Similarities Between The African American Singing Game "The Closet Key" & The Nicaraguan Singing Game "Mayaya Las Im Key"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents speculation about the similarities between the motif and the manner of play of the late 19th century/early 20th century African American game song "The Closet Key" and the old [19th century?] Nicaraguan singing game "Mayaya Las Im Key" ("Mayaya Lost Her Key"). That Nicaragaun song is now known as "Mayaya Lasinki".

The content of this post is provided for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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EXCERPT ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN SINGING GAME "THE CLOSET KEY"
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/negro/folk-songs%20-%200238.htm [online book]
"On The Trail Of Negro Folk-Songs: A collection of negro folk songs with lyrics, sheet music & commentaries." by Dorothy Scarborough Assisted By Ola Lee Quiledge Copyright, 1925 By Harvard University Press, p. 139 [presented "as is", including a pejorative referent for Black people]

"John Stone, of Virginia, sends this game-song, which was given him as used by Negroes. "The darkies would form a ring, as in 'drop­ping handkerchief,' but with hands behind them. One with a key would walk around the ring and place the key in some one's hands. Led by the walker, all would sing

[musical score to a song entitled “THE CLOSET KEY”]

I done lost de clos - et key
In dem la - dies' gar - den.
I done lost de closet key
In dem ladies' garden;
I done lost de closet key
In dem ladies' garden.

The walker, leading all, would then sing:

Help me to find de closet key
In dem ladies' garden;
Help me to find de closet key
In dem ladies' garden.

All would then sing, led by the one having the key:

I done found de closet key
In dem ladies' garden;
I done found de closet key
In dem ladies' garden.

The one having the key would then hide it again and sing as before."
-snip-
In the page preceding this one the author writes "Many — if not most — of these songs and games are of old Eng­lish origin and have courtiy traditions behind them, as their phrasing suggests. " My lady " of the old songs is changed in the Negro child's version to "some lady" or "dem ladies."
-snip-
In that book Anglo-American collector Dorothy Scarborough (and her assistant Ola Lee Quiledge, whose name leads me to believe was African American) provide two other versions of African American singing games that include the line "in my ladies garden": "In My Ladies Garden" and "Do Do Pity My Case". However, neither of singing games mention a key.

Information about & lyrics to a 1917 song entitled "In Some Ladies Garden" (Cecil Sharp collection) can be found at The Ballad Index http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/ScNF114B.html.

I also found a link to the words & play directions for a children's singing game that is taught in an American music calass to kindergarden/first grader" http://jerrywbrown.com/?portfolio-item-tag=games.

Neither of those songs mention a key.

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EXCERPT ABOUT THE NICARAGUAN SINGING GAME "MAYAYA LAS IM KEY"
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://bluefieldspulse.com/maypolehistoryrescuingourculture.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtulululu%2Bletra%26start%3D10%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D853%26bih%3D575 "Del Palo De Mayo History"
Mr. Johnny Hodgson Deerings, Historian Costeño

[English translation of that page, given "as is"]
“In 1988 Professor Hugo Sujo interviewed a man of 78 years named Mr. Maxwell Atily in favor of the formal version of the Maypole Cotton Tree in the neighborhood*. Asked about his past involvement in such festivities said:

"We used songs like "Mayaya las im key”. We formed a circle and we had a great key, which passed from hand to hand in the circle, while dancing someone in the circle for the key. Upon discovering the key in the hands of someone, that person had to go to the center of the dancing circle and look for the key that was passed from hand to hand until he finds it in the hands of another person who had to take his place at the center circle, and so on."...

MAIA LAAS IM KEY!

(Mayaya lost his [her] key)
In our version of Maia coastal worships Goddess no, rather the composer recounts the incident that happened in one of the festivities. A lady lost her key and can not open your door. The name'' Maia "is considered synonymous with Mary. Originally this song with a circle with a center dancer is doing. A hidden hand in hand key is passed and the person dancing in the middle trying to guess which person had the key circle. If you guessed, and walked out of the center which was discovered.

Mayaya lass im key
Mayaya Oh!
Mayaya lass im key
Mayaya Oh!
A wan mi key fur go opin me do
Mayaya Oh!
A wan mi key fur go opin me do
Mayaya key da gool
Mayaya Oh!
Mayaya key gives gool
Mayaya Oh!
(Repeat)
"The Maia Oh" This song is heard in all places where it is celebrated the traditional "Maypole" is the symbolic song festival. It says "Maia" was the Goddess of Fertility. All European countries celebrating May Day dancing around the tree, were worshiping this Goddess."
-snip-
I think that "in favor of the formal version of..." means "about his remembrances of the former version of..."

"Cotton Tree" is a neighborhood in Bluefield, Nicaragua.

Here's my transcription of this song into standard American English:
Mayaya lost her key
Mayaya Oh!
Mayaya lost her key
Mayaya Oh!
I want my key to open my door
Mayaya Oh!
I want my key to open my door
Mayaya's key is good [?]
Mayaya Oh!
Mayaya's key gives good [things?]
Mayaya Oh!

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SUMMARY
Here are the similarities that I found between the African American game song "The Closet Key" and the old Nicaraguan singing game "Mayaya Las Im Key" ("Mayaya Lost Her Key"):
1. Both songs have a central woman character
2. Both songs refer to a losing a door key
3. Both are ring (circle) games with one person in the center. The directions of both games are the same [the same as "Pass the handkerchief", and "Duck, Duck, Goose".

I believe that both of these songs might have owed their motif & play instructions to particular British/Irish folk songs. However, the further development of the song "The Closet Key" is rightfully credited to African Americans from the Southern region of the United States, and the further development of the song 'Mayaya Lost Her Key" is rightfully credited to Afro-Nicaraguans from Bluefield, Nicaragua.

Although both of these singing games may have originated in the same family of singing games, their development certainly has been different. Although the "The Closet Key" song is documented in Scarborough's 1925 book, it is barely remembered. The song "In My Lady's Garden"-which doesn't include any mention of a key appears- was performed as a play party song in the early 20th century United States, and at least one school district has included a play party version of that song in their curriculum for kindergarten/first graders. That said, that song doesn't appear to be well known, even as far as play party songs go. One indication of that song not being well known is that it doesn't have any YouTube videos.

In contrast, the song "Mayaya Lass Im Key" remains very popular in Nicaragua. But "Mayaya Lass Im Key" is no longer a singing game. While it's still emblematic of the May Day celebration, that song has grown up to be "Mayaya Lasinki", a dance song whose lyrics can be considered sexually suggestive and whose dance movements can be more than sexually suggestive. Also in contrast with its North American cousin "The Closet Key", "Mayaya Lasinki"'s high popularity in Nicaragua is demonstrated by multiple YouTube videos of that song, although admittedly it's not yet that well known outside of that Central American nation.

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NOTE ABOUT THE NICARAGUAN SONG "MAYAYA LASINKI"
-snip-
It seems obvious that the song title "Mayaya Lasinki" and "Mayaya La Sim Ki" are folk etymology updated forms of the title "Mayaya Lass Im Key".

[Update: June 19, 1014]
According to http://www.nicatour.net/en/nicaragua/palo-de-mayo.cfm#, "the Palo de Mayo festival, a tribute to Mayaya African goddess of fertility. This celebration dates from the early nineteenth century, is an adaptation of the British tradition who celebrated first day of May with a feast"...
-snip-
Is Mayaya an African Goddess or is that name a folk etymology form of "Maia", the Greco-Roman goddess of Spring? Here's an excerpt from an article about the Greco-Roman goddess Maia http://www.menlo.com/folks/davis/Maya_Web/Maya_Name.html:
"Maya's name has many roots. First and foremost she is named for "Maya," the Greco-Roman goddess of the earth. Maya is described in The Book of Goddesses:

Maia is mainly remembered today as the goddess of spring and rebirth, like the month of May that bears her name. "Maia" means "the maker," and every spring she makes the lush green grass and the fragrant flowers grow again. She is also praised as "the grandmother of magic" because her son [by Zeus], the god Hermes, was the first to discover that mysterious art.

People still celebrate Maia every year on the first of May, which is called May Day in honor of the goddess. Men and women rejoice over the rebirth of spring by dancing circles around the maypole and by wearing vibrant green - the color of the earth itself."...
-snip-
Perhaps "Mayaya" is said to be an African goddess because some or all of the Greek gods and goddess are said to have been patterned after the Egyptian gods and goddesses. [Read an excerpt from this article http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2146/did-the-greeks-borrow-egyptian-gods that I've added to the comment section about this subject.] According to this position, the Greek goddess Maia (Maya) was patterned after Isis, the Egyptian goddess of fertility. "Mayaya" is a Nicaraguan folk etymology form of the "Maya".

It's interesting that although there are names of gods and goddesses of fertility in this listing of African gods & goddesses, http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/godafrica.html there's no listing for the name "Mayaya" or for any name that is similar to "Mayaya". Then again, that list doesn't seem to include any Egyptian gods or goddess. In any event, I've not yet found any other Internet page-separate from that nicatour article- which refers to the African goddess Mayaya.
[Update ended]

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/06/what-does-mayaya-lasinki-mean.html for a pancocojams post about the song "Mayaya Lasinki".

One of those videos is featured on this pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/06/seven-songs-by-dimension-costena.html.

My partial transcription of another video* of the Nicaraguan group Dimension Costena's recording of that songs is as follows.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzlZKNdtf54

Refrain:
Mayaya lasinki
Mayaya oh
Mayaya lasinki
Mayaya oh

I want the key to open the door
Mayaya oh
Find the key the golden key
Ma yaya oh
Find the key let me see you tonight
Mayaya oh
If you don’t open the door, I can’t see you tonight...

Mayaya oh
Mayaya lasinki
Mayaya oh
Mayaya lasinki
Mayaya oh
-snip-
Additions and corrections are welcome.

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ADDENDUM
I'm intrigued by any possibility of a connection between this old British (Irish?) ballad and the African American singing games "The Closet Key"/"In Some Ladies Garden" and the Nicaraguan song "Mayaya Lass Im Key".

From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=127369
RE: Origins: Down in the Willow Garden
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 15 Feb 10 - 10:51 AM

..."The song history of "Down by the Salley Garden" is quite interesting. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, but the Yeats connection is fairly clear. This deserves a thread of its own, but here's the gist, from Sam Henry, Songs of the People, p 286. Have patience; this is a bit long:

"Down in My Sally's Garden

... I have every reason to believe that this is the song o[n] which W. B. Yeats founded his world-famous lyric, 'Down by the Sally Gardens. Alternatively, Yeats may have founded this song on the first verse of another ballad called 'The Rambling Boys of Pleasure':

Down by yon valley gardens
One evening as I chanced to stray,
It's there I saw my darling,
I took her to be the queen of May,
She told me to take love easy,
Just as the leaves grow on the trees,
But I, being young and foolish,
Her then I did not agree.

This song has also been collected in Vermont, U.S.A. ...."
-snip-
I'll leave the distant possibility of any connection between that song and others discussed her for any others who might want to consider them. My main purpose is to document what I consider to be close similarities between "The Closet Key" song and the Nicaraguan song which is the subject of this post.

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