Akka bakka bonka rakka is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
nursery rhyme
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
From t ...
of mostly nonsense words used to select or point out a participant in children's games, such as who will be "it" in a game like
hide-and-seek
Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...
( no, gjemsel) or
tag ( no, sisten).
It is classified as a
counting rhyme
A counting-out game or counting-out rhyme is a simple method of 'randomly' selecting a person from a group, often used by children for the purpose of playing another game. It usually requires no materials, and is achieved with spoken words or hand ...
in Nora Kobberstad's ''Norsk Lekebok'' (Book of Norwegian Games) from 1901.
There are different versions of the rhyme. The following version was recorded in
Elverum
is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Elverum. Other settlements in the municipality include Heradsbygd, Sørskog ...
in the early 1920s by
Sigurd Nergaard:
:''Akka bakka,''
:''banka ranka,''
:''etla metla, sang dang,''
:''fil i fang, isa, bisa, topp!''
In 1936, it was included in a collection of children's rhymes published by
Rikka Deinboll
Fredrikke Johanne "Rikka" Bjølgerud Deinboll (March 15, 1897 – February 18, 1973) was a Norwegians, Norwegian librarian and translator. She is known for her work in developing school libraries in Oslo, and for creating the Norwegian name ''Ole ...
:
:''Akka bakka bonka rakka''
:''etla metla sjong dong''
:''fili fong''
:''issa bissa topp''
Finn Myrvang reproduced it in 1964 in a version from
Andøya
Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...
:
:''Akka bakka bonka rakka, issa bissa topp.''
:''Sjong dong filifong, stékk om stein - stå!''
A later version, published by the Children's Book Club (''Bokklubbens barn''), has the following form:
:''Akka bakka''
:''bonka rakka,''
:''etla metla''
:''sjong dong,''
:''filifjong''
:''issa bissa topp''
See also
*
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"—which can be spelled a number of ways—is a children's counting rhyme, counting-out rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag (game), tag, or for selecting various other things. It is one of a large group of s ...
*
Ip dip
Ip dip is a rhythmic counting-out game with many variations, the purpose of which is to select an individual from a group, for instance to choose the starting player of a game. It has been commonly used in British playgrounds for many years.
Th ...
*
En Den Dino
En Den Dino is an Israeli counting rhyme. It was featured on an episode of Sesame Street.
It's an Israeli version of the ''Eeny, meeny, miny, moe'' counting method.
A variant of the song is also popular in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Monten ...
*
Entten tentten teelikamentten
References
{{Reflist
Counting-out rhymes
Norwegian children's songs
Norwegian folk songs
Norwegian-language songs
Nursery rhymes of uncertain origin
Works of unknown authorship