A Little Girls Dance Song

Nyango wrote: "We dance the twist to this one. In fact, this was one that my mother sang to us and made us dance whenever we tried on a new dress :-). It is a popular little girls' dance."

This song is in an unknown language and Cameroonian Pidgin English. (See note below.)

Notes

Nyango wrote: "I hope another Cameroonian can remember the rest of the words, the meaning is lost as the words are neither pidgin nor any recognizable language. This is why I am such a stickler for learning the right words to songs in other languages as the meaning can eventually get lost if we just repeat what it sounds like. Pet peeve! :-). The last verse is in Pidgin English and simply means: We have come to eat gari, we have come to eat fufu. Pepper soup." This is because children are often given gifts, including food by adults when they (the kids) come to dance for you at Christmas."

Gari is a bitter root called cassava which is used to make tapioca.
Fufu is a thick porridge made by boiling starchy root vegetables and then pounding them down with a mortar and pestle to a desired consistency.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Nyango M. Nambangi of the Minnesota African Women's Association for contributing this song.

Thanks so much!