Dolly Parton Oo Geeriyootay, Qaaradda Afrika Oo U Tacsi Gaysan

Fanaaniinta reer Afrika iyo taageerayaasha muusigga wadaagga ah ayaa ka hadlaya saamaynta heesaha Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton ayaa geeriyootay usbuucan, waxaana loo tacsi gashay dhammaan qaaradda Afrika, laga bilaabo Lagos ilaa Nairobi iyo Johannesburg. Fanaaniinta muusigga country-ga ah iyo taageerayaasha Afrika ayaa NPR u sheegay inay dareemeen inay la xiriiri karaan asalka iyo heesaha ay ku qaaday dhibaatooyinka reer miyi.

Taageerada Kenya iyo Nigeria

Esther Konkara, oo loo yaqaan 'Dolly Parton-ka Kenya', waa 39 sano jir waxayna ku kortay tuulo Kenya ah oo qallalan oo boodh ah. Waxay tiri: 'Waxaan u maleynayaa in Dolly ay heesaysay heeso ku saabsan ku korriinka meelaha miyiga ah ee Ameerika, iyo in badan oo inaga mid ah ay ku koreen miyiga iyo asal sabool ah ay aad noogu dhawaanayaan'.

Ochiora Okogeri, oo ah fanaan Nigeria ah oo magaciisu yahay The Country Man, ayaa daboolaya heesaha Dolly, waxaana ay taageerayaashu ugu jecel yihiin 'Coat of Many Colors'. Wuxuu yidhi: 'Waxaa jiray nafti iyo run heesahaas ku jirtay, gaar ahaan marka aan Nigeria ku heesayo waxaa had iyo jeer la i soo dhaweynayaa'.

Dhaxalka Koonfurta Afrika

Madaxweynihii hore ee Koonfurta Afrika Nelson Mandela wuxuu ahaa taageere heesta 'Jolene', maxaabiista ayuu weydiin jiray in loogu ciyaariyo Robben Island. Kooxda Ndlovu Youth Choir ayaa 2020 diiwaangelisay nooc 'Jolene' ah oo ay ku dartay lainiyo luqadda isiZulu.

Dolly Parton waxay la kaashootay Ladysmith Black Mambazo albamkii Treasures, hogaamiyihiina Sibongiseni Shabalala ayaa sheegay inay 1995 kulmeen. Waxay wada qaadeen 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', kulankii ugu dambeeyayna ahaa 2018 Dollywood.

Xaflado Xusuus ah iyo Codadka

Kenyada waxaa jira xaflad sanadle ah oo Cowboys and Cowgirls Day ah halkaas oo dadku u labistaan dharka reer galbeedka oo ay kula dhaqaaqaan muusigga country-ga. Elijah Manyeki, mulkiilaha dukaanka Nairobi, ayaa ah qofka ugu horreeya ee qabanqaabiya xafladda wuxuuna qabtay shir shumays iyo barbecue xusuus ah.

Esther Konkara ayaa tiri: 'Waxaan u maleynayaa taasina waa sababta jacaylka muusigga country-ga uu uga badan yahay Kenya'. Sibongiseni Shabalala wuxuu yidhi: 'Aad baynu uga xunahay geerida, waxaan rajaynaynaa in qof walba uu ku qalbi qaboojiyo shaqada ay qabatay'.

The news of Dolly Parton's death this week has sent shockwaves across the African continent, where her music and humble Appalachian roots resonated deeply with fans from Lagos to Johannesburg.

Rural Roots Resonate Across the Continent

African country music stars told NPR they could relate to Parton's background and her ballads of rural hardship and struggle. Esther Konkara, a 39-year-old singer known as 'the Kenyan Dolly Parton,' said growing up in a semi-arid, dusty Kenyan village, Dolly's songs just spoke to her.

I think by Dolly singing songs about growing up in rural areas back there in America, and a lot of us having grown up in rural areas and in poor backgrounds it resonates so well with us, she explained. I think that's why there is a lot of love for country music in Kenya, the singer added.

A Continent in Mourning: Vigil, Tributes and Shared Grief

Elijah Manyeki, who owns a niche but popular Nairobi store selling cowboy apparel and organizes the annual Cowboys and Cowgirls Day festival, said the whole of Africa is in shock. He was holding a candlelight vigil and barbecue in Nairobi for Dolly fans to come together and remember her.

That connection isn't unique to Kenya. In Nigeria, Ochiora Okogeri, known by his stage name The Country Man, is also feeling Dolly's loss. Dolly sang about love, Dolly sang about heartbreak, she sang about simplicity and humble beginnings, you know, and these things are I think very relatable to most Africans, he said.

Mandela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and a Legacy of Collaboration

In South Africa, former President Nelson Mandela was a fan of Dolly Parton's song 'Jolene' and, according to fellow inmates, would ask for it to be played over the loudspeakers at Robben Island. Decades later, the Ndlovu Youth Choir recorded a version in 2020, adding lines in isiZulu.

Dolly herself was no stranger to South African music. She collaborated with the a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo on her album Treasures. We first met Mama Dolly in 1995, recalls the group's leader Sibongiseni Shabalala. It was a very, very happy session, she was a very lovely person, very easy to work with.