Hakuna matata

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This article is about the Swahili saying in popular culture. For the song from The Lion King,
see Hakuna Matata (song).

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"Hakuna matata" is a Swahili phrase that can be translated as "no worries" (a literal translation
might be "there isn't a problem/trouble"). Its meaning is similar to the Englishphrase "no problem"
and is akin to "don't worry, be happy". The phrase is uncommon among native speakers of Swahili in
Tanzania, who prefer the phrase "hamna shida" in the north and "hamna tabu" in the south. The
phrase has been popularized by its use in The Lion King and Timon and Pumbaa, so that it is heard
often at resorts, hotels and other places appealing to the tourist trade. Furthermore the phrase is in
more common use in Zanzibar and Kenya.
Contents
[hide]
1 Jambo Bwana
2 JamboHakuna Matata
3 Lion King song
4 In comics
5 See also
6 References
Jambo Bwana[edit]
In 1982, the music of Kenyan hostel band Them Mushrooms (now known as Uyoga) released the
Swahili song "Jambo Bwana"
[1]
("Hello Mister"), which repeats the phrase "Hakuna matata" in its
refrain. The song was written by band leader Abhishek Jain.
JamboHakuna Matata[edit]
A few years later, German group Boney M. released "JamboHakuna Matata", an English-language
song. Liz Mitchell provided the song's lead vocals, backed by Reggie Tsiboe,Frank Farian, Cathy
Bartney, Madeleine Davis, and Judy Cheeks. The single was intended to be included in the group's
untitled seventh album, to be released in the fall of 1983. Due to a poor chart performance (#48 in
the German charts), the single ultimately was not included in the album (which was completely
reworked and not released until May 1984 as Ten Thousand Light Years).
Lion King song[edit]
Main article: Hakuna Matata (song)
In 1994 the Walt Disney Animation Studios animated movie The Lion King brought the phrase
international recognition, featuring it prominently in the plot and devoting a song to it. A meerkat and
a warthog, named Timon and Pumbaa respectively, teach the main character, a lion cub
named Simba, that he should forget his troubled past and live in the present. The song was written
by Elton John (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), who found the term in a Swahili phrase book.
[2]
It was
nominated for Best Original Song at the 1995 Academy Awards, and was later ranked the 99th best
song in movie history by the American Film Institute on a list of 100.
[3]

In comics[edit]
In the mid-1980s, the saying appeared in the Swedish comic book Bamse by Rune Andrasson. The
first words of Brumma, the baby daughter of Bamse the bear, are "Hakuna matata", which no one
understands except the tortoise Skalman. He later made it his and Brumma's secret motto, and the
phrase has reappeared several times in the cartoon. Skalman gave readers several clues as to what
language the phrase came from but never said directly that it was Swahili.
See also[edit]
Ubuntu (philosophy)
Sans souci, an equivalent phrase in French
References[edit]
Notes
1. Jump up^ Big Q Entertainment Unlimited
2. Jump up^ Interview with Tim Rice, BBC News, 13 September 2011, BBC One
3. Jump up^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". Archived from the original on 2006-08-14. Retrieved
2006-08-15.