The South African Gwijo "Thina Siyazalana" ("Mtaka Mama") With Lyrics & English Translations (2025 Reprint)

laughter.mr, Jun 1, 2018

South African Soldiers Singing in Camp

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases several YouTube videos of the South African song  "Thina Siyazalana" ("Mtaka Mama").

YouTube features a video of South African soldiers singing this song in a camp. Several other YouTube videos showcase the South African gwijo* "Thina Siyazalana" being by South African students.

*From https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/fan-park/update/ten-words-from-mzansi-s-football-dictionary/304884 "Ten Words From Mzansi's Football Dictionary", by Captain Alzheimers, Jun 2, 2016

"Igwijo” or “Amagwijo”

The words simply means ‘song.’ Those are the songs sung in stadiums by fans and by players in dressing rooms just before games.. "
-snip-
"Amagwijo" is the plural form of the isiXhosa word "igwijo" ("gwijo").

Comments about the lyrics for this song are included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
This is a complete reprint of a 2019 pancocojams post.

That post has five comments as of June 30, 2025
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-videos-about-south.html "Information About & Videos About South Africans' Gwijo Songs (Songs Sung During Rugby Games & Cricket Games)" for Part I of a pancocojams series on gwijo songs. Part II of that series features the video that is given as Example #1 and another copy of the same video that is given as Example #2 in this post.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS

Example #1: That video is embedded at the top of this post.
-snip-
Here's a few comments from that video's discussion thread:
1. DECEMBER IV, 2018
"Ndikhumbula abazali,ndikhumbula abazali bam
Umama ulele
Khanibize noba ngu mama
Thina siyazalana nobu ngandzonda nzok niku thando
Ngiba ngak cabanga
-snip-
Here's the Google translate translation from Xhosa to English: (additions and corrections are very welcome)
"I miss parents, I miss my parents
The mother is asleep
Call her mom
We are related to this and hate to love
I think"

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2. Bevan Nel, 2019
"What are the words to this chant? Absolutely brilliant!"

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REPLY
5. Mivuyo Marawuu, 2019
"(Loose Translation)
Guy Leading The Song:
Ndikhumbula Abazali
'I Miss My Parents'
Hayi Bambulele
'They Killed Him.'
Kanibize Noba Ngumama
'Please Atleast Call My Mother.'
Ndisemzini weGxagxa
' I'm In Prison'

Siyazalana
'We Are Related.'
Noba ungandizonda Ndizokunika uThando
' Even If You Hate Me ,I Will Show/Give You Love.'

Mama Kanomzizi
'Nomzizi's Mother.'😅
NdingenaMama NdingenaTata
'I Didn't Have A Mother Nor A Father.'
Siyazalana Mama
' We Are Related.'
Mntakamama
'My Sibling.'

The Guys Following:
Zumpee, Mntakamama , Zumpee Hay, Zumpe Hayi, Mntakamama.

Doesn't Make Fluid Sense Without Understand The Background Of The Story."

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Example #2: Queens college -Mtaka Mama 🔥🔥



Amagwijo Collection, Feb 13, 2019

Amagwijo Collection is a channel that is dedicated to embracing "amagwijo" songs
-snip-
Here's some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. macdonald sebotlhelo, 2019
"I love this song can someone help with the lyrics all i can pick up is siyazalana that's it"

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REPLY
2. Mahle Mpungose, 2019
"Thina siyazalana mama
Zumpeee mtaka mama
Zumpeya ofikizolo mtaka mama
Helelelele
Zumpeee
Mtaka mama
Zumpeya
Ofikizolo mtaka mama"

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Example #3: Mntaka Mama (Thina Siyazalana)



Tumi Tucha, May 4, 2019

Group of school boys singing this awesome gwijo.
-snip-
I'm not sure which South African school this is. One commenter wrote "St stithians college" and another commenter wrote "St. Albans college in Pretoria". 

Update: Anonymous June 23, 2020 at 7:09 AM wrote in this pancocojams post that this was St. Albans college. Anonymous also wrote that in South Africa "college  is a high school for 13-18 year olds."Thanks Anonymous! 

In the United States that age range would generally conform to the age range for students in the last year of middle school to the last year of high school (from 8th grade through 12th grade), or the age range for all four years of high school (9th grade through 12th grade). After graduating high school in the USA, some students would then go to college/university. (In the USA, a college is a post-graduate educational institution that is smaller than a university.) 

Here's some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Devon Kirby, 2019
"Someone please post the words to this, I'm English and want to learn. It's my favorite gwijo song"

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REPLY
2. ZAMANI MTHEMBUm 2019
"Thina siyazalana mama
zupeeeeee
mntakamama
zupeee yaaah
ufik izolo umntakamama"

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Example #4: St Stithians Boys College Gwijo - Thina Siyazalana🔥



DJ Wax SA , Premiered Jun 23, 2021 -snip-
November 18, 2022- This video replaces a video of the same South African college singing this song. This video has no comments (as of June 30, 2025)

-snip-
Here are some comments from the discussion thread of the YouTube video that was originally embedded in this pancocojams post but is no longer available.

St Stithians Boys College - "Thina Siyazalana" ("Mtaka Mama") 
published by Mr Robot, June 2, 2019. 

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only

1. Gera Nini, 2019
"Sigcwele ngabelungu kaloku esaskolo , so this version of the gwijo doesn't have the vibe and beauty as  it would've had if it was mostly abantu abamnyama pha ."
-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English:
"Sigcwele ngabelungu kaloku esaskoloI= "full of white people at school"
"abantu abamnyama pha" ="black people here"

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2. Simnikiwe Belu, 2019

"Queens kill it!!!! this version is overrated!!!! just wish Queens can clapback!!!"
-snip-
Queens is another South African college. View Video #2 above.

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3. macdonald sebotlhelo, 2019
"Please help with the lyrics all i can pick up is siyazalana"

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REPLY
4. Thapelo Tlhale, 2019
"Thina siyazalana Ma

 Zooooompeeeeee, mnta ka mama

Zooooompeeeeeeha, ufikezolo, mnta ka mama"

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REPLY
5. Gryder Zl, 2020
"Thina siyazalana ma : we are siblings

Zumeka mtana kama: fall asleep child of my mom

Ufike izolo umtana ka ma: he/she arrived yesterday, the child of my mom.

There is no perfect translation, that's the best way grammatically i can translate it to u without losing the melody.

It probably won't make sense in English due to culture."

It's more of a simple brethren song of viewing others as brothers or family.

**
6. lwazi juta, 2019
"They forgot what I gwijo is... Busy here is composing and ish.. QUEENS COLLEGE... any day... You don't practice igwijo... Ii lapha kuwe"

-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English
"Ii lapha kuwe" ="It's here for you"

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7. Pakamani Ndwandwa, 2020
"What in the mamamia is this... This is utter disrespect to igwijo... This is flippen choral music not igwijo. An absolute wast of data, watching these boys reduce the spirit of igwijo."

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8. Nkosi Zulu, 2020
"Gwijo shouldn't be rehearsed and preformed.  Even the clapping was rehearsed 😴boring"

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9.  Zikhona Nkabi, 2020
"Also for such songs, imigwijo there are no lyrics. The beauty of these songs they were sang from the heart & free hand. It’s never planned. It’s really just a repetition of one line."

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This concludes Part IV of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome. 

South Africans, What Are The Lyrics To The "Beyonce" Gwijo (Soccer Song)?- Update 2023- A South African Responds

Kamo Bafana, Oct 10, 2018 

Tsakane boys soccer song moral

-snip-
This video is the earliest example of the "Beyonce gwijo" (also given as "soccer song") that I've found.

This video shows young South African teenage or pre-teen boys standing outdoors. The boys wear "regular" clothes and not school uniforms. They clap their own hands in accompaniment, and moving around while they sing this relatively uptempo song. 

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update - 10/4/2023

This pancocojams post showcases five YouTube examples of South African amagwijos (soccer* songs) with the title "Beyonce". 

My Editor's notes about the South African gwijo or amagwijo (plural) entitled "Beyonce" are included in this post along with selected comments from a few discussion threads of YouTube videos of South African "Beyonce" songs. As of the Oct. 4, 2023 publication date for this updated pancocojams post, there are a few other YouTube videos of Beyonce gwijos other than the onese that are showcased in this post.

Update: Special thanks to South African P La (The Gwijo king) for responding to my question about Beyonce gwijos on October 2, 2023

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composer/s of these South African "Beyonce" songs. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*In the context of South Africa, "soccer" means what people in the United States call "football". "Soccer songs" are another referent for "gwijos", but "gwijos" are sung at other sports events in South Africa-particularly rugby. "Gwijos" are also sung apart from sports events. 

This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on South African gwijo (amagwijo).

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-chronologial-listing-of-youtube.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "A Chronologial Listing Of YouTube Videos Of The South African Gwijo "Beyonce" (October 2018 -August 2021)".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/what-do-xhosa-south-africa-words-gwijo.html for the pancocojams post entitled "What Do The Xhosa (South Africa) Words "Gwijo" And "AmaGwijo" Mean?"

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/10/seven-youtube-videos-of-south-african.html for a related pancocojams post entitled "Seven YouTube Videos Of South African Gwijo Remixes Of Rihanna's Hit 2016 Dancehall Song "Work" ".

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE [Revised Sept. 13, 2021]
I'm an African American who unfortunately understands no other language but English. I happened upon a YouTube video of a South African gwijo entitled "Beyonce" while randomly surfing YouTube for videos of South African gwijos. Since I watched that video, I've come across multiple videos of gwijos (also listed as "soccer songs"). The publishing dates for those "Beyonce" gwijo (soccer song) videos are from Oct 2018 tthrough August 2021.

Despite the poularity and longevity of these songs, I haven't found any explanations online for what these songs are about. And I haven't found any lyrics for these songs in Xhosa, let along in English, except for the words "Beyonce ukhalelani". 

The words "Beyonce ukhalelani" are given in at least three YouTube videos of the "Beyonce" gwijo. One video has those words in its title. Another has those words in its summary, and a commenter wrote those words in the discussion thread of a third "Beyonce" gwijo video.

https://mymemory.translated.net/en/Xhosa/English/ukhalelani indicates that "ukhalelani" is a Xhosa word whose English translation is "Why cry." 

Why is Beyonce crying?

I initially assumed that these songs refer to the African American singer Beyoncé. If so, and if Beyonce is crying in those songs, could they be a South African response to or a continuation of Beyonce's song "Sorry" in her 2016 Lemonade film and visual album. In the song "Sorry"  Beyoncé accused her husband Jay-X of cheating on her with "Becky with the good hair". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyonc%C3%A9:_Lemonade  and https://genius.com/Beyonce-sorry-lyrics. In that song Beyonce says "Sorry I'm not sorry". But I wonder if "Jay-Z" in those gwijos is the one saying he's sorry and pleading for his wife's forgiveness.  

Or maybe these South African songs aren't about that world famous singer. Maybe they're about some other woman is either named Beyonce or is called that name for one reason or another. As I mentioned earlier, the only language I understand is English. But from the way those songs are sung* I'm guessing that there's some kind of sad drama going on between some woman named (or called) Beyonce and her man or someone who thought he was her man.

-snip-
Both of these theories fit the fact that with just one exception, in all of the YouTube videos of "Beyonce" gwijos, those songs are sung by males.

The exception is a very brief video clip.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtWidBPJFvU&ab_channel=GwijoZA,  May 31, 2021 [length 0.30]. That video clip shows teenage girls dressed in their school uniforms at an outdoor school event singing "Beyonce" (gwijo) as accompaniment of males singing it. The males aren't shown in that 

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Sduh Mageba, a commenter in the discussion thread for Queens College - Beyoncé 🙏🏻🔥❤ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QCpS76z20s&ab_channel=GwijoRSA wrote this in July 2021

"Beyonce wenzeni 😂😂😂😂😂" 
-snip- 
Google translates the word "wenzeni” from Xhosa to English “What did you do.”
-snip-
I'd also like to know what Beyonce did in these South African gwijos. 

If you know what these South African "Beyonce" songs are about, please share that information in the comment section below. Thanks in advance!

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A SOUTH AFRICAN EXPLANATION ABOUT BEYONCE GWIJOS
From P La(The Gwijo King)

https://m.youtube.com/@PLaTheGwijoKing on Oct. 2, 2023 (Read the entire comment below)
..."In South Africa slang "Beyonce" has become synonymous with girl/woman who's overly materialistic and likes to live the life she she probably doesn't afford...you could also say it's an ordinary girl who likes to act like Beyonce.

There's a version of this gwijo that says
"We Beyonce ukhalelani,
Hoba re tshwere lotto?"

Which is a mixture of isiZulu and seSotho words that can be interpreted to say "Hey Beyonce, why are you complaining/crying because we've got all the money/lotto/bling?"

And instead of being about a heartbroken girl, my interpretation is that an unhappy guy is asking her materialistic "Beyonce wannabe " girlfriend" what could she possibly be complaining about when she's been given all the money/wealth in fulfil her "Beyonce-ish" needs?

However, to be fair, not many people understand the true meaning of even the simplest gwijo songs, even us South Africans, sometimes even the very composers won't be able to give the ultimate meaning, gwijos are often just that open-ended.

 
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THREE ADDITIONAL "BEYONCE" GWIJOS [updated Oct. 3, 2023]

SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 Beyonce

GWIJO RSA, july 4, 2022
-snip-
Dorian Smith posted in 2023 on a discussion thread for a no longer available YouTube video of Gumede singing the gwijo "Beyonce" that "Gumede made this song trend". 

This YouTube short (very brief video) shows the young South African man Gumede singing this song wearing a red and white football jersey with his name "G. Gumede" written in the middle.

-snip-
This video replaces a no longer available video that was published by Trash Boy on July 14, 2020.is no longer available. 

Here's the description that I published along with that video.

Gumede is a very highly regarded lead singer of amagwijo. 

Here he is standing in the center of a semi-circle of other teenage boys. The singers wear regular clothes (not school uniforms). All of the singers stand relatively still, but toward the end of the video, some of them begin to snap their fingers to the beat of this song

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 -Queen's College Gwijo x Beyonce

Ayakha Sikweyiya, Apr 28, 2021 
-snip-
This video of students from Queens College singing "Beyonce" replaces one that I had previously posted by Gwijo RSA, March 13, 2021 that is now for private viewing only. The description for that video suggests that it is the same as the video that is embedded above. Here's my descriptionthat I wrote for that initial video:

Based on comments I've read in gwijo discussion threads, Queens College is one of the most highly regarded colleges when it comes to singing gwijos.

This is one of several YouTube videos of Queens College singing the "Beyonce" gwijo. The boys are in uniforms and are seated in bleachers outdoors with masks on their faces to protect them against Covid-19. 
-snip-
Here's some information about the use of the word "college" for this South African secondary school:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College
"In South Africa, some secondary schools, especially private schools on the English public school model, have "college" in their title. Thus no less than six of South Africa's Elite seven high schools call themselves "college" and fit this description."

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #4 -Beyonce Gwijo



 Gwijo ZA, May 31, 2021
-snip-
This is the only YouTube video that I found of girls singing the "Beyonce" gwijo.

Some South African females in their school uniforms are part of an outdoors audience outdoors for a progam that includes male students singing the “Beyonce” gwijo. The girls begin to sing that song harmonizing with the boys. Unfortunately this video clip ends waaay too soon with the scene of the  girls moving in a procession while singing this song.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5- Gwijo Beyonce kaizer chiefs development

Nhlakanipho Tshabalala #Gwijosongs, Sep 1, 2020

Beyonce ukhalelani
-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English gives this result for "ukhalelani"= "Why are you crying?"
-snip-
This video shows South African young men dressed in their football (soccer) uniforms singing in their locker room before a game.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREADS FOR TWO OF THESE EMBEDDED VIDEOS

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Discussion Thread #1
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y30RgeewPkk&ab_channel=TrashBoy

[This video is given as #2 of the videos that are embedded in this pancocojams post.] 

1. Samuel Mavukani, 2021
"Kill that song ntwana kill that song👌👌👌👌💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥"
-snip-
"Ntwana" is a Zulu word that means "boy" or "mate" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ntwana

In the context of this comment "to kill" means "to do something extremely well".

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2. Kgotso Jack, 2021
"Beyonce needs to hear this"

**
Reply
3. Nkosana Vonk Zibula, 2021
"lol why?"

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Discussion Thread #2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MbW6_G1Pl4&t=7s&ab_channel=GwijoRSA

[This is the discussion thread for the video given as #3 in this post.]

1. Thabiso,_c Tshabalala, 2021
"Beyonce ❤❤❤😭😭😭😩❤🐾"

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Reply
2. Gwijo RSA, 2021
"😭😭😭🙏🏿"

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Reply
3. Dorian Smith, 2021
"Thank you Gumede"

**
Reply
4. Gwijo RSA, 2021
"I’m not Gumede 😹😹"

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Reply
5. Dorian Smith, 2021
"Lol I know, gumede made this song trend @gwijorsa"

**
Reply
6. Gwijo RSA, 2021
"@Dorian Smith  😹😹😹🙏🏾🔥🔥🔥🔥ok thank you"

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Reply
7. Dorian Smith, 2021
"Lol but who are you by the way? Like beside being the Gwijo King/Queen? You're doing a great job no lie🤷🏽‍"

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Reply
8. Gwijo RSA, 2021
"@Dorian Smith  😭😭Not you giving me the title I don’t deserve 😹🙏🏾 I’m not the King bruh😭I’m juss pushing what we all love ❤️✊🏿"

**
9. Asavela Arthur, 2021

"Queens you never disappoint us boys........"

**
Reply
10. Gwijo RSA,2021
"🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥"

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome. 

Online Information About South African Amagwijos ("Gwijos")

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about South African amagwijos (also given as "igwijos" and "gwijos") vocal music.

This post presents information about South Africa's amagwijos.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/five-youtube-videos-of-south-african_40.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II showcases several YouTube videos of the gwijo song "uTata KaBoy".  

Selected comments from these videos' discussion threads are included in this post. These comments provide information about gwijo and/or provide some lyrics for the song  "uTata KaBoy".

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to those who are sharing the South African tradition of amawijos with the world.
-snip-
Some of the content of this post was published in this 2019 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-videos-about-south.html "Information About & Videos About South Africans' Gwijo 
-snip-
Click the tags that are given below for more pancocojams posts on this subject.

Update: September 8, 2020. Watch this video:that was published on YouTube on Sep. 5, 2020:

MEC MANDLA MSIBI LEADING ANC REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE SONGS. ANC MPUMALANGA PEC MEMBER SINGS GWIJO

uhuru mofokeng, Sept. 5, 2020

The MEC of COGTA Mpumalanga province leading and singing ANC revolutionary struggle songs. Gwijo.

-snip-
Thanks to all those who are featured in this video and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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DISCLAIMER:
I'm an African American who unfortunately doesn't speak any language but English and has only learned about amagwijos from from watching YouTube videos and from reading the comments of those discussion threads and from reading online articles on that subject, in particular online articles about The Gwijo Squad, a group of fans that sing gwijos at rugby games.  

This pancocojams post and others on this subject are published to share examples of these embedded videos and document information that I've found online. This post is also published in the hope that it will spur people who sing or have sung gwijos and know about their history and present day usages to share that information online.

Additions and corrections of the information that is included in this post are very welcome.

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INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN "GWIJOS" ("AMAGWIJOS"))
Excerpt #1:
From https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/fan-park/update/ten-words-from-mzansi-s-football-dictionary/304884#targetText=%E2%80%9DIgwijo%E2%80%9D%20or%20%E2%80%9CAmagwijo%E2%80%9D,dressing%20rooms%20just%20before%20games. Ten Words From Mzansi’s Football Dictionary, By Captain Alzheimers June 2, 2015
..."”Igwijo” or “Amagwijo”

The words simply means ‘song.’ Those are the songs sung in stadiums by fans and by players in dressing rooms just before games."...
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note [latest revision: September 5, 2020]
"Amagwijo" ("igwijo", "gwijo") are amaXhosa words and amagwijos have been mostly performed in amaXhosa by public school students living in the Eastern Cape of South Africa .

Some gwijos are also sung in Zulu (and perhaps in other traditional South African languages.) Note: A South African responded "Sotho" [language] to my question in another YouTube video discussion thread about what language that song was sung in.

With regard to dates documenting these songs and when they were sung, this article https://www.newframe.com/gwijo-squad-the-new-sound-of-south-african-sport/#:~:text=1%20June%202019%3A%20The%20Gwijo%20Squad%20started%20as%20a%20group,Ellis%20Park%20in%20June%202018  about the group of fans known as the Gwijo Squad indicates that gwijos were sung in South African high schools as early as 1994. That same article indicates that "A group of rugby fans who took the spirit of igwijo with them to Gauteng and other parts of the country decided to get together, initially as a group of buoyant followers to support the first black Springbok captain – Siya Kolisi – for his first assignment against England at Ellis Park in June last year. (June 2018). "


Also, one South African in a YouTube video of amagwijo wrote that he remembered singing songs like gwijos during his army training in 2011.

If I understand it correctly, the main purpose of those songs is the same as the main purpose of songs and cheers in the United States pep rallies before a football game or a basketball game - to booster the spirit of their team who are competing as well as the spirits of those hearing these songs/cheers and the spirits of the singers themselves. One major difference between gwijos and cheerleading cheers in that United States is that is that in South Africa the entire student body sings gwijos which are led by students who are designated spirit leaders while cheers in the United States are led and performed by a small designated group of student cheerleaders.

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Excerpt #2
 From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItNp_wtbfXg&t=4s THE BEST GWIJO SONGS IN 2019....||AMAGWIJO||(jumayima, Maka nontsikelela, utata ka boy,hosana) AMAGWIJO OF SA, Jul 4, 2019
[comment posted by Chwayitile kiva, 2019,
"During after 1994 amagwijo were banned in Private school, the said its savage. today black white purple yellow joining together to sing amagwijo.
-snip-
I think the word "after" here might be a typo for the English words "around" or "about".

My guess is that "black white purple yellow" is a facetious way of referring to "people of all races"/"people of any skin color".

Is it accurate to say that the Gwijo squad lifted this custom from high school* students and that custom began in the early 1990s?
-snip-
If I understand it correctly, the word "college" is used in South Africa to refer to the educational level that people in the United States refer to as "high school", except that in the United States high school is 9-12th grade and (I've read that) in South Africa "college" is 8-12th grade.

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.newframe.com/gwijo-squad-the-new-sound-of-south-african-sport/ Gwijo Squad, the new sound of South African sport
A group of friends celebrating an iconic moment – the first match of South Africa’s first black Springbok rugby captain – gave birth to a sound that’s shaken up the sporting landscape.

By: Sibusiso Mjikeliso [...]
Photographer: Ihsaan Haffejee [...], 20 Jun 2019
“It is said that freedom wasn’t free. And that, when democracy was negotiated, the last vestiges ceded into the hands of white minority control were the land and rugby.

Rugby was at the heart of the former rulers’ chests – almost literally so, when you consider the constant wrangling over the existence of the Springbok badge and its position on the World Cup jersey. The sport gave meaning to so many, within the segregated confines and among those marginalised.

However, time has brought a new generation and a breath of fresh air into the sport. They call themselves the Gwijo Squad and as far as disruptions go, they are the noisy new neighbours chanting in the west stand.

You might have seen them on some obtrusive viral video, perhaps sent unsolicited to your neighbourhood watch WhatsApp group. They sing songs of jubilation, elation and devastation. To the uninitiated ear, they sound like “struggle songs” but they are, in fact, the chants that reverberate through Xhosa initiation ceremonies, weddings and, of course, rugby matches in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.

You might have even asked yourself, “Who are these people, really?” Perhaps you might question what they want at old rugby coliseums such as Loftus Versfeld, Ellis Park and Newlands.

More than a concert of predominantly black African, Xhosa-speaking rugby fanatics, the Gwijo Squad is made up of individuals determined to create a movement that could end in the true unification of a sport that was used as a powerful tool to suppress black people.

[...]

[photo caption] "1 June 2019: The Gwijo Squad started as a group of rugby fans from the Eastern Cape who took the spirit of igwijo with them to Gauteng, initially to support first black Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in his inaugural assignment against England at Ellis Park in June 2018."

[...]

Igwijo and the trouble it caused 
In many ways, [Xhanti] Madolo has always been the guy at the forefront of a wave of change. In high school, he was the rugby cheerleader and courted trouble at post-1994 Dale College in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape for his penchant for igwijo.

“We sang the school songs with pride and vigour, but we mixed things up with igwijo the year I took over as cheerleader [in 2000],” he recalls.

“We needed to take the cheering to another level, because our team was on another level and the culture was changing. We started bringing in the more popular traditional songs: “Ntombi emnhlotshazana … Yinton’ le uyenzayo, ayilunganga (Fair-skinned girl, what you’re doing is not right)”. And we readapted struggle songs, replacing names like Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela with the first team captain.

“The boys took to it, but the teachers on the other hand had other opinions. They banned igwijo. I don’t know how many times I have been called into the headmaster’s [James Haupt] office because of igwijo.

“Then Grey High School [from Port Elizabeth] threatened not to play against Dale if amagwijo would be sung at rugby matches. They said they were ‘savage songs’ or something like that. But it was too big a thing, too big to contain. They couldn’t fight it and it grew into something that is now the norm in the passages at the school.”...

****
Excerpt #4
[This is an excerpt of my partial transcript of the YouTube video "Understanding the Gwijo Squad movement" published by SABC Digital News, Sep 6, 2019  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BwIgH7lisI&t=5s
..."Chulumanco Macingwane (CM)  [Chairman of the Gwijo Squad, a group of rugby fans that sings gwijos at rugby games]. 
"The word igwijo is a Xhosa word, but the practice of gwijo, the singing of these traditional songs that take the form of a leader and respondents is something that is completely ubiquitous in the country. It exists in every single one of our cultures which is why it resonates so much with people of all cultures. Incidentally, I was explaining to some, to some really enthusiastic White supporters today that when you see a gwijo squad or a group of Black people singing gwijo, don't assume that everyone speaks the language that they are singing in. We might be singing in isiXhosa and there might be Venda people and Sotho people and such but it's because this thing exists in all those cultures. So whatever language it is being sung in, they, it resonates with them and they take right with it [I'm not sure of these words]. Why we felt that if a Venda dude can learn a Xhosa gwijo, it should not be that much difficult if at all for an Afrikaan say to learn a Xhosa gwijo. So that's why..."

(interviewer): "It's for everyone."

(C.M.): "We felt that we needed to bring the spirit of gwijo absolutely to every color, creed, language". Yes.

interviewer: "So, it's songs to get you through hardship. Rugby is particularly apt. Those players on the field have a lot of pressure"...
-snip-
More excerpts of this unofficial transcript can be found in this 2019 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-videos-about-south.html
****
Excerpt #5
From https://www.iol.co.za/sport/opinion/gwijo-squad-roars-for-all-colours-of-the-springbok-nation-17383568 Gwijo Squad roars for all colours of the Springbok nation

By Lungani Zama,  published Oct 7, 2018

"Ahead of the Springboks’ opening international of the 2018 season at Ellis Park, there was a momentous gathering of mates in Johannesburg, all there to witness what they dubbed “Siya Kolisi Day”.

It was the inauguration of the first, black Bok skipper and, with it, the emancipation of a million voices.

Those voices express themselves in the form of AmaGwijo, an endless playlist of cultural and cerebral hymns.

They haven’t just sprouted up because there is now a black leader. Far from it. These songs, amagwijo, have been an integral part of Xhosa culture for generations.

They sing, and beautifully so.

They sing when they are happy, and the rhythm has gusto. They sing when times are tough, and the songs resonate with a touch of melancholy.

They sing, and the emergence of the Gwijo Squad, is intent on turning that ‘they’ into ‘we’.

Their gathering from Ellis Park has grown louder by the voice, and swelled by number.

[...]

They are part of an increasingly diverse Bok mob, and the team and Saru have embraced their unique ‘gees’.

Their gospel is now being shared around the world, and drawing more and more locals – of all races – towards them.

[...]

Their constant chorus harks back to schoolboy rugby, and it’s tradition of war cries. There is a tribalism there, but it is not an exclusively Xhosa clique. Everyone is welcome.

Wozani, nonke (come, all of you) – just bring your most patriotic voices. The future is here, and it’s all colours of the rainbow nation."

****
This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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Visitor comments are welcome.  

South African Gwijo "Sweety My Baby" by Buya Musthu & by MVSL All Stars (Football Teams)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases three videos of the South African gwijo song "Sweety My Baby" (also given as "Sweety mababy" performed by Buya Musthu and by MVSL All Stars (two South African football [soccer] teams).

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Buya Musthu and to MVSL All Stars for these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
DEFINITION OF GWIJO
"Gwijo" are songs that are sung by certain South African (football, rugby, and cricket) sports teams and by certain fans of these sports to foster unity and raise enthusiasm.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-videos-about-south.html for Part I of a pancocojams series about gwijo.

Click the gwijo tag below for other pancocojams posts about this style of singing.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Sweetie my baby (gwijo) Buya Musthu

Sabelo Tsambo, Jan 29, 2019

Buya Msuthu players. [South African national football club (soccer)]
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's comment thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
1. Mlondi Sandiso, 2019
"gents angiwezwa kahle ama lyrics except sishova amalanga. Please help me"
-snip-
Google translate: Zulu [and Xhosa] to English:
"gents I can't hear the words lyrics except We cover the sun. Please help me."

**
REPLY
2. Sabelo Tsambo, 2019
"Mlondi Sandiso wena mawu lele thina sishova amalanga "
Sweetie, sweetie my baby bengi ku thanda, kodwa wasuka wangi mosha
-snip-
Google translate: Zulu [and Xhosa] to English:

Mlondi Sandiso let us hear the sun
I loved you, but you were wrong

****
Video #2: Buya msuthu fc



skhay karabo, May 17, 2018
-snip-
Buya Msuthu fc = football club [soccer]

****
Video #3: Sweety mababy MVSL All Stars



Bobo Ndaba , Apr 15, 2019
MVSL = Football [soccer] club in Johannesburg, South Africa

From Google page:
"MVSL All Stars a team formed in February 2018 by a group of students of the University of Johannesburg and Varsity lodge residence. They put this team together to insure that students to involve them selves in bad things but focus on this as it's part of the UJ internal league."

****
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Visitor comments are welcome.

The South African Gwijo "Thina Siyazalana" ("Mtaka Mama") With Lyrics & English Translations

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update - June 30, 2025

This pancocojams post showcases several YouTube videos of the South African song  "Thina Siyazalana" ("Mtaka Mama").

YouTube features a video of South African soldiers singing this song in a camp. Several other YouTube videos showcase the South African gwijo* "Thina Siyazalana" being by South African students.

*From https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/fan-park/update/ten-words-from-mzansi-s-football-dictionary/304884 "Ten Words From Mzansi's Football Dictionary", by Captain Alzheimers, Jun 2, 2016

"Igwijo” or “Amagwijo”

The words simply means ‘song.’ Those are the songs sung in stadiums by fans and by players in dressing rooms just before games.. "
-snip-
"Amagwijo" is the plural form of the isiXhosa word "igwijo" ("gwijo").

Comments about the lyrics for this song are included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-videos-about-south.html "Information About & Videos About South Africans' Gwijo Songs (Songs Sung During Rugby Games & Cricket Games)" for Part I of a pancocojams series on gwijo songs. Part II of that series features the video that is given as Example #1 and another copy of the same video that is given as Example #2 in this post.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS

Example #1: South African Soldiers Singing in Camp



laughter.mr, Jun 1, 2018

South African Soldiers Singing in Camp
-snip-
Here's a few comments from this video's discussion thread:
1. DECEMBER IV, 2018
"Ndikhumbula abazali,ndikhumbula abazali bam
Umama ulele
Khanibize noba ngu mama
Thina siyazalana nobu ngandzonda nzok niku thando
Ngiba ngak cabanga
-snip-
Here's the Google translate translation from Xhosa to English: (additions and corrections are very welcome)
"I miss parents, I miss my parents
The mother is asleep
Call her mom
We are related to this and hate to love
I think"

**
2. Bevan Nel, 2019
"What are the words to this chant? Absolutely brilliant!"

**
REPLY
5. Mivuyo Marawuu, 2019
"(Loose Translation)
Guy Leading The Song:
Ndikhumbula Abazali
'I Miss My Parents'
Hayi Bambulele
'They Killed Him.'
Kanibize Noba Ngumama
'Please Atleast Call My Mother.'
Ndisemzini weGxagxa
' I'm In Prison'

Siyazalana
'We Are Related.'
Noba ungandizonda Ndizokunika uThando
' Even If You Hate Me ,I Will Show/Give You Love.'

Mama Kanomzizi
'Nomzizi's Mother.'😅
NdingenaMama NdingenaTata
'I Didn't Have A Mother Nor A Father.'
Siyazalana Mama
' We Are Related.'
Mntakamama
'My Sibling.'

The Guys Following:
Zumpee, Mntakamama , Zumpee Hay, Zumpe Hayi, Mntakamama.

Doesn't Make Fluid Sense Without Understand The Background Of The Story."

****
Example #2: Queens college -Mtaka Mama 🔥🔥



Amagwijo Collection, Feb 13, 2019

Amagwijo Collection is a channel that is dedicated to embracing "amagwijo" songs
-snip-
Here's some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. macdonald sebotlhelo, 2019
"I love this song can someone help with the lyrics all i can pick up is siyazalana that's it"

**
REPLY
2. Mahle Mpungose, 2019
"Thina siyazalana mama
Zumpeee mtaka mama
Zumpeya ofikizolo mtaka mama
Helelelele
Zumpeee
Mtaka mama
Zumpeya
Ofikizolo mtaka mama"

****
Example #3: Mntaka Mama (Thina Siyazalana)



Tumi Tucha, May 4, 2019

Group of school boys singing this awesome gwijo.
-snip-
I'm not sure which South African school this is. One commenter wrote "St stithians college" and another commenter wrote "St. Albans college in Pretoria". 

Update: Anonymous June 23, 2020 at 7:09 AM wrote in this pancocojams post that this was St. Albans college. Anonymous also wrote that in South Africa "college  is a high school for 13-18 year olds."Thanks Anonymous! 

In the United States that age range would generally conform to the age range for students in the last year of middle school to the last year of high school (from 8th grade through 12th grade), or the age range for all four years of high school (9th grade through 12th grade). After graduating high school in the USA, some students would then go to college/university. (In the USA, a college is a post-graduate educational institution that is smaller than a university.) 

Here's some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Devon Kirby, 2019
"Someone please post the words to this, I'm English and want to learn. It's my favorite gwijo song"

**
REPLY
2. ZAMANI MTHEMBUm 2019
"Thina siyazalana mama
zupeeeeee
mntakamama
zupeee yaaah
ufik izolo umntakamama"

****
Example #4: St Stithians Boys College Gwijo - Thina Siyazalana🔥



DJ Wax SA , Premiered Jun 23, 2021 -snip-
November 18, 2022- This video replaces a video of the same South African college singing this song. This video has no comments (as of June 30, 2025)

-snip-
Here are some comments from the discussion thread of the YouTube video that was originally embedded in this pancocojams post but is no longer available.

St Stithians Boys College - "Thina Siyazalana" ("Mtaka Mama") 
published by Mr Robot, June 2, 2019. 

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only

1. Gera Nini, 2019
"Sigcwele ngabelungu kaloku esaskolo , so this version of the gwijo doesn't have the vibe and beauty as  it would've had if it was mostly abantu abamnyama pha ."
-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English:
"Sigcwele ngabelungu kaloku esaskoloI= "full of white people at school"
"abantu abamnyama pha" ="black people here"

**
2. Simnikiwe Belu, 2019

"Queens kill it!!!! this version is overrated!!!! just wish Queens can clapback!!!"
-snip-
Queens is another South African college. View Video #2 above.

**
3. macdonald sebotlhelo, 2019
"Please help with the lyrics all i can pick up is siyazalana"

**
REPLY
4. Thapelo Tlhale, 2019
"Thina siyazalana Ma

 Zooooompeeeeee, mnta ka mama

Zooooompeeeeeeha, ufikezolo, mnta ka mama"

**
REPLY
5. Gryder Zl, 2020
"Thina siyazalana ma : we are siblings

Zumeka mtana kama: fall asleep child of my mom

Ufike izolo umtana ka ma: he/she arrived yesterday, the child of my mom.

There is no perfect translation, that's the best way grammatically i can translate it to u without losing the melody.

It probably won't make sense in English due to culture."

It's more of a simple brethren song of viewing others as brothers or family.

**
6. lwazi juta, 2019
"They forgot what I gwijo is... Busy here is composing and ish.. QUEENS COLLEGE... any day... You don't practice igwijo... Ii lapha kuwe"

-snip-
Google translate from Zulu to English
"Ii lapha kuwe" ="It's here for you"

**
7. Pakamani Ndwandwa, 2020
"What in the mamamia is this... This is utter disrespect to igwijo... This is flippen choral music not igwijo. An absolute wast of data, watching these boys reduce the spirit of igwijo."

**
8. Nkosi Zulu, 2020
"Gwijo shouldn't be rehearsed and preformed.  Even the clapping was rehearsed 😴boring"

**
9.  Zikhona Nkabi, 2020
"Also for such songs, imigwijo there are no lyrics. The beauty of these songs they were sang from the heart & free hand. It’s never planned. It’s really just a repetition of one line."

****

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