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Thursday, May 25, 2023

The American Saying "Boom Shakalaka" And South Africa's "Chakalaka" Food (Information & YouTube Videos)


Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the African American vocable and exclamation "boom shakalaka" and the food dish "chakalaka" from the nation of South Africa. 

Part I of this post showcases YouTube examples of two songs that may be early influences for the vocable and exclamation for "boom shakalaka". Part I also showcases two YouTube videos about the use of the words "boom shakalaka" in a military cadence and in the video game "NBA Jam".

Part II of this pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video and comments about the use of the exclamation "Boom vocable also includes a YouTube vlog of a South African woman preparing her version of chakalaka as well as a few comments from that vlog's discussion thread.   

The content of this post is presented for linguistic and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who were or are associated with the showcased YouTube examples.  

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
These two words are spelled the same-usually except for their beginning letter, but probably have completely different etymologies (origins and developments).

PART I - INFORMATION ABOUT "BOOM SHAKALAKA"
Boom shakalaka" may have its origin in the early 20th century track lining vocable* "tracka lack" :

Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –track
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Ho, boys, cancha line 'em –tracka lack
Here we go linin track
-snip-
-snip-
"Vocables" are usually nonsense word/s that are vocalized (sung or chanted). 

"Lining track" means to laying railroad (train) lines.  "Gandy dancers" is the referent for the Black men and men of other races 
sung songs to help coordinate their movements when they were laying down (lining) (railroad) tracks. 

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/gandy-dancers-linin-track-sound-files.html for the 2012 pancocojams post entitled  "Gandy Dancers & Linin' Track Sound Files & Videos". Here's one YouTube video from that post:

Video #1: Can't You Line "Em - Lead Belly


Malcalum, Sep 12, 2008

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The vocable "boom shakalaka" is usually attributed to a folk processed form of the vocable boom-laka-laka-laka"in the 1968/1969 soul, rock, funk band Sly & The Family Stone's song "l Want To Take you Higher".

Here's an excerpt of a dictionary.com page about "boom shakalaka":

From https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/boomshakalaka/#:~:text=Boomshakalaka%20is%20an%20exclamation%20that,toward%20the%20basket%20and%E2%80%94BOOMSHAKALAKA! March 16, 2021
"boomshakalaka 

WHAT DOES BOOMSHAKALAKA MEAN?

Boomshakalaka is an exclamation that can express dominance, triumph, excitement, or joy. It is especially used when commenting on big dunks in basketball.

Example: LeBron charges toward the basket and—BOOMSHAKALAKA!—slams down a dunk!

Boomshakalaka may have roots in the 1969 song “I Want to Take You Higher” by Sly and the Family Stone. The song includes the funky and sexy nonsense vocables boom-laka-laka-laka."...

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A FEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF YOUTUBE "BOOM SHAKALAKA" VIDEOS 

Video #2 -Sly And The Family Stone "I Want To Take You Higher" on The Ed Sullivan Show



The Ed Sullivan Show, Nov. 14, 2021

Sly And The Family Stone "I Want To Take You Higher" on The Ed Sullivan Show, December 29, 1968.

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Video #2 - Stripes -Graduation Scene



logan8020, Feb. 5, 2008
-snip-
Stripes is a 1981 American war comedy film starring Bill Murray and others.
The "boom shakalaka" vocable is heard at 1:09-1:10 in this film clip.

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Video #3 - 
NBA JAM returns, BOOMSHAKALAKA!



GameZone, March 17, 2010

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"
NBA Jam is a long-running basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway, the game found popularity with its photorealistic digitized graphics, over-the-top presentation and exaggerated style of two-on-two basketball play....

First released -1993"...

 -snip-
Here are three comments from the discussion thread for a YouTube interview of the announcer who voiced the "boom shakalaka" exclamation and the other exclamations for the NBA Jam  video games. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GV874wydU4

1.Shrunken Head, 2018
"Boom Shakalak by apache indian. Ya welcome..."
-snip-
Here's information about Apache Indian's Reggae song "Boom Shakalak" 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_Shack-A-Lak
" "Boom Shack-A-Lak" is a song by British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ Apache Indian, released in August 1993 and also included on his EP Nuff Vibes. The song gave him his biggest hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart. The single and EP were also released worldwide, reaching the top 10 in both Ireland (8) and the Netherlands (10), while reaching the top 20 in Austria (13) and New Zealand (19). The promotional video for the track won the Best Reggae Video award at the 1994 Black Music Awards in London.[3]Hawksfan88

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2. musashi06, 2020
" "Boom shakalaka" was first said by the Da Lench Mob in their song Guerillas In The Mist in 1992, which was 2 years before Apache Indian made his song. The phrase is actually "Boom-shakalaka-boom" which is the sound of a shotgun being fired, reloaded, and fired again."
-snip-
The Hip Hop group Da Lench Mob's 1992 record "Guerillas In The Mist" is a violent, racist, song with profanity and sexually explicit lyrics. Here's the "boom shakalaka" words from that record:
"
Give me some elbow room, I need some elbow room So I can boom shak-a-lak boom That's the sound of the twenty gauge".

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Reply
3. Schmaltzy the Golem, 2021
"Wrong...Bill Murray in stripes."
-snip-
The movie Stripes was released in 1981.

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PART Ii - INFORMATION ABOUT "CHAKALAKA" (SOUTH AFRICAN FOOD)
Excerpt #1
From https://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/chakalaka-recipe 
(SOUTH AFRICAN SPICY TOMATO, PEPPER AND ONION DISH)
"Born in the townships of South Africa, chakalaka is a simple, spicy dish of onions, tomatoes and often beans. It has been a staple for generations of black South Africans and is a required condiment at South African braais, or barbecues. And what a fun name!

Chakalaka can be served hot or cold, over mealie pap, with slices of bread, or as a condiment for grilled meats."

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From  
https://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/chakalaka-recipe [no author or publishing date given, retrieved May 24, 2023] INTERNATIONAL RECIPES AND COOKING AROUND THE WORLD

"CHAKALAKA

What is Chakalaka

Chakalaka is a South African vegetable and bean relish, but I would like to call it vegetable and bean curry. And it’s more like a curry with all the spices and vegetables. I served it along with rice and paired it with a raita for a complete meal.

The Origin

The word chakalaka comes from the Zulu language, and it means “all together.” * This chakalaka is a staple dish throughout the country, but what I learned is that this dish has originated from the townships of Johannesburg.  The goldmine workers there cooked some canned beans, tomatoes, and whatever fresh vegetables they had and spiced it up. And that’s chakalaka. Interesting right?

[…]

Vegetables: Apart from onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and green chili/ green chili peppers. We also need green cabbage, carrot, and colored bell peppers. Adjust the veggies as per your preference.

Spice and condiments: These spices and condiments make this chakalaka more delicious. I have used curry powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. We also use brown sugar, ketchup, and vegan Worcestershire sauce to balance the spice.

Beans and broth: I have used a can of cannellini beans and vegetable broth. You can use canned baked beans. In that case, you can skip the brown sugar and the vegan Worcestershire sauce.”…
-snip-
Question for Zulus speakers: Does the word "chakalaka" come from isiZulu and does it really mean "all together"?  Google translate gives this Zulu to English result for the word "chakalaka" = "it's crazy".  Is that (also) correct?  

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Here's a YouTube video of a South African woman cooking her version of chakalaka:

South African Chakalaka with Nandos sauce|| Du indulge


Du Indulge, Mar 1, 2020

I love how versatile chakalaka is,will definitely try this,thank you

South African Chakalaka with Nandos sauce|| Du indulge
-snip-
Here are a few comments from that vlog's discussion thread with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1.Kiki Gondolo, 2020
"Thats your own recipe in Chakalaka we dont add Green beans !"

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Reply
2. Rediah Nyarangi, 2020
"Love that. Cooking is art. Creative

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Reply
3. 
Prudence Dikiza,2020
"You don't add green beans but we do."

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4. Thogrin, 2020
"Am I right that chakalaka is not one and only recipe, and it depends of what you want in your chakalaka ? I'm looking for the basic recipe"

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Reply
5. _Thee Real Nono_,2022
"Chakalaka mainly has baked beans, onions, tomatoes and green chillies in its simplest form -- this is a different variant. She chose to add cabbage, artcha, green beans, bell peppers and Nandos sauce. Some make the basic kind I mentioned above, but add bell peppers as well, and maybe green beans."

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6. Gauri Bhide, 2021
"What do u have this with? Like rice or bread?"

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Reply
7. nkagiseng mabangula, 2021
"It's usually served as a salad, side dish for our BBQ or Braai dish as we call it,but it's so good you can have it with anything."

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8.  Wishpicker, 2021
"Hi, do you serve this hot or chilled down in the fridge and cold? And what do you serve it with please? Thank you 🥀

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Reply
9. 
_Thee Real Nono_,2022
"Let it cool, then place it in the fridge. We (here in South Africa) normally serve it as a side dish when braai'ing (barbecue) -- either with rolls, pap or steamed bread. You may even have it with rice, your choice of meat and other veges."

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10. 
Jonathan van den Berg, 2022
"weh da chilliii?:("
-snip-
"Where are the chillis? " (Chakalala recipes often include chilli peppers.)

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