We wrote Monday of a new listing called Tingalayo, which is a beautiful and very rhythmic Caribbean word. We asked the seller why he named his property Tingalayo, and the origin of the word. He said he wanted something old that represented the origins of life in the Caribbean, but had no idea where the word came from.

We couldn’t find out either, but here is the well-known nursery rhyme:

Tingalayo

Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown

Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
My donkey walk, my donkey talk
My donkey eat with a knife and fork
My donkey walk, my donkey talk
My donkey eat with a knife and fork

Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
My donkey eat, my donkey sleep
Don’t get too close to his hind feet
My donkey eat, my donkey sleep
Don’t get too close to his hind feet

Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
Tingalayo, run my little donkey run
Tingalayo, run my little donkey run