The Word "Makidada" (In The Hand Clap Rhyme From "The Color Purple" Book, Movie, & Play) Isn't A Swahili Word That Means "Little Sister"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about novelist Alice Walker and focuses on the hand clap rhyme entitled "Makidada" that is an iconic part of Walker's award winning novel "The Color Purple" and of that novel's movie and Broadway versions.. 

This post showcases a YouTube video of the first use of that rhyme in the 1985 movie "The Color Purple" and also provides links for the two other scenes from that movie which feature that rhyme.  

This post also includes a transcription of the "Makidada" rhyme which indicates that the word "makidada" is Swahili for "little sister". Two other online excerpts that are included in this post discuss the meaning of rhyme in The Color Purple as well as ihe extrapolated meaning of being someone's "makidada".

I'm a non-Swahili speaker, but based on what I have read online, I question the assertion that "makidada" is an authentic Swahili word. Instead, I posit that word "makidada" was coined by Alice Walker and that rhyme "One Makidada" was created by Walker as part of her creative process.

This post presents some online information about Swahili language noun/adjective structure as well as definitions for the Swahili word "dada" and the Swahili element "maki". These excerpts support my position that "makidada" is a made up Swahili word.
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The content of this post is presented for cultural and linguistic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Alice Walker for her cultural legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are associated with the YouTube videos that are showcased and linked in this post and thanks to the publisher of that showcased video on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
As a self-described community folklorist who is particularly interested in African American children's rhymes, I want to share my thoughts about the word "makidada" that is found in the hand clap rhyme in The Color Purple book, movie, and Broadway show.
   
The word "makidada" is widely translated as "a Swahili word meaning "little sister". 
However, as a non-Swahili speaker, I question that etymology which I think is an example of an urban myth: "a story or statement that is not true but is often repeated, and believed by many to be true" 
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/urban-myth

Instead of believing that "makidada" is a Swahili word that means "little sister", I posit that Alice Walker purposely made up the word "makidada", combining the element "maki" (which has another meaning in Swahili) with the actual Swahili word "dada" which means "sister". 

It's possible that Alice Walker has written about or shared information in interviews about the word "makidada" in which she notes that she purposely coined that word and that she made up that rhyme as part of her creative process. It is also possible that people may have attributed that Swahili etymology to the word "makidada" since the word "dada" is an actual Swahili word that means "sister".  However, I haven't found anything online about the word "makidada''s etymology apart from the (I believe highly questionable) statements that "makidada" is a Swahili word. Nor have I found any examples of the rhyme "Makidada" or any other African American rhyme with the word "makidada" or similarly spelled words apart from articles that refer back to "The Color Purple".

I love the sentiments of The Color Purple's hand cap rhyme "Makidada" and i applaud the way that Alice Walker used that rhyme to show the sisters' close and steadfast love for each other in spite of their separations and their very difficult circumstances. I believe that admiration for that rhyme and that creative device can be and should be separated from the urban myth that the word "makidada" is Swahili for "little sister".

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INFORMATION ABOUT ALICE WALKER AND HER BOOK "THE COLOR PURPLE"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker

"Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist.

 [...]

In 1982, she published what has become her best-known work, The Color Purple. The novel follows a young, troubled black woman fighting her way through not just racist white culture but patriarchal black culture as well. The book became a bestseller and was subsequently adapted into a critically acclaimed 1985 movie directed by Steven Spielberg, featuring Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg, as well as a 2005 Broadway musical totaling 910 performances."...

-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Color_Purple for information about and a summary of the novel "The Color Purple".  

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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEO- 1 Makidada

Rebecca Stallings, November 29, 2020
-snip-

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM60tZnG3i8&t=18s (from 1:48 to around 2:14 in that video) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tL03oQzkmw for YouTube videos of the two other scenes in The Color Purple movie which show or include this hand clap rhyme. The last link is for the ending scene of that movie. At around 4:42 in that video Celia and Nettie are shown as adults chanting that hand clap rhyme, although the words for that rhyme aren't heard.

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TRANSCRIPTION OF THE RHYME "MAKIDADA" AND ARTICLE EXCEPTS
(given in no particular order and numbered for referencing purposes only)

Excerpt #1
From https://lostinurbanism.tumblr.com/post/76005176154/the-color-purple-and-makidada-in-the-book-the#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20book%2C%20the%20sisters,be%20separated%20from%20one%20another.

The Color Purple and “Makidada”

“In the book, the sisters Nettie and Celie play and sing a hand game called “Makidada,”
which is a Swahili word meaning “Little Sister.” The words of the song celebrate a relationship in which the two girls vow to never part or be separated from one another. This heartbreakingly poignant moment is not only charged with emotion and symbolism, but also serves as a reminder of the many beautiful songs and hand games that have their roots in African culture.”  – excerpt from Memory Lane, Sunday Kinfolk. 

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Excerpt #2
From https://naturallyme007.wordpress.com/2016/10/28/makidada/

"You and me, Us never part
Makidada
You and me, Us have one heart
Makidada
Ain’t no ocean, ain’t no sea
Makidada
Keep my sista way from me
Makidada

Many of us know this song from the movie, The Color Purple.  We sang or mumbled the words while airing the hand motions with a sibling, cousin or friend. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I figured out what they were saying and how important this song was to Celie and Nettie.  Makidada.  In Swahili, this means little sister. Growing up, I was the little sister.  But, who says that your “little sister” has to be younger than you?"

[...]

n friendships, I learned that you cannot put a time frame on it. I’ve met individuals and felt as though I’d known them a lifetime.  We feel comfortable around each other, which makes us open up more.  Yet, I’ve known other people for years and they began to look more like strangers.  Life experiences and growth change our perception.  We grow apart.  This is okay too.   Some of our seasons last longer than others.  Enjoy it while you can.

Remember when Celie and Nettie saw each other again

“Nettiiiiiiiiiiiiiie….Celie”

after all those years they’d been separated???  They reconnected as if they never parted.  The gift and curse of getting older is that friends move away to plant their life elsewhere.  Yea, this allows me to have a FREE vacation anytime..., but it doesn’t allow me to be in their presence.  As I age, I acknowledge that even though I don’t get to see my girls as much as I want, when we do get together, it’s like we never split. Those are the true bonds that I need in my life."

****Excerpt #3 From http://feenixfire.blogspot.com/2009/09/makidada.html
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009POSTED BY FEENIX

"Makidada...

An Indisputable Bond...

Although the words to the game where simple the symbolic meaning was not. In the beginning of the movie we see the sisters running through a field of purple flowers. They proceed to play the game and recite the lyrics, “Me and you, us never part. Makidada. Me and you, us have one heart. Makidada. Ain’t no ocean, ain’t no sea. Makidada. Keep my sister away from me.” These words provide us with a look into the future of the girls. The words represented a bond that would play out all the way through the movie. A bond that kept them together no matter the circumstance.

Before

They promised each other that they would never be apart. They promised each other that no ocean or sea would keep them away from one another. They promised each other that they would always share the same heart. These women went through more then most of us can imagine in their lives and yet, they kept the promises that were made when they were still young girls. They kept the promises made by that childish game. The bond that they shared never broke. “You and me, us never part”

After

Now I chose to make this my Monday morning topic because my sister is my Makidada. We've been there and we've done that, but in the end we always know that there will never be another like the other. She is programmed in my phone as Sista Ma~ki~dada and that is how we greet eachother. It started as a joke because that is her all time favorite movie. But like the movie, we realized that the meaning was so much more. This is her g-chat status message "just cannot live without my makidada I love you so much, dearly"... That makes me all warm inside!”…

[Comment about this post]
Unknown said...[APRIL 12, 2011]

"When my great-nephew was a baby, I would play and sing in his ear during church services to keep him quiet. On one such occassion his father, noticing my actions and his son's reactions of smiling and excitement from across the church, ask me what were you saying to my son during service? I laughed and started singing the song from "The Color Purple", Makidada. Immediately his baby son started to react to my singing with smiles, laughter and hand claps. "Wow!" his father said, "he loves that". From that moment on I was given the nickname of Makidada but I never knew what it meant. My great-nephew and great-niece both call me Makidada (sometimes it is shortened to Kidada). Since these are my sisters' children and grand-children, the name has a very special name for me and I love it. Now other family members and friends, including their children, also call me Makidada. Thank You for sharing your story with me and I hope you and your sister will continue in the beautiful and blessed relationship you share; my sister and I share a close relationship also. God's love to all, Ruby "Makidada"

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ONLINE EXCERPTS ABOUT NOUN/ADJECTIVES IN SWAHILI
From http://mylanguages.org/swahili_adjectives.php#:~:text=Swahili%20Adjectives%20are%20words%20that,or%20thing%20in%20the%20sentence.&text=All%20the%20above%20examples%20arein,prefixes%20of%20the%20noun%20class.&text=Notice%20the%20structure%20of%20the%20Adjectives%20in%20Swahili.

"Swahili Adjectives

Learning the Swahili Adjectives displayed below is vital to the language. Swahili Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.

Grammar Tips:

While in English an adjective doesn’t change when the noun changes, in Swahili an adjective should agree with noun class. For example:

a)    Mtoto mzuri amefika ( a good child has arrived)

b)    Kiti kizuri kimetengenezwa( a good chair has been made)

c)    Gari zuri limeletwa( a good car has been brought)

All the above examples arein singular.

As you can realize, thestem is –zuri and after you add the prefixes of the noun class.

Here are some examples:

English Adjectives   - Swahili Adjectives

adjectives - Vivumishi

a green tree - Mti wa kijani Kibichi

a tall building - Jengo ndefu

a very old man - mzee mkongwe/ mtu mzee sana

the old red house - Nyumba nyekundu iliozeeka sana

a very nice friend - rafiki mzuri sana

Notice the structure of the Adjectives in Swahili.

List of Adjectives in Swahili

[…]

big - Ukubwa

[...]

small - Udogo"
-snip-
Given this information, the word "makidada" doesn't conform to the way that the Swahili language structures its noun and adjectives- with the noun given first, followed by the adjective.

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ENGLISH TO SWAHILI DEFINITIONS FOR "LITTLE SISTER" ("BABY SISTER") ETC. 

From https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the/swahili-word-for-1dd09baa19dc7688f96e2ea45033603921cd7b83.html

"How to say sister in Swahili

Swahili Translation- dada

younger sister   - dada mdogo

sister in law- shemeji

little sister-dada mdogo

elder sister-dada mkubwa

older sister-dada mkubwa

baby sister-dada mdogo

step sister-dada wa kambo

twin sister-mapacha

big sister-dada mkubwa

my sister-dada yangu"
-snip-
Google translate feature from English to Swahili gives this result for "little sister" and for "baby sister"= "dada mdogo" 

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ENGLISH TO SWAHILI DEFINITIONS FOR THE ELEMENT "MAKI".

From http://swahili_english.enacademic.com/7386/maki

"[Swahili Word] maki

[English Word] corpulence

[Part of Speech] adjective

[Swahili Example] ana maki

[English Example] He is heavy (and strong)

[Swahili Word] maki

[English Word] heaviness

[Part of Speech] adjective

[Swahili Word] maki

[English Word] stoutness

[Part of Speech] adjective

[Swahili Word] maki

[English Word] thickness

[Part of Speech] noun

[Swahili Example] nguo ya maki

[English Example] thick cloth"
-snip-

"Dada" means "sister" in Swahili, but "maki"  doesn't mean "little" or "younger". However, putting aside the fact that "maki" doesn't mean "little" or "younger", I believe that the word "makidada" isn't an authentic Swahili  word because its structure doesn't conform with the way that nouns and their descriptors are given in Swahili.  If "makidada" were correctly given in Swahili, it would be given as "dada maki". 

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