AAAAAmagwenya, IIIII(||)esha!

So, for all of you non-Xhosa speakers out there, I've found that "||" phonetically represents the 'x' click. (In other words, ixesha, which means 'time,' includes the x-click.) With this said, 'Amagwenya Ixesha' is the two-word song that one of my classmates, Yana, made up in South Africa some time around our safari in Isinkwe National Park. If you're still trying to figure out the tune, think Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba! That's the first line to the opening chant in 'Circle of Life,' from 'The Lion King'. I recently found out that this part of the song is the part that is clearly sung in isiXhosa (as opposed to other songs from the musical version which include a mix of isiXhosa, isiZulu, etc.). You can find the lyrics here. (ps/ the Q in nqoba is a click, !; for future reference, the 'c' click is often phonetically represented as '|'.)

In any case, I bring this up because this is the first line of 'The Lion King,' or rather, 'Le Roi Lion,' the French version that I saw this past Tuesday. I had seen the musical in English before but I felt particularly attached this time for two reasons: the fact that I finally got to see it, and my study abroad experience in South Africa last fall. Given what I wrote in my last blog entry, watching this musical brought the emotions to the forefront and I was so moved by the entire performance. The clicks, the South African languages, the clear notions of African spirituality and the circle of life, as well as the clear notions of faith and belief, the bright colours, the djimbes and other African instruments, the fact that this musical was in entirely foreign languages (minus one line in the entracte: 'One by One'), the majority of which was in French... and I understood it, and the exuding spirit of these performers was just too much to handle. This musical currently stands as the epitome of the mélange of everything I have studied and experienced this past year.

In the end, it didn't seem like everyone was giving the performers a standing ovation, but I also didn't bother to really look around. All I know is that my row definitely, did and never have I clapped so hard for a play or musical.