Friendly reminder that the intro to Lion KingâŚ.the non english bits leading up to the âcircle of lifeâ is not random yelling in *Africa voice* it is an actual language, Zulu, spoken by 10 million people, it is the most widely spoken language (out of 11) in the country of South Africa (1 out of the 54 countries in the continent of Africa, the continent home to somewhere between 1500-2000 languages and around 3000 distinct ethnic groups)
this isnât to say that you have to friggin learn the language to sing along with a disney film, it just means that you should be mindful, respectful, appreciative and respectful. donât be yelling out whatever noise comes in to your head when you hear it
Ok but someone knows what does this say?
The lyrics before the english comes inâŚin âcircle of lifeâ
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba [Here comes a lion, Father] Sithi uhm ingonyama [Oh yes, itâs a lion] Nants ingonyama bagithi baba [Here comes a lion, Father] Sithi uhm ingonyama [Oh yes, itâs a lion] Ingonyama [Itâs a lion] Siyo Nqoba [Weâre going to conquer] Ingonyama Ingonyama nengwâ enamabala [A lion and a leopard come to this open place] (repeats) [queue English lyrics]
I would like to further add that language has there own cultural nuances so something that can sound extremely meaningful in one languages may not sound as majestic when translated to another (I know this as someone who has an understanding of 5 languages and speaks 3 of them fluently) so if you are thinking âoh it ainât that deep they are just yelling: the lion is coming!â dial it back
Worth noting that âlionâ and especially the word Ingonyama is a very respectful word to talk about a Zulu king, especially in praise. Itâs so heavily associated with royalty in isiZulu that a different word is used for an animal lion - Ibhubesi. This isnât just announcing the arrival of an animal, itâs celebrating the arrival (or coronation?) of the king
/\ Whoop, I didnât know this
This is so informative thank you so much


























