The Kennedy Center, Oct. 9, 2013
The Millennium Stage partners with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to present some of the best D.C. area street performers in a MetroPerforms! Showcase.
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Total # of views for this video as of 9:48 Am ET November 27, 2024 = 625,642
Total # of discussion comments for this video as of 9:48 AM ET November 27, 2024 = 441
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Update (as of 6:35 AM ET September 18, 2026)
Total # of views for this video -
Total # of discussion comments for this video-485
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Edited by Azizi Powell
[This is a 2026 complete reprint (with two changes in its preface) of a 2024 pancocojams post on the song "Funga Alafia". That 2024 post can still be found on this pancocojams blog. That 2024 post has no visitor comments as of this 2026 publishing date. Comments are welcome on both of these posts.]
This is Part II of a four part 2024 pancocojams series on the song "Funga Alafia".
This post showcases a YouTube video of African American dancer Nana Malaya Rucker and two djembe drummers performing "Funga Alafia". Selected comments from that video's discussion thread are included in that post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-real-origin-of-song-funga-alafia_26.html for Part I of this 2024 pancocojams series. That post is a complete reprint of my 2019 pancocojams post entitled "The REAL Origin Of The Song "Funga Alafia" - Hint: It Isn't A Liberian Song, Or A Nigerian Song, Or A Traditional African Song."
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/11/what-is-origin-of-word-funga-in-song.html for Part III of this 2024 pancocojams series. That post presents information about the word "funga" and "fanga". That post also presents all of the visitor comments and my replies from the 2019 pancocojams series about the song "Funga Alafia".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/11/five-youtube-videos-of-fanga-dance.html for Part V of this pancocojams series. That post showcases five YouTube performances of the Fanga dance in the United States.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who have sung "Funga Alafia" since that song was composed by African American LaRoque Bey in 1959 or 1960s in New York City. Thanks to Nana Malaya and the drummer who are featured in this video and thanks to the publisher of this showcase video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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*That 2019 post about "Funga Alafia" also consists of three posts. The links for each of those 2019 posts are given in Part III of the 2024 pancocojams series.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTegkMJq15M
This compilation includes two comments that I added to that discussion thread as well as a few brief notes that I've added after certain comments. Those notes aren't published in that discussion thread.
Numbers are added for referencing for referencing purposes only.
2014
1. @LeviPlayinMinecraft
"amazing african song"
-snip-
"Funga Alafia" was actually composed by an African American drummer named LaRoque Bey in 1959 or 1960. Read more about this in Part I of this pancocojams series.
****
2015
2. @xbox6886
"saw this in 8th grade. 1994. Still remember this"
**
3. @jfortheday7793
"I sang this yesterday and I love this song I can’t get it out of my head"
**
4. Jimi Cyber, 2015
"Pearl Primus, (1919-1994),the anthropologist and choreographer of African dance introduced Funga to the USA. "Movements and gestures are a language as Ms. Primus spoke the dance story." Quote from Dr. DeAma Battle of Art of Black Dance and Music."
**
Reply
5. Malaya Rucker-Oparabea, 2017
"I DANCED AND TOURED WITH MS PEARL PRIMUS!!!"
**
Reply
6. Susan Kennedy, 2018
"Jimi and Malaya,I have always had great respect for Ms. Primus. Not many know about her, more people know about Ms. Dunham. I got burned out about this song in the elementary music teaching circles, but remembering that Ms. Primus introduced Funga to the US brings back its relevance for me. Thank you!"
"We had to sing this at school."
**
Reply
8. @rebeccaelliff4927
"Yeah"
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Reply
9. @sodacanfactory, 2017
"Dani Yusuf i need to do this on tuesday so your not the only one"
Reply
10.
"Same. It’s stuck in my head"
**
Reply
11. @mikeg7062, 2017
"You GET to sing this at school :)"
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Reply
12. @tonicombs7242, 2020
"It’s a right of passage"
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Reply
13. @youtubekings3853, 2021
"wow, Americans need to sing this at school as well? I didn't know. BTW I am Singaporean"
Reply
14. @mikeg7062, 2021
"
Reply
15. @alysaidarivera6338, 2021
"
Reply
16. @joaogabrielguerra2598, 2021
"
**
Reply
17. @TheRealJahCapone, 2021
"That childhood memory brought me to this video , glad I wasn’t the only one"
Reply
18. @michaelcavada9489, 2021
"
**
Reply
19. @ΑποστόληςΜπάκας, 2021
"Greece **same before some years"
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This is how this comment is written.
**
Reply
20. @katygillie1055, 2021
"Learned this in Middle school in Kansas City! Totally thought the teacher just made it up,
never knew what it meant 😂
**
Reply
21. @morganstewart3558, 2023
"Me too! Fifth grade Christmas concert ❤🎄"
**
Reply
22. @vibrationalresonance, 2023
"I'm on my dad's phone I had to do this today"
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Reply
23. @maladaa9990, 2023
" @liquidjellybeans657 Same I’m from Macau and I remember singing this at kindergarten like 11 or 12 years ago, I’m 16 now and still remember the lyrics"
**
Reply
24. @Twdfan11, 2024
"We do it for a concert on the 23rd"
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Reply
25. @halodiablo7268, 2024
"Same here 12 years ago 😂 ms cannon 5th grade"
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26. @SeanPerkins05
"we learned this in music class on the drums"
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Reply
27. @acesilva495, 2020
"Yep low high low keep the rhythm going"
**
Reply
28. @longliveliljay1670
"Same 5th grade in music class now I'm 19 i miss elementary and high school so much I missed so many chances and opportunities and didnt make the best of it. Over protective parents I didnt get to live the full high school experience, made many mistakes, got involved in the wrong things, God how I wish I can go back in time and make everything right as well as live thru it again. Those were the best years of my life. The memories are endless and I can write many books on just the memories alone."
****
2016
29. Azizi Powell, 2016
"Alafia, Nana Malaya!
I'm glad that I happened upon this video of your and your drummers' performance of "Funga Alafia".
I'm proud to know you.
Here's some information about this multifaceted dancer, choreographer, speaker, teacher, and entrepreneur:
Nana Malaya is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of her children is movie and television actor Lamman Rucker.
The poem "I Am the Original Dance Machine" (3:20 in this video) was written by New York City dancer/choreographer Bob Johnson, who also lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in 1969/1970 was the founder of the Pittsburgh Black Theater Dance Ensemble. Nana Malaya was a member of this esteemed dance company.
Ase, Nana Malaya!"
**
30. @kruisesimon
"I only searched this song because it was in my violin book and I know how to play it on my violin"
**
31. @victoriathomas1402
"I sing this song in honer choir."
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2017
32. Mattdog2020
"We had a huge group of African people come and do this at my school 20 years ago."
**
33. @johara3333
"I remember this from Kwanza"
**
34. @stephanandashaelyles2716
"My name... Same pronunciation but different spelling Ashae💙💜💚💛"
****
2018
35. @nightshiin78
"Black people would come to our school ans sing that"
**
36. @rachelfenger7151
"We have to sing this in Choir, We have to dance with scarves and sing. My music teacher today literally said I want to hear those slaps and claps"
**
37. @PicklesBNuts
"My 5 year old came home singing ' Funga I love ya Ashay Ashay' lol. We worked out this is the song he is singing! Love it, thank you x
**
38. @nicolattigalaxy6108
"On my graduation day,some of our schools students need to sing this,we had a practice today,all the other students sang along and a few laughed...😅I don't understand why they thought this was funny,it's also very catchy."
**
39. @ivyhuertas1933
"I remember singing this song in second grade. Mind you I was the only white skinned student in that school"
**
40. @SunnyMackey
"We spent almost 2 years on this song at school. Not necessarily learning it, just adding new parts and repeating it"
**
41. @egotisicalbladeeenjoyer
"I am Nigerian and my school never sang our songs 😣😥😤 Only American"
-snip-
I'm wondering if this commenter is lamenting the fact that he or she never learned "Funga Alafia" since that Nigerian school only sang American songs. Ironically, "Funga Alafia" IS an American song (i.e. a song that was composed by an American. Read the following question (#42) and my reply (#44).
**
42. okallixti5065
"what's the origin of this song? is it in Yoruba? thank you"
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"Yoruba" is a traditional Nigerian language.
**
Reply
43, @dancinsagittarius
"okallixti Nigerian origin."
**
Reply
44. @azizip171, 2020
"@dancinsagittarius & @okallixti, The song that is known as "Funga Alafia" isn't a Nigerian song. Here's some basic information about the song "Funga Alafia":
1. The song "Funga Alafia" was composed by African American drummer and dancer LaRocque Bey in Harlem (New York City) in 1959 or 1960.
2. The word "funga" is a folk processed form of the Vai (Liberia, West Africa) word "fanga".
3. The words "alafia" and "ashe" are from the Yoruba (Nigeria, West Africa) language.
4. The tune for the song "Funga Alafia" is from the American folk song "Little Liza Jane".
For more information, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-real-origin-of-song-funga-alafia.html
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That link leads to the 2019 version of Part I of this 2024 pancocojams series.
****
2019
45. Bluegirl12865 MSP
"is it sad that I think I’m the only that had to sing this recently when I’m in 6th grade because all the comments I see are about those peoples singing it in elementary? :/
**
46. @sybriabey6118
"We had a show 2 days ago and they played this song at our school"
**
47. @sophie9870
"My music teacher makes my whole class do this on xylophone and with sticks"
**
48. @tiredpeaches
"I remember having to learn this song and then later our entire grade hade to sing it in front of the rest of the school"
**
49. @ncg8224
"This was at school back on 2010"
**
50. @higher3me
"I learned this in Philadelphia in school when I was a young girl 😂😂😂"
**
51. @Brooklyn-xc2ig
"i whatched this in music class"
**
52. @felipereyes5518
"I learned to play this song on a ukulele in music class"
**
53. @feliciacorso6620
"My son just performed this with his kindergarten class yesterday. I’m so glad they are still teaching this in schools."
**
54. @malachigrey4895
"I sang this at school in 1st or 2nd grade, I am 20 years old and it's still stuck in my head LMAO"
**
55. @topmemes7925
"In my German school a black man sing that in a church 😂"
****
2020
56. @StreetHierarchy
"EVERYBODY had to sing this song in elementary school. At least if you went to school in the 90s."
57. @tashachilds4971
"
58. @joshuaknight8257
"We had a traveling group come to our elementary school in NC USA 32 years ago and I still remember this like it was yesterday"
**
59. @kylefer
"Bless these people came to my school in 1997 and performed. Amazing they are still doing this."
**
60. @baui2257
"At my school too! I'm from the Philippines"
**
61. @maddieme8590
"We have to learn this song is music right now 2020"
**
Reply
62. @maddieme8590
"5th grade"
**
63. @Mi-Zai
"I watched this in school today it’s so funny XD"
**
64. @Thatssosade
"I remember singing this at school my friends were disrespectful saying funga Alafia your feet ashy ashy😕"
**
65. @carlotemplo5281
"It seems that this was/is a universal standard in elementary music classes all over the world.
Also fun fact: Malaya translates as free in Filipino. Not in the monetary sense like free food we have another word for that but freedom as a concept like free from sorrow for example."
****
2021
66. @earlylearningfitnessacadem2154
"We sang this in Elementary school late 80's early 90's in North Carolina! The words were a little different. We performed it with African dances. I was humming this today and Google led me here.
**
Reply
67. @joewhan11, 2024
"I'm from north Carolina and yes they came out and we sung this in elementary school in the 90s."
**
68. @elinachen6224
"I sang this at school Cornwall elementary school lee rd I love this song this is in africa"
**
69. @dariusrice
"I see a lot of comments about school, didn’t know it was this common.. played the African drums 4-8th grade"
**
70. @rorygustin5156
"We had to learn this in middle school. Music class, 1998 I think. Lol"
**
71. @amandaggogo
"I remember learning this from a speaker at my local library one day and my brother and I still sing it to this day. ❤️"
**
72. @PaulCashman
"I've performed this countless times on the djembe at drum-circles. Nice to see it on the Kennedy Center stage!"
**
73. @nightmare-nightmarenightma1147
"I feel so old. My entire grade had to learn this in the first grade nearly 20 years ago."
****
2022
74. @linaluv215
"Did anybody go to Cooke Middle School? Lmao I remember going to a college field trip where we learned this and the dance. On the school bus ride back home, one of my friends did a beat on the back of the leather school bus seat and the whole bus sang this in hip hop form 🤣🤣 we remixed it, and had the whole bus lit. Omg I will never forget that moment. That was like 17 years ago. Good memories."
**
75. @lucialight6096
"OMG y’all don’t understand how long I’ve been looking for this song. And I use to catch myself singing this song. I was in elementary when I learned it, and of course I use to mix up the words but I remember the “Ashe Ashe” part"
**
76. @donnyjackson1309
"It was 1985 Chicago. My dad decided to put the family in a new direction. I know this song and origin front to back."
**
77. @kali8968
"These people came to Astoria projects in queens New York long time ago I remember that “chant” I’m 39 now I was maybe 5 or 6☺️☺️"
**
78. @iamyanadotcom
"I learned this is 1st grade from my music teacher Mrs. Anderson. That woman introduced me to the music inside of me. Changed my life forever. Thank you, Ancestors. Asé. 💛"
**
79. @h.b.2003
"I learned this in the early 90s at a camp. It's been so long since I've heard it! Wow. My soul is happy"
**
80. @Amocoru
"I always wondered where this song came from. I remember singing this in my seventh grade chorus class and I still get it stuck in my head sometimes. I spent the day as a 39 year old man trying to figure out how I'm walking around singing Funga alafia and why. Now I know."
****
2023
81. @SonoranVibes
"At my (community neighborhood )after school program program, I would sing this song with me and it NEVER left me. This was when I was 10 years old. I am now 32. & I’m now learning about the Orishas and their importance. As a Christian. I am questioning a lot."
**
82. @lovechild519
"EXCELLENT performance Nana Malaya‼️ Keep making our people proud❣️🙏🏾😁💯💃🏾"
****
2024
83. @pineapplequeen13
"Like a ton of other commenters, I learned this when I was super young in school, but it never left my head. The song is such a sweet message transcending language and culture, and the performance here is wonderful!"
**
84. @-Kidist
"when i was in first grade my class would sing this to anyone that walked in the classroom as a greeting i loved it"
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85. @JaeChanel116
"Okay, so I will be 40 years old this year and I remember singing this in elementary school. Wow! Thank God for Google. Now I just need a translation to know what I was singing"
**
86. @courtneylu7518
"We learned a whole dance and this song in summer camp ❤"
**
87. @loganstacer
"I heard this for the first time in first or second grade. I’m 28 years old now and this song has been stuck in my head almost my whole life but I never thought to look it up because I never even knew what they were saying. Glad I could find this now and can have it stuck in my head for the rest of my life"
**
88. @ThandokaziMeneArcher
"Have to sing this song for my kindergarten kids in China this coming weekend 😂😊"
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89. @dstrong11
"When we had the Real singers come in from West Africa and sing this it was so spiritual!! ❤"
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90. @cg-ny9078
"I learned this in elementary school in the 80s, New York City! Anyone else?"
**
Reply
91. @Loved4Ever
"I learned in the 80's as well in Queens NY😊"
**
92. @patrickrichardson2518
"I still remember this (the song, not this specific performance) from some random week in preschool...circa 1988 - 1989."
****
2025
93. @TheRealFosterLife
"I'm from Chicago and we sang it in elementary in the 80’s.
****
This concludes Part II of this four part 2024 pancocojams series.
Visitor comments are welcome.
While I don't assign any positive or negative valuation to any hairstyle, I definitely consider it to be very positive that Maasai women (and all women) may choose to have a bald head or choose to wear their hair in any hairstyle. Furthermore, I believe that these hairstyle choices can be symbolic of other choices that these contemporary women can make regarding how they wish to lead their lives.
ReplyDelete