Nigerian Language Songs for Babies and Children

[Neophyte]

This is such a beautiful thread! I love the words...but how can I hear the tunes that go with them? How does one sing them? My husband to be remembers a couple of them and sang them for me, but there are more here that I would love to know and pass on to our children! Oral tradition is such an important part of culture to pass on to our future generations!
~Desiree'

[lumidii]

My mother always sang this one to me as a child... It meant so much to her, and I had to endure it till i got into Uni.

Yunifasiti dara aa (The University is admirable)
Ibe l'awon omowe waa (That is where the educated are)
Ibe l'omo mi oo loo (That is where my child would go too)
Kori ko gbe oo de bee oo (May your destiny take you there)

[lumidii]

Many thanks to Soul sista for starting this thread, and also to others who contributed various versions and songs.

This one here is usually sung in the open, when there's an airplane in sight.

Kayode(name), sare wa (Kayode, come quickly)
Sare wa woo oko ofurufu (Come see the aeroplane)
Wa woo b'oti n'fo l'okerere (Come see as its flying far up in the sky)
Wa woo b'oti n'fo loo (Come see it flying away)

[lumidii]

This is a yoruba poem!

Adie mii, eyi ti mora (My chick, bought by me)
Mo toju ree, Osi d'agba (I reared it, till it became big)
L'osan ijo kan (One afternoon)
Emi ko mo pe oti jee loo (I never knew it had gone pecking away)
Oko si koto, ojo si paa (It wandered into a pit, got beaten by rainfall)
Baba ba mi gbe (Father rescued it for me)
Gbigbe ti mo gbe (As i carried it)
Gbigbon l'ongbon, lai f'arapa (It was shivering, without injuries)
Oye eyin mewa, opa mesan, ofi kan rele (It laid ten eggs, hatched nine, lost one)
B'omode oku, Agba ni ida!!! (If the young survives, they will surely come of age)


Pretty self explanatory really. Look after that which you cherish, and you shall surely reap the fruits later!

Others interested in such songs, poems, folklores and learning yoruba may try to get the 'Akomolede yoruba' series 1-6 books by Aromolaran et al. Not sure if they're still available, they were my recommended yoruba language books as a pupil.

[Soul Sista]

Jimi Solanke is back!

Okay, I know he did not go anywhere. But, listen up. The Odu'a Group of Companies just commissioned Uncle Jimi to produce two CDs of Yoruba songs and folktales for children. I got my copy yesterday and I am listening to it as I type. It takes me back.

The two CDs were released together in one package. The title of the package is:

Odu'a Children.Com

I guess Oduduwa's children have gone high tech! The CDs have songs and itan (folktales), including Oluronbi and the usual tales and songs about the tortoise and the dog. I am not sure where you can get a copy. Mine was a gift. But, if you have people in Naija, they may be able to get the package for you.

Soul Sista a/k/a Soul Sizzling

[Oluwato]

It would be nice to categorize them as games, action songs and folklore songs. In my quest to teach my children Yoruba, I had to remember the childhood songs I knew. Most of the songs were Yoruba-religion inspired so they were not appropriate.

The secular ones I remember are:

Ekun meran and talo wanu ogba na ... you already have that... By the way, the version I know of talo wa nu ogba na ends with Ma wa wo (don't come and look), Telemi kalo (follow me)... it was a game like duck duck goose.. (Also, I thought ekun was tiger, you translated it Leopard, do you know the word for tiger?)

Bata funfun se rude rude nule nosi
Ma rude sese omo mi loju elegan o

White shoes are lovely in the hospital (literally in the house of nurses)
I'll decorate my child's feet with them inspite of my scorners

Omo oniresi ti de
Obe resi ntasan san
Aduke, Alaba
Omo oniresi ti de

The child hawking rice is here
The aroma of the soup is inviting
Aduke, Alaba (names)
The child hawking rice is here

The religious ones are:

Leke leke gbami leke (White swan, help me)
Eye adaba, gbami leke (dove, help me)

I have forgotten the first two lines of this song but the ending is below:
Oloro nbo Answer o (oro is one of the gods in Yoruba religion [females are not allowed to see it or partake in it's worship])
Oloro nbo Answer o
Epara mo Answer o (Go and hide)
Se kin'si Answer si (Should I open it? Answer open it)
Si si sin si Answer si (open, open, open Answer open it)
Eni to loro ba mu, a paje (Whomever Oloro finds will be killed)

Woru o Woru oko (Woru - [name] of the fields)
Woru o Woru odo (Woru of the rivers)
Woru teka f'eye je (Woru gave the birds food to eat)
Mo dele mo ro fun baba (I reported to dad when I got home)
Labe ogede labe orombo (under the plantain and orombo tree)
O sese dabe aso From this line, it sounds like incantation (ofo) to me
Larubawa ni t'osun
Sekeseke ni t'ogun...I've forgotten the ending


This one is not religious, but I think it's a little disrespectful to elders;

Monini monini (Just a term, really has no meaning)
Monini monini
Mo r'arugbo kan loja (I saw an elderly person at the market)
... I have forgotten the ending

I hope that helps your collection.

[Oluwato]

I just remembered this secular one -

Ise agbe ni se ile wa
Eni ko sise a ma jale
Iwe kiko
Lai si oko
Koi pe o
Koi pe o

Agriculture is our vocation
Whoever does not work will steal
Education without the hoe
Is incomplete

Blessings,

[Oluwato]

The first line of the oloro song is boju boju (cover eyes/face).

There are some good oldie choruses for children as well.

I used to love:

Bina banjo, emi o tele Jesu [Even if fire is burning, I'll follow Jesus]
Bojo ban'ro, emi o tele Jesu [Even if it's raining, I'll follow Jesus]
Bina banjo, bojo nro uno tele [Whether fire is burning or it's raining, I'll follow Him]
Duro ti mi Jesu kintele o dopin [Stay with me Jesus, so that I can follow you forever]
(I changed mine to Modupe Jesus pe ewa pelumi dopin- I'm grateful Jesus that You are with me forever)

Another one is (men don't get offended o):
Lojo ajinde, lojo ajinde o [On resurrection day, on resurrrection day o]
Awon obirin lokori Jesu [Women were the first to see Jesus]
Awon okunrin wo sapamo [men were hiding]

Blessings,

[Mama Lisa]

Hi,

These songs are wonderful! I have a site of international music and children's songs - featuring over 100 countries and cultures from around the world - it's called Mama Lisa's World. Unfortunately, I don't have Nigeria yet. I was wondering if I could post a couple of songs from here with the translations and link back to you so everyone would know where they're from and where to find more.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers!

Mama Lisa

[birshtpe]

Good post. I appreciate it
Thank you so much for the post. It's really useful.
This is an interesting discussion. thank you for sharing