Fanga is a traditional song of welcome from Liberia, outside the usual region from which the music we are studying comes. It was, however, one of the first West African songs to become popular in this country. Babatunde Olatunji, a Nigerian-born drummer, came to the U.S. around 1950 to attend Morehouse College here in Atlanta, where he was a classmate of Martin Luther King. Jr. and Maynard Jackson. While the rhythm itself is Liberian, the lyrics are in the Yoruba language.
Lyrics: (note that this is just one version)
Sung as a call and response
Fanga alafayia, ashé ashé (4 times)
Ashé ashé, ashé Ashé
Ashé ashé, ashé Ashé
Ikabo alafiya, ashé ashé (4 times)
Ashé ashé, ashé Ashé
Ashé ashé, ashé Ashé
Eluga alafiya, ashé ashé (4 times)
Ashé ashé, ashé Ashé
Ashé ashé, ashé Ashé
Download the Fanga rhythm sheet.