| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| Quero ver dendê Quero ver dendê Na roda de bamba, eu Quero ver dendê Quero ver dendê Agbá é àduní Quero ver dendê E pra quem quiser dizer, oi iáiá Quero ver dendê É banda lá no quimbundo Quero ver dendê É tempo que passa, é tempo Quero ver dendê Tem fome faz ageum Quero ver dendê Outro dia escutei Quero ver dendê Em toda a cantoria Quero ver dendê Surpreso fiquei ao ver Quero ver dendê Pra oxalá de òrum Quero ver dendê | I want to see dendê I want to see dendê At the bamba’s roda, I Want to see dendê I want to see dendê Agbá is àduní I want to see dendê And for those who want to say, oh iaiá I want to see dendê It’s banda there in the kimbundu I want to see dendê It’s time that passes, it’s time I want to see dendê If you’re hungry, make ageum I want to see dendê The other day I heard I want to see dendê In all the singing I want to see dendê I was surprised to see I want to see dendê For òrum’s oxalá I want to see dendê |
As you can see, this song has a lot of words that aren’t in Portuguese! In 2013, Maíra Gomes actually did all the legwork to find out what all these words mean and laid it out for everyone in her blog, which you can acess by clicking here. Here all I’ve done is translated the definitions found on her blog.
Dendê – Fruit of the oil palm, from which an oil used in Bahian and Angolan cuisine is extracted. In capoeira, putting palm oil is putting energy.
Agbá – Old man in Yoruba.
Àduní – Admired by everyone in Yoruba.
Nagôs – People from the Gulf of Guinea region. Language spoken by these people.
Malês – Black Africans who brought to Brazil, managed to preserve their Muslim faith for a while.
Obás – King in Yoruba.
Tata – Father in Bantu.
Adupé – Thank you in Yoruba.
Iaiá – Girl, lady. Widely used in the days of slavery.
Vosmicê – Corruptela of Your mercy, pronoun of treatment.
Quimbundo – Language of the Bantu group, spoken in Angola. (Kimbundo).
Cangerê – Meeting of people for rituals of Afro-Brazilian religions. Place where these meetings take place.
Imbelecô – Ritual ceremony of introducing a baby to its ancestors. (Imbeleko)
Mo Jubá – Welcome to Yoruba. / My respects
Oió – City of Nigeria. Empire of Nigeria. (Oyo)
Ageum – Food in Yoruba. (Ajeum)
Calundú – Sadness, tiredness.
Equé – Lie (noun). (equê)
Indaka – Language (mouth) in Yoruba.
Afofô – Talkative. Afaka Indaka.
Iorubá – West African ethnic-linguistic group. (Yoruba)
Àbádá – Forever in Yoruba.
Òrum – Sun / Sky / Cloud in Yoruba.
Àsálù – Asking someone for protection in Yoruba.
Òrés – Friends in Yoruba.