Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a video of performing his song "Wassiye". That song's lyrics and a summary in English of its meaning are included in this post. This post also includes information about Habib Koité.
The content of this post is provided for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Habib Koité for his music. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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INFORMATION ABOUT HABIB KOITE
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habib_Koit%C3%A9
"Habib Koité (born 1958 in Thiès, Senegal) is a solo singer, songwriter and guitarist, based in Mali. His band, Bamada, is a supergroup of West African musicians, including Kélétigui Diabaté playing balafon...
Koité was born in 1958 to musical parents, from whom he learned instrumentation by watching and listening. He joined the Bamako National Institute of Arts and became a conductor in 1978 after only six months of playing. He graduated in 1982, and formed his band Bamada in 1988. The name "Bamada" is a nickname for residents of Mali's capital city Bamako, and the word roughly translates as "In the mouth of the crocodile." Other members of the band were friends of Koité's from childhood."...
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE
Putumayo Presents: Africa - Habib Koite "Wassiye" (Live)
PutumayoWorldMusic, Uploaded on Feb 1, 2008
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LYRICS: WASSIYE
(Habib Koité)
Wassiye wassiye ne la diya souro
Wassiye den kourani dine ma souro
Den kourani yoro be kera kera wassiye
Den muso ni yoro be kera kera wassiye
Wassiye ne la diya kounou souro wassiye wassiya gnogon vere
Dine ma souro
Den musoni yorobe kera kera kon muso
Den kourani yorobe kera iko wassala
A genekisse ye wassi taye
a dagola fana ye wassi taye
A tchie kisse ye wassi taye
A boto kala fanaye wassi taye
I ya ye I ye wassi ye (bis)
Wassi yene la diya
Iyaye Iyaye wassive moussoye (bis)
-snip-
(For all the happy fathers, you have just had a daughter who looks very much like your wife. You are blessed now with two wives at home)
From http://lyricstranslate.com/en/Habib-Koite-Wassiye-lyrics.html
Submitted by Calusarul on Tue, 06/04/2010 - 19:07
Submitter's comments:
The actual language is Bambara, a language spoken in Mali (while the official language is French), but I could not fin the language among the others.
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Visitor comments are welcome.
For the record (no pun intended),I'm sure that the statements "For all the happy fathers, you have just had a daughter who looks very much like your wife. You are blessed now with two wives at home)" shouldn't be interpreted in a sexualized manner as it would be in the USA and other Western nations. Instead, the meaning of those statements is probably something like "You now have two females to love with all of your heart."
ReplyDeleteIt occurs to me that a Senegalese/Malian man referring to his wife and daughter as his two wives is almost like the custom throughout much of the world of using "mama", "little mama", 'mamacita" and "mamas" as terms of endearment for girls even as young as infants. Those referents don't mean that the girls are viewed as or treated as mothers, but they are loved (cherished) as much as mothers are.
Thank you! Do you know what ‘wassiye’ means?
DeleteHello, Anonymous.
DeleteYou're welcome. I'm sorry. I haven't found the meaning of the word "wassiye’" or the other words in that song except that they are written in Bambara.
Best wishes!