TABA NABA - AILAN SONGS PROJECT

Performed by Jessie Lloyd and TSI Songwomen on Thursday Island
Music produced by Jay Keyz, Honalulu
Filmed by Andrew Watson, Melbourne

A popular children’s song with accompanying sit-down dance, Taba Naba or (Naba Naba) is an adaptation of an American song called ‘Navajo’ performed by black minstrels around 1905. When the song reached the Torres Straits, either by vinyl, sheet music or American travellers, it was adopted into the Meriam Mer language by local islanders. Where ‘Nava Nava, my Navajo’ became ‘Naba naba, naba norem’ which means ‘come we go to the reef’. With the earliest written record transcribed in 1949, Taba Naba is now considered a traditional song of the Torres Strait, telling the ancient practice of going out onto the reef, a central part of islander life and custom. Continuing the song traditions of passing knowledge down the generations through song and dance. The inclusion of a sit-down dance suggests Polynesian influences which were relevant at the time. Like many communally owned songs, there are several candidates as to who composed the Meriam words. Most often accredited is Jeffrey Doolah. Extensive consultation with elders has proved that irrelevant of who penned the words, the song belongs to the Torres Strait people. It is a valuable cultural asset that represents identity and pride to those connected to it - a powerful tool that shares our culture with others.