by Janet Ochieng, Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant for Swahili
A clip of students performing “Wageni Wako Wapi.”
To join in Black History Month celebrations at Northwestern University, Swahili language students performed several dances at the Harambee 2022 event. Students learned the dances from their Swahili Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant over the course of their weekly language table meetings. All levels of Swahili language students performed two dances and songs. First up was ” Wageni Wako Wapi,” a song used in the classroom to teach basic Swahili grammatical aspects like adverbs and vocabulary. It is a song to welcome visitors to an event or celebration to express to them how happy we are to receive them. Basically, recognizing everybody present.
The second song was “Shekere” by Yemi Alade. “Shekere” is a song recorded by the Nigerian Afro pop artist Yemi Alade and produced by DJ Coublon, taken from her studio album Woman of Steel (2019). Alade collaborated with the Beninese artiste Angélique Kidjo on the track. Students danced along to the song which was produced in the United Kingdom and Kenya. It featured the Kenyan Maasai tribe, Ushanga women group and dancers.
The songs were picked due to their cultural richness: The dressings and the dances which students tried to copy and physically present to the Harambee audience was to remind them and celebrate the origin and history of their ancestors back in Africa. The students wore the East African kanga , colorful and jingling ornaments, neckless and head bands. The students were very excited and felt involved, taking many photos as well as enjoyed the food and togetherness. Most brought their friends and family members to watch them perform.
Before hitting the stage.
Dancing in action.