Mangwane Mpulele is a traditional song in the
Sotho language
Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...
. In South Africa it has been performed by
Tsidii Le Loka
Tsidii Le Loka-Lupindo (born April 3, 1968, in Lesotho) is an actress, vocalist and composer from South Africa and The Kingdom of Lesotho. She is best known for originating the role of Rafiki in the original Broadway production of Disney's stage ...
,
Yvonne Chaka Chaka
Yvonne Chaka Chaka (born Yvonne Machaka on 18 March 1965) is a South African singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, humanitarian and teacher. Dubbed the "Princess of Africa" (a name she received after a 1990 tour), Chaka Chaka has been at t ...
,
Judith Sephuma
Judith Sephuma (born 29 June 1974) is a South African jazz and Afro-pop singer.
Biography
Born in Seshego, she was raised in Polokwane, Limpopo, and moved to Cape Town in 1994 to study as a jazz vocalist. In 1997, she graduated from the Univer ...
,
Carike Keuzenkamp and the
Soweto String Quartet The Soweto String Quartet is a string quartet from Soweto in South Africa composed of Reuben Khemese, Makhosini Mnguni, Sandile Khemese and Thami Khemese. Their music is a fusion of the "dance rhythms of Kwela, the syncopated guitars of Mbaqang ...
. International artists who have performed it include
Theodore Bikel,
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
, Norman Luboff Choir,
The Kingston Trio under the name ''Mangwani M'Pulele'' and
Laura Branigan under the name ''Mangwane (The Wedding Song)''.
Roughly translated, the lyrics mean "Aunt, open the door for me, I am getting wet with rain. Whether it is here, whether it is there, I am getting wet with rain."
"Mangwane" in Sotho culture is a mother's younger sister.
(Repeat this line)
References
{{song-stub
Laura Branigan songs