Jụọ Ndigbo

This lullaby reveals the seminal development of a child coming from a third party, the babysitter. The babysitter cares for a crying child and tries to communicate to the child the reason why their parents were absent. She tells the child that her mother went to the market to buy akara (a dough made from ground black eye beans). She also tells the child that her father went to the farm to pluck corn for her. She pleads with the child to stop crying and to keep quiet. Here’s the full lullaby: Nwa n’eku nwa. Awanze! Nwa n’eku nwa, Awanze! Ụjụ akwa nwa! Awanze! Nne ya gara ahịa. Awanze! Ị zụta akara nwa. Awanze! Nna ya gara ugbo. Awanze! Ịghọta ọka nwa. Awanze! Biko kwụsị akwa. Awanze! Biko mechie ọnụ. Awanze! The babysitter in the lullaby treats the child like a grown-up person to reason with. She confers a relatively rational power on the child through the lullaby. It is quite different from someone speaking to objects like trees, or bushes, or talking to themselves. In such a situat...

‘Nwa n’ebe akwa’ is one of the many Igbo lullabies for a crying child to make the child either to stop crying or to lull the child to sleep. It is a mixture of different objects, birds, plant seeds and so on. Here it goes: Onye mere nwa n'ebe akwa? Egbe mere nwa n'ebe akwa. Weta ụzịza, weta ose; Weta amara nkịrịnka ọfe. Ụmụ nnụnụ erisịa ya. Ooo! Ooo! The English translation of the above is:   Who beat the crying child? The kite beat the crying child. Get a plant seed called ('ụzịza' a spice), and get another plant seed called ('ose', meaning pepper). Get a soup that was not properly prepared. Birds have eaten all. Ooo! Ooo! The babysitter, mother, or father of the child would hold the child on their left or right arm and may be pacing up and down as they lull the child to sleep or to stop crying. The child could be crying with a shrill voice that could be heard on all corners of the house. The babysitter, mother or father would raise their voices to match the l...