Folk Play Sessions #3: Kenya (Swahili Love Song)

Hello everyone!

This time we welcome two beautiful people from Kenya: Maryanne and Mercy who are going to share a piece of their culture in the heart of Budapest.

What to bring:
Bring your own instrument (guitar, percussion, recorder, anything!) or get ready to learn the song with us and sing together! After the event we will jam together and have tea and sweets. Also notebook and pen can be useful if you wanna write the lyrics and chords down.

Is it a paid event?
It's not a paid event, but we welcome donations to keep our foundation sustainable. There's no minimum or maximum.

Bio: I’m Maryanne, from Kenya and currently living in Budapest. I’m excited to share a little piece of Kenyan culture through Malaika — a beautiful Swahili love song that has traveled across East Africa and the world.

Background of the song:

Malaika means “angel” in Swahili and is one of the best-known Swahili love songs in the world. The song comes from East Africa, but its exact origins and authorship have been debated for decades. Tanzanian songwriter Adam Salim is often credited with composing it in Nairobi in the 1940s, while Kenyan musician Fadhili William is strongly associated with the song and was the first to record it with the Jambo Boys in the late 1950s/early 1960s.

The song tells the story of a man who loves a woman he wishes to marry but cannot afford the bride price. Malaika therefore carries both a romantic and bittersweet meaning — the singer calls his beloved his “angel” while expressing the pain of being unable to marry her.

The song reached a much wider international audience through South African singer Miriam Makeba, whose recording helped introduce Malaika to listeners around the world. Makeba reportedly encountered the song during a visit to Nairobi around Kenya’s independence celebrations and later recorded her own version.

Today, Malaika is more than a love song. It has become part of the shared musical heritage of East Africa — a song that has crossed borders, generations and languages while retaining the beauty of Swahili storytelling.