Folklore 204: Ti Zwazo

Repetition, Rhythm, and Everyday Life

Before we get into this, you need to understand something: not everything in Haitian folklore is a full story.

Folksongs are also part of the repertoire of folklore, and nursery songs are some of the most important.

Ti Zwazo is one of the most iconic songs to sing to children when they are first born, and if you dig into it, you’ll start to understand the nuance in the warnings.

There isn’t a single moment when this song was “created.” Like most Haitian children’s songs, it comes from the oral tradition.

The references to Fiyèt Lalo are very important. Fiyèt Lalo were militiawomen who functioned much like their male counterparts, the Tonton Macoutes, during the Duvalier era. The Fiyèt Lalo and Tonton Macoutes were referred to as “Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale” (VSN), or National Security Volunteers, which was the official name of this paramilitary body that operated under the state. 

They routinely disappeared people who were political opponents. It was also common for young people to get caught up in political movements, driven by idealism and the desire for a better future.

This song warns children of that.

Historical Side Note: The regime of power, explicitly elected to use the names Fiyèt Lalo and Tonton Macoute because they were already part of the cosmology of Haitian folklore. Both the quintessential boogey man, Fiyèt Lalo ate children, and Tonton Macoute took misbehaving children and put them in his sack and carried them off. 

Duvalier intentionally used something that was a major cannon in Haitian folklore and transformed the name so much, we barely remember its origin. 

So this song is a warning about getting involved in political matters.

We should ask ourselves: what did daily life look like back then that would encourage the creation of songs like this?

What were children exposed to?
What did they need to learn early?
What did they need to be warned about?

We know they were living through a dictatorship, and parents needed to protect their children from being taken, like so many other young people were.

So when we look at a song like Ti Zwazo, the question is not just “what does it say?”

It’s also: why this? Why these images? Why this framing?

Klas la nan sesyon.

The Song

Ti zwazo kote ou prale
Mwen prale kay fiyèt lalo
Fiyèt lalo kon manje ti moun
Si ou ale lap manje ou tou

Brik kolon brik, brik kolon brik
Wosiyòl manje korosòl

Woulo woulo mwen soti lavil o kay
Tout bèt tonbe nan dlo

Madmwazèl leve pou danse
Mesye mwen trò fatige

English

Little bird, where are you going?
I am going to Fiyèt Lalo’s house
Lalo eats little children
If you go, she’ll eat you too

Brik kolon brik, brik kolon brik
Nightingale eats soursop fruit

Rolling, rolling, I come from the village
All the animals fall into the water

Lady, please get up and dance
Sir, I am too tired

What is actually happening here?

First, a question:
Where are you going?

Then, a response:
To a place that is not safe.

Then, a warning:
If you go, something will happen to you.

And then everything opens up.

What is this song doing?

A few things at once:

Repetition and memory building
Children learn the pattern and anticipate what comes next

Warning language
Not explained, just stated and understood through repetition

Rhythm training
Brik kolon brik functions almost like percussion

Social scripting
The final lines model interaction, invitation and refusal

And then there’s the warning itself.

Fiyèt lalo kon manje ti moun.

Fiyèt Lalo can “eat” people. In this context, eating means to kill or destroy.

What is the “moral”?

Stay away from politics.

Lekòl lage!