Oa Iteli-telisa

‘Oa Iteli-telisa’ tells of trying to stop a child crying. It is not a soothing lullaby in the European sense but a humorous song. Mohapeloa was the fourth eldest of ten children, and later had four children himself, and he was well versed in a folk culture where there were a number of children’s songs and games, and he consciously reflects the meaning of the text in his music. ‘Oa Iteli-telisa’ has the feel of a children’s song, but also the feel of an entertainment song of the type that was sung all over southern Africa in the earlier twentieth century, not only in schools and villages but also in township concerts and vaudevilles, where there might also be sketches, jazz, and dancing.