Pata Pata

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Hebrew: פטה פטה. Four-wall block dance, choreographer and date unknown.

Pata Pata was a style of dance popular in South Africa in the 1950s. It means "touch, touch" in the Xhosa language; the dancers would pat the ground and each other's bodies. Singer Miriam Makeba wrote the song in the late 1950s, then rewrote it in 1967 as we know it today (with the English verses) in conjunction with Jerry Ragovoy. The source of the line dance done today in Israeli and International folkdance sessions is unknown.

Makeba herself was a political activist, participating in many causes for civil rights and struggle against the South African government. She was married to activist Stokely Carmichael, which eventually led to her being investigated by the FBI and banned from the United States. She became known as "Mama Africa". On November 9 2008, Makeba had a heart attack and died after performing Pata Pata at a concert in Italy.

The first word of the song contains an alveolar click consonant, one of three click consonants in the Xhosa language. It is similar to the "clip-clop" sound made by an English speaker to imitate a horse trotting (though the latter is not a true consonant). In the lyrics below, this consonant is written with the letter "q". Listen to the rendition of Pata Pata by Makeba (link below) and you will hear the loud click each time the line is sung.

Both israelidances.com and Rokdim credit the dance to Shalom Amar in 1978, though this can't possibly refer to the popular line dance, which definitely dates from earlier. Possibly Amar choreographed a different dance to the same music. (The Rokdim video presents the popular dance with no mention of Shalom Amar.)

Links

Miriam Makeba singing Pata Pata on the Ed Sullivan show in 1967

Lyrics and translation

Pata Pata at Wikipedia

Zenzile Miriam Makeba at Wikipedia

Pata Pata at israelidances.com

Video at Rokdim