Ka mɔgɔ jigi bɔ

Language / Langue Bambara/Jula-English
1

Can anyone confirm that the expression ka mɔgɔ jigi bɔ generally means “you give someone hope”?

It appears in part of the song Diaraby Nene by Oumou Sangaré when she is singing some shout-outs and thanks to various people:

Cɛ, Gassama Diaby, i ye ne jigi bɔ, Ala

Man, Gassama Diaby, ((you gave me hope)), oh God

I believe that this is the meaning in Oumou’s song, and it shows in other texts like this one:

N bɛ “world wision” fo a ka ŋaniyaɲumanya la ka ɲɛsin anw ka dugu ma lakɔlisojɔko la. N b’a fɔ ko “world wision” ye maa jigi bɔ haali

‘I salute “World Vision” in its good management vis-a-vis school construction in our town. I say that “World Vision” really gave people hope.’

SOURCE

But I want to confirm because there seems to be a related expression with a near opposite meaning (ka mɔgɔ jigi bɔ fɛn na):

I kana i jigi bɔ Segu tigiya la

‘Don’t lost hope of becoming the king of Segu’
(lit. “Don’t remove your hope from the ownership of Segu”)

(PS - I also asked this question on Twitter to solicit more responses!)

2

In Senegambia, ka mogo jiki bo means “to take away someone’s hope.”

1 Like
3

Argh! You can see why I’m worried about how to translate this :face_with_raised_eyebrow:.

But given what she says before, I am thinking that it it’s positive, not negative:

Gassama Diaby, Diaby, ne b’i fo, Ala
Gassama Diaby, Diaby, I salute you, oh God

Ala, Gassama Diaby, diɲɛ ye jigi ye
oh God, Gassama Diaby, life is (about) hope

Cɛ, Gassama Diaby, i ye ne jigi bɔ, Ala
Man, Gassama Diaby, ((you gave me hope)), oh God

It appears at 2:07 of this version of the song in case anyone wants to have a listen.

4

Following up with more info from someone on Twitter…

Pour moi, I ye ne jigi bɔ veut dire ‘tu es un grand espoir pour moi’ [en] wassolonkan

‘For me, I ye ne jigi bɔ, means ‘tu are a big source of hope for me’ in Wasolonkan’

5

More external input from a few different people.

‘You are enough for my hope’

SOURCE: A voice message from Christy’s friend Koro

And:

Gasaman Jabi i ye ne jigi bɔ

‘Tu me suffis comme espoir, Djaby Gassama’

(‘You suffice as hope for me…’)

SOURCE

And, the same thing:

Je propose: “tu suffis pour moi comme espoir” selon mon bambara de Bamako.

(I propose: ‘You suffice for me as hope’ according to my Bambara of Bamako.)

SOURCE

I think that this confirms the positive reading that I had and translated as “You gave me hope” (lit. ‘You were equal to [sufficient for] my hope’).

Aw ni ce! :slight_smile: