"Taba Naba" is a
children's song originating in the
Torres Strait Islands just north of the continent of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. This song is usually accompanied by a "sit-down dance" where the "dancers" perform traditional movements corresponding to the lyrics.
The song is a traditional song in
Meriam Mir, a language of the Torres Strait Islanders.
Lyrics
Taba naba naba norem,
Tugei penaisir mi, dinghy em nabatre,
Mi ko keimi serer em nebewem,
Taba naba norem.
Translation:
Come on let's go to the reef
Get into the dinghy when the morning tide is low
Let us row to the edge of the reef
Come on let's go to the reef
Popular culture
Children’s band
The Wiggles performed it with Australian pop singer and Eastern Torres Strait native
Christine Anu
Christine Anu (born 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home". Anu has been nominated for 17 ARIA Awards.
Early life
Anu was bo ...
on their 2000 album ''
It's a Wiggly Wiggly World
''It's a Wiggly Wiggly World'' is the tenth album by Australian band The Wiggles, released in 2000 by ABC Music distributed by EMI. It was nominated for the 2000 ARIA Music Award for Best Children's Album but lost to Hi-5's Jump and Jive with ...
''. On the related video Anu performed the sit-down dance to the song. The song would soon be featured again in two TV series (''Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles!'' and ''Ready, Steady, Wiggle!''), ''Wiggle Town'' and ''Duets'' (with Christine Anu returning).
In
Brazil, the Brazilian singer
Xuxa recorded the song for her album ''Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos 4'' (English: Xuxa only for kids 4)
See also
*
Torres Strait Islands
*
The Wiggles
References
"Taba Naba" page
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taba Naba
Children's songs
Songs about beaches
Torres Strait Islands culture