Wa nu ndani a roko
Oroko is a Bantu dialect cluster spoken in Cameroon. This song is in Oroko from the South West Region of Cameroon. It's a welcome dance song.
To do this Oroko welcome dance, you sing while walking slowly forward (in a slightly stooped posture) while moving your shoulders back and forth with your hands in front of you low down. The lines keep repeating. At the end you arch your back and say "ya-e-oh!" joyously.
Wa nu ndani a roko
The One We Were Expecting Has Arrived
Welcome Song
Welcome Song
(Oroko)
(English)
Wa nu ndani a roko, ya e e, ya e e*
Nyanga LaBelle a roko, ya e e, ya e e
Nyang'a Daddy a roko, ya e e, ya e e
Ya-e-oh!
The one we were expecting has arrived, yay!
LaBelle's mother has arrived, yay!
Daddy's mother has arrived, yay!
Yay-ay oh!
Notes
*"Ya e e" is just a sound of celebration
Comments
Nyango wrote, "We often call sons who are named after our fathers, 'Daddy' or 'Father' or 'Papa'. Princess [the little girl singing this with an adult in the recording] is also called 'Nyang'a Miss Belle' - Miss Belle's mother because she is named after me. Notice the grammar with 'Nyang'a' - it is the way we deal with a vowel ending one word and starting the next. It's an elision. It should be 'Nyango wa', meaning Mother of.. but it is shortened to 'Nyang'a'."
Many thanks to Nyango M. Nambangi of the Minnesota African Women's Association for contributing this song, the YouTube video and for sharing the recording with us.
Thanks!
