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| 1 |
Dodo wee! |
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The fool! |
| Chorus: |
 i a tanaila nga  . |
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He walks slowly with his back. |
| The dancer squats with both hands flat on the ground in front of her, fingers pointing towards the body. In that position she hops on the spot, moving alternate feet forward and backward (left-right-left-right), 'sitting' on the heel of the foot not moved. Then she jumps forward placing both soles on the ground, pauses, then jumps back to the first position, pauses, raises her body, hops with both feet together, and repeats the movement. |
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A)
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B)
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C)
Three positions of the body in performing the song Dodo. |
| The drum is related to the body movement as follows: |
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| x = position shown in Plate A (above) |
| y = position shown in Plate B (above) |
| z = position shown in Plate C, especially by the girl on left, with feet together. The girl in the middle has her hands placed wrongly, and the girl on the right has her feet too far apart. |
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| One mistress of initiation said that this song refers to the dung-beetle walking backwards. Another went further and said that it referred to a woman on her back during the sexual act. A young woman from Gaba, however, gave an entirely practical explanation: it teaches a girl that she must kneel when she cooks. |
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