Abatiwaha...huh?

[Convincing John]

Hey everyone,

I got a question for y'all.

I was watching the classic clip "Turn the World Around" the other day from the Harry Belafonte episode (one of my favorite songs from the whole series):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLqb64Pb9So

I wondered though, what does the word "abatiwaha" mean? It's sung several times near the end of the song. "Whoa ho, so is life abatiwaha, so is life."

The closest I got (with an online search) is a Swahili dictionary that couldn't find any matches.

Belafonte says that the song was inspired from a storyteller in Guinea, but (according to Wikipedia) other languages are spoken there. (Swahili's spoken way over in East Africa).

Anyone here have a clue how to translate this word? (Sigh...where is C-3PO when you need him?)

Convincing John

 

[GonzoLeaper]

abatiwaha- A Xulu word meaning, "The cows are dying".
lol
Not really. I don't have a clue. It may just be a made-up phrase by Harry Belafonte. But it's possible it could be an African language word though...Hmm

 

[HootsytheOwl]

Abatiwaha..hmm, interesting

Hi all...

I wonder if it means "so is life"....because sometimes that happens in a song....people will say a word/phrase in another language and then translate it or vice-versa. Example: The new version of "We Are The World" has a French Creole phrase that means "We are the world" in it.
Just a thought.

Your dear friend,
Kitt

 

[Convincing John]

Hi all...

I wonder if it means "so is life"....because sometimes that happens in a song....people will say a word/phrase in another language and then translate it or vice-versa. Example: The new version of "We Are The World" has a French Creole phrase that means "We are the world" in it.
Just a thought.

Your dear friend,
Kitt

I wondered that, too. Let's see, if it is "so is life" in another language, Guinea has a bunch of mother languages (according to Wikipedia, anyway). Which language would it be?

I thought briefly that it was just a nonsense word that Harry made up, kinda like a scat word. But everything in the song really means a lot to him. It's such a deep and meaningful piece. Something tells me that "abatiwah" is something much more complex than something like "Pachalafaka" or "Mahna Mahna" which have no meanings, but are great songs.

I wonder if I wrote to Harry, he'd respond. Some celebrities do, some don't.

Convincing John

 

[Super Scooter]

This might not be accurate, but according to Google translate, "So is life" becomes "hivyo ni uzima" in Swahili. But the Swedish Chef would say, "så är livet."

 

[abraxascarab]

I got a question for y'all.
...
I wondered though, what does the word "abatiwaha" mean?

I realize you asked this three years ago... however... since there was no answer, I thought I resurrect the thread with an answer.

I love the song as well... and I was able to dig this up:

"a bati wa ha" meaning in Swahili:
a = of (denoting possessive)
bahati = Fortunate (slurred pronunciation: bah-ati or "bati")
wa = Existence (to be, become)
ha = prefix denoting negative tense
(therefore probably just a punctuated sound in the song with no meaning)

Final translation: "Of fortunate existence. Ha!"
or loosely: "Our lucky life. Ha!"
or even more loosely: "so is life. Ha!"
I hope future people who search for the meaning of this phrase find this explanation helpful.

 

[Mo Frackle]

Whatever it means, it's still a cute little Afro-Norwegian number.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I wondered though, what does the word "abatiwaha" mean? It's sung several times near the end of the song. "Whoa ho, so is life abatiwaha, so is life."

Online, I found "of fortunate existence."

What does abatiwaha mean?
I looked everywhere for the meaning of Abatiwaha, and this is the closest I came: "a bati wa ha" meaning in Swahili: a = of (denoting possessive) bahati = Fortunate (slurred pronunciation: bah-ati or "bati") wa = Existence (to be, become)
May 3, 2020