African Counting Song

DESCRIPTION: "Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonno sidubi sabadute simungi. Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonno sidubi sabadute simungi."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-OnTheTrailOfNegroFolkSongs, p. 19, "African Counting Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES [69 words]: Scarborough's informant claimed that this was a counting song from Africa, but if he gave either a translation or a reference to the *part* of Africa, Scarborough failed to record it.
I do note that there are five words. Given what it known about some African counting systems, this raises the possibility that they stand for "one," "two," "three," "four," and "many." But I frankly doubt the whole business. - RBW
File: ScaNF019

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