| Nina Simone – Dambala Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I have always loved this song. For me, it was one of those who just hit me right in the heart before the brain had anything to say about it. Two days ago heart and brain met each other, as I went to a Vodou exhibition. Vodou being the religion of the Haiti slaves, a cross between the African Gods they inherited and the Catholicism their European masters introduced to them. In Vodou a God is called Lwa. Every Lwa has 7 spirits who function as a saint would in Catholicism. Dam(n)bala is the most sacred and the most powerful Lwa. So calling for Dam(n)bala is I would assume not something you do with a heart at peace. I now see how this song probably conveys one of the many slave uproars that would often result in the death of many slaves and worsening living standards for the remaining. Oh come Damnbala! In the exhibition Dambala was spelt with an n, Damnbala. Just as they used to real Haitian name of Vodou and not the Hollywood westernized spelling Voodoo. |
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