Introduction.

This song, lamenting the demise of the old folk, uses exactly the same set of similes as employed in other songs in the group, however, after the two opening lines, each stanza is introduced by the statement that while the "father" was alive he was a "gi a zyu". Now "gi" is the word for a flat area of ground commonly used for a market, but also for any plot of ground where community or religious gatherings could be held. "a zyu" simply means "to gather together". That is to say, while this father-figure lived, he was the centre about which the clan or extended family gathered, and, by implication, now he had gone, the clan was in danger of disintegrating.

Translation
Literal Transcription
Notes

You can see the original documents for this song.

You can also see these pages as Word97 documents

Word97 Introduction
Word97 Translation
Word97 Transcription
Word97 Notes

Return to Index of Songs
Return to First Page of the Archive