Dickson Ndambuki sent me this song and wrote... "The song is sung in nursery schools by little children among the Akamba tribe in Kenya... The Akamba are one of the major Bantu tribes in Eastern Kenya."
Wakyumwa katambanga
Musumbi na muka na kana koo kanini
Mookie kwitu tukethanie namo-ka
Methia ndekw'o kana kanini kasya
"Ethiwa ndekw'o tukoonana ingi uni"
One early Sunday morning
The King and his wife and little child
Visited to greet us
But they didn't find me
The little child said
"If he is not in we will call again tomorrow"
Notes
Vocabulary
Wakyuma = Sunday
Katambanga = very early in the morning (dawn)
Musumbi = King
Na = and (or with)
Kana = child
Kanini = Little; thus Kana kanini = little child
Mookie kwitu = Called on us
Tukethanie namo = to greet us
kasya = said
ethiwa ndekw'o = if he is not in
tukooka ingi = we shall come(call) again
uni = tomorrow
Comments
Kikamba is a Bantu language spoken by the Akamba tribe.
There's a similar song in French called "Lundi matin" ("Monday Morning"). Dickson confirmed that the two songs have the same tune. Click the link to see the French song on one of the Mama Lisa's World France song pages.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Dickson Ndambuki for contributing this song. Thanks also to Monique Palomares for the midi tune.
Nuseo!
