merHaba seb bahlna:
It has been a while since we talked about new Eritrean songs. I wish
we could keep on reviewing new songs and books written in Eritrean
languages. This way we can get an idea on how much our literature is
growing. As an music (Erirean) junky, in the past 12 months alone, I
have acquired about 32 new tapes. Some are from 1994, majority from
1995 and 1996, three from 1997. I will try to give the whole list of
these tapes later and I will mention my favorite tapes. For now let me
focus on one of those 1997 releases. It is by memhr Alamin Abdulatif;
his Vol. 3. If you remember his Vol. 2 was released around 1987/88. It
was the one that had the Tigre song "yma" (mom) and his Tigrigna song
"nafqot" (nostalgia). For those of us who admire Alamin as a singer
this release is long over due. I might had also it is a tape much
worth than its $5.0. I got mine from the ECCC.
The title of this newest tape is "Nastahl" (we deserve it). It is the
title of a song he sang immediately after liberation. In fact we had
the full text of the original version of this song when we released
our (Dehai) interview with him in the fall of 1995. Here are some of
the words of the earlier version (translation, courtesy of Omar M. Kekia):
====================
na'stahl
Hna mn enferH If we feel joy
wemn ntHaben wemn nastaQr And feel pride and hail,
nastahl! We deserve it !
weHna mn naHale If we sing,
wemn sesE wemn berj And dance,
na'stahl We deserve it!
na'stahlo lferaH We deserve the joy
wenastahlo lHaben and we do deserve the pride
admay qali defaEna For it is precious blood we paid
egl nKber wonshnen So as to be respected, and to be proud.
shAb Hadr badi tu A whole population perished
embl Qebr woKefen With no coffin nor a marked grave
woshebab Qali defaEna We sacrificed our precious youth
emal edinya ytemen Whom no wordly wealth can buy.
Those who are interested in the complete lyrics of this can check
Omar's Tigre Home Page from Dehai links page.
http://mjosa.stanford.edu/rmr/edin/links.html
"Rumana" (name of a woman) another famous song of his is also in this
cassette. Those who are familiar with the Bologna Festival video
series might remember "rumana" from 1988. It has been a crowd favorite
ever since. I am glad it is out in an audio tape. This way we can
carry it with us in our cars. Here are some lines from "Rumana"
Rumana
Rumana welat Barka SaEda Ruman Daughter of the wonderful Barka
sefalelkina we long so much for you
moday kofo hala aKbar hebina Come tell us the news of the times
ab zhale thaleki tbSHaki selamie Greetings to you wherever you are
selam msl sefelal ketebkwa ab'mbaye With tears of longing
edl wlawl ll'ka egl tshfeg eglyie I entrust my greeting to the wind so
it reaches you rapidly
welwal amsuy wobrud akanatki yQewie Hoping the cold breeze of the
evening might know where you are
___________________________
(Translation by Omar Kekia)
Those who got the chance to attend Alamin's "30-years in Music"
celeberation in Washington, D.C. or those who watched the video of that
occasion c.1992 will also remember his Tigrigna song "Hdri suw'at"
(appeal of martyrs). This one too is in this new tape.
It has the words:
niertrawyan nAna znger An appeal to be told to us Eritreans
Abi Eda alona Eda mhnaS hager We've a huge a debt, a debt of
nation building
bdem zteSaHfe nay Hatnan yeHwatnan [an appeal] written in the blood of
our sisters and brothers
Hdri alona Hdri swu'atna:: The final words of our martyrs
In addition to these, the tape has five new songs: Three Tigre (keren,
gashayt, and selma) and two Tigrigna (elm-elm, and iertrawi iKa). More
on these songs later.
AKWay gedim
-- Ghidewon Ghidewon@vcu.edu
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