tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post2882037089129280801..comments2024-03-29T08:48:14.872-04:00Comments on pancocojams: The REAL Origin Of The Word "Ungawa" & Various Ways That Word Has Been Used In The USAAzizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-83101096965770605892023-07-15T08:37:38.984-04:002023-07-15T08:37:38.984-04:00I'm glad you found this article. I hope that y...I'm glad you found this article. I hope that you found it interesting.<br /><br />Peace to you also, Lopez.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-27427232687643817802023-07-15T04:24:55.428-04:002023-07-15T04:24:55.428-04:00Curious article - entered by mistake, and i will s...Curious article - entered by mistake, and i will stay a little be longer, peaceLopezhttps://vodsfera.pl/przedstawiamy-top-5-najlepszych-filmow-jennifer-lopez-gwiazda-filmowa/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-8656703739036555152023-06-28T22:02:44.921-04:002023-06-28T22:02:44.921-04:00Here's an article about Howard University stud...Here's an article about Howard University students chanting "Ungawa Black Power" in 1966:<br /><a href="https://abernathymagazine.com/wakandan-black-panther-brings-nu-africa-mainstream/" rel="nofollow">https://abernathymagazine.com/wakandan-black-panther-brings-nu-africa-mainstream/</a> " I am Wakandan: Black Panther brings ‘Nu Africa’ to the mainstream" by Joshua K. Wright, Ph.D<br />…”The highlight of the 1966 homecoming pageant at Howard University was the crowning of Robin Gregory as queen. Robin accepted her crown wearing an afro (or natural hairstyle) and traditional African attire. Students erupted in applause chanting “Ungawa. Black Power. Ungawa. Black Power”. A spirit of black power and Afrocentricity encompassed Howard’s campus in the late sixties."<br />-snip-<br />This article has no publishing date. However, this sentence in that article points to 2018 as its publishing date:<br />"Black Panther’s characterization of women is a far cry from what we found in Coming to America 30 years ago"<br />-snip-<br />The American movie Coming To American was first released in 1988.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-18397826896671163152023-06-04T16:32:07.647-04:002023-06-04T16:32:07.647-04:00heaven in hell cda, thanks for your comment. I app...heaven in hell cda, thanks for your comment. I appreciate it!<br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-58264996656630714352023-06-04T10:11:54.009-04:002023-06-04T10:11:54.009-04:00super blog!super blog!heaven in hell cdahttps://filmhunt.pl/filmy/heaven-in-hell-2023/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-5995254278560534112022-11-08T08:06:54.213-05:002022-11-08T08:06:54.213-05:00Anonymous, thanks for sharing an example of "...Anonymous, thanks for sharing an example of "Ungawa" that your school used as a chant. <br /><br />When (what decade) and where (what city/state/country) was this?Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-17682415938228758172022-11-08T00:04:18.845-05:002022-11-08T00:04:18.845-05:00My middle school name was Bunch Braves and we used...My middle school name was Bunch Braves and we used to chant it “Hey big chief Ungawa Braves have got the power”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-47677263247125029752022-09-03T11:21:03.774-04:002022-09-03T11:21:03.774-04:00Anonymous, your life sounds so interesting.
Thank...Anonymous, your life sounds so interesting.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing.<br /><br />Ashe.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-55579069736880827652022-09-03T09:59:48.609-04:002022-09-03T09:59:48.609-04:00Thanks Azizi. Like you, I’m a grandparent, as well...Thanks Azizi. Like you, I’m a grandparent, as well as an octogenarian retired educator of Jamaican ancestry who happened to have attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. at the same time that civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael was in attendance there, and in fact was a dormitory colleague of his during the 1960s We met and knew each other as university colleagues. While the world knows Stokely best as a social activist, I knew him personally as a serious-minded college freshman and junior.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-75202831413839780782022-09-03T09:27:33.414-04:002022-09-03T09:27:33.414-04:00Greetings, Anonymous.
I'm glad that you found...Greetings, Anonymous.<br /><br />I'm glad that you found this post. <br /><br />I agree with you that "the expressive use of language is a fascinating subject".<br /><br />Best wishes. Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-49415869072062700552022-09-03T09:20:18.463-04:002022-09-03T09:20:18.463-04:00After having posted online on poetry.com a poem ca...After having posted online on poetry.com a poem called “Tarzan’s ‘Umgawa’ Burden,” out of sheer curiosity I searched the Internet to determine whether there were comments in the public domain concerning the history and use of that word and in the process stumbled on this website. How interesting — the morphing of a catch phrase to mean just almost anything for various audiences with various social interests. I ama poet and the expressive use of language is a fascinating subject.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-92146923014550317432022-07-31T10:41:15.522-04:002022-07-31T10:41:15.522-04:00If I were writing this comment one year later, I w...If I were writing this comment one year later, I wouldn't use the referent "Latinx" as I've learned this:<br />" In fact, recent national surveys of Hispanics/Latinos show that the term Latinx is highly unpopular. Influential media and advocacy groups have started dropping the term or even arguing against its use to avoid offending those who dislike it. It might have been intended to be more inclusive, but it actually can feel exclusionary to everyday people."... <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916" rel="nofollow">https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916</a>Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-45962226072076450412022-07-31T09:14:49.971-04:002022-07-31T09:14:49.971-04:00Stephen K, thanks for your comment.
I appreciate ...Stephen K, thanks for your comment.<br /><br />I appreciate the information that engawa is a Japanese word for "porch" or "sun room". Here's that link in case other pancocojams readers want to read that page: <a href="https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Engawa" rel="nofollow">https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Engawa</a> <br /><br />I believe that the Japanese word "engawa" has no connection to the Swahili word (or the made up word) "ungawa" except that they are spelled very similarly.<br /><br />These two words could be added to online discussion threads/tweetss about how some Japanese words (including some Japanese names) are spelled the same or similarly to some Swahili, or Yoruba, or Igbo words (including names) but have different meanings.<br /><br />Here's a link to one of those online pages: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/9qumy4/is_there_a_mysterious_ancient_link_between/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/9qumy4/is_there_a_mysterious_ancient_link_between/</a> "Is there a mysterious ancient link between Nigerians and the Japanese?"<br /><br />Also, thanks Stephen K for reminding me of this post. As a result of your comment, I looked up the word "ungawa" online and found a few more examples of rhymes/cheers with that word which I added to this post.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-34061319529950562532022-07-30T20:21:29.085-04:002022-07-30T20:21:29.085-04:00The word is Japanese, and essentially means porch,...The word is Japanese, and essentially means porch, or sun room. My guess is someone along the way misconstrued the word to mean fortress wall or something similar. See https://wikipedia.org/wiki/EngawaStephen Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10162227378864374081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-36258599234380965112021-11-05T06:56:40.492-04:002021-11-05T06:56:40.492-04:00Greetings, Jay.
Thanks for sharing.
I hadn't...Greetings, Jay.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing.<br /><br />I hadn't heard that one before. <br /><br />I'm assuming that you forgot the sarcastic symbol. <br /><br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-370176650802352022021-11-04T19:48:14.558-04:002021-11-04T19:48:14.558-04:00Ok, I may break this rather old blog, but I found ...Ok, I may break this rather old blog, but I found it doing some other research. I grew up in Ocala (Silver Springs), where they filmed the old Tarzan movies. That jungle (complete with monkeys freed by a hurricane) was my back yard. <br /><br />There was a story that the movie studio brought over some folk from Africa to film, help wrangle the animals and such. They called Johnny Weissmuller "um-gawa".<br /><br />Johnny asked one of the translators what it meant, was it "chief" or "star" or something similar?<br /><br />The translator laughed and said, while pointing "Do not step in elephant um-gawa!"Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16942457649573783028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-88706383330950499182021-03-20T10:16:13.918-04:002021-03-20T10:16:13.918-04:00Thanks and you're welcome, Dyspneadoc.
For t...Thanks and you're welcome, Dyspneadoc. <br /><br />For the folkloric record, I'm interested in the words to the campe song you remembered (with the perjorative words not completely spelled). I'd also love it if you would share when (year or decade) and where (city or state) you learned this song.<br /><br />Thanks again!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-43247108481087966472021-03-20T08:35:19.940-04:002021-03-20T08:35:19.940-04:00Well done, and thank you! I woke up this morning r...Well done, and thank you! I woke up this morning remembering a camp song you quoted and realizing it was rather perjorative. Thank you!Dyspneadochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02323719664977885439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-12918399027387651592021-02-27T13:05:34.866-05:002021-02-27T13:05:34.866-05:00Thanks for your comment, bluepegasus.
I agree wit...Thanks for your comment, bluepegasus.<br /><br />I agree with you regarding your Swahili/Congo points and your points about the escapism/pulp fantasy adventure that Tarzan was to the mainstream Western societies.<br /><br />Regarding remaking Tarzan movies today, please don't give the movie industry any ideas...<br /><br />Regading your comment that perhaps the time is right to use Ungawa again, in my opinion, even though it was used a bit in chants during the 1970s or so (African American) Black Power struggle, "Ungawa" has too many negative connotations (i.e. Tarzan associations) to be used nowadays. <br /><br />Ashe!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-50458788726712599972021-02-27T08:13:56.881-05:002021-02-27T08:13:56.881-05:00It makes no sense that Tarzan would know or speak ...It makes no sense that Tarzan would know or speak Swahili when according to the lore he lived in the African jungle which would place him somewhere in the Congo rainforest. It just goes to show that the Tarzan series was nothing but pure escapist pulp fantasy adventure based on dated western ideas of Africa as being "exotic" with very little effort to do actual research put into the series. I wonder if Tarzan were remade into the modern era and accompanied with appropriate research of the customs and people of the African continent what the series would look like today?<br /><br /><br />Ungawa may be a nonsense word but it's a wonderfully American word in that as a culture we always adapt to the circumstances, just like the word itself changed over time from the Tarzan films, to Black Power, to street rhyme, to high school chant. Its connotation with the civil rights struggle means that perhaps the time is right in the present to begin using it again as the struggle has been picking up an urgency not seen in quite a while over these past few years.bluepegasushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13905329039122296714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-43784101709724531432021-01-06T05:59:12.737-05:002021-01-06T05:59:12.737-05:00the (screen name), thanks for sharing that informa...the (screen name), thanks for sharing that information.<br /><br />I appreciate it. <br /><br />Here's one quote from your website:<br /> While the popular usage of the word ungawa (or umgawa) is oft claimed to originate with Edgar Rice Burroughs and his series of Tarzan books--and subsequently in the Hollywood movies--from a Swahili origin it was seemingly used by the French and possibly Inuit dating back to at least 1811 in regards to the Ungava Bay on the Hudson Strait in Quebec:<br /><br />[portion given in French]<br /><br />Journal de l'Unité des frères from the Moravian Church, 1860<br /><br />Google translates the pertinent information as follows:<br /><br />"I was called to make in 1811, with Brother Kohlmeister a voyage of exploration on the northern coast of Labrador, beyond Cape Chudleigh in the Ungawa (ungawa or ungatane means on the other side) to the river of Koksoak" "<br />-end of quote-<br /><br />I also was particularly interested in the information in your website about the 1973 Ebony magazine article that quotes "Ungawa!" being chanted by Kenyans in 1973 during a visit to that nation by then vice-President Spiro Agnew. "in which a awaiting crowd chanted Ungawa! in response to his calling out the recklessness of American black leaders".<br /><br />Thanks again! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-79057722506461404982021-01-05T22:42:58.644-05:002021-01-05T22:42:58.644-05:00I found your page while researching William Peter ...I found your page while researching William Peter Blatty's usage of the word in his 1965 novella "I, Billy Shakespeare" and since the text is rife with Shakespearean terms hoped that it emanated from him. Nos uch luck as yet though I did find a few interesting uses from the 19th and 20th centuries.<br /><br />https://ibillyshakespeare.blogspot.com/p/ungawa.htmlthehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17047778538585853979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-15618496236824401632020-08-26T23:57:54.079-04:002020-08-26T23:57:54.079-04:00You're welcome, Karen.
I'm 72 years old s...You're welcome, Karen.<br /><br />I'm 72 years old so I definitely fit the age definition of "older generation" and an "elder", but sometimes it seems jarring to me to think of myself in those terms. <br /><br />However, my age is one of the reasons why I feel compelled to document and share cultural information and perspectives and ask others to also do so because I've learned that information that we now take for granted may not be known or understood in the future. And that future could be as little as less than five years from now or much longer than that.<br /><br />Best wishes! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-44980779301934422542020-08-26T23:41:53.347-04:002020-08-26T23:41:53.347-04:00I was 12 and 13 so yes, too young. Thank you for r... I was 12 and 13 so yes, too young. Thank you for responding. I always enjoy speaking to our older generation. We're losing such valuable knowledge. I have no elders around as I age to ask questions. Thank you again. KarenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-6868393707051796382020-08-26T18:25:32.553-04:002020-08-26T18:25:32.553-04:00Hi Karen. I'm glad that you just happened upon...Hi Karen. I'm glad that you just happened upon this blog while looking for that specific rhyme. That's how most people find these posts on rhymes.<br /><br />Thanks also for sharing that demographic information and more information about how you remember chanting this rhyme in your school. I can understand why you might have thought that "Ungawa Black Power" was associated with the Black Panthers, but I don't know of any documentation that credits that organization with originating that chant. <br /><br />Here's one entry from <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sock%20it%20to%20me" rel="nofollow">https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sock%20it%20to%20me</a> about the saying "sock it to me":<br />"Sock it to me":<br />Expression from the late 1960s until the early 1970s. Literally means "give it to me," but generally had a underlying sexual connotation. Could also mean just give me your best.<br />Goldie Hawn would say "Sock it to me, " on the TV show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in, while wearing a flowered bikini. The Isely Brothers sang, "I can't tell you who to sock it to." A person could say, "I have an idea," and the response would be.."OK. Sock it to me." "<br />by ambrozia June 30, 2009<br /><br />Thanks again, Karen. Best wishes and be safe during these crazy times! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.com