Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about and lyrics for Nigerian drummer and composer Babatunde Olatunji's compossition "Jin Go Lo Ba" (also known as "Jingo".
This post also showcases a YouTube sound file of Babatunde Olantunji & his Drum Of Passions Band performing "Jin Go Lo Ba" as well as three YouTube videos of Carlos Santana and his band performing this song.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Babatunde Olatunji and his Drums Of Passion Band for their musical legacies. Thanks also to Carlos Santana and his bands for their musical legacies. Thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT "JIN GO LO BA"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin-go-lo-ba
" "Jin-go-lo-ba" (or "Jingo") is a song by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, featured on his first album Drums of Passion (1959). In Yoruba (Olatunji's native language) it means, "Do not worry."
The song featured "African-derived rhythms and chants" along with "swooping orchestration".[1] In his autobiography, Olatunji said that this was the only song on his first album that he claimed formal ownership of, meaning that it was the only song he received royalties for.[2] ...
"Jingo"
Song by Babatunde Olatunji
from the album Drums of Passion
Genre Afrobeat
Length 3:16
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Babatunde Olatunji
Producer(s) Al Ham
****
LYRICS: JIN GO LO BA
(Composer- Babatunde Olatunji)
Jingo
Jingo
Jingo
Jingo Ba
Lo
Ba, Ba, Lo
Ba, Ba, Lo
Ba, Ba, Lo
Ba, Lo
Ba, Ba, Lo
Ba, Ba, Lo
Ba, Ba, Lo
Ba
Jingo
Source: https://genius.com/Santana-jin-go-lo-ba-lyrics
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Babatunde Olatunji Jin-Go-Lo-Ba (Drums of Passion)
Marcinenwu, Jun 9, 2008
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Santana - Jin-Go-Lo-Ba/Ending Live In Santiago 1992
EpicConcerts, Jan 13, 2012
"Venue: Parque Intercommunal De La Reina
Date: December 4 1992
Band Line-up:
Carlos Santana - Guitars/Vocals
Walfredo de los Reyes - Drums
Karl Perazzo - Cymbals
Armando Peraza - Congas
Chester Thompson - Keyboards
Myron Dove - Bass
Alex Ligertwood - Vocals
Jorge Santana - Rhythm Guitar
Source:
Video from VHS-rip
Audio from soundboard master + patch here-and-there with the VHS source
NOTE:
The video was digitally cleaned and the colors were corrected to fit more naturally, also upscaled to 720p for a better experience on Youtube.
The audio was stereo expanded to sound a litlle bit louder.”...
****
Video #2: Jingo-Santana Greatest Hits - Live at Montreux (2011).mkv
Giannis Lioumpas,Apr 18, 2012
****
Video #3: Santana - Savor / Jingo - 8/18/1970 - Tanglewood (Official)
Santana on MV, Sep 26, 2014
Santana - Savor / Jingo
Recorded Live: 8/18/1970 - Tanglewood - Lenox, MA
More Santana at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.com
Subscribe to Music Vault on YouTube: http://goo.gl/DUzpUF
Personnel:
Carlos Santana - guitar, vocals
Gregg Rolie - keyboards, piano, lead vocals
David Brown - bass
Michael Shrieve - drums
Jose "Chepito" Areas - percussion, conga, timbales
Mike Carabello - percussion, conga, vocals
Summary:
Recorded just over a year after Santana played its historic Woodstock Music & Art Fair performance, the band was fast becoming one of the biggest in the world. They were about to release their second album, Abraxas, and were riding high on the heels of three hit songs from their debut album and a new Top 10 hit, a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman."
A year earlier - in fact only a few days before the Woodstock Festival - Bill Graham staged the first of several concerts billed as "The Fillmore at Tanglewood." Tanglewood is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the storied venue had just begun to experiment with staging contemporary concerts on their grounds. Staging a rock concert in a classical venue had yet to be done, so of course the concept of doing so excited Graham. He brought the full-scale Fillmore East production team in, including the Joshua Light Show, and booked a great lineup. This first concert featured B.B King, Jefferson Airplane and The Who, and drew the largest crowd that Tanglewood had ever seen by far.
Buoyed by the event's success, Tanglewood and Graham agreed to stage three similar dates in 1970. The last of these is this show, when Santana headlined after The Voices of East Harlem and the legendary Miles Davis had played (you can hear Mile's set here).
This historic and beautifully recorded performance features a smoking performance by Santana in the last year of their classic lineup, before a young Neal Schon joined the band. We think you'll agree it's an incredible performance by a great band in their prime.
-snip-
"Jin Go Lo Ba" starts around 4:05 in this video.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Olatunji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olatunji. Show all posts
Monday, December 2, 2019
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Five Videos Of Nigerian Master Drummer Olatunji & His Drums Of Passion Band (with a focus on traditional African caps worn by men)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about Nigerian master drummer Babatunde Olatunji and showcases several of his YouTube video performances in the United States.
In addition to the music and dancing, I'm particularly interested in sharing examples of the types of traditional African clothing that Olatunji and his band/dancers wore throughout these videos, with particular attention to examples of Nigerian traditional caps that many of the men had on.
Since Olatunji and his entourage were among the first, if not the first, majority African groups to widely perform traditional African music in the United States, in addition to its music, that group introduced Americans to and fostered an appreciation for certain types of traditional African clothing, including the custom of males wearing certain types of traditional African caps.
The Addendum to this pancocojams post presents a video of one type of fila (Yoruba word for "cap") that Olatunji wore.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Babatunde Olatunji for his musical and cultural legacy. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/11/fila-red-ozos-kufis-and-some-other.html for Part I of a two part pancocojams post entitled "Filas, Red Ozos, Kufis, Aboki Cap, And Some Other Names For Traditional Nigerian Male Caps (information)".
Also, click the Olatunji tag for more pancocojams post about Babatunde Olatunji.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT OLATUNJI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Olatunji
"Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, youtuber, educator, social activist, and recording artist.
[...]
Biography
Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. A member of the Yoruba people, Olatunji was introduced to traditional African music at an early age. He read in Reader's Digest magazine about the Rotary International Foundation's scholarship program, and applied for it. He went to the United States of America in 1950.
Education
Olatunji received a Rotary scholarship in 1950 and was educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he desired to, but never sang in the Morehouse College Glee Club. Olatunji was a good friend of Glee Club director Dr. Wendell P. Whalum and collaborated with him on a staple of the choir's repertoire, "Betelehemu", a Nigerian Christmas carol. After graduating from Morehouse, he went on to New York University to study public administration. There, he started a small percussion group to earn money on the side while he continued his studies.[1]
Musical career
[...]
Olatunji won a following among jazz musicians, notably creating a strong relationship with John Coltrane, with whose help he founded the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem. This was the site of Coltrane's final recorded performance. Coltrane wrote the composition "Tunji" on the 1962 album Coltrane in dedication to him. Olatunji recorded with many other prominent musicians (often credited as "Michael Olatunji"), including Cannonball Adderley (on his 1961 African Waltz album), Horace Silver, Quincy Jones, Pee Wee Ellis, Stevie Wonder, Randy Weston, and with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln on the pivotal Freedom Now Suite aka We Insist!, and with Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart on his Grammy winning Planet Drum projects”…...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Babatunde African Drum Performance.
Derbeno, Apr 8, 2007
****
Video #2: Babatunde Olatunji Jin-Go-Lo-Ba (Drums of Passion) [sound file]
Marcinenwu, Jun 9, 2008
****
Video #3: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Odunde
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform Odunde, The Harvest Dance celebrating the New Year.
****
Video #4: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Ajaja
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform at a New Years Eve Concert in 1986 opening for The Grateful Dead. Concert intro song Ajaja.
****
Video #5: Spirit Drum 1999 THREE "Babatunde Olatunji"
911TVorg, Nov 16, 2013
Babatunde Olatunji is "Master of Drums," a virtuoso of West African percussion. Born and raised in Nigeria, Olatunji was educated in America. Since he opened the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem over thirty years ago, Baba has been committed to providing education in traditional African performing arts to adults and young people. Baba has become one of the greatest teachers of all time.
the band:
Babatunde Olatunji
Joan Baez - backing vocal/dancing
Sikiru Adepoju - talking drum
Rasaki Aladokun - talking drum
Sanga-Of-The-Valley - djembe
Danjuma Adamu - guitar
Gordy Ryan - djun djun
Val Serrant - steel drums
Mawuena Kodjovi - guitar
Brian Loftus - drumset
Brent Zeller - shekere
David Price - bass
Tom Little Bear Nason - MC/flute
****
ADDENDUM: Kube Traditional hats
Susan Iliyan, Feb 5, 2016
This piece features the hand crafted process of the Kube traditional hats worn predominantly by Hausa men and the intricate cleaning process required to maintain these hats which range in price depending on how long it took to make and which prominent figure it was named after. It also speaks of how the Bama Massacre affected the Kube making capital of Bama but did not bring the Industry to an end.
-snip-
Although this summary indicates that these hats are predominately worn by Hausa men, notice that Babatunde Olatunji was Yoruba and not Hausa.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post presents information about Nigerian master drummer Babatunde Olatunji and showcases several of his YouTube video performances in the United States.
In addition to the music and dancing, I'm particularly interested in sharing examples of the types of traditional African clothing that Olatunji and his band/dancers wore throughout these videos, with particular attention to examples of Nigerian traditional caps that many of the men had on.
Since Olatunji and his entourage were among the first, if not the first, majority African groups to widely perform traditional African music in the United States, in addition to its music, that group introduced Americans to and fostered an appreciation for certain types of traditional African clothing, including the custom of males wearing certain types of traditional African caps.
The Addendum to this pancocojams post presents a video of one type of fila (Yoruba word for "cap") that Olatunji wore.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Babatunde Olatunji for his musical and cultural legacy. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/11/fila-red-ozos-kufis-and-some-other.html for Part I of a two part pancocojams post entitled "Filas, Red Ozos, Kufis, Aboki Cap, And Some Other Names For Traditional Nigerian Male Caps (information)".
Also, click the Olatunji tag for more pancocojams post about Babatunde Olatunji.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT OLATUNJI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Olatunji
"Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, youtuber, educator, social activist, and recording artist.
[...]
Biography
Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. A member of the Yoruba people, Olatunji was introduced to traditional African music at an early age. He read in Reader's Digest magazine about the Rotary International Foundation's scholarship program, and applied for it. He went to the United States of America in 1950.
Education
Olatunji received a Rotary scholarship in 1950 and was educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he desired to, but never sang in the Morehouse College Glee Club. Olatunji was a good friend of Glee Club director Dr. Wendell P. Whalum and collaborated with him on a staple of the choir's repertoire, "Betelehemu", a Nigerian Christmas carol. After graduating from Morehouse, he went on to New York University to study public administration. There, he started a small percussion group to earn money on the side while he continued his studies.[1]
Musical career
[...]
Olatunji won a following among jazz musicians, notably creating a strong relationship with John Coltrane, with whose help he founded the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem. This was the site of Coltrane's final recorded performance. Coltrane wrote the composition "Tunji" on the 1962 album Coltrane in dedication to him. Olatunji recorded with many other prominent musicians (often credited as "Michael Olatunji"), including Cannonball Adderley (on his 1961 African Waltz album), Horace Silver, Quincy Jones, Pee Wee Ellis, Stevie Wonder, Randy Weston, and with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln on the pivotal Freedom Now Suite aka We Insist!, and with Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart on his Grammy winning Planet Drum projects”…...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Babatunde African Drum Performance.
Derbeno, Apr 8, 2007
****
Video #2: Babatunde Olatunji Jin-Go-Lo-Ba (Drums of Passion) [sound file]
Marcinenwu, Jun 9, 2008
****
Video #3: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Odunde
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform Odunde, The Harvest Dance celebrating the New Year.
****
Video #4: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Ajaja
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform at a New Years Eve Concert in 1986 opening for The Grateful Dead. Concert intro song Ajaja.
****
Video #5: Spirit Drum 1999 THREE "Babatunde Olatunji"
911TVorg, Nov 16, 2013
Babatunde Olatunji is "Master of Drums," a virtuoso of West African percussion. Born and raised in Nigeria, Olatunji was educated in America. Since he opened the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem over thirty years ago, Baba has been committed to providing education in traditional African performing arts to adults and young people. Baba has become one of the greatest teachers of all time.
the band:
Babatunde Olatunji
Joan Baez - backing vocal/dancing
Sikiru Adepoju - talking drum
Rasaki Aladokun - talking drum
Sanga-Of-The-Valley - djembe
Danjuma Adamu - guitar
Gordy Ryan - djun djun
Val Serrant - steel drums
Mawuena Kodjovi - guitar
Brian Loftus - drumset
Brent Zeller - shekere
David Price - bass
Tom Little Bear Nason - MC/flute
****
ADDENDUM: Kube Traditional hats
Susan Iliyan, Feb 5, 2016
This piece features the hand crafted process of the Kube traditional hats worn predominantly by Hausa men and the intricate cleaning process required to maintain these hats which range in price depending on how long it took to make and which prominent figure it was named after. It also speaks of how the Bama Massacre affected the Kube making capital of Bama but did not bring the Industry to an end.
-snip-
Although this summary indicates that these hats are predominately worn by Hausa men, notice that Babatunde Olatunji was Yoruba and not Hausa.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Two YouTube Videos Of Baba Olatunji Drumming Fanga (with selected comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on the song "Funga Alafia".
Selected comments from these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.
Part III showcases two YouTube videos of Nigerian master drummer Babatunde Olatunji performing "Fanga".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-real-origin-of-song-funga-alafia.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I corrects widely found misinformation about the provenance (origin/source) of the song "Funga Alafia".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/three-youtube-videos-of-funga-alafia.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases some video examples of "Funga Alafia" songs and/or dances.
Selected comments from these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.
****
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural information.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Baba Olatunji for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Baba Olatunji plays Fanga
D Kern, Published on Mar 22, 2011
Baba Olatunji and the dancers and drummers from our class perform Fanga at Omega Institute in August of 1993.
-snip-
Here are selected comments from that video's discussion thread. with numbers given for referencing purposes only:
1. Aurora Baucum, 2011
"whats with the gaps of ugly sound?"
**
REPLY
D Kern, 2013
"The tape that I digitized it from had those gaps. We felt lucky that we had a record of our wonderful time there with Baba at all : )"
**
3. Prestigeroka, 2016
"I'd like to use this video as part of a research project for university, but wondered how to verify whether this is the same 'Fanga' dance pearl primus brought to America.
And also who were these dancers?, Where were they from, a regular class, troupe, social club...? Who were the teachers of the class? and .
I would love to highlight this video as its one of the rare videos containing the great Baba Olatunji accompanied by amazing dnacers, but without certain information this Beautiful video will just become another archive :(
Any help would be GREATLy appreciated x"
**
REPLY
4. Debby Kern, 2016
"Baba Olatunji was the drumming teacher. Alaliday ---- was our dance teacher. I believe they said the dance originated in Liberia. It was all the dancers who took the workshop at Omega that year. The only professional was the teacher. Lots of fun though!"
-snip-
As documented in Part I of this 2019 pancocojams series, Funga Alafia dances that have been performed in the United States are adaptations of the Vai (Liberian) Fanga dance.
****
Video #2: Babatunde African Drum Performance.
derbeno, Published on Apr 8, 2007
Babatunde Olatunji interpretation of Fanga, a Rhythm from Liberia
-snip-
Here are selected comments from that video's discussion thread. with numbers given for referencing purposes only:
1. NJtoTX, 2007
"Yay Baba, Sanga and Sikiru! I believe this is from one of Baba's teaching videos - they do it so simply. Even then, Baba could not see - he had to be led up to the drums. Aah, but once he was there..."
**
REPLY
2. Paul Skiff, 2016
"This is a great outtake from an instructional video Baba did back in the early 1990's. It's Babatunde Olatunji, for those of you unfamiliar with his music. That's the magnificent Sanga of the Valley on the right side of the screen and another of Baba's longtime collaborators Sikiru Adepoju on the left. Both also played on Planet Drum, the full length CD that won the Grammy for best World Music recording in 1991, I think it was. That recording stayed at the top of the charts longer than any other recording in its category.
**
3. TheOriginalZeke, 2008
"For those of you who are first discovering him, the great Babatunde Olatunji was credited with founding the "world music" style on his Drums of Passion album (1960). He has influenced many musicians over his career. Google or Wiki "Babatunde Olatunji" for more info."
**
4. 1oolabob, 2008
"Ashe, ashe! My spiritual grandpa doing what he does. Thanks for posting this!"
**
5. Eyemallfunkedup, 2008
"This was a special man. If only more people in the world were like Baba, the world would be a much better place. Alafia----PEACE AND LOVE TO YOU. R.I.P. Brother....
"
**
6. Christina Alava Igbinkeke, 2008
"Now we can see how the Cubans preserved the drum rhythums and where they came from"
**
7. dreadywinnie, 2009
"AMAZING! Big UP! Thanxx for this sooo grandiose Video!!
Peace & Love!"
**
8. de marco, 2010
"Amazing....
Friendship greetings
I live in Sentul, Bogor - West Java (INDONESIA)
PEACE
-snip-
This is the earliest examples of what I refer to as "nation signing in" comments that I've found (as of April 2019). There were very few other comments like this in this discussion thread. Click the nation signing in tag that is found below to read more about nation signing in comments.
**
9. Walker Foster, 2013
"But the language of the song is Yoruba, yes? Fanga Alafia..Ashe Ashe? Someone hip me, please."
-snip-
"Someone hip me, please" = "Someone please explain this to me [so that I will be "hip" (up to date with the latest information).
**
REPLY
10. Gold001, 2013
"Yeah, I know this because I'm Nigerian. I'm not Yoruba, but I go a Yoruba church. The drumming is similar to the church's drumming. Also, even the guy's name is Yoruba, and if you look at some of his performances, they're singing in the Yoruba dialect."
**
REPLY
11. Azizi Powell, 2019
"Walker Foster, the rhythm known as "Fanga" is from the Vai people of Liberia, West Africa. The words "Alafia" and "ashe" are from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. (Babatunde Olatunji was also from Nigeria, and his first and last names are also Yoruba.)
However, the song "Funga Alafia" (sometimes given as "Fanga Alafia") was composed in 1959 or 1960 by an African American drummer living in New York City named LaRocque Bey. Bey played drums with Olatunji. Notice that the tune for "Funga Alafia" is the same tune as the American song "Little Liza Jane".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-real-origin-of-song-funga-alafia.html for more information about this subject.
**
12. Moia Mc Barrow, 2015
"Can somebody tell me the names of the types of drums here?"
**
13. Paul Sidhu, 2016
"What's the name of the large barrel drum with the cowbell?"
**
REPLY
14. Paul Skiff, 2016
"There is a lot of confusion about that outside of Africa. In the U.S. you commonly hear it called the djun djun, or jun jun. It is kind of a slur on dunun which is what you would hear in a lot of west Africa. Not to be confused with dundun, which is the name of the Yoruba talking drum that is much smaller and hour glass shaped and is played with a curved stick or mallet. The djun djun is the bass drum of the ensemble."
**
15. frenelmerisier, 2016
"this is ok. ..but haitian drumming is way better"
**
REPLY
16. little mix, 2016
"and where did haitian drumming come from? i'll wait"
**
REPLY
17. smiling coast Bah, 2016
"Haha, good point !!!! Blesss."
**
REPLY
18. Kate B., 2017
"little mix I swear people in the Caribbean and America keep forgetting..."
**
19. Moccio VooDoo, 2018
"It's so similar with jamaican nyabinghi"
****
This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on the song "Funga Alafia".
Selected comments from these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.
Part III showcases two YouTube videos of Nigerian master drummer Babatunde Olatunji performing "Fanga".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-real-origin-of-song-funga-alafia.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I corrects widely found misinformation about the provenance (origin/source) of the song "Funga Alafia".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/three-youtube-videos-of-funga-alafia.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases some video examples of "Funga Alafia" songs and/or dances.
Selected comments from these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.
****
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural information.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Baba Olatunji for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Baba Olatunji plays Fanga
D Kern, Published on Mar 22, 2011
Baba Olatunji and the dancers and drummers from our class perform Fanga at Omega Institute in August of 1993.
-snip-
Here are selected comments from that video's discussion thread. with numbers given for referencing purposes only:
1. Aurora Baucum, 2011
"whats with the gaps of ugly sound?"
**
REPLY
D Kern, 2013
"The tape that I digitized it from had those gaps. We felt lucky that we had a record of our wonderful time there with Baba at all : )"
**
3. Prestigeroka, 2016
"I'd like to use this video as part of a research project for university, but wondered how to verify whether this is the same 'Fanga' dance pearl primus brought to America.
And also who were these dancers?, Where were they from, a regular class, troupe, social club...? Who were the teachers of the class? and .
I would love to highlight this video as its one of the rare videos containing the great Baba Olatunji accompanied by amazing dnacers, but without certain information this Beautiful video will just become another archive :(
Any help would be GREATLy appreciated x"
**
REPLY
4. Debby Kern, 2016
"Baba Olatunji was the drumming teacher. Alaliday ---- was our dance teacher. I believe they said the dance originated in Liberia. It was all the dancers who took the workshop at Omega that year. The only professional was the teacher. Lots of fun though!"
-snip-
As documented in Part I of this 2019 pancocojams series, Funga Alafia dances that have been performed in the United States are adaptations of the Vai (Liberian) Fanga dance.
****
Video #2: Babatunde African Drum Performance.
derbeno, Published on Apr 8, 2007
Babatunde Olatunji interpretation of Fanga, a Rhythm from Liberia
-snip-
Here are selected comments from that video's discussion thread. with numbers given for referencing purposes only:
1. NJtoTX, 2007
"Yay Baba, Sanga and Sikiru! I believe this is from one of Baba's teaching videos - they do it so simply. Even then, Baba could not see - he had to be led up to the drums. Aah, but once he was there..."
**
REPLY
2. Paul Skiff, 2016
"This is a great outtake from an instructional video Baba did back in the early 1990's. It's Babatunde Olatunji, for those of you unfamiliar with his music. That's the magnificent Sanga of the Valley on the right side of the screen and another of Baba's longtime collaborators Sikiru Adepoju on the left. Both also played on Planet Drum, the full length CD that won the Grammy for best World Music recording in 1991, I think it was. That recording stayed at the top of the charts longer than any other recording in its category.
**
3. TheOriginalZeke, 2008
"For those of you who are first discovering him, the great Babatunde Olatunji was credited with founding the "world music" style on his Drums of Passion album (1960). He has influenced many musicians over his career. Google or Wiki "Babatunde Olatunji" for more info."
**
4. 1oolabob, 2008
"Ashe, ashe! My spiritual grandpa doing what he does. Thanks for posting this!"
**
5. Eyemallfunkedup, 2008
"This was a special man. If only more people in the world were like Baba, the world would be a much better place. Alafia----PEACE AND LOVE TO YOU. R.I.P. Brother....
"
**
6. Christina Alava Igbinkeke, 2008
"Now we can see how the Cubans preserved the drum rhythums and where they came from"
**
7. dreadywinnie, 2009
"AMAZING! Big UP! Thanxx for this sooo grandiose Video!!
Peace & Love!"
**
8. de marco, 2010
"Amazing....
Friendship greetings
I live in Sentul, Bogor - West Java (INDONESIA)
PEACE
-snip-
This is the earliest examples of what I refer to as "nation signing in" comments that I've found (as of April 2019). There were very few other comments like this in this discussion thread. Click the nation signing in tag that is found below to read more about nation signing in comments.
**
9. Walker Foster, 2013
"But the language of the song is Yoruba, yes? Fanga Alafia..Ashe Ashe? Someone hip me, please."
-snip-
"Someone hip me, please" = "Someone please explain this to me [so that I will be "hip" (up to date with the latest information).
**
REPLY
10. Gold001, 2013
"Yeah, I know this because I'm Nigerian. I'm not Yoruba, but I go a Yoruba church. The drumming is similar to the church's drumming. Also, even the guy's name is Yoruba, and if you look at some of his performances, they're singing in the Yoruba dialect."
**
REPLY
11. Azizi Powell, 2019
"Walker Foster, the rhythm known as "Fanga" is from the Vai people of Liberia, West Africa. The words "Alafia" and "ashe" are from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. (Babatunde Olatunji was also from Nigeria, and his first and last names are also Yoruba.)
However, the song "Funga Alafia" (sometimes given as "Fanga Alafia") was composed in 1959 or 1960 by an African American drummer living in New York City named LaRocque Bey. Bey played drums with Olatunji. Notice that the tune for "Funga Alafia" is the same tune as the American song "Little Liza Jane".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-real-origin-of-song-funga-alafia.html for more information about this subject.
**
12. Moia Mc Barrow, 2015
"Can somebody tell me the names of the types of drums here?"
**
13. Paul Sidhu, 2016
"What's the name of the large barrel drum with the cowbell?"
**
REPLY
14. Paul Skiff, 2016
"There is a lot of confusion about that outside of Africa. In the U.S. you commonly hear it called the djun djun, or jun jun. It is kind of a slur on dunun which is what you would hear in a lot of west Africa. Not to be confused with dundun, which is the name of the Yoruba talking drum that is much smaller and hour glass shaped and is played with a curved stick or mallet. The djun djun is the bass drum of the ensemble."
**
15. frenelmerisier, 2016
"this is ok. ..but haitian drumming is way better"
**
REPLY
16. little mix, 2016
"and where did haitian drumming come from? i'll wait"
**
REPLY
17. smiling coast Bah, 2016
"Haha, good point !!!! Blesss."
**
REPLY
18. Kate B., 2017
"little mix I swear people in the Caribbean and America keep forgetting..."
**
19. Moccio VooDoo, 2018
"It's so similar with jamaican nyabinghi"
****
This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Roaring Lion - African War Call (Calypso sound file & lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases the early Calypso song "African War Call" by Roaring Lion. Information about Roaring Lion & lyrics for that 1939 song are also included in this post. This post also includes information about Roaring Lion as well as brief information & comments about that song, with particular focus on the orisas [orishas] that are mentioned in that song.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ROARING LION
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Lion
"Roaring Lion (22 February 1908 – 11 July 1999)[2] was a calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), "Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", which are still performed today. The song "If You Wanna Be Happy", which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 18 May 1963, as well as the R&B singles chart,[3] is based on Roaring Lion's "Ugly Woman".
From a young age, Roaring Lion (de Leon's adopted stage name) became known for his skill in creating calypsos (particularly in his ability to extemporize lyrics on any subject). Contrary to his humble origins, he cultivated a refined stage persona and always appeared sharply dressed. His career officially began in 1924; he cut his first sides in his late teens. He recorded extensively between the 1930s and 1950s, and was one of the calypsonians who deserves the most credit for the increasing international popularity of the genre during this period...
Roaring Lion achieved fame for his linguistic prowess as much as for his catchy tunes. His lyrics, delivered in rapid-fire style, show an impeccable command of the English language (as well as Trinidadian slang), and are replete with witty turns of phrase, humorous metaphors, and clever alliteration and internal rhymes. Of all the early calypsonians, he was by far the most scandalous, with the most banned songs by a large margin.
Early life
Lion was born Rafael de Leon in Aroquita, in the Caura Hills of northern Trinidad, to a mother named Basalicion de Leon and a father named Arias Cairi Llama. An illegitimate child, Lion spent some of his earliest years in two orphanages, before being taken in, following his mother's illness, by an elderly woman named Miss Charles who lived on Coffee Street in the southwestern city of San Fernando.a Finally, he was presented by Charles to a Muslim Indian family in San Fernando who wanted him; he was adopted by Najeeran Khan, who became his adoptive mother. He championed orphanages throughout his career, with songs such as 1940s "Orphan home", for example.
Although there has long been confusion about his full name, he himself gave it as Rafael Arias Cairi Llama de Leon.b He later met his biological father, who told him that his name, Cairi, was another name for Trinidad,c and that "Llama" is a sort of goat or deer from South America. In a 1990 interview, Roaring Lion stated that "from fear that I might be styled a thief, I only use Rafael Deleon."de[4]"...
****
FEATURED SOUND FILE: the lion- african war call
cvbagva, Published on Jan 2, 2011
-snip-
The YouTube sound file that was originally embedded in this post is no longer available [as of at least September 13, 2018]. Here's the summary that was published for that sound file: shango-related calypso recorded jan 1939 and one of the "war" calypsos of the time...essentially challenges to rival calypsonians by means of lyrical dexterity
****
LYRICS: AFRICAN WAR CALL
(Roaring Lion, 1938)
La da de da da de da da dum-a
Ah de de da da de de da de dum
La da da da de de da da da
Ah de de da de la da de da Aja ju oku ro
(Calling the god Ajaja, "Saint Jonaj," who lives in the sea: "Ajaja, my friend")
Yea, aku ro sho aku ro sho
(emphatically requesting Ajaaja to mount a devotee)
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Yea, aku ro sho
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Eh ku ro sho aku ro sho
Ajaja oku ro
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o !
(This call signals the mounting or posession of a dancer by a spirit or god. In this song, a call to several gods, there are several mountings)
All- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Ku ro sho aku ro sho
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
All- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Yea, aku ro sho aca 'bailar-oh
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Oku ro
Chorus- Oh-ro kuro ba' me (Oro is a god, a follower of the Ifa god of Medicine and Divination; a possible translation is that the devotee is asking the god Oro to leave but the god stops his request.)
Lion- Oku ro
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Lion- Vayase di-yeah
(good bye to the god that has possessed a devotee)
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Lion- Son abatala
(son of Abatala; e.g., the person devoted to Abatala and whom is possessed in the dance by Abatala)
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Lion- Yea oku ro
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Lion- Emanja
(or Yemanja, Saint Anne, Oshun's sister, a river goddess)
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- 'Batala
Chorus- oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Ajaja
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Sababa !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Lion- Oh ku-ro
Chorus- oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Sababo !
Lion- Vayese di-yeah
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Yea a new-war-e [?]
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Son Ah-p[v]a-lo-pa
Chorus- oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Son ah-gu-ro
(The person mounted by Ahguro dancers)
Chorus- Oh-ro ko-ro ba me
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Lion- Eh! A gu ro
All- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
(Drums)
Lion- Eh! A gu ro
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me.
Lion's version of a Shango song that calls forth several gods who
in turn mount, or possess individual dancers.
Atila the Hun, the scholar-politician-calypsonian of this era, called the part of the song sung to the god Ajaja the "first calypso."
From insert, Calypso Calaloo, Early Carnival Music in Trinidad.
Reference to this era- Donald R. Hill, 1993, Calypso Calaloo: Early Carnival Music in Trinidad.
Posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138380"Songs from Trinidad" by Q, 16 Jun 11 - 02:16 PM
****
EDITOR'S COMMENT
In 2011 I posted three comments about Roaring Lion's African War Call on that same Mudcat thread whose link is given above. Those comments provided brief descriptions & links to more information about the Yoruba [actually Lucumi or Candomble] orisas [orishas] whose names are mentioned in that song. Here's the link to the first of those comments: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138380#3171672. My other comments about that song were posted at 16 Jun 11 - 09:49 PM and 16 Jun 11 - 10:01 PM. Also read Q's response to my first comment.
Among the points that I made in that first comment was that, although that song is entitled "African War Call", and the song's lyrics mentioned a number of orisa, it didn't mention Ogun, the Yoruba orisa of iron, and therefore of war. I therefore concluded that the title of that song was chosen for marketing purposes since the song didn't have anything to do with war. I rescind most of that portion of my comment as I failed to recognize that the war whoops which are heard periodically in that song might be considered to be imitative of stereotypical "African war calls". Those war whoops also sound like stereotypical American Indian war calls.
Also, in that linked comment I admitted that I was unsure about the orisa "Aja" who was mentioned in that song, and I wondered if that orisa was the same as "Ajaja", which is the title of a song performed by the Nigerian percussionist Oluntunji & his group. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51O2ymTtsR8 for a video of that song.
Since then I've found this information about "Ajaja":
From http://www.olorishas.com/#!erinle--olokun/c1qxd
"Erinle is a hunter orisha. He is the patron deity of Ilobu, an Ijesha town located in south western Nigeria. Ilobu lies along the Erinlè River, a tributary of the Oshun River, on the road from Ogbomosho to Oshogbo. Ilobu is known as a trade centre for the yams, corn, cassava, oil palms, pumpkins, beans, and okra grown in the region.
There are many variations on this orisha's name, he is known as Eyinle in Egbado, Erinle in Ilobu and Enlè in Okuku. In Cuba and Trinidad he is known as Inlè or Erinle 'Ajaja'.* Ajaja is an honorific title meaning 'He who eats dog' and is punned as Àjàjà 'The ferocious one' (Warner Lewis, 1994.) In Brazil, Candomblé Ketu, he is known as Inle or Òxóssi Ibualama.
"Erinle" etymologically means 'elephant (Erin) in (ni) the-earth' (ilè) or 'land-elephant' in standard Yoruba. Erinle is a hunter, healer/herbalist and animal husbander. He has close ties with many orisha, especially Yemaya, Oshun, Oshosi, Ogun, Osain, Oba and Otin.
Inle is an orisha of wealth and prosperity. He bestows abundance to his worshippers and is propitiated in times of sickness and for fertility. Erinle works with Osain, Asohano, Yemaya and Oshun in order to provide medicie for the mind and body and nourishment for the soul. Inle is both telepath and adept diviner. He learned Odu from Orunmila and Yemaya. Inle is both telepath and adept diviner. Abatan accompanies Inle, activating and administering compounds and cures to patients under their care."
*Italics added to highlight that sentence.
-snip-
I leave it to the reader to suss out whether the comment given about the lyrics to Roaring Lion's song that "(Calling the god Ajaja, "Saint Jonaj," who lives in the sea: "Ajaja, my friend")
is accurate. Or maybe that descriptor is a result of the Lucumi syncretism since Oku [Olokun] is the orisa of the oceans [Olo=owner + Okun= oceans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olokun.
****
Thanks to Roaring Lion for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who I quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of that sound file on YouTube.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases the early Calypso song "African War Call" by Roaring Lion. Information about Roaring Lion & lyrics for that 1939 song are also included in this post. This post also includes information about Roaring Lion as well as brief information & comments about that song, with particular focus on the orisas [orishas] that are mentioned in that song.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ROARING LION
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Lion
"Roaring Lion (22 February 1908 – 11 July 1999)[2] was a calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), "Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", which are still performed today. The song "If You Wanna Be Happy", which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 18 May 1963, as well as the R&B singles chart,[3] is based on Roaring Lion's "Ugly Woman".
From a young age, Roaring Lion (de Leon's adopted stage name) became known for his skill in creating calypsos (particularly in his ability to extemporize lyrics on any subject). Contrary to his humble origins, he cultivated a refined stage persona and always appeared sharply dressed. His career officially began in 1924; he cut his first sides in his late teens. He recorded extensively between the 1930s and 1950s, and was one of the calypsonians who deserves the most credit for the increasing international popularity of the genre during this period...
Roaring Lion achieved fame for his linguistic prowess as much as for his catchy tunes. His lyrics, delivered in rapid-fire style, show an impeccable command of the English language (as well as Trinidadian slang), and are replete with witty turns of phrase, humorous metaphors, and clever alliteration and internal rhymes. Of all the early calypsonians, he was by far the most scandalous, with the most banned songs by a large margin.
Early life
Lion was born Rafael de Leon in Aroquita, in the Caura Hills of northern Trinidad, to a mother named Basalicion de Leon and a father named Arias Cairi Llama. An illegitimate child, Lion spent some of his earliest years in two orphanages, before being taken in, following his mother's illness, by an elderly woman named Miss Charles who lived on Coffee Street in the southwestern city of San Fernando.a Finally, he was presented by Charles to a Muslim Indian family in San Fernando who wanted him; he was adopted by Najeeran Khan, who became his adoptive mother. He championed orphanages throughout his career, with songs such as 1940s "Orphan home", for example.
Although there has long been confusion about his full name, he himself gave it as Rafael Arias Cairi Llama de Leon.b He later met his biological father, who told him that his name, Cairi, was another name for Trinidad,c and that "Llama" is a sort of goat or deer from South America. In a 1990 interview, Roaring Lion stated that "from fear that I might be styled a thief, I only use Rafael Deleon."de[4]"...
****
FEATURED SOUND FILE: the lion- african war call
cvbagva, Published on Jan 2, 2011
-snip-
The YouTube sound file that was originally embedded in this post is no longer available [as of at least September 13, 2018]. Here's the summary that was published for that sound file: shango-related calypso recorded jan 1939 and one of the "war" calypsos of the time...essentially challenges to rival calypsonians by means of lyrical dexterity
****
LYRICS: AFRICAN WAR CALL
(Roaring Lion, 1938)
La da de da da de da da dum-a
Ah de de da da de de da de dum
La da da da de de da da da
Ah de de da de la da de da Aja ju oku ro
(Calling the god Ajaja, "Saint Jonaj," who lives in the sea: "Ajaja, my friend")
Yea, aku ro sho aku ro sho
(emphatically requesting Ajaaja to mount a devotee)
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Yea, aku ro sho
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Eh ku ro sho aku ro sho
Ajaja oku ro
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o !
(This call signals the mounting or posession of a dancer by a spirit or god. In this song, a call to several gods, there are several mountings)
All- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Ku ro sho aku ro sho
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
All- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Yea, aku ro sho aca 'bailar-oh
Chorus- Ajaja oku ro
Lion- Oku ro
Chorus- Oh-ro kuro ba' me (Oro is a god, a follower of the Ifa god of Medicine and Divination; a possible translation is that the devotee is asking the god Oro to leave but the god stops his request.)
Lion- Oku ro
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Lion- Vayase di-yeah
(good bye to the god that has possessed a devotee)
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Lion- Son abatala
(son of Abatala; e.g., the person devoted to Abatala and whom is possessed in the dance by Abatala)
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Lion- Yea oku ro
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba' me
Lion- Emanja
(or Yemanja, Saint Anne, Oshun's sister, a river goddess)
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- 'Batala
Chorus- oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Ajaja
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Sababa !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Lion- Oh ku-ro
Chorus- oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Sababo !
Lion- Vayese di-yeah
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Yea a new-war-e [?]
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Son Ah-p[v]a-lo-pa
Chorus- oh-ro ku-ro ba me
Lion- Son ah-gu-ro
(The person mounted by Ahguro dancers)
Chorus- Oh-ro ko-ro ba me
Sababo !
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Lion- Eh! A gu ro
All- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me
(Drums)
Lion- Eh! A gu ro
Chorus- Oh-ro ku-ro ba me.
Lion's version of a Shango song that calls forth several gods who
in turn mount, or possess individual dancers.
Atila the Hun, the scholar-politician-calypsonian of this era, called the part of the song sung to the god Ajaja the "first calypso."
From insert, Calypso Calaloo, Early Carnival Music in Trinidad.
Reference to this era- Donald R. Hill, 1993, Calypso Calaloo: Early Carnival Music in Trinidad.
Posted on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138380"Songs from Trinidad" by Q, 16 Jun 11 - 02:16 PM
****
EDITOR'S COMMENT
In 2011 I posted three comments about Roaring Lion's African War Call on that same Mudcat thread whose link is given above. Those comments provided brief descriptions & links to more information about the Yoruba [actually Lucumi or Candomble] orisas [orishas] whose names are mentioned in that song. Here's the link to the first of those comments: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138380#3171672. My other comments about that song were posted at 16 Jun 11 - 09:49 PM and 16 Jun 11 - 10:01 PM. Also read Q's response to my first comment.
Among the points that I made in that first comment was that, although that song is entitled "African War Call", and the song's lyrics mentioned a number of orisa, it didn't mention Ogun, the Yoruba orisa of iron, and therefore of war. I therefore concluded that the title of that song was chosen for marketing purposes since the song didn't have anything to do with war. I rescind most of that portion of my comment as I failed to recognize that the war whoops which are heard periodically in that song might be considered to be imitative of stereotypical "African war calls". Those war whoops also sound like stereotypical American Indian war calls.
Also, in that linked comment I admitted that I was unsure about the orisa "Aja" who was mentioned in that song, and I wondered if that orisa was the same as "Ajaja", which is the title of a song performed by the Nigerian percussionist Oluntunji & his group. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51O2ymTtsR8 for a video of that song.
Since then I've found this information about "Ajaja":
From http://www.olorishas.com/#!erinle--olokun/c1qxd
"Erinle is a hunter orisha. He is the patron deity of Ilobu, an Ijesha town located in south western Nigeria. Ilobu lies along the Erinlè River, a tributary of the Oshun River, on the road from Ogbomosho to Oshogbo. Ilobu is known as a trade centre for the yams, corn, cassava, oil palms, pumpkins, beans, and okra grown in the region.
There are many variations on this orisha's name, he is known as Eyinle in Egbado, Erinle in Ilobu and Enlè in Okuku. In Cuba and Trinidad he is known as Inlè or Erinle 'Ajaja'.* Ajaja is an honorific title meaning 'He who eats dog' and is punned as Àjàjà 'The ferocious one' (Warner Lewis, 1994.) In Brazil, Candomblé Ketu, he is known as Inle or Òxóssi Ibualama.
"Erinle" etymologically means 'elephant (Erin) in (ni) the-earth' (ilè) or 'land-elephant' in standard Yoruba. Erinle is a hunter, healer/herbalist and animal husbander. He has close ties with many orisha, especially Yemaya, Oshun, Oshosi, Ogun, Osain, Oba and Otin.
Inle is an orisha of wealth and prosperity. He bestows abundance to his worshippers and is propitiated in times of sickness and for fertility. Erinle works with Osain, Asohano, Yemaya and Oshun in order to provide medicie for the mind and body and nourishment for the soul. Inle is both telepath and adept diviner. He learned Odu from Orunmila and Yemaya. Inle is both telepath and adept diviner. Abatan accompanies Inle, activating and administering compounds and cures to patients under their care."
*Italics added to highlight that sentence.
-snip-
I leave it to the reader to suss out whether the comment given about the lyrics to Roaring Lion's song that "(Calling the god Ajaja, "Saint Jonaj," who lives in the sea: "Ajaja, my friend")
is accurate. Or maybe that descriptor is a result of the Lucumi syncretism since Oku [Olokun] is the orisa of the oceans [Olo=owner + Okun= oceans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olokun.
****
Thanks to Roaring Lion for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who I quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of that sound file on YouTube.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Made Up YouTube User Names On Two Olatunji Comment Threads
Edited by Azizi Powell
Revised February 16, 2016 [with the link and references to my no longer active Cocojams website removed]
This post showcases two video performances of Babatunde Olatunji. Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist and recording artist. Information about Babatunji Olatunji can be found by clicking this link to his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Olatunji.
This is a companian piece to this pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/youtube-user-names-that-refer-to-race.html YouTube User Names That Refer To Race, Skin Color, Ethnicity, Or Nationality
All of those posts focus on examples of user names that are found in the viewer comment threads of those featured video/s. By "made up names" I mean a name other than a person's first name & last name, or a person's first name, middle initial, and last name, or a person's first name & the initial of his or her last name. Those names are often referred to as a person's "full name" or a person's "real name". In this context, a person's first name could also be a nickname that is derived from that first name.
I'm interested in documenting types of made up user names on YouTube comment threads because I believe that a review of those types of names can be of folkloric & sociological value. That documentation is of particular urgency because, since June 2012, YouTube has tried to convince its commenters & its video uploaders to switch to the use of their "real names". And it appears that many people have done so.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS, SELECTED USER NAMES & COMMENTS
This isn't meant to be a complete listing of all of the made up user names on these videos' viewer comment threads. However, I believe that these featured user names are representative of the types of user names that are found on those particular comment threads. I also believe that these examples are representative of many of the types of user names that are currently found throughout the internet.
My failure to include any user name in this post should not be construed to mean that I didn't like those names or didn't approve of those comments.
To further enrich this reading experience, I've included the featured comment made by these selected bloggers on those videos' discussion threads.
WARNING: YouTube comment threads often contain profanity, racist, homophobic, sexually explicit, sexist, and violent language. None of those comments are included in this compilation.
These user name examples are placed in chronological order with the oldest comments posted first, except for any response to a comment. The user names for a particular year are placed under that year.
Example #1: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Ajaja
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Uploaded on Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform at a New Years Eve Concert in 1986 opening for The Grateful Dead. Concert intro song Ajaja.
-snip-
User Names & Comments from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51O2ymTtsR8
[Total Comments as of 10:00 am EST 3/4/2013 - 29]
[2008]
richardolatunde
"great seeing this!"
[This user name might be the blogger's real name or it might be a user name that was selected in homage to Babatunde Olatunji. "Olatunde" is a traditional Yoruba name. To figure out that name's meaning, read my comment below.]
**
kamaliyah
Ashe'!!!!!
[Ashe, "Ase"; "Ase o" can be translated to English to mean “Power”.]
**
[2009]
THEKINKS08
"yeah, reminds me his The Who's introduction in Tanglewood, Massachutes."
**
[2010/2011]
sunmanpatoo
"as we call upon the spirit of the ancestors"
Reply:
NativeToungue77
"ase o"
**
[2012]
flavorina,
ATUNDAY PLEASE
[This comment is a request for Olatunji's song "Odunde".]
**
memacken8
"absolutely beautiful. respect for sharing the sacred with all.
just want to dance now :)
om śānti śānti śānti"
**
drdreadfullyawesome pp
"KSI's DAD!!!"
Reply
confusedduckling
"I SEAD THAT GEORGE"
**
[2013]
Cosmosthemonster
"Blu Phi!"
[This is the signature call for members of the historically Black Greek lettered fraternity Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. My guess is that this comment was written because the blogger saw the blue & white colors of a drummer's top and a dancer's cloth wrap; "Royal blue and Pure white" are the colors for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.]
****
Example #2: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Odunde
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Uploaded on Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform at a New Years Eve Concert in 1986 opening for The Grateful Dead. Concert intro song Ajaja.
-snip-
This is from Olatunji’s performance at a Grateful Dead concert.
In his introductory remarks for this song, Baba Olatunji described “Odunde” as a harvest song & dance
-snip-
User Names & Comments from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51O2ymTtsR8
[Total Comments as of 10:30 am EST 3/4/2013 - 26]
[2008]
Anikulapo2
"As the second commentor, I should very much like to ask: Do I see among the players the Right Honoralbe Trevor Huddleston from South Afrika? Please let me know as soon as possible as I so marvel to see the greats praising the Holy Spirit! Trevor played with Hugh Masekela, Mama Miriam Makeba; and all brought Us into a new consciousness. Yetha Moya, Oyingwele! Oh Moya Wami!"
**
[2009]
kx9x
"I had an audience recording of this performance when I just started trading Dead tapes; I played the hell out of this recording. 8 months later I was in a West African drumming class led by a master drummer from Ghana. I got to see Olatunji as part of hte Planet Drum tour in 1991; they had to carry him on and off the stage, but MAN ,what a presence. Though I never met him, Olatunji changed my life with this performance."
**
[2010]
TheReptilum
"i love AFRICA,is it mother of humans."
**
[2012]
leaflight44
"Blessings on Baba where ever he is!"
**
BuyWagDrummer
"Just incredible"
**
Tigerlin7
"I saw him at the wetlands perserved right after Jerry Garcia Died and he deadicated the show to Jerry and all the deadheads. IT WAS AMAZING
:D"
**
atomotma
"There's no doubt. Baba was the very best"
**
Sawthemdance
"such spiritual greatness!"
**
MotherLioness17
"Awesome!!!!!"
****
ACKNOWLEGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to Babatunde Olatunji for his musical legacy. My thanks to all of the musicians, vocalists, and dancers who are featured on these videos. My thanks also to all of the commenters whose user names & comments are featured in this postThanks also to BabaOlatunjiMusic, the uploader of both of these videos.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Revised February 16, 2016 [with the link and references to my no longer active Cocojams website removed]
This post showcases two video performances of Babatunde Olatunji. Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist and recording artist. Information about Babatunji Olatunji can be found by clicking this link to his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Olatunji.
This is a companian piece to this pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/youtube-user-names-that-refer-to-race.html YouTube User Names That Refer To Race, Skin Color, Ethnicity, Or Nationality
All of those posts focus on examples of user names that are found in the viewer comment threads of those featured video/s. By "made up names" I mean a name other than a person's first name & last name, or a person's first name, middle initial, and last name, or a person's first name & the initial of his or her last name. Those names are often referred to as a person's "full name" or a person's "real name". In this context, a person's first name could also be a nickname that is derived from that first name.
I'm interested in documenting types of made up user names on YouTube comment threads because I believe that a review of those types of names can be of folkloric & sociological value. That documentation is of particular urgency because, since June 2012, YouTube has tried to convince its commenters & its video uploaders to switch to the use of their "real names". And it appears that many people have done so.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS, SELECTED USER NAMES & COMMENTS
This isn't meant to be a complete listing of all of the made up user names on these videos' viewer comment threads. However, I believe that these featured user names are representative of the types of user names that are found on those particular comment threads. I also believe that these examples are representative of many of the types of user names that are currently found throughout the internet.
My failure to include any user name in this post should not be construed to mean that I didn't like those names or didn't approve of those comments.
To further enrich this reading experience, I've included the featured comment made by these selected bloggers on those videos' discussion threads.
WARNING: YouTube comment threads often contain profanity, racist, homophobic, sexually explicit, sexist, and violent language. None of those comments are included in this compilation.
These user name examples are placed in chronological order with the oldest comments posted first, except for any response to a comment. The user names for a particular year are placed under that year.
Example #1: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Ajaja
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Uploaded on Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform at a New Years Eve Concert in 1986 opening for The Grateful Dead. Concert intro song Ajaja.
-snip-
User Names & Comments from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51O2ymTtsR8
[Total Comments as of 10:00 am EST 3/4/2013 - 29]
[2008]
richardolatunde
"great seeing this!"
[This user name might be the blogger's real name or it might be a user name that was selected in homage to Babatunde Olatunji. "Olatunde" is a traditional Yoruba name. To figure out that name's meaning, read my comment below.]
**
kamaliyah
Ashe'!!!!!
[Ashe, "Ase"; "Ase o" can be translated to English to mean “Power”.]
**
[2009]
THEKINKS08
"yeah, reminds me his The Who's introduction in Tanglewood, Massachutes."
**
[2010/2011]
sunmanpatoo
"as we call upon the spirit of the ancestors"
Reply:
NativeToungue77
"ase o"
**
[2012]
flavorina,
ATUNDAY PLEASE
[This comment is a request for Olatunji's song "Odunde".]
**
memacken8
"absolutely beautiful. respect for sharing the sacred with all.
just want to dance now :)
om śānti śānti śānti"
**
drdreadfullyawesome pp
"KSI's DAD!!!"
Reply
confusedduckling
"I SEAD THAT GEORGE"
**
[2013]
Cosmosthemonster
"Blu Phi!"
[This is the signature call for members of the historically Black Greek lettered fraternity Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. My guess is that this comment was written because the blogger saw the blue & white colors of a drummer's top and a dancer's cloth wrap; "Royal blue and Pure white" are the colors for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.]
****
Example #2: Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion- Odunde
BabaOlatunjiMusic, Uploaded on Jul 17, 2008
Baba Olatunji & his Drums of Passion perform at a New Years Eve Concert in 1986 opening for The Grateful Dead. Concert intro song Ajaja.
-snip-
This is from Olatunji’s performance at a Grateful Dead concert.
In his introductory remarks for this song, Baba Olatunji described “Odunde” as a harvest song & dance
-snip-
User Names & Comments from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51O2ymTtsR8
[Total Comments as of 10:30 am EST 3/4/2013 - 26]
[2008]
Anikulapo2
"As the second commentor, I should very much like to ask: Do I see among the players the Right Honoralbe Trevor Huddleston from South Afrika? Please let me know as soon as possible as I so marvel to see the greats praising the Holy Spirit! Trevor played with Hugh Masekela, Mama Miriam Makeba; and all brought Us into a new consciousness. Yetha Moya, Oyingwele! Oh Moya Wami!"
**
[2009]
kx9x
"I had an audience recording of this performance when I just started trading Dead tapes; I played the hell out of this recording. 8 months later I was in a West African drumming class led by a master drummer from Ghana. I got to see Olatunji as part of hte Planet Drum tour in 1991; they had to carry him on and off the stage, but MAN ,what a presence. Though I never met him, Olatunji changed my life with this performance."
**
[2010]
TheReptilum
"i love AFRICA,is it mother of humans."
**
[2012]
leaflight44
"Blessings on Baba where ever he is!"
**
BuyWagDrummer
"Just incredible"
**
Tigerlin7
"I saw him at the wetlands perserved right after Jerry Garcia Died and he deadicated the show to Jerry and all the deadheads. IT WAS AMAZING
:D"
**
atomotma
"There's no doubt. Baba was the very best"
**
Sawthemdance
"such spiritual greatness!"
**
MotherLioness17
"Awesome!!!!!"
****
ACKNOWLEGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to Babatunde Olatunji for his musical legacy. My thanks to all of the musicians, vocalists, and dancers who are featured on these videos. My thanks also to all of the commenters whose user names & comments are featured in this postThanks also to BabaOlatunjiMusic, the uploader of both of these videos.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Friday, November 11, 2011
The Funga Alafia Song - Part 1
Written by Azizi Powell
Latest revision - April 7, 2026
This is the first post in a three part pancocojams series on the "Funga Alafia" song and the Funga (Fanga) dance. Part #1 in this series focuses on the history of the Fanga dance and the "Funga Alafia" song.
Part 2 of this series provides text versions of the "Funga Alafia" song/chant, including information about the meanings of the Yoruba words in an early version of that song/chant. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/funga-alafia-fanga-song-part-2-lyrics.html for that post.
Part 3 in this series showcases seven selected YouTube videos of the Funga (Fanga) song and/or dance. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/the-funga-alafia-fanga-song-part-3.html for that post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to LaRocque Bey, the composer of "Funga Alafia". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
THE FUNGA ALAFIA (FANGA) RHYTHM AND SONG
"Funga" (more accurately "Fanga") is a traditional Liberian rhythm & dance. "Funga Alafia" is a song which was composed by an African American to be sung while performing (usually non-traditional) versions that African rhythm and dance.
The word "funga" is a folk etymology version of the word "fanga". Although the term "funga alafia" is less authentic than "fanga alafia", I usually use the title "Funga Alafia". I do so partly because that's the title I'm most familar with, and also because that title is the one that appears to be most often used for that song.
and appears to have been the title used by that song's composer, African American dancer, choreographer
LaRocque Bey.
"Funga" is usually pronounced "fun-gah" or "foon-gah". The word "fanga" is pronounced "fahn-gah".
THE ORIGIN OF THE FANGA RHYTHM & DANCE
The Fanga rhythm and dance is traditional to the Vai people of Liberia. The rhythm is played and the dance is performed as an evocation to the earth and the sky (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/biographies/primus.html" [website no longer available April 2019]
The first person to introduce the Fanga drum rhythm & drum to the United States may have been Asadata Dafor.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asadata_Dafora
"Asadata Dafora Hortan (August 4, 1890 – March 4, 1965) widely known as Asadata Dafora was a Sierra Leonean multidisciplinary musician. He was one of the first Africans to introduce African drumming music to the United States, beginning in the early 1930s...
In 1929 Asadata Dafora journeyed to New York City to try and pursue his career as a musician. He was then 39 years old...
Dafora was a multifaceted artist, talented in opera and concert singing, dancing, choreographing and composing. In 1934, Dafora created Kykunkor (The Witch Woman), a successful musical/drama production utilizing authentic African music and dance and is considered one of the pioneers of black dance in America.
He also co-authored a radio play with Orson Welles entitled "Trangama-Fanga" [in 1941]."
Sierra Leone borders Liberia, and some members of Assata Dafor's dance company were from Liberia. It's therefore likely that Dafor would have known the Fanga rhythm and dance. In her PhD dissertation, dance historian Marcia Heard indicates that Asadata Dafor was the first person to introduce the Fanga dance to the United States, and he called that dance "Fugale". Furthermore, multi-instrumentalists, writer, and educator Sule Greg Wilson, who drummed with Babatunde Olatunji, asserts that Assata Dafor was the first person to introduce Fanga to the United States. (I'll write more about Olatunji later in this post).
A source for this assertion about Olatunji is http://books.google.com/books?id=DbsxMmONyIsC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=the+dance+claimed+me+primus+and+olatunji+fanga&source=bl&ots=xPGkQ1bvHR&sig=SCiHLpjgsBfklV8KBBBBVPgiAYw&hl=en&ei=uBi9To_jCsPl0QGz2ei5BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false; page 89; hereafter referred to as "Schwartz: Pearl Primus Biography".
But it's Pearl Primus and not Asadata Dafor who is usually cited as being the first person to bring Fanga dance to the United States.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Primus:
"Pearl Primus (November 29, 1919, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – October 29, 1994) was a dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences.
Primus was born in Trinidad in 1919 to Edward and Emily (Jackson) Primus... When Pearl Primus was two years old she, with her two brothers were brought to New York City where they were reared...
Primus and the late Percival Borde, her husband and partner, ...taught African dance artists how to make their indigenous dances theatrically entertaining and acceptable to the western world."...
From http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/black-dance/:
"[Pearl Primus] was born in Trinidad before her parents immigrated to Harlem in 1919. She worked at the New Dance Group Studios which was one of few places where black dancers could train alongside whites. She went on to study for a PhD and did research on dance in Africa. Her most famous dance was the Fanga, an African dance of welcome which introduced traditional African dance to the stage."
From The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography Of Pearl Primus by Peggy Schwartz & Murray Schwartz:
""Fanga" was central to Pearl's school, her performances, and her lectures. A dance of welcome that she brought back from her first trip to Liberia it was probably a variation of a traditional dance that she continued to change over the decade." [page 88]
-snip-
Pearl Primus' Fanga dance was picked up by other African dance companies in the United States and was reconstructed by them. Babatunde Olatunji was the first company to do so, because two dancers from Primus' company left to perform with Olatunji. (Ibid). Master percussionist, educator, social activist, and recording artist Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927–April 6, 2003) is probably most often credited with the popularization of the Fanga rhythm & dance. But Baba Olatunji didn't write the "Funga Alafia" ("Fanga Alafia") song. The composer of that song was LaRocque Bey, an African American choreographer, dancer, percussionist, and founder of the Harlem dance school that still bears his name.
Here's a quote from The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography Of Pearl Primus (p. 88):
""Funga alafiyah (usually given as alafia) ashe ashe is pronounced in the USA "FOON-kah ahlLAH-fee-ah AH shay AH shay". The correct spelling for the Yoruba word "ashe" (meaning "life energy/power") is "ase".
Virtually every black community dance company in America has its version of "Fanga" and most start with the chant "Fanga alafiyah ashe ashe, fanga alafiyah ashe ashe"* as its accompaniment. This chant was added by LaRocque Bey, a percussionist in New York in the late 1950s, was not part of the original work. Primus used two other chants "gehbeddy jung jung jung" with a strong, active, insistent rhythm, or "dum dake dake dum dake, dum dake dake dum dum dake", gentler, and with a swing and a sway to it."
-snip-
There are good reasons why most American dance companies who perform "Funga" ("Fanga") start with the chant "Funga alafiya/ ashe ashe":
1. "Funga Alafia" (as composed by LaRocque Bey) uses a familiar tune ("Li'l Liza Jane").
2.That song has an uptempo beat, and easy to pronounce African words, making it appear authentically "African" for those African musical & dance performances.
3. Furthermore, the call & response pattern of the song "Funga Alafia" helps galvanize audience interests & involvement, thus setting a positive tone for the rest of the performance.
4. That "Funga Alafia" is considered to be a "welcome song" makes it a perfect fit for the beginning of African dance performances.
There are also several reasons why the Pearl Primus chants given above weren't adopted whole cloth or slightly changed by other dance companies (as the Funga Alafia song has been and continues to be). One of those reasons probably was that those chants were too closely associated with Primus' dance company. Reportedly, Pearl Primus wasn't at all thrilled that other American companies were including the Fanga dance based on her choreography in their programs. Presumably, she also wouldn't have been thrilled by those companies' use of the chants that she composed. However, I think that other reasons that Primus' chants weren't used by other companies were the chants themselves. Those syllables & words appear to be just a way to keep the beat. They didn't have (or weren't given) any other meanings However, the words & syllables of those chants "sound like" words that have negative meanings, particularly the "dum" in the "dum dake dake dum" chant.
Furthermore, the Pearl Primus chants aren't as easy to remember as the Funga Alafia chant. Also, those syllables & words aren't nearly as aesthetically pleasing to African Americans' and other Americans' sound preferances as the "funga alafia ashe ashe" chant. If those words were longer, or ended in "u", they wouldn't be as pleasing to Americans' ears. And if those words contained unfamiliar consonant clusters such as "dj" or "gb", they would be more difficult for Americans to pronounce & remember. There are reasons why afro-centric African Americans have most often adopted names and used words & phrases from Arabic, Swahili, Yoruba, Akan, and Wolof languages. All of those widely used languages in Africa are closer to American preferences in word length, word endings, and sound aesthetics than names and words from some other traditional African languages.
Besides all of that, "funga alafia ashe ashe" sounds like what Americans think African languages should sound like. That's fitting because these words are African (except for "funga" which is a folk etymology form of the African word "fanga"). However, prior to that song, the words "fanga alafia ashe ashe" had never been used together in any African song or saying. Their use in this chant was pure delux African American. This chant probably would not have been created had there not been a community of Yoruba Ifa worshippers in Harlem who were open to sharing their "adopted" culture with others through their drumming & dancing performances and otherwise. Engaging in the call & response Funga Alafia chant helps fulfill the desire of African Americans' and other non-Africans in the Western world to say & do something "African" and multicultural.
****
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Olatunji for more information about Babatunde Olatunji. Click http://www.larocquebey.org/ for more information about LaRocque Bey & his dance company. And click http://dance1400.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/the-story-of-fanga-from-sule-greg-wilson/ for an essay about Fanga that was written in 1994 by Sule Greg Wilson.
Although Baba Olatunji routinely used "Fanga Alafia" in his programs and workshops, I don't believe that he ever recorded that song on any album. Thankfully, there's a 1993 video of he & other drummers playing drums and him singing "Fanga Alafia". Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTWySGpPVv0. That video will also be featured on a pancocojams post of several Fanga videos.
The song/chant "Fanga Alafia" that was composed by LaRocque Bey is found in the 2nd post of this series. That version includes two Yoruba words: "alafia" and "ase" (usually written in the United States as "ashay". Here's how an African American man in Harlem in 1960s likely became familiar with those Yoruba words: In the late 1950s and early 1960s (and since then) a small number of African Americans practiced/practice the Yoruba religion of Ifa in Harlem. The Yoruba Temple in Harlem was under the leadership of Baba Oserjeman, the first African American to be initiated into the traditional Yoruba religion of Ifa. Baba Oserjiman, a former dancer with Katherine Dunham, was initiated into that religion in Cuba in 1959. Source http://www.bnvillage.co.uk/news-politics-village/99564-south-carolina-voodoo-sect.html
It's likely that LaRocque Bey was familiar with Baba Oserjiman and the Yoruba drummers & dancers (if he himself wasn't a member of that drum group). And it's also likely that some of the Yoruba drummers and dancers were (also) members of Bey's drum company. The community of afro-centric African Americans wasn't all that large in the late 1950s and the 1960s. I counted myself as a member of that community-through my affiliation with the Newark, New Jersey cultural nationalist group that was headed by Amiri Baraka (Le Roi Jones). As a matter of fact, I received a spiritual reading in New York City from Baba Oserjeman in 1970 which turned out to be quite evidentary. That may have been one of the last readings that Baba Oserjeman conducted before he and his followers left New York and founded a Yoruba community in South Carolina. Click http://www.oyotunjiafricanvillage.org/?id=1 for more information about that community.
To be clear, there probably were chants used for the traditional Fanga drum rhythm that originated with and was performed by the Vai people of Liberia, West Africa. And there were earlier chants used in the United States for the choreographed dances that were derived from that traditional Liberian dance. However, because the first composer of a song that included the words "Funga Alafia" was African American LaRocque Bey, Funga Alafia should rightfully be considered an African American song.
****
This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome!
Share! Learn! Enjoy!
Latest revision - April 7, 2026
This is the first post in a three part pancocojams series on the "Funga Alafia" song and the Funga (Fanga) dance. Part #1 in this series focuses on the history of the Fanga dance and the "Funga Alafia" song.
Part 2 of this series provides text versions of the "Funga Alafia" song/chant, including information about the meanings of the Yoruba words in an early version of that song/chant. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/funga-alafia-fanga-song-part-2-lyrics.html for that post.
Part 3 in this series showcases seven selected YouTube videos of the Funga (Fanga) song and/or dance. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/the-funga-alafia-fanga-song-part-3.html for that post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to LaRocque Bey, the composer of "Funga Alafia". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
THE FUNGA ALAFIA (FANGA) RHYTHM AND SONG
"Funga" (more accurately "Fanga") is a traditional Liberian rhythm & dance. "Funga Alafia" is a song which was composed by an African American to be sung while performing (usually non-traditional) versions that African rhythm and dance.
The word "funga" is a folk etymology version of the word "fanga". Although the term "funga alafia" is less authentic than "fanga alafia", I usually use the title "Funga Alafia". I do so partly because that's the title I'm most familar with, and also because that title is the one that appears to be most often used for that song.
and appears to have been the title used by that song's composer, African American dancer, choreographer
LaRocque Bey.
"Funga" is usually pronounced "fun-gah" or "foon-gah". The word "fanga" is pronounced "fahn-gah".
THE ORIGIN OF THE FANGA RHYTHM & DANCE
The Fanga rhythm and dance is traditional to the Vai people of Liberia. The rhythm is played and the dance is performed as an evocation to the earth and the sky (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/biographies/primus.html" [website no longer available April 2019]
The first person to introduce the Fanga drum rhythm & drum to the United States may have been Asadata Dafor.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asadata_Dafora
"Asadata Dafora Hortan (August 4, 1890 – March 4, 1965) widely known as Asadata Dafora was a Sierra Leonean multidisciplinary musician. He was one of the first Africans to introduce African drumming music to the United States, beginning in the early 1930s...
In 1929 Asadata Dafora journeyed to New York City to try and pursue his career as a musician. He was then 39 years old...
Dafora was a multifaceted artist, talented in opera and concert singing, dancing, choreographing and composing. In 1934, Dafora created Kykunkor (The Witch Woman), a successful musical/drama production utilizing authentic African music and dance and is considered one of the pioneers of black dance in America.
He also co-authored a radio play with Orson Welles entitled "Trangama-Fanga" [in 1941]."
Sierra Leone borders Liberia, and some members of Assata Dafor's dance company were from Liberia. It's therefore likely that Dafor would have known the Fanga rhythm and dance. In her PhD dissertation, dance historian Marcia Heard indicates that Asadata Dafor was the first person to introduce the Fanga dance to the United States, and he called that dance "Fugale". Furthermore, multi-instrumentalists, writer, and educator Sule Greg Wilson, who drummed with Babatunde Olatunji, asserts that Assata Dafor was the first person to introduce Fanga to the United States. (I'll write more about Olatunji later in this post).
A source for this assertion about Olatunji is http://books.google.com/books?id=DbsxMmONyIsC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=the+dance+claimed+me+primus+and+olatunji+fanga&source=bl&ots=xPGkQ1bvHR&sig=SCiHLpjgsBfklV8KBBBBVPgiAYw&hl=en&ei=uBi9To_jCsPl0QGz2ei5BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false; page 89; hereafter referred to as "Schwartz: Pearl Primus Biography".
But it's Pearl Primus and not Asadata Dafor who is usually cited as being the first person to bring Fanga dance to the United States.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Primus:
"Pearl Primus (November 29, 1919, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – October 29, 1994) was a dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences.
Primus was born in Trinidad in 1919 to Edward and Emily (Jackson) Primus... When Pearl Primus was two years old she, with her two brothers were brought to New York City where they were reared...
Primus and the late Percival Borde, her husband and partner, ...taught African dance artists how to make their indigenous dances theatrically entertaining and acceptable to the western world."...
From http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/black-dance/:
"[Pearl Primus] was born in Trinidad before her parents immigrated to Harlem in 1919. She worked at the New Dance Group Studios which was one of few places where black dancers could train alongside whites. She went on to study for a PhD and did research on dance in Africa. Her most famous dance was the Fanga, an African dance of welcome which introduced traditional African dance to the stage."
From The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography Of Pearl Primus by Peggy Schwartz & Murray Schwartz:
""Fanga" was central to Pearl's school, her performances, and her lectures. A dance of welcome that she brought back from her first trip to Liberia it was probably a variation of a traditional dance that she continued to change over the decade." [page 88]
-snip-
Pearl Primus' Fanga dance was picked up by other African dance companies in the United States and was reconstructed by them. Babatunde Olatunji was the first company to do so, because two dancers from Primus' company left to perform with Olatunji. (Ibid). Master percussionist, educator, social activist, and recording artist Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927–April 6, 2003) is probably most often credited with the popularization of the Fanga rhythm & dance. But Baba Olatunji didn't write the "Funga Alafia" ("Fanga Alafia") song. The composer of that song was LaRocque Bey, an African American choreographer, dancer, percussionist, and founder of the Harlem dance school that still bears his name.
Here's a quote from The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography Of Pearl Primus (p. 88):
""Funga alafiyah (usually given as alafia) ashe ashe is pronounced in the USA "FOON-kah ahlLAH-fee-ah AH shay AH shay". The correct spelling for the Yoruba word "ashe" (meaning "life energy/power") is "ase".
Virtually every black community dance company in America has its version of "Fanga" and most start with the chant "Fanga alafiyah ashe ashe, fanga alafiyah ashe ashe"* as its accompaniment. This chant was added by LaRocque Bey, a percussionist in New York in the late 1950s, was not part of the original work. Primus used two other chants "gehbeddy jung jung jung" with a strong, active, insistent rhythm, or "dum dake dake dum dake, dum dake dake dum dum dake", gentler, and with a swing and a sway to it."
-snip-
There are good reasons why most American dance companies who perform "Funga" ("Fanga") start with the chant "Funga alafiya/ ashe ashe":
1. "Funga Alafia" (as composed by LaRocque Bey) uses a familiar tune ("Li'l Liza Jane").
2.That song has an uptempo beat, and easy to pronounce African words, making it appear authentically "African" for those African musical & dance performances.
3. Furthermore, the call & response pattern of the song "Funga Alafia" helps galvanize audience interests & involvement, thus setting a positive tone for the rest of the performance.
4. That "Funga Alafia" is considered to be a "welcome song" makes it a perfect fit for the beginning of African dance performances.
There are also several reasons why the Pearl Primus chants given above weren't adopted whole cloth or slightly changed by other dance companies (as the Funga Alafia song has been and continues to be). One of those reasons probably was that those chants were too closely associated with Primus' dance company. Reportedly, Pearl Primus wasn't at all thrilled that other American companies were including the Fanga dance based on her choreography in their programs. Presumably, she also wouldn't have been thrilled by those companies' use of the chants that she composed. However, I think that other reasons that Primus' chants weren't used by other companies were the chants themselves. Those syllables & words appear to be just a way to keep the beat. They didn't have (or weren't given) any other meanings However, the words & syllables of those chants "sound like" words that have negative meanings, particularly the "dum" in the "dum dake dake dum" chant.
Furthermore, the Pearl Primus chants aren't as easy to remember as the Funga Alafia chant. Also, those syllables & words aren't nearly as aesthetically pleasing to African Americans' and other Americans' sound preferances as the "funga alafia ashe ashe" chant. If those words were longer, or ended in "u", they wouldn't be as pleasing to Americans' ears. And if those words contained unfamiliar consonant clusters such as "dj" or "gb", they would be more difficult for Americans to pronounce & remember. There are reasons why afro-centric African Americans have most often adopted names and used words & phrases from Arabic, Swahili, Yoruba, Akan, and Wolof languages. All of those widely used languages in Africa are closer to American preferences in word length, word endings, and sound aesthetics than names and words from some other traditional African languages.
Besides all of that, "funga alafia ashe ashe" sounds like what Americans think African languages should sound like. That's fitting because these words are African (except for "funga" which is a folk etymology form of the African word "fanga"). However, prior to that song, the words "fanga alafia ashe ashe" had never been used together in any African song or saying. Their use in this chant was pure delux African American. This chant probably would not have been created had there not been a community of Yoruba Ifa worshippers in Harlem who were open to sharing their "adopted" culture with others through their drumming & dancing performances and otherwise. Engaging in the call & response Funga Alafia chant helps fulfill the desire of African Americans' and other non-Africans in the Western world to say & do something "African" and multicultural.
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Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Olatunji for more information about Babatunde Olatunji. Click http://www.larocquebey.org/ for more information about LaRocque Bey & his dance company. And click http://dance1400.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/the-story-of-fanga-from-sule-greg-wilson/ for an essay about Fanga that was written in 1994 by Sule Greg Wilson.
Although Baba Olatunji routinely used "Fanga Alafia" in his programs and workshops, I don't believe that he ever recorded that song on any album. Thankfully, there's a 1993 video of he & other drummers playing drums and him singing "Fanga Alafia". Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTWySGpPVv0. That video will also be featured on a pancocojams post of several Fanga videos.
The song/chant "Fanga Alafia" that was composed by LaRocque Bey is found in the 2nd post of this series. That version includes two Yoruba words: "alafia" and "ase" (usually written in the United States as "ashay". Here's how an African American man in Harlem in 1960s likely became familiar with those Yoruba words: In the late 1950s and early 1960s (and since then) a small number of African Americans practiced/practice the Yoruba religion of Ifa in Harlem. The Yoruba Temple in Harlem was under the leadership of Baba Oserjeman, the first African American to be initiated into the traditional Yoruba religion of Ifa. Baba Oserjiman, a former dancer with Katherine Dunham, was initiated into that religion in Cuba in 1959. Source http://www.bnvillage.co.uk/news-politics-village/99564-south-carolina-voodoo-sect.html
It's likely that LaRocque Bey was familiar with Baba Oserjiman and the Yoruba drummers & dancers (if he himself wasn't a member of that drum group). And it's also likely that some of the Yoruba drummers and dancers were (also) members of Bey's drum company. The community of afro-centric African Americans wasn't all that large in the late 1950s and the 1960s. I counted myself as a member of that community-through my affiliation with the Newark, New Jersey cultural nationalist group that was headed by Amiri Baraka (Le Roi Jones). As a matter of fact, I received a spiritual reading in New York City from Baba Oserjeman in 1970 which turned out to be quite evidentary. That may have been one of the last readings that Baba Oserjeman conducted before he and his followers left New York and founded a Yoruba community in South Carolina. Click http://www.oyotunjiafricanvillage.org/?id=1 for more information about that community.
To be clear, there probably were chants used for the traditional Fanga drum rhythm that originated with and was performed by the Vai people of Liberia, West Africa. And there were earlier chants used in the United States for the choreographed dances that were derived from that traditional Liberian dance. However, because the first composer of a song that included the words "Funga Alafia" was African American LaRocque Bey, Funga Alafia should rightfully be considered an African American song.
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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.
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