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09th Apr 2019

We FINALLY know what the Circle of Life intro means in the Lion King

Rebecca O'Keeffe

circle of life

The best film ever made…

Okay, so I grew up watching the Lion King obsessively (once a week is not enough mum).

Anyway, here I am at 26, and the love is still so real.

I even have a Lion King related tattoo… no regrets.

Anyway one thing I have ALWAYS wondered about the film is WHAT is that intro for Circle of Life?

You know the bit at the very start of the film….

circle of life

“NAAAAAAAAH SVENYAAAAA MAMBEATSEBABAAAH”

Or something along those lines….

I always shout it out, but I hoenstly have no clue what it means – well, now I do.

And let me tell you, it makes a whole lot of sense.

I stumbled upon a post on Tumblr that gave me the sweet sweet knowledge I needed.

circle of life

So here’s what it means:

“Nants ingonyama bagithi baba” = “There comes a lion”

“Sithi uhhmm ingonyama” – “Oh yes, it’s a lion”

Truthfully, a lot less exciting in English….