Muti Muhande Rui-ini

folk song / traditional

Lyrics - Kikuyu

(Folk song from Kenya)

Muti muhande rui-ini,
One i mathangu maguo,
Magithaka na ruhuho,
Ithui nituthake na ruhuho.

English Translation - A Tree Planted on the Riverbank

A tree planted on the riverbank,
Look at its leaves
Playing with the wind.
Even us let’s play with the wind.
(source)

Circle Game

Formation: Students stand in a circle holding hands.

For the first three lines, students stand in place and swish hands forward and backward to the steady beat. On the last line, on measure 21 (“tha-ka-na…), students gallop to the side. When that same measure is repeated (in the Response), students gallop to the other side.