Senwa Dedende
"This is actually a nonsense song which we used to sing as kids during recess. It is an Akan or Twi song." -Funke
Senwa Dedende
Senwa Dedende
Call and Response Song
Call and Response Song
(Twi)
(English)
Pete, pete,
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Wo maame refre wu o
say nu wa day denday say nu wa
Ose me me ye den?
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Ose be didi
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Ebere adziban a
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Fufa n'abe nkwan
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Mmofre ntse ndi o
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Chorus:
say nu wa day denday,
say nu wa day denday,
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Vulture, vulture
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Your mother is calling you
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
What does she want me to do?
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
She wants you to come and eat.
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
What kind of food is it?
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Fufu and abenkwan*
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Let the children share it.
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Chorus:
say nu wa day denday,
say nu wa day denday,
say nu wa day denday, say nu wa
Notes
*Fufu is a doughy dish that's served with soup.
**Abenkwan is a Ghanaian palm nut soup
I asked Funke what she uses to make fufu (there are different ways to make it). She responded, "The original way is to boil green plantain and cassava (yucca) and then pound them together in mortal and pestle. These days, fufu comes in packages of plantain flour, cocoyam flour or yam flour. If you visit any African store, you will see examples."
Photo of Fufu and Palm Nut Soup
Comments
The refrain of this song is sung by choruses around the world as "Senwa dedende".
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Funke for sharing the full lyrics of this song, for the translation and recording!
Image: "Fufu-palmnutsoup" by Eggi at German Wikipedia, cc.
Medaase!
