Bariba Lullaby
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Bariba Lullaby Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by the Bariba people of northeastern Benin’s Nikki region, long celebrated for horsemanship and the annual Gani festival. The annual Gani festival in Nikki fills the streets with elaborate horse parades and equestrian displays, a celebration rooted in both religious history and Bariba pride, and the community’s reputation for skilled horsemanship helped them resist outside conquest for centuries longer than many of their neighbors. Here you will find the lyrics, meaning, and chords.
Lyrics & chords
An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.
Verse
What the words mean
Chords — guitar & piano
What “Bariba Lullaby” Means
“Mero” means mother in Baatonu, the language of the Bariba people of northeastern Benin’s Nikki region, long celebrated for horsemanship and the annual Gani festival. This original lullaby draws on those horse-riding and festival images of Bariba life, with “mero” used as a warm address rather than a literal translation.
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- An original lullaby by Relax In No Time, inspired by the musical traditions of its region. The words, melody, arrangement and recording are ours.
- Recording and arrangement: real instruments played by hand, no AI music, by Relax In No Time.
- Chords: written by us for guitar and piano.
- Translation: our own meaning-for-meaning translation, written for understanding. The sung words stay in the original language.
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