness.
His eyes died long ago,
You can see clouds in them…
Filed Under: Protest & Satirical Poems
A Xhosa song about working in the gold mines of Johannesburg. These short work songs are sung rhythmically by a group of miners to make the work easier.
A mighty bell is six o’clock:
I went to Rhini and found the men…
Filed Under: Protest & Satirical Poems
A Yorùbá chant from Nigeria, consisting of a series of mock proverbs on the theme of vanity. Only by wearing ‘the appropriate dress’ can we recover a little of our dignity.
In blowing your nose, you must expose your teeth:
In stooping, one perforce exposes one’s seat…
This site opens a window on something that will be new to most people, namely, the vast amount of superb poetry hidden away in the 3000 different languages spoken in Africa … More