African dance refers mainly to the dance of Sub-Saharan Africa, and more appropriately African dances because of the many cultural differences in musical and movement styles. These dances must be viewed in close connection with African music, as many African languages have no word to define music.[1] They mostly dance in tribes or worshiping gods. These dances teach social patterns and values and helps people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community while celebrating festivals and funerals, competing, reciting history, proverbs and poetry; and to encounter gods.[2]
The most widely used musical instrument in Africa is the human voice.[3]
Although nomadic groups such as the Maasai do not traditionally use drums; in villages throughout the continent, the sound and the rhythm of the drum express the mood of the people. The drum is the sign of life; its beat is the heartbeat of the community. Such is the power of the drum to evoke emotions, to touch the souls of those who hear its rhythms. In an African community, coming together in response to the beating of the drum is an opportunity to give one another a sense of belonging and of solidarity. It is a time to connect with each other, to be part of that collective rhythm of the life in which young and old, rich and poor, men and women are all invited to contribute to the society.[4]
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Traditional dance in Africa occurs collectively, expressing the life of the community more than that of individuals or couples. Dances are often segregated by gender, reinforcing gender roles in children. Community structures such as kinship, age, and status are also often reinforced.[5]
The character of dancing observed by travelers to West Africa in the 19th century depended on context, the people, and the gender of the dancers. In general men used large body movements, including jumping and leaping. Women danced smaller movements with much use of "shuffle steps", the body in a bent position with "crooked knees". The circle dance predominated everywhere, sometimes solo dancers or musicians in the middle, sometimes couples. The ecstatic seizure was an essential element of ceremonial dancing, both religious and secular.[6]
"Musical training" in African societies begins at birth with cradle songs, and continues on the backs of relatives both at work and at festivals and other social events. The sounding of three beats against two is experienced in everyday life and helps develop "a two-dimensional attitude to rhythm". Throughout western and central Africa child's play includes games that develop a feeling for multiple rhythms.[7] Bodwich, an early (circa 1800) European observer, noted that the musicians maintained strict time (i.e. concern for the basic pulse or beat), "and the children will move their heads and limbs, whilst on their mother's backs, in exact unison with the tune which is playing."[8]
African dance utilizes the concepts of polyrhythm and total body articulation.[9]
Shoulders, chest, pelvis, arms, legs etc., may move with different rhythms in the music. They may also add rhythmic components independent of those in the music. There are said to be certain types of performances in which scantily clad females circle a sick male whilst incorporating suggestive movements in order to "excite" the man thus reviving the male to his previous good health. Very complex movements are then possible even though the body does not move through space.[1]
Different parts of the body are emphasized by different groups. The upper body is emphasized by the Anto-Ewe and Lobi of Ghana. Subtle accent of the hips is characteristic of the Kalabari of Nigeria. In Agbor strong contraction-release movements of the pelvis and upper torso characterize both male and female dancing. The Akan of Ghana use the feet and hands in specific ways.[10]
Dancers are able to switch back and forth between rhythms without missing movements.[11] It is extremely important that the dancers maintain clarity.[12]
Dancers in Nigeria commonly combine at least two rhythms in their movement, and the blending of three rhythms can be seen among highly skilled dancers. Articulation of as many as four distinct rhythms is rare.[12]
African dances are largely participatory, with spectators being part of the performance. With the exceptions of spiritual, religious, or initiation dances, there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate.[13]
Many dances are performed by only males or females, indicating strong beliefs about what being male or female means, and some strict taboos about interaction. Examples would be dances that celebrate the passage from childhood to adulthood or for spiritual worship.[14] In the Jerusamera of Zimbabwe the major movement for men is the mbende step, a quick darting movement from a crouched position. Twisting of the waist and hips is the main movement of the women.[15] The only partner dance associated with African dances would be the Bottle Dance of the Mankon People in the Northwest Region of Cameroon or the Assiko from the Douala people that involves interaction of Man and Woman and the way that they charm each other.
Early commentors on dance from sub-Saharan Africa consistently commented on the absence of close couple dancing, and such dancing was thought to be immoral in many traditional African societies.[12] In all the vast riches of sub Saharan African dance heritage there seems to be no evidence for sustained one on one male female partnering anywhere before the late colonial era, when it was apparently considered in distinctly poor taste.[16] For the Yoruba, to give a specific example, touching while dancing is not common except in special circumstances.[17]
Master dancers and drummers are particular about the learning of the dance exactly as taught. Children must learn the dance exactly as taught without variation. Improvisation or a new variation comes only after mastering the dance, performing, and receiving the appreciation of spectators and the sanction of village elders.[18]
Rather than emphasizing individual talent, Yoruba dancers and drummers express communal desires, values, and collective creativity. The drumming represents an underlying linguistic text that guides the dancing performance. However, the majority of meaning comes from the nonverbal cues and metalanguage of the performers. The spontaneity of these performances creates the impression of an extemporaneous speech. This characteristic should not, however, be confused with improvisation, which emphasizes the individual and bolsters her or his ego. The drummer's primary duty is to preserve the community. S/he mediates the audience and the performer interaction.[2]
Young girls of the Lunda of Zambia spend months practicing in seclusion for their coming of age ritual. Boys show off their stamina in highly energetic dances, providing a means of judging physical health.[19]
Townships created during the colonial period removed people, and their dance, from the traditional environment. Beer halls became community centers of sorts with drinking socializing, and dancing. Men still played the ngomas and the mukwas, but the dance took on sexual emphasis becoming something akin to bumping and grinding, almost violent in its urgency. Traditional dance clubs were created to protect the "purity" of the traditional dance and to regulate the dancers and musicians who performed on special occasions.[20]
Another dance found in Zimbabwe, the Muchongoyo, historically is performed by males with female participation. Women are primarily musicians playing the hoshas (essentially a gourd with seeds inside it, used as a shaker [3]) and singing alongside the men. They improvise or use the standard side to side shuffling movement without lifting their feet from the ground. In contrast the men perform high knee lifts, returning their feet quickly to the ground. The women will sometimes move out of the choir line in a single file and dance around the drummer and male dancers until they return to their original positions.[15] The Muchongoyo commemorates, celebrates, witnesses and highlights events. Although not specifically a religious dance, it is spiritual, and the repetitious nature takes participants closer to the divine.[21]
It is important to note that there is no such thing as a singular definition of African dance as Africa, a continent three times the size of the United States, is ethnically and culturally the most diverse continent on the planet. Though similar themes may be found throughout dances across the many countries and landscapes, each has its own history, language, song, background, and purpose and cannot be translated to another dance of the same culture much less another dance from somewhere else on the continent.
Many and most African dances (like the Zimbabwe dance) include drums, vocals and feet stamping. Most of the previous actions are to represent something like the drum, heartbeat of the tribe, vocals, the tribe itself and the stamping feat shows emotion and sometimes anger. Most African dances are special 'givings' and 'rituals' to the Gods to make sure that the tribe's crops will soon grow tall and that they will have good water supplies throughout the next year.
One does not dance to go into a trance but to come out of a trance, to join a diversified assembly with a separate contribution, for dancing is a reminder that one is only part of the whole. [22]
Traditional dances often do not appear in isolation but are parts of broader cultural activities:
There are many forms of African dances, some of which are detailed below:
The stamping dance known as Ndlamu, is done by the Nguni group of tribes, each in their own fashion. It is a secular dance performed by young men in single or double line. Different tempos, manners of stamping the ground, ending the dance, and ways of holding their dance sticks are used by each tribe: the Itlangwini from Southern Natal; the Baca from the Eastern Cape Province; the Mpondo and Mpondomisi from further south; and perhaps best known, the Zulu.[23]
Adumu is a Maasai dance which is performed during Eunoto, the coming of age ceremony of warriors. This dance, also referred to as aigus, or "the jumping dance" by non-Maasai. (both adumu and aigus are Maa verbs meaning "to jump" with adumu meaning "To jump up and down in a dance"[4]) has made Maasai warriors known for, and often photographed during, this competitive jumping. A circle is formed by the warriors, and one or two at a time will enter the center to begin jumping while maintaining a narrow posture, never letting their heels touch the ground. Members of the group may raise the pitch of their voices based on the height of the jump.[5]
Performed by Amakwenkwe (young men under the age of about 20 or 21) of the Xhosa, the Umteyo (Shaking Dance) involves the rapid undulation or shaking of the thorax so that the whole length of the spine appears to be rippling. Older men, Amadoda, so a similar dance, Xhensa accompanied by singing and clapping while dancers draw their breath in and out through a relaxed larynx, producing a kind of guttural roar.[24]
The Mohobelo "striding dance" of the Sotho features striding, leaping, and in some cases, sliding, and almost slithering along the ground. Two and sometimes three main movements occur: the slow Bahobela featuring high kicks, the swifter Molapo with leaping and twisting in the air, and the often left out Phethola letsoho which involves hand movements.[25]
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Kete Ghana/ Ashanti Zulu
Listed in alphabetical order
| Dance | Purpose | Country / Tribe of Origin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adowa | Ghana / Ashanti | ||
| Agbaja | Ghana / Ewe | ||
| Agwara | Courtship | Uganda / Alur | |
| Akogo | Courtship | Uganda / Iteso | |
| Amaggunju | Uganda / Buganda | ||
| Ambas-i-bay | Celebration | Cameroon | |
| Bakisiimba | Celebration | Uganda / Buganda | |
| Bikutsi | Celebration | Cameroon | |
| Bwola | Celebration | Uganda / Acholi | |
| Coupé-Décalé | Celebration | Côte d'Ivoire | |
| Ding Ding | Uganda / Acholi | ||
| Ekitaguriro | Uganda / Banyankole | ||
| Ekizino | Courtship | Uganda / Bakiga | |
| Entog | Gaze | Uganda / Lugbara | |
| Gombey | Harvest | Senegal | |
| Kwassa kwassa | Celebration | Congo (DRC) | |
| Lamban | Celebration | Guinea, Senegal, Mali | |
| Larakaraka | Courtship | Uganda / Acholi | |
| Makossa | Celebration | Cameroon | |
| Mapouka | Ceremonial | Côte d'Ivoire | |
| Mwaga | Courtship | Uganda / Bagisu | |
| Ndombolo (Soukous) | Courtship | Congo (DRC) | |
| Owaro | Uganda / Samia-Bugwe | ||
| Sabar | Celebration | Senegal/ [Wolof people] | |
| Sunu | Wedding | Guinea, Mali / Mandinka | |
| Tamenaibuga | Friendship | Uganda / Basoga | |
| Zouglou | Celebration | Côte d'Ivoire |