"Kata Mwanangu Kata" (Swahili music dance video with English translation)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a music video of the Swahili dance song "Kata Mwanangu Kata" ("Wine, Child, Wine"). Selected comments from this video's discussion thread are included in this post. One topic of debate in this discussion thread is whether this song originally comes from Kenya or Tanzania. One of the comments from that discussion thread provides an English translation for this song.

The content of this post is provided for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composer and performers of this song. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and all those who are quoted in this post. And thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: KATA MWANANGU KATA



Bamariz, Uploaded on Aug 21, 2008

mombasa hoyeeee

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SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments are given in chronological order with the oldest comments presented first, except for comment responses.

rakes64, 2008
"Kistobe juu!! Aa yee yah! Mzee hi kitu ni moto moto ata kama ina toya mshuzi mara nyingineye. Shukran. Thank yu genterman and e radis and look you soon and look matako shake shake lika a milkshake'."

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13triki, 2008
"mama mia, someone take me to Africa pleaseeeeeeeee"

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Abu Ashraf, 2010
in reply to msaniiTZ
"@msaniiTZ his is not the version by Kilimanjaro Band. This is the verson that was done in the 70s by Mombasa Roots based in Mombasa Kenya. Check Mombasa Roots-Kata here on You Tube."

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Balo Mega, 2011
"I think this is Msanja or Ngoma ya Ndani which is from coastal region of Tanzania, I was Never allowed to watch when i was growing, 40 years later its on the You Tube kids can watch"

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2011
موسى الشرقاوي
"Beautiful art and beautiful rhythm of Tanzania, a country rich in heritage and civilization, Moses, Saudi Arabia"

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oigla, 2011
in reply to موسى الشرقاوي
"@funnykrkrkr this is Real kenyan stuff, i forgive you for the confusion if you are not from east africa you wouldn't know it. i am proud of our culture as east africans but this is distinct and strictly from mombasa (and the coastal region of kenya)."

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brayo144, 2011
"LOL! This argument never dies! Cha maana sio kule wimbo ulipotoka. Sote tuskize na tuburudike! Kenya, Bongo, Dar, Mombasa e.t.c sote ni waafrika! So enough arguments! VIVA EAC!!"
-snip-
Google translate:
LOL! This argument never dies! Not in the sense of the song came from. All tuskize and tuburudike! Kenya, Bongo, Dar, Mombasa etc are all blacks! So enough arguments! VIVA EAC[H] !!

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Masera , 2012
"I Love mama land Africa. Nice Kenyan Chakacha"

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bibi, 2012
"iv been singing this song since i was a baby, some game we used to play and im kenyan! iv always known it to be kenyan! but oh well, we'r all east africans!"

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Mohamed Abdi, 2012
"This is swahili song. Kenya or Tanzania"

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Titus Temwo, 2012
"It's funny...how pple argue about whether the song is tanzanian or Kenyan...I personally don't know its origin but it is from East African and as a Kenyan I am glad I understand it...."

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Manyoni Hungwe, 2012
"This sounds lyk Zimbabwean Laungage. "Mwanangu" means my child in Zimbabwe."

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ThiGibbs Jakatiga, 2013
in reply to Manyoni Hungwe
"Means the same thing in Swahili."

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Kemmi Kamugisha , 2014
in reply to bamariz [video publisher]
"this song is not from Mombasa bwana.... this is Kilimanjaro Band"

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Kemmi Kamugisha, 2014
"rephrase: it's originally from the Swahili coast,,,which extends all the way from Malawi to Somalia, it was there before colonists put all these stupid country "barriers", so technically it belongs to the Swahili/coastal people and not a specific country....it just happens that the Kilimanjaro band recorded it.. but doesn't mean that Tanzania owns the song."

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Mbwa Koko, 2014
in reply to Manyoni Hungwe
"Shona is a Bantu language, hence the similarities with Kiswahili. I understand many Shona words since part of my family is Shona. I don't even have to learn the language."

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Eshe4evahMore, 2014
"The song is telling a woman to wine her waist. The word kata, pronounced (cah-tah) means wine in english, this song is an East African classic I don’t remember listening to it until very recently but I’ve always known the words.

Lyrics

Wine, wine, wine child whine (x2)
Wine - don’t be scared
Wine – your very own
You didn’t borrow it
Today, let it all go (not the exact translation but it’s basically what he’s means)
Today, show it off
Wine, wine, wine
Wine, wine, wine
(x2)"
-snip-
In the context of this song, "wine" is a dance move that was popularized in the Caribbean in which the dancers gyrate their waist to the beat of the music.

From Google Translate: "kata" = cut, slice, chop

Here's a comment from a YouTube discussion thread for a sound file of another version of this song:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzaiJYvrsJE
Swahili Song - Kata Kata
Beets from Kenya, from the Kiswahili 'Chaka Cha' Album.

tahia YAHA, 2014
in response to Nely Paz
"Nely u want to knw the meaning or ? if its the meaning you want then here it goes Kata means to cut and it also means to dance like belly dancing so the singer saying that dance dance sow your moves don't be afraid to show us what you got dance dance lols I hope this helps"

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