Asadoya Yunta by Rimi Natsukawa 『安里屋ユンタ』夏川りみ | 2002 #folk

Rimi Natsukawa
Asodaya Yunta
Album : Tida: Tida Kaji nu Umui
Release date : 2002 

『安里屋ユンタ』　夏川りみ　（琉球伝統歌舞集団チーム琉神）

Hello Hello !
Yesterday i found this performance of Rimi Natsukawa, the "queen" of Okinawan folk music.
The song is very beautiful and gives positive energy and joy. I hit the replay button countless times lol

I did some researches concerning the lyrics as i like Karaoke haha and I found  interesting information. I was surprised that i didn't find a 100% exact translation. Even if you try to copy-paste the lyrics (written in Japanese , not romaji) in the translator, you won't get meaningful sentences. And this, because the lyrics are old and written in Okinawa's dialect.
So, i had to do deeper researches. Fortunately, i found results .
However, there is something still ambiguous that i will talk about afterward.

NOTE  : source1 & source2  are official websites.

About the song

Originally Asadoya Yunta was a folk song from the island of Taketomi which is in the small cluster of islands known as Yaeyama. source1

Chris Willson photography, Okinawa , Model : Nayuta

 It is composed by Choho Miyara and lyrics by Katsu Hoshi. It is widely sung across the main island of Okinawa and has spread throughout Japan. source2
Asado (Asato) is a family name. Ya means "house"/"family"; and yunta is a local term for a group work song.source1

The original, in local dialect, tells the story of the beautiful Kuyama of that family being courted by a government official. Around 1940 a Japanese-language version was made to appeal to the mainland Japanese, in connection with a film. Even the Okinawans (who are losing their dialect) tend to sing the Japanese version, except, of course, back in Yaeyama. A classical (koten) piece, known as "Asadoya Bushi," is derived from this folk song, with similar melody, but slower tempo and performed without the bamboo castanets.  source1
“Yunta” was sung during manual labor to relieve stress and increase motivation. source2
Accoriding to source2 , it seems that the Asadoya Yunta sung by Rimi Natsukawa is a new "modern" version in terms of lyrics and melody.

Lyrics  Romaji

Okinawa's kimono style

[SAA] kimi wa nonaka no ibara no hana ka 
[sa yui yui] kurete kaereba yarehon ni hikitomeru 
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO] 
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO] 

[SAA] ureshi hazukashi ukina wo tatete 
[sa yui yui] nushi wa shirayuri yarehon ni mamanaranu
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO] 
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO]

[SAA] tagusa torunara izayoizukiyo 
[sa yui yui] futari de kigane mo yarehon ni mizuirazu
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO] 

Rice field - Okinawa  by Jocelyn Kahawai

[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO] 

[SAA] somete agemashou konji no kosode
 [sa yui yui] kakete okure yo nasake no tasuki 
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO] 
[MATAHAARI NU TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO]

[SAA]Okinawa yoi toko ichido wa mensore
(saa yui yui) haru natsu aki fuyu midori no shima yo
[MATAHAARI NU  TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO]
[MATAHAARI NU  TSUINDARA KANUSHAMAYO]

Translation

Oh, My wife is as a flower amidst a bed of thorns.
I hold you back when I return at dusk.

Oh, How happy, how ashamed to acquire a name of unfaithfulness.
My husband is like a white lily but too much for me to control.

Oh, After working in the fields under the sixteen day old  moon,
the two of us alone but somehow constrained.

I have dyed for you, a dark blue kimono.
Please wear it with a sash as a sign of my affection.

Oh, Welcome to Okinawa, the green island with the four seasons  of Spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

source1 

*(Saa, yui yui) is simply a melodic phrase which is said to have no meaning, much like singing “lalala” in English. source3

In the lyrics the words “Matahari Nuchindara” is a phrase from the old Yaeyama dialect meaning “I’ll see you again, beautiful girl. “ source2

According to source3 (blog) : 
"
**Matahaari nu tsindara kanushamayo is a very mysterious phrase. It seemed that a lot of natives of Okinawa believed these words to be from a dialect of Taketomi Island where the song was written. Those who asked their aging Okinawan parents and grandparents were told it meant something like “Such a lovely girl.” However, the fellow at the website above wrote that the sentence was actually in Malay, a language spoken in Indonesia. Unsure if I could take his claims for granted, I looked it up myself. You can see the truth at the following links.
MATAHARI – (sun)
MU – (your)
CINTARA – (to love)
KAMI – (we)
SAMA-YO (equally)
The phrase can be interpreted as “Your sun loves us equally.” How interesting to find the translation of 300-year-old lyrics so easily. A look at Wikipedia lists Austronesia as a trading partner in Okinawa‘s history, a group of peoples and languages in which Malay is included, which may explain the way the language found its way into the song.
"

Personally, i tend to trust this hypothesis, because "Matahaari nu tsindara kanushamayo" is written in Katakana (-if you look for Asadoya Yunta written in Japanese-), as if it was a foreign language. So it looks like there is no confirmation for the exact origin and meaning.

There are several versions (including the original ) and translations for Asadoya Yunta that can be found in source1 & source2 .