Nkweshkoodaadidaa Ekobiiyag (Meet Me By The Water)
Lyrics adapted from the song Meet Me by the Water by Brenda MacIntyre from the “Awakening” CD by Spirit Wind. Anishinaabe translation by Howard Kimewon, Madeline Wemigwans and Margaret Noodin.
You can find Brenda MacIntyre’s latest music at https://MedicineSongWoman.com. Please support her work.
A note from Brenda MacIntyre: Not so long ago and still today, many women gather by water around the world to sing, dance and share in celebration of Grandmother Moon at her fullest. This song talks about women’s sacred responsibility of taking care of that water and healing our own emotions so that we can help heal Mother Earth and take care of our families and communities in a good way.
Note: In many areas pronunciation varies. In the recording of the song below you will notice that two “g” sounds close together are pronounced as a “k” by the singers.
Way waya hey ha waya hey ha waya-ho way ah ho
Way waya hey ha waya hey ha waya-ho way ah ho
Wayo way ya-hey hi ya-ho way hio
Wayo way ya heyo
Nakweshkodaadidaa ekobiiyang
(Let’s meet by the water)
Gabe dibik nagamoyang.
(All night we all sing.)
Nakweshkodaadidaa ekobiiyang
(Let’s meet by the water)
Anaami-gizhig dewe’igeyang.
(Under the sky we all drum.)
Giwaabamaanaan maashkinewaabikizid dibiki-giizis
(We all see her the full shaped moon)
Apiichi bagosendamang.
(While we all have hope.)
Way waya hey ha waya hey ha waya-ho way ah ho
Wayo way ya-hey hi ya-ho way hio
Wayo way ya heyo
Anishinaabemowin Has Friends in Far Places
Maurina Paradise, Finance & Operations Manager at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sent us this lovely story:
As the instructor of AIS101 at UW-Milwaukee, I get to learn from a diverse group of students. This introductory course ends with a creative project assignment, where a student can choose any way to share understanding on a topic within the broad field of Native Studies. In the Fall of 2018 a visiting foreign student, Eri Funaoka, originally from Gunma Japan, enrolled in my course. Eri attends the Chiba University studying International law with a strong interest in American Constitution law. Her long-term goal is to sell Japanese products around the world and tell the good points of Japanese culture. When asked, she shared that she enrolled in my course to better understand American history and America more deeply; particularly the Indigenous people of America. A highlight of her visit was getting to know an Ojibwe student, BillyJack, that had studied in Japan and speaks the language quite well. Eri was not expecting to find such a person during her time in Milwaukee.
For her final creative project, Eri chose to learn a song in Ojibwe. She loves to sing and from her friendship with BillyJack she appreciated the efforts of preserving the language. We hope you enjoy her recording of Nakweshkodaadidaa ekobiiyaag (Meet me by the water) as much as we do.