With all the hype leading up to the World Cup and the official World Cup song, thousands of people are asking what Waka Waka means.
I’m not entirely sure if I’m right, but here’s what I found:
It means “do it/do it” in a Camerounian dialect called fang.
If anyone else knows what it means and I’m incorrect, please do feel free to leave a comment and educate me, I’d appreciate it!
Opening ceremony starts shortly, so I’m off to watch :)
Urban Dictionary: waka waka waka
1. (N)The shrill and digital sound a pacman (or pacwoman) makes as (s)he eats a dot.
2. the sound fozzy from jim henson’s muppets makes after he cracks a joke!
Fozzy: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the chicken-eating man! WAKA WAKA WAKA.
yeah.. it is from Cameroon..
see here for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamina_mina_%28Zangalewa%29
it’s SWAHILI language and WAKA is verb with following meaning: blaze, burn brightly, burn well, shine, it’s spoken in
Burundi
Congo DR
Kenya
Mozambique
Rwanda
Tanzania
Uganda
Somalia
Oman
and official in:
African Union
Kenya
Tanzania
Ugand
Waka waka is something one says to his/her peers meaning joyful or full of life. For example if you make an A+ on a test that was 79 percent of your grade you’d say waka waka!
Hi from México. Well, it’s interesting to see that there are actually some meanings for Waka Waka, but in strictly personal terms, I think that FIFA and Shakira disrespected the identity and cultural richness of south Africa by using that song and that specific word to refer to the Africa’s identity. I’d feel bad if, for example, the world cup were at my country and FIFA sponsored a song, performed by a foreigner artist in first term, and second, referring to México’s cultural identity using a phrase as… “Ajua!” for example. What do you thnik? good vibe from México.
Interesting comment by Claudio. I think there is that exact sentiment among a lot of South Africans because we have such great talent in terms of song writers and artists in this country. At least “Freshly Ground” was afforded the opportunity to Waka Waka with Shakira (my favourite parts of the song are where they are singing)
Thanx alot ..
I was looking for the meaning of this word .. and I Think you are right because actually it makes sense
Pleasure =)
South Africa was already awarded the pleasure of having The World Cup in their beaitiful backyard. People need to stop being so shallow. Why wouldn’t you search for diversity for such a sport. It saddens me that people want it to solely be only about South Africa. Others are making fun of the words of Waka Waka but it means something to them, something beautiful just because it means something less in a different culture doesn’t mean it doesn’t pick up a persons spirit. The song is amazing & Shakira & FreshlyGround did an amazing job! I love it! I am American with Haitian parents & trust this song has made me feel good! We need to stop looking at images of the people & instead of our world as a whole. It is the WORLD CUP not South Africas Rose Colored Glass! GET OVER IT! Waka Waka Guys! :)
@Naphtah – I love the song too!
so its safe to say that NO ONE really knows what waka waka really means!!!lol
I am hoping this will put an end to the silly comments on this site….after quite extensive research I can confirm that Chris M is correct that it means ‘do it’
See below more info on the origin of song and the meaning of some of the other words….this is an African song..has always been and will always be and we are just using Shakira to boost the popularity of songs in some countries who still seem to have this false belief that they are better than Africa….just listening to the song you can hear that Freshlyground’s Zolani Mohala is a much better singer….
“Tsamina” or “Zangaléwa” is a 1986 hit song, originally sung by a makossa group from Cameroon called Golden Sounds who were beloved throughout the continent for their silly dances and costumes. The song was such a hit for Golden Sounds that they eventually changed their name to Zangaléwa, too.The song pays tribute to African skirmishers (a.k.a tirailleurs) during WW2. Most of the band members were in the Cameroonian Army themselves and used make up, fake belly and fake butt for comic relief.
The song is still used today almost everywhere in Africa by soldiers, policemen, boy scouts, sportsmen and their supporters, usually during training or for rallying. It is also widely used in schools throughout the continent especially in Cameroon as a marching song and almost everyone in the country knows the chorus of the song by heart. The song was also popular in Colombia where it was known as “The Military” and brought to the contry by West African DJs.
The men in the group often dressed in military uniforms, wearing pith helmets and stuffing their clothes with pillows to appear like they had a swollen butts from riding the train and fat stomachs from eating too much. The song, music historians say, is a criticism of black military officers who were in league with whites to oppress their own people. Or at least, some of it was. The rest is Cameroonian slang and jargon from the soilders during the war.
Meaning of the words in Fang language:
# Tsaminamina means Come.
# Waka waka means Do it – as in perform a task. Waka is pidgin language meaning walk while working.
# Tsaminamina zangalewa means where do you come from?.
# Wana means it is mine.
# Zambo means wait.
Thanks Warren, appreciate the research you did!
Just to add that all I know is a that on a London-based African (don’t know any more than that) radio station I picked up once, the presenter kept saying “Waka waka” over the music.
It definitely sounded encouraging, whatever it meant it wasn’t “isn’t this music crap?”.
Haha!
Warren is right, the song is old. It’s not just about Africa, it’s for all because the World Cup is like a battle and that is why the song was chosen “Where do you come from? Cuz this is Africa! Come eh eh, Do the job eh eh” or “Tsamina mina Zangalewa
Cuz this is Africa
Tsamina mina eh eh
Waka Waka eh eh”
S it actually means “Do the job”
hi..
i am persian!!
waka waka = walk while working:D
To come back to claudio, shakira is kinda all over the place, her dad is half lebaneese half morocan, and her mom is argentinian/brazilian. she has some african in her, so why not invite her. she did involve alot of africans in the clip as well, plus shakira is one of the largest donators to the third world countries in africa, she deserves that song!!
Hey again. I’ve been reading all of the comments posted here, and I really like the way everybody thinks, and you know what? that’s the best of internet and blogs all over the web. And gettin’ back to the main issue, me as Mexican, and therefore, Latin American, I feel proud that a Colombian sister is the official voice for World Cup. My point was another in my first comment. I think I was misunderstood, my intention was not to offend or disagree with musical perceptions about the song, if it’s good or crap. World Cup is doing a great job bringing people together, but remember, in a globalized world, identity and cultural heritage of every country is the biggest richness we have. It’ll be sad the day people loose their identity and all of the world be “standarized”. That has been my point since the beggining. Good Vibe to all!
Waka waka
Do the job
Tsaminamina zangalewa
where do you come from?
Waka
it is mine
Zambo
wait
Tsaminamina
Come
i wanna kno the meanings of the weird words
ughhh!!!!
but still luv the song
hi..
waka waka fan! you are right…
“Waka waka” means “there it is..” in Somali
hei i’m sthe i think they are right according to the rythm of the song.
Does anyone have the lyrics for Zolani’s part of the song? She’s a better singer than Shakira. WTF is it with Fifa getting a bloody Spanish woman to sing our world cup song?
Colombian, not Spanish (they lost if that doesn’t sound different enough to you!):)
Waka Waka would mean in Pushto language also do it do it. I wonder how could it be related to Camroonian Language?
interesting comment cladio, but i disagree with wat you said. i am from africa and i appreciate the song. it gave my family courage and hope in our nation. We all loved. :-p
amen to maxie!
i thnk waka waka means we are ready?
Reading a book about the war in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) I found that the soldiers used “waka-waka” accompanied by “mowing down with a machine gun gestures” to refer to the use of an AK rifle!
:Liberty Bell, that use would make it a synonym of the Jamaican “Buyaka buyaka!”
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=buyaka&defid=1119008
waka in cameroonian pigin language means(TO WORLK)
And waka waka means (worlking worlking)
I am a fan of the singer Shakira. I love all of her songs. Thanks to her singing that song, I learned about the FIFA and noticed that in Puerto Rico, where no one followed that sport, only foreiners, it became a huge success. A lot of people this year were seeing and buying stuff of the FIFA. Even flying to watch the event! So if it was a promotional trick from the FIFA, it worked. And I belive that is good for Africa because it increased the percent of turist who went to see the event live.
A warm greeting to all from P.R.
Oops! It’s foreigners. ;P And by the way, thanks for all the translations. Waka Waka.
8.ta
waka waka means work/do it.
i love the song thata.
Hello from greece, I want to make a comment for the friend from Mexico, and about how bad the fifa and shakira are because of the song and about culture of mexico and the people there.
First of all it is a very nice song in Spanish or in English, the words that they use in African language I think doesn’t insult the African people , it is an honor for African people to have even some words in this song so the rest of the world can sing something in their language, it could be nice if the world cup can come in Greece and fifa , Shakira or Luis Miguel could sing a song in English or other language and have some Greek words in this song , and believe me my friend they will not insult me or my culture. I am sure that this doesn’t have to do with Fifa or the song but goes deeper ,I can say maybe because shakira is not Mexican !!!!!? just asking myself , I know how much Mexican people love Colombian people .
Why people has to be so bad with something so beautiful as music and soccer.
Culture is music and all the kind of arts and sports too, don’t forget my friend your country is not the best of the world and we all know why !!!!!!? try to be more open next time and when the world cup comes again in mexico (I hope not) to let them use the “Ajua” or any other word.
Thank you for reading this from someone with no culture as Mexicans.
in Nigerian language it means walk, or someone who walks too much or is always in motion, so it just mean walk….
i thk it means(ur mine)
i love that song. In fact i have a solo dance with that song in our School Show. I admire Shakira the way she dance.
i think waka just means ‘believe in Africa and fuck the rest’. church.
Greetings from Brazil.
Liked so much the expression and the different meanings of “waka waka” that it is going to be the name of my sail boat that is being built. When its ready I will post a picture.
Waka waka means I am special