"Sangulo Mama" & Other Words That Non-Lingala Speaking Africans Sung For Extra Musica's 1997 Hit Song "Etat Major"

Cyriaque Bassoka Productions, Jun 30, 2017

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the Congo-Brazzaville's music group Extra Musica's 1997 mega-hit song "Etat Major".

This post showcases the official video of "Etat Major" and includes selected comments from that video's discussion thread.

Many of these comments focus on how some Africans who didn't speak Lingala- the language used in "Etat Major"- came up with their own words for that song or misheard those words as being from their own ethnic group's language. Additional examples document some other statements and questions that the commenters had or have about Extra Musica's song "Etat Major". 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/10/congo-brazzavilles-music-group-extra.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I showcases that song's official YouTube video and provides some information about the beginning of the music group Extra Musica music group.

Part I also includes selected general comments about this group and the song "Etat Major" from the discusion thread of this YouTube video. Additional information about that group is found in some of those comments.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Exra Musica for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are associated with this record and video. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Here's a link for an official YouTube video of a new song by Roga Roga & Extra Musica entitled "BOKOKO". That video was published on Sept. 24, 2021 by ROGA ROGA OFFICIEL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ZuDPc3J64&ab_channel=ROGAROGAOfficiel

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ge71uT6fJo&ab_channel=CyriaqueBassokaProductions

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only. Unless otherwise noted, the translations that are given after the comments that aren't in English are from Google translate French to English.

Two of these comments were also included in Part I of this pancocojams series. 

2018

1. Iheanyi Nwa Mma
"Please what are they saying in the music?"

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2. Nicholas Omolo, 2019
"@Iheanyi Nwa Mma  most of us don't know but it doesn't really matter a lot, in any case we translated it into our own ways because the words often sound like our own words though the meaning might be different, we just enjoy the rhythm!

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3. lilian lilly
"We used to sing this in my mother tongue which is luo from kenya. Something like "ngato kwalo makati na wololo" lol meaning someone stole my bread lol and a whole bunch of unrelated stuff in there hahaha"

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4. pacom20003, 2019
"Ha Ha  that's funny cause the way I remember the lyrics to this song was totally wrong and inappropriate. I thought they were speaking in my native tongue but later realized they weren't 😂😂"

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5, It all about me, 2019
"Oh yeah we do too"

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6. Esther Awino, 2019
"I swear you've just made my day! hati ng'ato okwalo makati naa wololol?? Haahahah"

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7. Namugenyi Alima, 2019
"Even us in uganda dear we could olso add ours 😂😂😂"

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8. María Asumu, 2019
"We did the same in Equatorial Guinea. We used to sing the songs that we did not understand in our mother tongue. Very funny things comes from that hahahaha"

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9. GALLUS NJABNJEM AKA, 2019
"Same here in Cameroon.  "Some pikin don broke ma head ohh" Hahaha. U made my day"

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10. Lolamusic, 2019
" @pacom20003  this is hilarious 😂😂 what they are actually  sayings "tala  batu  baza  kotala  wololo " in lingala it means "   look the people are all looking at us "

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11. Mwana Falsafa
"@Lolamusic  what does wololo mean in congo/lingala? Because in mg native kenyan language it is an exclamation for grief when berieved or befallen by a sad event"

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12. Lolamusic, 2020
"@Mwana Falsafa  it's also an exclamation in lingala  it  translates as  "wow" or   and is used in situations  of shock  or surprise in English its amazing the similarities in our languages"

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13. Mwana Falsafa, 2020
" @Lolamusic  actually i meant we use it for shock or wow as you guys are using it. The one we use for grief is the sound uuuuwi or Ooowee when someone dies,i confused while typing."

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14. Mwana Falsafa, 2020
"@Lolamusic  and kindly what tribe are you? I'll try and research the resemblance with my tribe here in Kenya."

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15. Lolamusic, 2020
"@Mwana Falsafa  I'm from the "luba " tribe in drc congo we are bantus  and I believe their maybe connections please let me know thanks ."

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16. lilian lilly, 2020
"The rest of the kids would be responding"ngato kwalo Makati na yeeeee Makati na wololo'

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17. Gaudencia Wanga
"Wooow you are driving me crazy,if l remember my sister she beat me with her palm, because l follow him to dance sangulooo

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2019

18. Janet Shao
"Sangulo mamaaa🙌🙌😂 imenikumbusha mbali sana wimbo huuu.Asante Mungu kwa kuniweka hai hadi Leo hii🙏"
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Google translate from Swahili to English:
"Sangulo mamaaa🙌🙌😂 has reminded me so much of this song. Thank God for keeping me alive to this day🙏"

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19. talent chamzy
"Africa we one didnt know wat this song ment back then and upto now i dont know but enough respect nice track and still listening to it and even dancing like no man's busines lol"

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20. Mwihaki Debbie
"Amazing song.... Love it tho I can't understand any single word in the entire song. Have danced myself silly."

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21. 93i, 2020
"The music is a language of itself. Just let it do the talking and you just focus on the dancing😅😅🎸🎵💯💕"

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22. Joy Amoah
"Don’t understand a word! But this gets me moving every time!

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2020

23. Kim Niuyai
"Think i listened for 1st in 1996 or1997, 25yrs later its still on fire n i don't understand the language...."

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24. 7vN21
"Can someone translate this for me, please? I think it’s French from what I’m hearing but I’m not 100% sure."

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25. 93i, 2020
"It's in lingala..."

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26. Raphy Johnny
"It's 100% lingala. No French word in it."

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27. Tesoboy Carlvin Etyang
"SANGULO OOH X3 SANGULO MAMA LIKE IT"

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28. Empress Nikki
"Wuolololoooooo.. That's all i understand..Luo is intanasonol.

Gracias."

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29. Sandy Banks
"I swear i don't understand any word but this song gave us the the real meaning of music in uganda🇺🇬"

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30. Mawan Muortat
"Lovely song, but I don't understand a word.

Those buffoons who head the AU should come up with a flag for Africa and agree on one language that will unite us. Don't care if it's Hausa, Lingala, Swahili, Zulu, Amahara or whatever African language. Just let them choose one and some of us will start learning it tomorrow. It's about time."

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31. Lenny Kipngetich
"Just enjoying the rhythm... "Songuloo oooh Songuloo mamaa". 🤩 Feb 2020"

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32.Revocatus Genes
"Music has no language"

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33. Revocatus Genes
"When I was 5 around 2000 I used to try singing this song and I had my own lyrics I composed"

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34. Benson Christian
"Me too"

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35. Agaa Boneface
"Hahaha, you don't say bro! Same here"

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36. Dan Muchwanju
"I have my own lyrics too" 

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36. deusdeo david
"I don't understand bt I can dance in my whole life"

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37. Lysias II
"I don't understand, but songs i grew up listening to. With 💙 From 🇳🇦"

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38, Mns Althard
"You know people from Kenya like such music but don't understand a word in it."

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39. joseph otieno
"Oh my God! I still don't think if there will ever be a generation that will have fun more than we did. I come from Nyanza Kenya and the way we corrupted this song into our own Luo language.. "sama mama otedo gweno nyithindo chikore..sama mama otedo gweno nyithindo chikore,, ng'ato ka ng'ato  gi dise ni mama tokna.." We didn't care what the song actually meant.. all we wanted to do was dance and have fun. If only I could take back the hands of time!!"

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40. Jozz Power
"Zangul oh *"
-snip-
The asterisk was in the comment but no note was added to that comment. This commenter may have meant that this is what they sung or that “Zangul oh” were the words that were Extra Musica actually sung in that song, or both. 

In 2001, after some of the original members of that group left and formed a spin off group, some of the original members changed their name to Extra Musica Zangul. That group also recorded a song entitled "Zangul Zangul" in 2001. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFu7iW4GgsY&ab_channel=PanAfricanMusic for a sound file of that record. Also, read my comment below about the word "zangul".

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41. Richy
"Man, this was the signature song to every first communions, family gatherings and weddings I attended young in Senegal when I was 10. On a dancé ça... Safulo oooh, Safulo Mama 🇸🇳🤙🏽✅"

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42. Jordan Efexz
"The song was a hit in Nigeria around yr 2001. We love it despite not understanding what the song means."

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43. Josephine Owino
"Years later still singing my own lyrics😁😁😁love this song and dance😘😘"

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44. Nsubuga Stephen
"Best song ever for Extra musica, I can listen to this tune again and again with getting tired of it regardless of I don't understand the meaning of the song

🇺🇬🇺🇬🇺🇬🇺🇬🇺🇬🇺🇬"

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2021

45. Irene Tasha
"Am Kenyan, I don't I understand this words but you should see me singing and dancing this song 😂 ....I love lingala music 😍"

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46. Alicia Keys
"I am a Zimbabwean and I don't understand  what they  are saying but let's dance because I love this song and the beat is the best"

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47. Ebunitata Meno
"Lol they aren't saying much, they are just cheering their crew"

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48. edwin amalanda
"We have our versions of some of the lyrics here in western Kenya e.g abamama batsia kitale 😁😁😁"

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49. Lydia Zulu
"I agree, I dont understand either, but the guitar hmmmm wow"

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50. kennedy otieno
"Representing from Kenya.. If you heard the lyrics as "obaya gi nyundo to amiso, mama chielo to baba uso" welcome to the club"

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51. lina chester
"We didn't even language but we danced anyways, we  didn't care."

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52. Miss Nyarie
"I grw up thinking this is a Zimbabwean song 😂😂❤"

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53. Kamogelo Mokhondo
"Ah rhi ah rhi ah rhi🕺🕺😂😂it doesn't matter whether I understand what they're saying or not, but one language I understand is music papa!!! They string the guitar until it's stringless"

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54. Stiven Solano Fernandez
"Y en Barranquilla - Colombia se escucha como el bolo bolo ajaja"
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Google translate from Spanish to English
"And in Barranquilla - Colombia it sounds like the bolo bolo ajaja"

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55. Taurai Chiwanza
"Song  played all over Africa, and noone know lyrics,  a very good wedding songs"

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56. diana dee
"Every country had its own words 😂😂😂🇰🇪🇺🇬"

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57. Antony Mwaniki
"Who else grew up knowing this song is called Sanguro"

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58. Sospeter Migera
"I'm not hear what they sung,but I like this song, how they dance ,beat waooo I love the song."

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59. Musa Musa Kenya
"Growing up in late 90's i could hear "sangulo mama" it was a hit in kenya by then, local music parties couldnt go without this hit song.

The congolease music tops the African continent."

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60. Dave
"I just searched for sangulo mama...its a Kenyan TBT thing 🔥 🔥"

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61.Taurai Chiwanza
"Song  played all over Africa, and noone know lyrics,  a very good wedding songs"

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62. Ted Nikos
"I have no idea what they are saying but I agree with them. 🔥🔥🔥🔥"

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This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

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