July 30, 2026
Greetings from Harry Agina. This is the Afro-Scope AfroLinguistic Etymology Series. If you’re new to this series, I wanno inform you a little about it. And if you’re our regular fan, then you already know that it’s about words of African origin that have made their way into mainstream dictionaries of the world. It is also about some words and slangs that haven’t made it quite yet, but they are close enough because of their popularity around the world.
Also important to mention is the composition of the English language, which is the dominant global language. It is a fact that a great majority of all the words in mainstream English dictionaries today have their origins from various languages of the world. Many were adopted and adapted from Latin, from French, from several other languages, and yes, from African languages, too. So, the Afro-Scope Project created this AfroLinguistic Etymology series to give you the stories of how some African words made their way into the mainstream dictionaries of the world.
Now, here is our beautiful philosophically poetic, or poetically philosophical etymologist, Asmau Suleiman, with this edition of the series, about a word that entered global mainstream dictionaries in 1963:
Hi. I’m Asmau Suleiman, and this is the Afro-Scope Project, where African words travel beyond borders, carrying pieces of Africa with them.
Some words describe an action…
Some describe an idea…
And some words call people together. HARAMBEE is one of those words that call people together. It is a beautiful East African Swahili word carrying a powerful message. Now, let’s make our usual journey through the origin and evolution:
Harambee says:
All pull together…
Come together as one…
Pool your strength, your resources, and your efforts.
In Swahili, Harambee is associated with the idea of pulling together or working together.
And its journey into the wider world is deeply connected to Kenya, where the word became a powerful symbol of collective effort, community self-help, and nation-building.
The spirit of Harambee is simple:
One person may not have enough…
But together…
We can build.
Together…
We can lift.
Together…
We can achieve what one person alone may not.
The word became particularly prominent in Kenya around the country’s independence in 1963 and the years that followed. Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first Prime Minister and later President, embraced “Harambee” as a national motto, calling on citizens to contribute collectively to the development of their new nation. That national call, that motto by Jomo Kenyatta popularized HARAMBEE all over the world. And, that popularity shot Harambee into mainstream global dictionaries.
Communities came together.
They raised money…
They built schools…
They supported community projects…
They worked together…
Harambee…
All pull together.
And what a beautiful philosophy that is. Because sometimes, progress does not begin with one person having everything.
Sometimes…
It begins with many people bringing what they have..
One brings strength…
Another brings knowledge…
Another brings time…
Another brings money…
Another brings an idea…
And together…
Something greater is built. But there is another part of the story that deserves honesty.
While the word Harambee is firmly established in Swahili and its meaning is clear, the deeper origin of the word itself is less certain.
Some theories have suggested that the word may have emerged through historical contact between East Africa and Indian communities, possibly from expressions used by Indian labourers in the region.
Other accounts simply treat Harambee as a Swahili word meaning “pull together.”
The deeper linguistic origin, therefore, is not entirely settled. And this is where we must distinguish between the history of a word’s use and the ultimate origin of the word itself.
What we can say with confidence is that Harambee became firmly established in East African— particularly Kenyan— life and entered wider English usage carrying its powerful message of collective action.
Its story reminds us that language, like people, travels. Words cross borders…
They enter new communities.
They acquire new histories…
And sometimes, a word becomes bigger than its original definition.
Harambee became more than “pull together.”
It became a philosophy…
A call to collective strength…
A reminder that what one person cannot accomplish alone may become possible when many people bring what they have.
Perhaps that is the beauty of the word, HARAMBEE…
Not simply one pulling…
Not simply another pulling…
But all pulling together.
And maybe that is a lesson worth remembering far beyond East Africa. Because wherever people come together…
Wherever hands meet hands…
Wherever individual efforts become one collective force…
There, in spirit, is Harambee.
Until next time, keep speaking Africa… even when you don’t know you are.
