Loading AI tools
"Senzeni Na?" (also spelled Senzenina, English: What Have We Done?)[1] is a South African anti‐apartheid folk song. It is a Xhosa struggle song, and is commonly sung at funerals, demonstrations and in churches.[1][2] Activist Duma Ndlovu compared the influence of "Senzeni Na?" to that of the American protest song, "We Shall Overcome."[3] This seems all the less surprising as Pete Seeger already included an adaptation of Senzeni Na in his repertoire in the 50s and 60s of the last century.[4]
| "Senzeni Na?" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | Xhosa |
| Genre | Folk music |
The song has been around at least since the 1950s, and it reached the height of its popularity during the 1980s.[1] The origins of the song are unclear. Zimbabwean poet Albert Nyathi wrote a song by the same title, "Senzeni Na?" on the day that activist Chris Hani died.[5]
The song was among several songs of a more mournful nature that became popular among anti-apartheid activists in the 1960s. The song repeats the line "What have we done" a number of times, which musician Sibongile Khumalo has described as giving the listener a sense of desolation.[6]
Lyrics
There does not seem to be one universally agreed on set of lyrics. Below are two versions, the bottom one being the more aggressive of the two:
|
|
|
|
Appearances in the Western world
While best known in South Africa, "Senzeni Na?" has gained some popularity overseas. The song was sung at the funeral scene in the anti‐apartheid film The Power of One[9] as well as during the opening credits of the film In My Country, and a recording of the song as sung at the funeral of Steve Biko can be heard at the end of the album version of "Biko" by Peter Gabriel.[10] It was also sung by Kenneth Nkosi, in a medley which also contained the song "Transkaroo" by Leon Schuster, in the 2012 film Mad Buddies.[11] The music was used for an adaptation of the hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" by Isaac Watts in the Mennonite Hymnal: A Worship Book.[12]
In Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy there is a city called Senzeni Na (founded by the Japanese). Part 7 of the book is also titled "Senzeni Na."[13]
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
