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#1255: Kawolin Akawo : Wilcken asks
From: Lois E Wilcken <makandal-ny@juno.com>
I have a question concerning a traditional kongo song (i.e., the
accompanying drum rhythms and the dance are called kongo, and its text
refers to the dance). The song title is "Kawolin Akawo." My question:
who was she? Was she perhaps related to the famous nineteenth-century
piquet Jean-Jacques Aca'au? Here's the entire text:
Kawolin Akawo, danse kongo jis kO m fE mwen mal o (bis)
Danse kongo nou laye kongo (bis)
Kawolin Akawo, nEg nwE ti zOrEy anraje
I'm speculating that if Kawolin was indeed among the piquets, the last
phrase--"the black troublemaker is crazy"--might be a description of
peasant revolutionaries. Of course, that would reflect a biased
upperclass point of view. A translation from a more popular perspective
might be, "The people are rising up." With the swirling kongo skirts,
and the dancing 'til exhaustion...nice! But I can be way off base. If
anyone knows anything about this song, please share. MEsi davans.
Lois Wilcken
La Troupe Makandal - New York City's #1 Haitian Roots Ensemble
621 Rutland Road, Brooklyn NY 11203
718-953-6638 / makandal-ny@juno.com