Siyahamba is a "zipper song": the lyrics consist of one phrase, repeated with permutations. This results in a structure that is perceived as cyclical rather than linear.
"Siyahamba" is a Zulu chorus that emerged in a rural Protestant congregation, possibly in the former Natal province of South Africa. The chorus may have existed in an oral form before 1952, when Andries van Tonder of Dundee, Natal, first transcribed it.
Van Tonder is also credited as the author of the earliest known Afrikaans version of the lyrics, while the authors of the melody and of the Zulu lyrics are unknown. The lyrics, with their biblical imagery of walking in the divine light, could be inspired by Methodist or Pentecostal hymnody.
Siyahamba (written down by Andries Van Tonder, and possibly composed by him, or possibly a Zulu folk song) is a South African Christian hymn that became popular in North American churches in the 1990s.
Distribution of ethnic groups in South Africa in 1996.
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In 1984, Nyberg arranged "Siyahamba" for a four-voice setting and published it in a songbook and recording called Freedom is Coming: Songs of Protest and Praise from South Africa. In 1978, the Swedish choral group Fjedur toured South Africa at the invitation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Africa.
In 1994, GIA Publications included the song (under the title "We Are Marching in the Light of God") in Gather Comprehensive, a hymnal widely used in American Catholic parishes.
Nowadays, "Siyahamba" is viewed both locally and internationally as a liberation song. Hawn notes that cyclical forms tend to emphasize a spirit of community and allow for physical response during the performance.
"Siyahamba" is often performed by children's groups in both sacred and secular environments.
However, after its introduction to Europe and the US by Nyberg in the 1980s, it was often used in the international effort to end the regime of racial discrimination in South Africa, particularly, because of its devotional message, in the campaign organised by Christian churches in the West. It is sung in church and at concerts, but also at rallies, demonstrations, and processions, sometimes with the lyrics modified to match the cause of the event.
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Here are some versions of the lyrics:
- Siyahamba...
- Ons marsjeer nou...
- We are marching...
Marching on Pretoria is the earliest recording in the flatinternational archive and probably dates from around 1902. This British patriotic song is different from the Afrikaans version both in lyric and melody. This Anglo version of the song is actually an update of an 1865 American Civil War marching song Marching Through Georgia by Henry Clay Work.
A sanitized English version of the Afrikaans song was popularized by Joseph Marais; who introduced it to American radio audiences on his NBC show in 1939. In his book World of Folk Songs, Marais explains that the song was sung by both sides during the Boer War.
Growing up, I was often a member of the school choir, and I can remember singing on many occasions the famous Afrikaans song Marching to Pretoria. I had always heard the song as ‘to’ and not ‘on’ Pretoria.
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