For all you language buffs....

Okay, so for everyone who is interested in languages, I thought this might be interesting. These are the lyrics to one of the songs we learned in my Mozambican dance class - all of the dances involve singing, and in most cases the dance is the result of a conversation between the singers and the musicians. The musicians take their cues from the singers (who also happen to be the dancers) and the song - in terms of when to change the beat/rhythm, and then the dance follows the changes in the music. As far as I can tell most of the dances have a set pattern - there's a kind of base movement, with a sequence of other movements that you progress through (always returning to the base movement in between). But there is no set number of times you do the base movement before going back to the sequence...you have to listen for the call of the drummer. And all of the movements match the rhythm of the drumming - which is handy because if you forget where you are in the sequence all you have to do is listen to the music and it tells you.

Anyways, the dance is called Xindimba, and here are the lyrics. Another interesting side note, this dance comes from the north of the country, so it's in a language that none of the dancers speak or understand....so unfortunately I have no translation because in the end we are all singing a totally foreign language!!

Culima niculipundicha
culipundicha napomo
wanano waca cungana
tutenda ngando cualala

(chorus)
tulima ninongo wa mbone
untucucadja to madengo
tutenda ngando maunampamo
tutende mocambique hambi

cunga cunengue manhanga
cunga cunengue manhanga
ncutunengue manhaga
ninongo wa mbone

(chorus)
moda xindimba

tuque tu cassome
tumalile ungamanha

(chorus)
tuque tu cassome
tu cassome
tuque tu cassome
tu cassome
tuque tu cassome
tumalile ungamanha

tuque tucalime
tucalime
tuque tucalime
tucalime
tuque tucalime
tumalile ndala la

tuque tucabiane
tu cabiane
tuque tu cabiane
tu cabiane
tuque tu cabiane
tumalile cusendana

ae e e
vanemba va mocambique

(chorus)
tuque tuque tucaline tuque
vanemba tuque