Title: Kijembe
General Information About Item:
- Customary Lore, Children Hand Games
- Language: Swahili
- Country of Origin: Kenya
- Informant: Cynthia Jeruto Bundi
- Date Collected: May 12, 2019
Informant Data:
Cynthia Jeruto was born in Nairobi to Kalenjin parents. She attended primary school in Kenya, and relocated briefly to Hanover, NH to for her collegiate studies at Dartmouth College.
Rules:
Please refer to “Contextual Data” section for this example to learn more about the rules.
Text:
NATIVE (Swahili)
Kijembe ni kikali, param param
Kilimkata mwalimu, param param
Mwalimu akanichapa, param param
Nikaambia mama yangu, param param
Mama yangu akaniambia, param param
Kijembe ni kikali
Kijembe ni kikali
Kilimkata mwalimu
Mwalimu akanichapa
Nikaambia mama yangu
Mama yangu akaniambia
Kijembe ni kikali
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Statue!
PHOENTICS
Key-dg-eh-m-beh knee key-kah-lee, par am par am
Key-lee-m-kah-tar m-wah-lee-moo, par am par am
M-wah-lee-moo uh-kah-knee-kah-tar, par am par am
Knee-kah-uh-m-bee-uh mama yee-uh-ng-oo, par am par am
Mama yee-uh-ng-oo uh-kuh-knee-uh-m-bee-uh, par am par am
Key-dg-eh-m-beh knee key-kuh-lee, par am par am
Key-dg-eh-m-beh knee key-kah-lee
Key-lee-m-kah-tar m-wah-lee-moo
M-wah-lee-moo uh-kah-knee-kah-tar
Knee-kah-uh-m-bee-uh mama yee-uh-ng-oo
Mama yee-uh-ng-oo uh-kuh-knee-uh-m-bee-uh
Key-dg-eh-m-beh knee key-kuh-lee
One, two three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Statue!
TRANSLATION (WORD-FOR-WORD)
Hoe is bitter, param param
It cut teacher, param param
Teacher beat me, param param
I told my mother, param param
Mother told me, param param
Hoe is sharp
Hoe is bitter
It cut teacher
Teacher beat me
I told my mother
Mother told me
Hoe is bitter
One, two three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Statue!
TRANSLATION
The hoe is sharp, param param,
It cut my teacher, param param
My teacher beat me, param param
I told my mother, param param
My mother told me, param param
The hoe is sharp, param param
The hoe is sharp,
It cut my teacher,
My teacher beat me,
I told my mother,
My mother told me,
The hoe is sharp,
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Statue!
Contextual Data:
The hypothetical context the respondent stated would that this folklore item would be carried out in is during playing session in the school playground during school breaks/recess. The players, who were usually girls, would pair up, as the game only allowed for two players. Both players would sign along, and move their hands in a pattern that included clapping their hands and hitting the other players palms with one’s palms. The game would first start at a slow speed, after which the players would sing the song again at a faster speed. Therefore, the trick was to maintain all the hand movements even when the speed increased. The game would then culminate with a countdown (or count up), and at the end the players would point to each other and command the other to stay still until told otherwise. While the game tested who was better at memorizing hand patterns and movements, who was swift enough with moving their hands, there was no real “victory” or “winner” in the end. It was meant to entertain each other. In fact, if a player missed a hand movement or was confused, both players would restart the game. One would learn this hand game by playing with peers in school. The age groups that would participate in this game were those between 6 and 10 years.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
Kijembe ni kikali, param param
Kilimkata mwalimu, param param
Mwalimu akanichapa, param param
Nikaambia mama yangu, param param
Mama yangu akaniambia, param param
Kijembe ni kikali
Kijembe ni kikali
Kilimkata mwalimu
Mwalimu akanichapa
Nikaambia mama yangu
Mama yangu akaniambia
Kijembe ni kikali
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Statue!
Collector’s Name:
Wendy Kangethe ’19
Tags/Keywords:
- Customary Folklore
- Children Hand Games
- Kijembe