I had intended to include non-English rhymes in post #4, “Strategizing With Daisy Petals And Childhood Chants”.  During a search for candidates, I came across a website with examples from across the world:  www.mamalisa.com. 

My first candidate was from Germany, because the last line, “spielt nicht mit”, illustrates a chant that selects a child to sit out the next play session.  But right above this counting rhyme was one from France, the first two lines of which astounded me.  These are:

Connaissez-vous Nénette Rintintin,

Qui habite au Tonkin?

Three proper nouns resonated with me:  (1) Nénette, which seems like a variant of the more common first name, Nanette; (2) Rintintin, which I initially thought was a compression of the name for a German Shephard movie star from the 1920’s, “Rin Tin Tin”;  (3) Tonkin, a place name. 

Googling the history of Nénette and Rintintin revealed an astonishing connection with the canine actor.  In early 1918, the last year of World War I, French children began making two yarn dolls named Nénette and Rintintin.  The origin of those names is lost to history, but Nénette was a girl, and Rintintin a boy.  Folklore has it that these dolls brought good luck, but only if bestowed as a gift.  Children often distributed them as talismans to soldiers, and newly-arrived members of the American Expeditionary Force were prized recipients.

Now segue to the bloody battle of St. Mihiel, which was fought from 12-15 September, 1918.  Some days later, an American soldier named Lee Duncan rescued an emaciated German Shephard that was trying to nurse her newborns.  Duncan kept two puppies for himself, and brought them back with him to America.  The names Duncan chose were those of the two French yarn dolls, so the female became “Nénette”, and the male, “Rin Tin Tin”.

Rin Tin Tin had a career spanning 27 Hollywood films, and lived until 1932.  That name and fame gave rise to some TV shows in the 1950’s, which is probably how I heard of Rin Tin Tin.  I wonder if the counting rhyme cited in www.mamalisa.com is still used in France, and whether children reciting it know that the conjoined name “Nénette Rintintin” refers to two yarn dolls from World War I. 

Tonkin, that’s a place name familiar to me.  France began colonizing a portion of South-East Asia as early as 1860; by World War I “French Indo-China” was a known entity.  I guess the author of the chant chose “Tonkin” because it rhymes with Rintintin.  French towns ending in “in” seem to be rare; the only example I could find is “Pantin”.

I was a recently-married graduate student in early August 1964 when The Gulf of Tonkin “Incident” had its moment of fame in newspaper headlines.  That location was the site of a controversial naval engagement between three North Vietnamese Patrol boats and the USS Destroyer Maddox.  Prior to that, America had supplied logistical and advisory assistance to the South Vietnamese government.  Apart from some Special Forces teams on the ground, however, no American military units were engaged in fighting the Viet Cong.  A Congressional Resolution following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident set the stage for America’s participation in the tragedy known to us as the Vietnam War.  

“Nénette”, “Rintintin”, “Tonkin”:  isn’t it amazing how three proper nouns can initiate a mind journey through space-time.   Thank you, search engines.