Hassan Haider
2 min readFeb 3, 2020

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Meaning behind Shakira's tongue memes

is breaking the internet with her incredible performance at Super Bowl halftime show last night.

While fans are showering love and praises on the Lebanese-Colombian singer on Twitter for her songs and dance moves which got the crowd on their feet, a certain gesture by Shakira which she made amid her performance is going viral on social media.

Although fans were unsure of what she did on the stage, they loved it for sure when the singer turned to camera and let out a vocal cry while repeatedly sticking out her tongue.

The fans think she has provided them with the first Super Bowl meme.

What Shakira did is called zaghrouta, an Arabic celebration chant which is used to express joy.

Shakira has long incorporated aspects of Middle Eastern culture in her performances.

According to Arab America:

The origin of “Zaghareet” [pl.] or Ululation dates back to the pre-Islamic era, as it was a traditional ritual of idolatry practiced collectively by women asking the idols for relief, mercy, rain . . . etc. In addition to drumbeats, they also used ululation to stimulate excitement on battlefields.

The singer's father was born in New York to Lebanese parents and had later immigrated to Colombia where Shakira was born.

Here are some memes that Shakira sparked with her tongue gesture:

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