Fanga is a dance "interpretation of a traditional Liberian invocation to the earth and sky". The dance was created in 1959 by noted dancer Pearl Primus in conjunction with the National Danche Company of Liberia. Babatunde Olatunji, described Fanga as a dance of welcome from Liberia and created a song to go with the rhythm and dance, assisted by some of the students in his Harlem studio, during the early sixties. They used words from the Yoruba language and a melody popularized by American minstrels (Li'l Liza Jane).