I've a couple of more short comments to make about Funga Alafia:

Funga Alafia is sung and danced so often during African cultural programs put on by Afro-centric Black Americans that some of us cringe when we hear it . Perhaps it's almost like how some Irish Americans feel about the "Oh, Danny Boy" song...

**

I'm certain that the word "Alafia" is a Yoruba greeting word whose meaning can be given as 'welcome'. One direct source I had for this information was a Yoruba woman who lived in Pittsburgh, PA. This woman owned an African artifact store that she named "Alafia". I had taken the name "Alafia Cultural Services" for the name of the cultural organization that I had founded, and asked her about the meaning of that word. I was relieved to know that Alafia is indeed a greeting word that could be said to mean "welcome".

**

I'm not sure that the word 'alafia' in http://www.floridastateparks.org/alafiariver/ has the same origin and meaning as the Yoruba word 'alafia'. It would be interesting to know how that Florida state park got its name.