Play time: 02:00 minutes. Recorded in Mago, Kenya, March 14, 2014.
Mukere Yima Mwana Chukurya
Difena Aseyo
Kwali ho nu mukere mulala na mukere mwene oyo yalange ni viiukulia viu kulia. Ku mukere oyo mwana yatsia ko ye namuvolela "guku mbeku chukulia yiki nyenya ndie." Mukere oyo ni yima mwana. Viukulia viu mukere viakafwa ma nu mwana natsia nanyola vievie viukulia. Lwu mwana anyola viukulia vievie na mukere vievie vifweye, atsia avolela mwana "mwana yive, inzala imbushi, mbeku chukulia ndie ku." Mwana namuteva, "shie, ndoli ninzitsa yive nunyima chocho chukulia, ku lelo wenya cha vwaha akolombeye, si wa kunyima." Sasa mwana yatanga kwimbila mukere:
Ndiegu akatsia kusuma, niyima mwana
Nu mwnana akatsia kusuma niyima Ndiegu
Ndiegu vava, ukariranga gu,
Tsunu tsunu tsunu.
Tsunu tsunu yeyo ivola ndi: yive lwa unyimi uhiliyi vulahi; ma lwa yinze ndakanyola yive utsi ngwimi, hii, kandi yive uhuli kuli yinze ndahula lwa yive wainyimi. Ku nayo tsunu tsunu tsunu yeyo ndio.
A woman who denied her child food
We had a woman and this woman had food to eat. Her grandchild came and asked "grandmother give me some food I want to eat." That woman denied the child. After her meals were over the child went and found his food. When he found his food, and the woman's food is over, she went to the child and said "you child hunger has finished me, give me food I eat" the child asked her "what? I came and you denied me your food, now you want who to prepare food for you, you denied me" now the child began singing for the woman:
Ndiegu went to look for food, she denied the child
And the child went to look for food and denied Ndiegu
Ndiegu why are you crying
Tsunu tsunu tsunu.
That tsunu means that when you denied me, you felt good. Now that I have found, you go and I have denied you too. You also feel the way I felt when you denied me. That is the Tsunu tsunu tsunu.