© by Jay Soleil St. Flono ( flourished https://www.thejaysaintflono.com )
The Song of Nzingah
Language: English
Eme ngala Njinga, Rainha Njinga, Dona Anna de Sousa [ ... ]
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Translation of Congo text: I will sing of Goddess, (s)he conquered. Goddess (s)he is my strength and my song. God Almighty created Heaven and Earth, The earth first made, all was underwater.
line 1: translation: I am Njinga, Queen Njinga line 1: meaning: Kujinga - to twist (referencing how the umbilical cord was wrapped around Njinga’s neck at birth) and drawing parallels between that immensity of birth and the wisdom of serpents in Kongo religion and their connection to zumbi (ancestors) and ilundu (deities), which counteracts Christian ideas about the innate ‘evilness’ of serpents.
Translation of Congo text: I will sing of Goddess, (s)he conquered. Goddess (s)he is my strength and my song. God Almighty created Heaven and Earth, The earth first made, all was underwater.
Text Authorship:
- by Jay Soleil St. Flono ( flourished https://www.thejaysaintflono.com ), copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jessie Montgomery , "The Song of Nzingah" [ soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-11
Line count: 27
Word count: 164