Counting Rhymes and Choosing Games
An analysis of traditional Yoruba children's counting verses, play songs, and role selection mechanics, examining their pedagogical functions and poetic structures.
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An analysis of traditional Yoruba children's counting verses, play songs, and role selection mechanics, examining their pedagogical functions and poetic structures.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Yorùbá counting rhymes and game verses for children na well-arranged oral performances wey dem dey use teach base-ten counting, control how children dey play, and pick who go do wetin inside communal games. Dis verses dey work through call-and-response, tonal counterpoint, and rhythmic syllables instead of terminal end-rhymes wey dey common inside European nursery poetry. Inside traditional community life, recitations like Ẹní bí ẹní and game chants like Bọ̀jú-bọ̀jú dey combine sharp mouth, body coordination, and moral training, to prepare children for heavy spoken arts wey adult dem dey do.
Dis file bring out di transcribed texts, translations, functional classifications, and documented performance practices of Yorùbá counting rhymes and game selection verses. E analyze di linguistic mechanics of dis forms, compare different transcriptions across twentieth- and twenty-first-century scholarship, and examine why early colonial and missionary linguistic records almost completely leave dis oral corpus without recording am.
Yorùbá verbal art no dey separate nursery rhymes as one independent category on its own like Western nursery verses . Instead, verses wey children dey perform or wey dem dey perform for dem dey inside one continuous oral system wey get several genres wey dey overlap:
Scholars don divide dis genres along functional and structural lines. Adefioye Oyesakin classify Yorùbá children's oral poetry by di direct social purpose wey dem get, dividing di corpus into lullabies, game and play verses, catch rhymes, and moral or didactic verses . Akíntúndé Akínyẹmí highlight dia pedagogical role inside indigenous education, as e argue say children's verbal arts function as primary mechanism to develop phonetic agility, social ethics, numeracy, and environmental awareness before Western-style classroom schooling enter .
Because na together dem dey perform dis genres, researchers dey group dem differently depending on whether dem focus on di performative context (game versus domestic soothing) or di formal linguistic structure (spoken recitation versus melodic sung verse) .
European nursery poetry rely well-well on syllabic terminal rhyme, where word-final phonemes dey match at di end of alternating or adjacent lines. In contrast, Yorùbá oral poetry dey operate without terminal syllabic end-rhyme . Because Yorùbá na tonal language where every syllable get high, mid, or low pitch level wey dey determine semantic meaning, to force terminal end-rhymes go spoil lexical sense and scatter grammatical coherence .
As Ulli Beier and Olatunde Olatunji document am, rhythmic cohesion and poetic aesthetic inside Yorùbá children's verse dey happen through clear formal devices :
Dis tonal and phonological balances dey allow counting chants and game songs maintain strict metric cadence during heavy physical activity, providing di acoustic framework wey dey regulate movement, elimination, and turn-taking .
Di foundational counting verse inside Yorùbá verbal art na Ẹní bí ẹní. E dey introduce children to di sequence of cardinal numerals from one (ọ̀kan or ẹní) reach ten (ẹ̀wá) through associative phonetic chain .
Ẹní bí ẹní
Èjì bí èjì
Ẹ̀ta ń tagba
Ẹ̀rin wòròkò
Àrún ńgbodò
Ẹ̀fà tiẹ̀lẹ́
Èje bíro-ń-biro
Ẹ̀jọ ìrọ̀nbàtà
Ẹ̀sán mọ́kálákẹ́sán
Ẹ̀wá gbàǹgbà
Ẹní (One) bí (resembles/born like) ẹní (one)
Èjì (Two) bí (resembles/born like) èjì (two)
Ẹ̀ta (Three) ń (is) tagba (striking the elder / stinging vigorously)
Ẹ̀rin (Four) wòròkò (crooked / uneven / zigzag)
Àrún (Five) ńgbodò (occupying the mortar / stationed at the mortar)
Ẹ̀fà (Six) tiẹ̀lẹ́ (creeping smoothly / resting quietly underneath)
Èje (Seven) bíro-ń-biro (nimble / twisting back and forth)
Ẹ̀jọ (Eight) ìrọ̀nbàtà (heavy stepping / sound of thick shoe steps)
Ẹ̀sán (Nine) mọ́kálákẹ́sán (stretched out to reach nine / fully rounded)
Ẹ̀wá (Ten) gbàǹgbà (open / manifest / wide in full view)
One be like one,
Two be like two,
Three strike out boldly,
Four stand bend-bend,
Five dey near mortar,
Six slide jeje for under,
Seven twist and turn sharp-sharp,
Eight step heavy like shoe,
Nine stretch reach full,
Ten stand open clear make everybody see am.
(Composite translation based on B. R. Aremu and O. Olaniyan and J. F. Odunjo ).
Dis rhyme dey build memory connection palace for cardinal numbers from one to ten. Di poem no just list numbers abstractly: e dey attach each number to strong physical, movement, or visual quality through sound symbolism (òrọ̀-àwòrán) . Number one and number two dey bring out identity and symmetry (bí ẹní, bí èjì). Three dey bring aggressive physical movement (tagba). Four dey bring irregular, bend-bend geometric shape (wòròkò). Five dey connect to everyday house work beside wooden pounding mortar (odó). Seven and eight dey show body movement: twisting fast-fast (bíro-ń-biro) wey heavy, rhythmic footstep come follow (ìrọ̀nbàtà). Ten be di main climax: di completion of di base sequence, wey open widely (gbàǹgbà) enter full clarity .
Di verse get two different work wey e dey do for children community :
One playground example wey folklore studies record involve six children wey dey prepare to play running game: Di children go stand for open compound and put both legs inside di center of circle. Di leader wey dem choose go tap each leg clockwise as di rhythm beat of Ẹní bí ẹní dey drop. Di leg wey dem tap on di last syllable gbàǹgbà for line ten go commot. Di leader go start di chant again from di next leg, and continue like dat till na only one child leg remain inside di circle. Dat remaining child go come be di seeker or tagger.
Dis rhyme show di foundation level of indigenous mathematics knowledge . Yorùbá arithmetic dey use complex vigesimal (base-twenty) and subtractive counting system where dem dey calculate bigger numbers based on di multiple of twenty or ten wey dey come. To master di base-ten primary numbers through rhythm and physical metaphor dey give children di language foundation wey dem need for advanced subtractive counting calculation .
Di main variants wey dem document dey happen inside how dem phrase lines nine and ten:
Di verse depend on strict tone balance for every line:
\_ \_ / \_), wey capture di unevenness of di bend-bend position wey dem describe.\_ \_), wey give sound full stop to show say di counting don finish . If person remove di tone contours, e go scatter di difference between grammatical markers, verbs, and number roots.English translations always dey struggle to translate di descriptive ideophones (wòròkò, bíro-ń-biro, ìrọ̀nbàtà, gbàǹgbà). Dis words no be ordinary adjectives: dem be sensory adverbs and sound-symbolic words wey dey describe texture, movement, waka, and space directly to wetin di person wey dey listen dey feel inside mind. To translate wòròkò just as "crooked" dey lose di physical feel of knobbiness and corners wey di spoken Yorùbá dey bring out .
Inside Yorùbá play traditions, hide-and-seek (bọ̀jú-bọ̀jú, literally "cover eye, cover eye") no dey happen in silence. Di seeker go cover their eye against wall, post, or tree while dem dey do structured call-and-response dialogue with di children wey dey hide . Dis chant dey set di drama stage: di seeker turn into di olóró (di masquerade, monster, or person wey dey punish), and di remaining children must hide themselves well-well before di countdown finish .
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BỌ̀JÚ-BỌ̀JÚ GAME CYCLE |
| |
| 1. Eye Covering Leader (Seeker) faces post/wall, eyes shut |
| & Dialogue Chants: "Bọ̀jú-bọ̀jú o..." / Chorus answers: "O!" |
| |
| 2. Transformation Seeker assumes role of *olóró* (punisher/masquerade) |
| & Concealment Players disperse into physical hiding spots |
| |
| 3. Clearance Query Seeker asks: "Ṣé kí ń ṣí?" (Should I open?) |
| Chorus responds: "Ṣí!" (Open!) |
| |
| 4. Search & Capture Seeker hunts; captured player receives penalty |
| or becomes the *olóró* for the next game round |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Olórí (Leader): Bọ̀jú-bọ̀jú o
Ẹgbẹ́ (Chorus): O!
Olórí: Olóró ń bọ̀ o
Ẹgbẹ́: O!
Olórí: Ẹ parọ́ mọ́
Ẹgbẹ́: O!
Olórí: Ṣé kí ń ṣí?
Ẹgbẹ́: Ṣí!
Olórí: Ẹni tí olóró bá mú...
Ẹgbẹ́: A jẹ bọ̀rọ̀kọ̀!
Olórí: Bọ̀jú-bọ̀jú (Cover eyes, cover eyes) o (vocative particle)
Ẹgbẹ́: O! (Yes / Responsorial marker)
Olórí: Olóró (The owner of the whip / the masquerade / the punisher) ń bọ̀ (is coming) o (particle)
Ẹgbẹ́: O! (Yes!)
Olórí: Ẹ (You all) parọ́ mọ́ (hide yourselves quietly and completely)
Ẹgbẹ́: O! (Yes!)
Olórí: Ṣé (Interrogative marker) kí (that) ń (I) ṣí (open eyes)?
Ẹgbẹ́: Ṣí! (Open!)
Olórí: Ẹni (Person) tí (that) olóró (the punisher) bá (should) mú (catch)...
Ẹgbẹ́: A (He/She will) jẹ (eat/suffer) bọ̀rọ̀kọ̀ (the forfeit / the penalty bundle)!
Leader: Close una eye!
Chorus: Yes!
Leader: Di masquerade dey come!
Chorus: Yes!
Leader: Make una go hide una sef completely!
Chorus: Yes!
Leader: Make I open my eye?
Chorus: Open am!
Leader: Anybody wey di masquerade catch...
Chorus: Go suffer di penalty!
(Na Oyekan Owomoyela translate am ).
Olórí (Leader): Bojúbojú o
Ẹgbẹ́ (Chorus): O!
Olórí: Olóró ń bọ̀ o
Ẹgbẹ́: O!
Olórí: Ẹ prapra mọ́ o
Ẹgbẹ́: O!
Olórí: Ẹni olóró bá mú
Ẹgbẹ́: A pa á jẹ!
Olórí: Bojúbojú (Cover eyes, cover eyes) o (particle)
Ẹgbẹ́: O! (Yes!)
Olórí: Olóró (The punisher / fierce being) ń bọ̀ (is coming) o (particle)
Ẹgbẹ́: O! (Yes!)
Olórí: Ẹ (You all) prapra (swiftly / completely) mọ́ (hide away) o (particle)
Ẹgbẹ́: O! (Yes!)
Olórí: Ẹni (Whomever) olóró (the punisher) bá (eventually) mú (catches)
Ẹgbẹ́: A (Shall) pa (kill) á (him/her) jẹ (eat / consume)!
Leader: Close una eye!
Chorus: Yes!
Leader: Di fierce punisher dey come!
Chorus: Yes!
Leader: Hide sharp-sharp and hide completely!
Chorus: Yes!
Leader: Anybody wey di punisher catch...
Chorus: Dem go catch and chop am finish!
(Na Olatunde O. Olatunji translate am ).
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| COMPARATIVE TEXTUAL FEATURES: BỌ̀JÚ-BỌ̀JÚ TRADITIONS |
+---------------------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+
| Analytical Layer | Version A (Owomoyela [S3]) | Version B (Olatunji [S5]) |
+---------------------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+
| Command to Hide | *Ẹ parọ́ mọ́* (hide quietly) | *Ẹ prapra mọ́* (hide swiftly) |
| Ready Signal | Explicit: *Ṣé kí ń ṣí? / Ṣí!* | Implicit in cadence |
| Consequence | *A jẹ bọ̀rọ̀kọ̀* (pay penalty) | *A pa á jẹ* (devoured/eaten) |
| Dramatic Frame | Social rule-enforcement | Mythic monster chase |
+---------------------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+
Di two variants dey establish di dramatic reality of di game through spoken performance. Di person wey dey find people no be just ordinary playmate wey dey count seconds: di seeker dey represent di olóró, one figure wey come from masked ancestor figures (egúngún) or disciplinary figures wey dey carry whip (ọ̀rọ̀) .
Di social work of di chant na to set rules and coordinate time. Di call-and-response format dey make sure say all di players dey hear each other well during di time wey dem dey scatter go hide. Di final response dey serve as verbal contract: by responding Ṣí! ("Open am!") or completing di verse A pa á jẹ! ("Chop am!"), di players wey dey hide dey confirm say dem don hide finish and active hunting fit begin .
Scholars don document say different regions and dialects get variation for the command line and the penalty wey dem declare:
The word olóró get plenty confusion for translation. As e take originate from oní-ọ̀rọ̀ (person wey hold whip / person wey dey enforce penalty) or oní-oró (person wey dey give pain), translators from colonial era dey often translate am as "the cruel one" or "the devil" . Modern scholars reject these Christianized terms, and dem translate olóró inside the context of indigenous performance as "the punisher", "the monster", or "the masquerade figure", wey dey reflect the ritual authority wey masked disciplinary agents get for Yorùbá towns .
Ẹkùn Mẹ́ran ("The Leopard and the Goat") na dramatic circle game wey dey show predatory chase, body agility, and collective defense .
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ẸKÙN MẸ́RAN CIRCLE ARENA |
| |
| [ OUTER ARENA ] |
| (LEOPARD / ẸKÙN) |
| | |
| v |
| +---------------+ |
| | O O O O | |
| | O O | <-- Circular Human Wall |
| | O [GOAT] O | (Linked hands of players) |
| | O (ẸRAN) O | |
| | O O O O | |
| +---------------+ |
| |
| Action: The circle players raise and lower their arms to protect the goat |
| while locking out the leopard, moving to the rhythm of the call-and-response. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Olórí (Leader): Ẹkùn mẹ́ran
Ẹgbẹ́ (Chorus): Mẹ̀ẹ́!
Olórí: Ó torí bọ igbó
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́!
Olórí: Ó torùn bọ ọ̀dàn
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́!
Olórí: Ó fẹ́ mú un
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́!
Olórí: Ẹkùn (Leopard) mẹ́ran (catches/stalks the goat; from mú ẹran)
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́! (Bleat of the goat)
Olórí: Ó (It) torí (plunges headfirst; from tẹ orí) bọ (into) igbó (forest)
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́! (Bleat!)
Olórí: Ó (It) torùn (plunges neck-deep; from tẹ ọrùn) bọ (into) ọ̀dàn (grassland/savanna)
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́! (Bleat!)
Olórí: Ó (It) fẹ́ (wants to / intends to) mú (catch) un (it)
Ẹgbẹ́: Mẹ̀ẹ́! (Bleat!)
Leader: The leopard stalks the goat!
Chorus: Bleat! (Mẹ̀ẹ́!)
Leader: It plunges headfirst into the dense forest!
Chorus: Bleat! (Mẹ̀ẹ́!)
Leader: It plunges neck-deep into the open savanna!
Chorus: Bleat! (Mẹ̀ẹ́!)
Leader: It closes in to seize its prey!
Chorus: Bleat! (Mẹ̀ẹ́!)
(Translated in Toyin Falola and Akintunde Akinyemi ).
The game dey arrange children make dem form one protective circle. One child (the goat, ẹran) go stand inside the circle, while another child (the leopard, ẹkùn) dey waka round outside . The children wey form the ring go hold hands tight-tight. As the leader and the chorus dey chant the verse, the leopard go try break pass their linked hands make e touch the goat. The children wey dey the circle go raise their hand up make the goat fit escape or enter inside to hide, while dem go bring their hand down to block the leopard.
The chorus dey respond for every beat with the onomatopoeic sound of goat cry, Mẹ̀ẹ́! . This sound dey create dramatic tension, dey show how the domestic animal wey dem dey hunt dey fear inside the bush (igbó and ọ̀dàn). The song dey run faster as the chase dey hot, and e dey stop sharp-sharp when the leopard successfully touch the goat or when e don tire .
Scholars of translation and oral literature observe say strong disagreement dey about how dem dey translate the choral response:
Apart from counting and chasing games, children oral literature get observational verses wey dem dey recite during evening and moonlight games (eré òṣùpá) . These verses dey teach cosmological and environmental etiquette .
Oṣùpá tọ́lọ́ntọ́lọ́
Ọmọdé kò gbọdọ̀ wò ó lójú
Oṣùpá (The moon) tọ́lọ́ntọ́lọ́ (slender / delicately crescent-shaped)
Ọmọdé (A child) kò (must not / does not) gbọdọ̀ (dare to / have permission to) wò (gaze at) ó (it) lójú (in the direct face / directly in the eye)
Slender crescent moon,
Small pikin no suppose look straight inside im face.
(Na Ulli Beier and Bakare Gbadamosi translate am ).
Dem dey recite this verse during evening gathering, and e carry traditional belief about how person suppose look celestial body for sky and how to respect natural forces . The word tọ́lọ́ntọ́lọ́ na phonaesthetic ideophone wey dey describe the delicate, curved shape of the new crescent moon. The verse dey teach children how to control their body and respect space, dey warn say make person no stare straight or disrespect heavenly bodies, otherwise e go bring spiritual problem or spoil eye .
The historical and ethnographic record show say Yorùbá children game rely on three main method to share role, pick captain, and divide team:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SELECTION MECHANISMS IN PLAY |
+---------------------+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| Mechanism | Structural Procedure | Typical Application |
+---------------------+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| 1. Syllabic | Sequential pointing around a | Base-10 counting rhymes, |
| Elimination | circle on metric beats | *Ẹní bí ẹní* [S1] |
+---------------------+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| 2. Physical | Foot-matching, jumping, | *Tẹ́ntẹ́n* and athletic |
| Contests | and rhythm synchronization | games [S1][S3] |
+---------------------+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| 3. Call-and- | Spontaneous volunteering or | *Bọ̀jú-bọ̀jú* role assignment |
| Response Claims | designated seeker chants | and tagger roles [S3][S5] |
+---------------------+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+
Dem dey use verse like Ẹní bí ẹní, where players go stand round for circle and stretch their hand or leg come front . The person wey dey count go recite the verse, dey touch one player or one hand/leg per syllable. The person wey dem touch for the last syllable of the chant (like gbàǹgbà) go comot from the circle. Dem go repeat this process until na only one person remain, and na that person go come carry the main role, like the person wey go find people (olóró) for hide-and-seek .
For game wey need body agility, how dem dey take turn and eliminate person na through body matching games like Tẹ́ntẹ́n . Two players go stand face each other, clap hand to a regular rhythm beat, and jump at the same time to extend one leg forward on the syncopated beat. If the second player bring out the matching leg (left to left, or right to right like the leader), the leader go score point or eliminate the challenger. If the challenger successfully confuse or out-guess the leader, the leader role go switch immediately .
Ethnographic literature get very few written record of formal, standard selection verse wey dem set aside only to divide big group into two balanced sports team . Ethnomusicologists and linguists observe say na informal way dem mostly take divide team through oral negotiation, matching physical size, or make older children directly pick who dey where, instead of to use rigid, fixed selection chant .
Dem almost completely omit children counting rhyme and game chant from the earliest European and missionary linguistic publication for Yorùbáland .
During the nineteenth century, linguistic work wey Samuel Ajayi Crowther and the Church Missionary Society direct focus on translating Christian scriptures, documenting standard grammar rules, and compiling dictionary . Missionary scholars transcribe adult oral tradition wey get high social status or clear philosophical meaning, like proverbs (òwe) and religious incantations, but dem dismiss spontaneous children rhymes say na just ordinary playground talk .
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| HISTORICAL TRAJECTORY OF CHILDREN'S VERSE SCHOLARSHIP |
| |
| 1840s–1890s: Missionary Linguistic Era (Crowther et al.) |
| - Heavy focus on proverbs (*òwe*), scriptures, adult grammar |
| - Playground rhymes, counting chants, and lullabies unrecorded [S10] |
| |
| 1950s–1970s: Vernacular Primers & Literary Recovery |
| - J. F. Odunjo (*Aláwìíyé* series) publishes standard nursery rhymes [S2] |
| - Ulli Beier & Bakare Gbadamosi collect children's poetry anthologies [S6] |
| - Ruth Finnegan documents African game rhymes in comparative survey [S11] |
| |
| 1980s–Present: Structural, Functional, & Ethnomusicological Analysis |
| - Olatunji (1984) analyzes poetic mechanics and tonality [S5] |
| - Oyesakin (1983) and Akinyemi (2003) examine indigenous pedagogy [S9][S10] |
| - Aremu & Olaniyan (2024) document ethnomusicological music education [S1] |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Pikin rhymes enter written record around mid-twentieth century through three clear ways:
Because dem pass dis verses down by mouth through generations without writing dem down, person no fit date dia historical origins and who compose dem . Di repertoire wey remain still dey alive and dey grow as verbal art, wey dey keep traditional way of counting, community ethics, and language discipline through how children dey perform am.
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