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Murzynek Bambo – Julian Tuwim Posted by on Sep 30, 2012 in Culture

Bambo is the main character of a childrens poem where a 10 year old african is presented as studious, but when he comes home he is mischievous. When his mom ask him to drink his milk, he climbs a tree, and when his mom asks him to take a bath, he is afraid he will turn white. It is a little hard to translate it exactly, but I tried my best!

 

 Murzynek Bambo

Murzynek Bambo w Afryce mieszka

czarną maskórę ten nasz kolezka

uczy się pilnie przez całe ranki

ze swej murzyńskiej pierwszej czytanki.

A gdy do domu ze szkoły wraca,

psoci figluje to jego praca,

aż mama krzyczy Bambo łobuzie,

a Bambo czarną nadyma buzię

Mama powiada napij się mleka

a on na drzewo mamie ucieka,

mama powiada choć do kąpieli

a on się boi, ze się wybieli

Lecz mama kocha swojego synka,

bo dobry chłopak z tego murzynka,

szkoda, ze Bambo czarny wesoły,

nie chodzi razem z nami do szkoły.

“Bambo Brown”

On African land lives Bambo and the Browns

His chocolate face shines even when he frowns.

As soon as the Sun appears on the horizon

His new book is what he’s keen on.

And when he comes back home from school

He plays tricks as he thinks it’s quite cool.

“Come drink some milk” – his mummy says.

But he climbing the tree prefers.

“Come take a bath” – his mummy replies.

But Bambo does not want his skin to turn white

But mummy loves her little boy

As he is good and full of joy.

What a pity that Bambo clever and funny

Is not here to make the weather warm and sunny.

 

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

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About the Author: Kasia

My name is Kasia Scontsas. I grew near Lublin, Poland and moved to Warsaw to study International Business. I have passion for languages: any languages! Currently I live in New Hampshire. I enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking and paddle boarding. My husband speaks a little Polish, but our daughters are fluent in it! I wanted to make sure that they can communicate with their Polish relatives in our native language. Teaching them Polish since they were born was the best thing I could have given them! I have been writing about learning Polish language and culture for Transparent Language’s Polish Blog since 2010.


Comments:

  1. Marek Zielinski:

    “Negro Bambo” is my first, like many Polish children’s favorite poem of John Tuwima of Polish ABCs. When I memorised it as a part of my curriculum, without being aware of it which will play a big role – this line – the sign in shaping my Superego (noun (pl. -gos)
    Psychoanalysis. The part of a person’s mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social standards learned from parents and teachers. Compare with ego and id).
    Here below are the results of its influence.
    The Truth About Racism
    “I am black, I am black in origin, (photo included) only colour of my skin has had faded away with time. My prime parents, hominids, moved away migrating from their original place of birth. The further north they moved close to the present North complexity of their skin has changed accordingly, simply has had whitened.
There is nothing like racism. All people around the world is One family and I am black in origin.
    Genesis 2:7, Acts 17:26, anthropologists, anatomists like Prof. Joel Rack and others state about it very clearly:
    Genesis 2:7(a) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground*
    Q: What is the colour of the dust of the ground*?
A: White? pink, yellow, red, brown or black!?
    Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, …
    Eddie Izzard’s remarkable statements about racism;
    “What would skin colour be like?” – (Time line: 32:27) “This shows that the racism is stupid, is insane, because we are all the same people.” – (Time line: 34:03) Ref: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21507732
    “What would skin colour be like?” – (Time line: 03:44)
    How many wars have been fought over the colour of the skin and all of this hatred going on but it really is just to do with where you are, where the sun and the body will also had just as tribes and everyone were moving further north were there was less sun light, that’s right, when they were actually start shading pigment – (Time line: 04:16)
    Human migrations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_human_migrations
    Taking into consideration these above 4 undoubful facts;1. religious – Acts 17:262. anthropological – Eddie Izzard’s story3. modern – Matrix 4. Oppenheimer’s fact – Modern Man’s Journey Out of Africa 2003
    bring us to the only one sound conclusion that all inhabitants of our Mother Earth are all the same people, we all are brothers and sisters by blood, we all belong to the same one family here on earth and I am black in origin.Conclusion
    Whosoever insults another person by saying, cit. “you fucking nigger” (noun, offensive; a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person) is in contrary but undoubtedly, exactly and precisely pointing finger on him/her/self, insulting him/her/self.
    Let’s this ‪#‎blackonwhitecurriculum‬ be implemented in every class room in every school, college, university all over the world to wipe this mental impediment, racism, from the face of our earth for now and for ever.
    
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE RACISM AND I AM BLACK.
    Taken from Sequel Box, Sequel 10, “The Truth About Racism” at:
http://www.visutech.net/peace365/index.asp?pageID=86

  2. Jackson Shilt:

    I do love the way you have presented this specific situation plus it does indeed present me personally some fodder for thought. However, coming from just what I have personally seen, I just hope when other comments pack on that people today continue to be on point and don’t start on a tirade associated with some other news of the day. Yet, thank you for this exceptional point and although I do not really concur with it in totality, I respect the viewpoint.

  3. Bumbo’s Black Lover:

    I fell in love with Mr. Bumbo and could relate to his struggle to differentiate himself from the apes surrounding him, including his mother. The story is an excellent way to showcase the coming generation to be more racially tolerant. Long Live The Black Mumbo Bumbo.