Momi Maiga - Denano

[Nanchy]

Denano - Momi Maiga

If someone understands anything/the song and has some spare time, could you please write down the text? Thanks in advance!!

[coleman]

I ni ce, Nanchy! I don’t the artist or the song, but I don’t think it’s in Bambara or Manding in general. Maïga is a Songhai last name, so it might be in the Songhai language (which is called koroborokan in Bambara).

Hope that helps a little

[Iterimaa]

I ning barra. I like the song, never heard it before. It is definitely Senegambian Mandinka! The song title Denano means Baby. Just checked, and Momi Maiga is from Senegal.

I’ll try my best to translate.

Denano kana kumbo. - Baby, don’t cry
Ni i naata duniyaa le, dindin kana oh si - If you’re coming into the world, don’t, oh you may
i naata duniyaa le - If you’re coming into the world
Ala mang nene, Ala nene, Ala nene. x2 - God doesn’t joke, God jokes, God jokes
Dindin ni i (taliti?) - Child, if you (?)
Oh no, they’re going not quite home
Denano le, home, denano le - Child, home, child
Si i ye, kana kumbo, Dindin si i ye, kana kumbo - If you cry, child, if you, don’t cry

Zi-din-do (no idea here, just singing notes maybe)
A ye din-niimaa ye - To him/her, to the sweet child
A nene din-niimaa ne - Joke with the sweet child

The next part at 1:51 I have no idea, the only word I can hear clearly is kurukuru. My dictionary says “kurukuru” means to work on, instigate, develop, spark.

Then at 1:58:
I s-a jikindiya for now[?] - You can promise him/her for now
Wo le [?] - That is… (sorry, it’s really hard to understand him, it’s true that parts of it don’t feel like Mandinka at all, so maybe he’s mixing languages here?)

Then it’s the earlier chorus part again, ending with more “Allah mang nene” (God doesn’t joke)

Hope this helps!