Guest Amon, thanks for posting that High Low Jigga-low
example.

It's a wonder how these rhymes show up throughout the world. Take for instance that jigga low rhyme. This is the first time I've read that version. Usually, I've seen Jigalow* performed not as a handclap rhyme but a foot stomping cheer or cheerleader cheer.

* or "gigalo" I don't think anybody knows what the correct spelling is, probably because there is no correct spelling.


Here's the words to that cheer that I usually hear among African American girls in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA:

GIGALO
All:
Gig ah lo-o
Gig a lo-o
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Group:
Hey, Kayla *
Kayla:
What?
Group:
Are you ready to gig?
Kayla:
Gig what?
Group:
Gigalo
Kayla:
My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way
I gig a lo
Group:
Her hands up high
Her feet down low
And this is the way she gigalos

* substitute the soloist's name or nickname

{repeat from the beginning with the next soloist, and continue until everyone in the group has a turn as soloist}

Girls stand in a horizontal line. While chanting, they step to a percussive, continual stomp clap/ stomp stomp/clap beat. When the girl who is the soloist responds "What?", she says it with attitude {like "Why are you bothering me to ask a question?"}. When she says "My hands up high my feet down low" She raises her hands and sashays down to the ground, in a sensual manner. When she says "This is the way I gigalo", she does a fancy step to the beat. The group then imitates her foot movement. The cheer then repeats again with the next soloist whose name is called and she does her soloist step.

Btw, recently, I've seen the soloist move to the front of the horizontal line when it's her turn to do her soloist {this does not mean moving in front of the other performers in the center of the line-but just moving in front of where she was standing}. When her soloist turn ends, she moves back to the line. Also btw, the girls don't stand in consecutive order 1 through 4 for instance. And the order of soloist {who is first, second, etc often depends on who calls out those numbers first at the beginning of this informal "play" activity}.

With handclap rhymes, performers {usually but not always girls as young as 5 years and usually no more than 12 years old} stand in place. The emphasis is on chanting while executing hand clap and hand slap partner routines. These routines can also be done with three people or four {two sets of two partners}. There are also larger group handclaps, but those are often lightly competitive while partner/three and four person handclaps aren't.

In contrast, foot stomping cheers are all about the creation of bass sounding percussive sounds made by the feet and also the hands and body patting. These synchronized, chreographed routines are performed by girls about the same age as those doing handclaps, but usually at the upper end of that age group. While foot stomping routines include handclapping, there are no partners-you clap your own hands and never touch the body of anyone else. The performers {like handclap routines, usually girls} basically stand in place or if they do move, they don't move far from their starting place, and they quickly return back to it.
These foot stomping routines are very much like the African American art of steppin.

Here's a link to other text examples of jigalo/gigalow:

Cocojams foot stomping cheers

And here are two links to YouTube videos on the performance of steppin that may help to convey what foot stomping cheers are like {since these two performance arts are very similar}.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DI6k7vd4Qs&NR

{This video shows a young girl demonstrating step moves; including individual handclapping and body patting. "Body patting" used to be called "pattin juba"}

**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDM_R529UQ4&mode=related&search=
{a high school or community step team}