I’m looking for a Tagalog nursery rhyme, but I don’t know the title. Here’s all of the lyrics that I can remember. I’m looking for the ‘title’ and any remaining verses. Thank you.

I have two hands
The left and the right
Hold them up high
So clean and bright.

Clap them softly
One, two, three
Clean little hands
For you to see.

My mother-in-law will be celebrating her 90th birthday in September. She has 10 children, 19 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. My wife and I are going to give her a party she’ll never forget. What help you can give will be appreciated. Thank you.

If anyone can help with this rhyme, please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

The Candles – The lighting of the candles usually takes place at the beginning of the ceremony.  One person from each side of the family lights a candle symbolizing God’s presence at the union.  Sometimes the couple will then take those lit candles and light a third candle together, signifying that their families are united through them.  The third candle is called a "unity candle" and has its origins in the US.

The Coins – The wedding coins are called arras.  The custom of the groom giving wedding coins comes from Spain.  The groom gives the bride 13 coins to symbolize their mutual prosperity.  Traditionally, it was like a dowry and thus it also symbolizes his promise to support her and their family.

The Veil – After the couple has exchanged rings, they kneel side by side.  Then two chosen people will take one end of the bride’s veil and drape it over the groom’s shoulders.  It signifies that they are dressed for the world as one.

The Cord – Next, a white decorative silk cord called a yugal is placed over the couple’s shoulders in the sign of infinity (a sideways figure-eight).  It symbolizes everlasting fidelity and signifies that they walk the world as equals. 

It’s lovely to have symbolism as a part of any wedding ceremony.

Photo: Filipino Wedding Planning Class

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Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!

Mama Lisa

Here’s the Tagalog version of The Itsy Bitsy Spider…

Maliliit na gagamba
Maliliit na gagamba,
Umakyat sa sanga.
Dumating and ulan,
Itinaboy sila.
Sumikat ang araw,
Natuyo ang sanga.
Maliliit na gagamba
Ay laging masaya.

English Translation:

The little spider,
The little spider
Climbed up the branch
The rain came down
Pushed it away.
The sun came up
It dried the branch
The little spider
Is always happy.

Here’s the video, followed by the lyrics to My Balloon…

Here’s My Balloon in Tagalog followed by an English translation…

Ako ay may lobo
lumipad sa langit
di ko na nakita
pumutok na pala
Sayang ang pera ko
pambili ng lobo
kung pagkain sana
nabusog pa ako.

I have a balloon
That flew to the sky
I did not notice
It already popped.
I wasted my money
To buy a balloon
If I bought food instead
I would have been full.

Many thanks to Reneth Sanchez from P-KA-BU Family Child Care for contributing and translating Maliliit na gagamba. Thanks also to Justin Ricarte for contributing and translating Ako ay may lobo.

-Mama Lisa

Nep, from the Philippines, gave me this recipe. She told me that it’s very popular in her home country.

It’s very easy to make this drink and you can adjust it to your family’s taste. It’s a quick way to introduce children to cuisine from another country. My kids liked it and they wanted more!

All you need is one Hass avocado per glass of smoothie. These are the smaller, darker avocados. You’ll also need milk or condensed milk (Nep makes it with milk, but on further research I noticed that some Filipinos make it with condensed milk), and sugar to taste.

Some people add ice to make it like a shake.

Add all of the ingredients in a blender and mix well. Again you can make it the consistency you desire. This drink is very changeable to individual taste. I made ours on the thinner side with skim milk – though it was still a thick drink because of the avocados consistency.

Below you can see the photo of how thick it was before I added a lot more milk…

You can chill it if desired before drinking. We had ours at room temperature and it was delish!

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Note: The Travelers Lunchbox optionally adds any of the following to this drink: a few drops of orange extract, some vanilla, rum or coffee. The orange extract sounds the most interesting to me!

Hi Lisa,

I’m looking for a Christmas song in Tagalog for a Christmas around the world program at our school. Can you help?

Thank You,

Joan Hayden
Hope Montessori School, Indiana

If anyone can help out Joan, please comment below or email me.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

I am desperately seeking 3-4-5 versions (songs) of Itsy Bitsy Spider for an around the world float.

Shame on me I left that chore until last and now I am having trouble. I’ve gotten English and Spanish. Please let me know if this is even remotely possible so I can make other arrangements.

Thanks Shirley

These are the ones we have on Mama Lisa’s World (you can click the link to get to the song page and to access the English, French and Spanish translations of the songs):

Denmark – Lille Peter Edderkop – The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Mexico – La pequeña araña – The Little Spider
Mexico – Itzi, bitzi araña – The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Philippines Ilongo – The Itsy Bitsy Spider – And Dutay Nga Damang
Spain – Itsy Bitsy Spider – Araña arañita
USA – The Itsy Bitsy Spider
France – L’araignée Gypsy – The Gypsy Spider

If you would like to share the version of The Itsy Bitsy Spider from your country, please feel free to post the lyrics in the comments below or email a recording to me.

Thanks!

Lisa

hi, i have a question… does anyone know the lyrics to the song… “sampung mga daliri, kamay at paa…”? i am teaching my baby tagalog songs. thanks so much! great website… thanks for the help… please email me at ayadleon@yahoo.com. thanks again so much.

If anyone can help Aya out, please comment below, or email me, or email Aya directly (though it would be great if you could post the lyrics here too, in case anyone else is looking for them).

Thanks!

Lisa

Matt, a music teacher from Rhode Island, wrote a question to me, the other day, about Mama Lisa’s World:

Hey Mama,

I love the concept of your site. It’s been exciting to watch it grow. My only frustration is not being able to find either written (preferably) or audio music to accompany the lyrics. How do I find the tunes for all these great lyrics?

Matt
Music Teacher, Rhode Island, USA

Here’s what I wrote back, I’m sharing it with you, in case it helps you too…

Hey Matt,

Thanks for writing!

We’ve just added basic sheet music to a lot of songs on the Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and Mexico pages – plus many others.

We’re now in the process of converting the whole site to a database. We’re halfway through. Hopefully by the summer we’ll have a feature that will let you do a search on songs that have sheet music, midis or mp3’s. Midis play the tune of a song. MP3’s are recordings – usually of someone singing the song.

But for now, the songs on the countries that are in the database are working on a simple system. On the country pages they have symbols next to the song if they have special features. Here’s the key…

KEY TO SYMBOLS
– this song has sheet music
Midi – this song has a Midi tune
MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
– this song has a Video recording

If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for, you’re welcome to ask – in case I know if we have it or not – I may be able to guide you to the right place to find what you’re looking for.

And, of course, we’re always looking for more sheet music, midi’s and mp3’s, so if you’d like to contribute any from your culture, we’d be thrilled!

I hope this helps!

Mama Lisa

When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that’s a lot of information! In order to make it easier to access all of the songs, we are in the process of converting the sites to a database. The database allow our visitors to search for songs on the site by language, by songs with sheet music, recordings, etc.

While we’re putting the songs into the database, we’re trying to obtain as much information as possible about each song. So if we can find the tune, we’ll include a midi tune and sheet music. If we find a recording of the song on the internet, we’ll provide a link to the recording. Sometimes we’ll make a recording ourselves. Anything we can do to help you know everything possible about that song.

If you happen to see any songs on the site that are missing a tune or recording and you know it, we’d be very pleased if you could help us get the tune. We’re able to make midis from sheet music, if that’s what you can send. We’re also happy to post recordings if you’d like to sing the song, play it on an instrument, or even hum it. Really, anything to help others get an idea how to sing or play the song.

Once the database is complete Mama Lisa’s World will have 98 countries and cultures and over 850 songs. How great is that!

-Lisa

UPDATE: The Database is now complete! We have 100 countries and cultures. We’re now working on a Spanish version of Mama Lisa’s World which will feature children’s songs, folks songs and nursery rhymes from around the world with Spanish translations.

In case you were wondering, here are some of the countries where demonstrations were held or where Labor Day was in some way honored around the world today (in some cases against the wishes of the government)…

Russia
Belarus
Japan
Germany
Italy
Philippines
Cambodia
Indonesia
Malaysia
South Korea
Malta
Mexico
France
Nepal
Portugal
Sri Lanka
Nigeria
Turkey
Iran
Great Britain

Feel free to comment below about your country’s Labor Day traditions.

-Lisa