Released 1994 Label Virgin | Length 3:49
4:29 (radio edit) | |
B-side "Dawa" (CD single)
Remix (CD maxi, 12")
"Ly-o-lay ale loya" (CD maxi, U.S.) Format CD single, CD maxi, 12" maxi Genre New-age, world, ambient | ||
"Yeha-Noha (Wishes of Happiness and Prosperity)" is a song recorded in 1994 by the German musical project known under the name of Sacred Spirit. It was the first single from the album Chants and Dances of the Native Americans. Released in 1994, it achieved a great success in various countries, including France, where it topped the singles chart. It was sung by Navajo elder Kee Chee Jake from Chinle, Arizona. The song is a remixed version of a portion of the Navajo Shoe Game song (a part of the origin myth describing a game played among the day animals and night animals in which the animals who discovered in which shoe a yucca ball was hidden would win a permanent state of daylight or night.) The song describes the Giant's (Yé'iitsoh) lament at the owl's attempt to cheat by stealing the ball. The audible portions of the song say:
Contents
... shaa ninánóh'aah (you give it back to me)
... Yé'iitsoh jinínáá léi' (... The Giant says again and again...)
... ninánóh'aah (...give it back)
Uses in the media
"Yeha-Noha" was generally credited to "Indians Sacred Spirit" in France, or also just "(The) Indians".
Produced by The Fearsome Brave (Claus Zundel), the song was used in a TV advert for the Häagen-Dazs ice-cream in France.
This song, mainly instrumental with Native American vocals, was much aired on radio. The main tune, played the cello, was regularly presented on TF1, the first TV channel in France, as the future summer hit. It also made an appearance in a 1995 British cinema advertisement for the Survival International charity, in which Richard Gere talked about the struggle to survive of the few remaining Native Americans.
The song was used in the 2001 independent film The Doe Boy.
In 2003, Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group used a section of the track in the official trailer for its smash-hit teen drama series The Tribe.
Chart performances
The song was certified Gold disc in France, after spending 19 weeks on the French Singles chart, from 8 July 1995. It went to number 26, then jumped to number three and reached number one three weeks later. It topped the chart for six consecutive weeks, then did not stop to drop on the chart. According to Infodisc website, the song is the 497th best-selling single of all time in France, with 528,000 sales.
The single charted for 16 weeks on the Ultratop 50, in Belgium (Wallonia). It debuted at number 20 on 5 August, reached the top ten in its third week, peaked at number three in its sixth week, then dropped on the chart. It was ranked 23rd on the End of the Year Chart.
This song was charted twice in UK in 1995: first for one week, at number 74, on 15 April, then for two weeks from in November, peaking at number 37.
"Yeha-Noha" featured for eleven weeks on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, reaching number 13.