Mawdo Baba & Joe,
 
Thank you both for weighing in. I agree that there has been an accident from the start, especially with the kind of language that associates wrong/negative things with black. Unfortunately the damage has been done for a long time. It is already embedded in our cultures, such that we use it without reflecting on its roots meaning.
 
 

As per Momodou Camara (Courtesy of Bantaba Cyberspace), here is what is scripted on the CD. It makes Juldeh a great traditional poet. I am planning on having an interview with Juldeh before end of October 2010. Please read...
 
Thank you,
Yero.



The following is the translation of the lyrics from the sleeve of the CD "Tell No Lies"

[Madam Mariama

Mariama you are kind,
Mariama you are jolly,
Mariama you are wealthy and your riches you freely give.
Your company is always filled with fun and laughter,
praise singers proclaim your kindness in various tunes.
Let me also sing a song for Mariama the woman of my dreams.
Marie, some of them call you,
Marie, your skin glows,
you are wonderful,
I will never stop singing of your beauty.]


There is no god but Allah (SWT) and Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger. Fear and Worship only Allah alone!




 
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [>-<] RE: Mariama
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:06:04 +0000

It would be interesting to do a little research on this phenomenon of associating every good and noble trait with Toubab. I know sayings like "Hey, koku Toubab la" and "Ah, yow doh Toubab waye" rendered in all our languages, are very common in our society.

Baba

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:25:55 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [>-<] RE: Mariama
To: [log in to unmask]

Thanks Yero and Joe,

Indeed it will be of good benefit to Juldeh to know how others interpret the words in his song. To just reiterate my previous, by listening to Juldeh you hear him say "mariama is clean hearted" hence Mariama "deboh Tubako".

This is not Juldeh's making but a people and he just follows suit in trying to describing a good woman worth of praise in his eyes. Hence his using of the name Mariama is just depicting a character meaning all women who falls under his description of Mariama.

What Juldeh can do is to elevate that level of common saying among his people to free the language of such kinds of description elevating the Caucasian race as being worthy of emulation in even good manners and character.

Nyang

--- On Mon, 9/27/10, Joe Sambou <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Joe Sambou <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: [>-<] RE: Mariama
To: "Gambia Post" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 11:43 AM

Nyang and Yero, both of you made valid points.  I do not think Juldeh is speaking about Mariama in adoption of the colonial mentality.  In any case, may be if Juldeh reads how folks interpret his lyrics, that may also inform his perspective.  Yero, I'm forwarding the cuts to my daughter.  Like you, I never met or spoke with Juldeh.  Juldeh is a friend of my brother and was a frequent visitor at the home, according to my wife.  Thus, when my daughter was in the Gambia in 1999, at the age of 6, Juldeh saw her with her violin and commenced to teach her the Riti.  We still have the ornamental Riti on display that Juldeh gave her.  He is really a very talented musician and we shall continue to hear great recordings from him.

Joe  

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:09:51 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [>-<] RE: Mariama
To: [log in to unmask]

Hi Yero, just to chip in here. In my view the word "tubako" connotes an admiration of the Caucasian race as being the model b beauty. For example, you may agree that it is a common to admonish someone by saying to the person that you are not a "tubab".
The use of the term is not Juldeh's invention, neither is it his fault anyway. It is a common saying among many of the language groupings in our region if not the whole of our continent.

Your example of the black sheep may also carry a racist undertone. There is a lot of it in many things as it was advanced by western scholarship. How far have you gone with reading Rodney?

Nyang


--- On Sun, 9/26/10, Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [>-<] RE: Mariama
To: "a Gambia-L" <[log in to unmask]>, "aa1gambiapost mailing" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, September 26, 2010, 1:36 PM

 
 
It is okay to see things that way as a way of imagination in a way of satisfying your curiosity, and I understand. Juldeh himself is dark in complexion, so it is not provoking or resulting from colonialism. Probably, it is just language expression. For example in English, we say "the black sheep of the family." It doesn't necessarily mean the sheep is black. As you know, it means the bad one among the family. In real life, something has been unfortunate, that is to say "black" has been associated with something negative. That is the case with even renowned philosophers, but it doesn’t apply in this case.
 
I would think it's Juldeh's pure architecture. I know others like Jamo, Baba Maal, etc...all composed songs about "Mariama" in different settings. As the song goes, there is nothing negative in it. “Deboh Tubako” is just a local proverb, just like others would say "dream girl."  It is uttered in clear conscience and matter of fact, a tribute to all women –black, white, brown, etc…etc…Mariama is nicely done.
 
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
 
Thanks for your rejoinders both.
 
yj


There is no god but Allah (SWT) and Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger. Fear and Worship only Allah alone!



 

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 10:13:12 -0700
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Mariama
To: [log in to unmask]

You got it wrong Ginny. Please read it properly!

Muhammad Bai Drammeh


--- On Sun, 26/9/10, Ginny Quick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Ginny Quick <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Mariama
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Sunday, 26 September, 2010, 18:07

"Light skinned nature" and "white woman"?  Am I reading too much into this?  Because this kinda gave me pause/troubles me?  So would a dark-skinned or "black woman" not be a fitting exhibitor of the other qualities that Juldeh speaks of?  I've just got a lot of thoughts/questions rolling around in my head at the moment, that I can put in a nutshell by saying that colorism rears its ugly head in the most unlikely of places (for me anyway).  And did you say this is a traditional song?  Or is this one that Juldeh wrote?  I mean, to think that skin color is a marker of good moral character, I'm just speechless. 
 
Color don't mean nothin' except what we (and it seems Juldeh too) puts into it. 
 
Ginny
 
 
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