Fun And Games In Ghana: De be De be

When I was doing a homestay in Ghana, Africa, I loved learning what kinds of games the children played and seeing how they were similar and different from what I played when I was a child. One favorite of the girls was a hand game called “De be De be”, which is similar to the American “Miss Mary Mack”, only a completely different story line. I had one of the older girls write down the words in Twi (their native language) for me and then translate it into English. It’s really interesting how children’s stories and nursery rhymes differ from culture to culture. Here is what I got: Twi De be, De be, De be, Me ko nrolam, Me ko wo nseman, Nseman nkestikeste, Na me slow na me slow papa, Jno pomanestwa meso me poma, Me stwa sidze kyerew meso, me dze kyerew neso, Atsi ka steka astipo-po-po English One day, One day, One day I went into bush, I saw small, small ghost, I was scared, I was scared too much, the ghost raised his gun, and I raised my gun, and the ghost raised his gun and pointed it at me, then the ghost stepped back, and then I stepped back, (pow, pow, pow/gun sounds)