The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #99389   Message #1979909
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
26-Feb-07 - 11:50 AM
Thread Name: African Folk Songs
Subject: RE: African Folk Songs
Afrikaans folk music is a very large body of fine music, little known outside of South Africa except for a few songs popularized by Josef Marais and Miranda.

Some 400 of these songs are available from the excellent "ONS BLËRKAS van Afrikaanse volksmusiek." All have been given excellent piano-like midis. Lyrics in Afrikaans only.
http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/~lochner/blerkas/
Ons Blerkas

These are the songs of the Dutch and Huguenot Protestant settlers who settled in what they called Suid-Afrika, and its former constituent political entities, such as Transvaal and The Orange Free State.
The name Marais, of course, is Huguenot.

There are many beautiful melodies, little known to us. Among the songs, of course, are "Sarie Marais" and "Daar kom die Alibama," singing of the visit of the Confederate "Alabama" in 1863 (more a song of the docks).

A number of hymns and religious folk songs are included, as well as some popular melodies and lyrics from Europe and America that took the fancy of Afrikaaners and were translated into their language.

For those interested in the Republic, the government portal contains much information: http://www.gov.za/
South Africa

For a listing of languages, click on About Government, and then on National Symbols. Under National Coat of Arms are listed the eleven languages of South Africa. Click on any one (e. g., Setswana, isiNdebele, Afrikaans) and the article is translated into that language.