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…
In Adela’s Time
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…
A Salute to Fabunmi
Another Ìjálá or hunter’s poem from the Yorùbá of Nigeria (see also the poems Elephant, Buffalo, Five Creatures and Hunters’ Salutes). This one is a salute to Fabunmi, celebrating both his skills as a hunter and his generosity towards others.
Oolo of Iware Forest,
why is it we no longer see Fabunmi…
In Blowing Your Nose, You Must Expose Your Teeth
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…
Five Creatures
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…
