MIRIAM MAKEBA – Qongqothwane | The Click Song (1960)

Miriam Makeba (1932–2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.

“Qongqothwane” is a traditional song of the Xhosa people of South Africa. It is sung at weddings to bring good fortune. In the western world it is mainly known as The Click Song. The Xhosa title literally means “knock-knock beetle”, which is a popular name for various species of darkling beetles that make a distinctive knocking sound by tapping their abdomens on the ground. These beetles are believed by the Xhosa to bring good luck and rain.

The song is known world-wide thanks to the interpretation of South African singer Miriam Makeba (herself a Xhosa). In her discography the song appears in several versions, both with the title Qongqothwane and as The Click Song.

More information on the song can be found in Makeba’s book The World of African Song (Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1971), including the following translation: “The doctor of the road is the beetle / He climbed past this way / They say it is the beetle / Oh! It is the beetle.” Makeba explains the song as a traditional folk song which refers to the knocking beetle which makes clicking sounds and can revolve the top part of its body in any direction. The beetle is used in children’s games to point the way home, but also has a deeper symbolism, pointing the way to a better future in times of trouble. In her biography (p.86), Makeba mentions singing the song in The Village Vanguard Club, in New York, and calls it a “Xhosa song about a dreamy bride”.

Below Miriam Makeba performs “Qongqothwane” (The Click Song) live on Ce soir à Cannes, May 18, 1963.

Igqira lendlela nguqo ngqothwane Igqira lendlela kuthwa nguqo ngqothwane Igqirha lendlela nguqo ngqothwane Igqirha lendlela nguqo ngqothwane Seleqabele gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane Selequbule gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane Seleqabele gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane Selequbule gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane

Igqira lendlela nguqo ngqothwane Igqira lendlela kuthwa nguqo ngqothwane Igqirha lendlela nguqo ngqothwane Igqirha lendlela nguqo ngqothwane Seleqabele gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane Selequbule gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane Seleqabele gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane Selequbule gqi thapha nguqo ngqothwane