Haitian Lullabies | Mama Lisa's World Blog

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A Haitian Lullaby: “Dodo Titit” – Sleep Little One

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

“Dodo Titit” is a widely known lullaby in Haiti. It means “sleep little one”. It sounds like “titit” comes from the French petit.

Dodo Titit
(Haitian Creole)

Dodo titit*
Si ou pa dodo,
krab la va manje ou
Dodo titit,
krab lan kalalou**

Sleep Little One
(English Translation)

Sleep little one,
If you don’t sleep,
The crab will eat you
Sleep, little one.
Crab in Okra Gumbo**

*Alternatively, this line can be “Dodo ti titit” – “ti” means “small”. Sometimes “mamman” or “papa” is at the end of the line – making it “Sleep mommy’s little one” or “Daddy’s little one”.
**Kalalou means both “okra” and “gumbo”. Kalalou in the Caribbean often have okra and crab in them. Kalalou is sometimes spelled: “calalu”, “calalou”, or “calaloo”. The word comes from Africa.

You can find variations of this lullaby at: Caribbean Living – Dodo ti pitit manman and The Lullabologist – Dodo Titit – with recording.

If anyone would like to share their version, and/or a recording, feel free to in the comments below or by emailing me at lisa@mamalisa.com .

Thanks and enjoy!

Mama Lisa

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