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Running head: African Dance Culture African dance culture NAME: UNIVERSITY: DATE: 2
Running head: African Dance Culture TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents
Introduction 3 Role of dances in the African society 3
Characteristics of African dances 4 Importance of African dances to the society
Problems faced by African dances
Conclusion 9 References 10 6 5 3
Running head: African Dance Culture Introduction
To begin my work on this particular issue of the dance culture
in Africa, I would say that music plays an important role in the
African society. It is one aspect that has been present and
maintained since the precolonial period. In most circumstances,
music is accompanied by dances. Africa has a rich dance culture.
The African dance culture has evolved over a long period of time.
The culture is also widely diversified as a result of the many
cultures that occupy the vast Sub-Saharan Africa. The African
dances bring together the concept of total body articulation.
Role of dances in the African society
The African dance has got various roles in the society. The
following are some of them.
Dances help in teaching the social patterns and values of the
society. Through dances people were able to understand what was
expected from them in the social context in the society. It also
played an important role in enhancing socialization in the
community. Dances helped people work. During various activities in 4
Running head: African Dance Culture the community, the, morale of the workers was boosted by
occasional dancing sessions which also served as refreshments to
them. Dances were part of maturity. Dances were and are still used
in some African cultures to mark transition from one stage of life to
the other. During such transitions one is expected to show an
increased level of maturity. Some dances were also used to criticize
members of the community. Certain characters in the community
were unaccepted and therefore dance was used to condemn them.
Finally dances also played a significant role in the religion of the
community. Dances were used as an encounter with god.
Characteristics of African dances
The African dance also had various characteristics that help
define it. In this section, we are going to look at some of the
characteristics.
They involve the participation of both the observers and the
performers. However, this does not hold for dances that are spiritual
or those that are for initiation. The traditional dances valued the
community life much more than individuals or couples. Therefore,
the absence of couples dancing together closely was common since
it was considered immoral. For instance, in the Yoruba touching
while dances was forbidden unless in specific circumstances. The
African dances emphasized on individual gift. Yoruba dances 5
Running head: African Dance Culture expressed communal dances and values by creativity. The dances
were separated by gender therefore making the gender roles
stronger and also strengthening community’s structure. The dances
were also used to celebrate passage of rites. For instance, in
Zambia boys would dance to show off their stamina and strengths in
energetic dances.
The dances were learnt exactly as they were taught. This was highly
expected of the children who were supposed to learn the dancing
styles just as they were explained to them without alterations. They
would only modify them after they had mastered the dances. In
central and western Africa for example, children on their mothers
back would move their heads and limbs in the same manner as the
tune. Since the dances were mostly accompanied by music, the
most used instrument was the human voice. The Maasai and other
nomadic groups did not use drums since they were in constant
movement and drums would be a burden to them. The sound and
rhythm of the people was key in expressing their attitude and mood.
Different body parts would move with different rhythms in music.
Example of body parts includes the chest, pelvis, arms, shoulders
legs and hips. in Nigeria for example dances would comprise two
rhythms in their dance moves. The combination of three rhythms
needed highly skilled dancers. The combination of four rhythms was
rare although some experts could do so. Complex movements were 6
Running head: African Dance Culture possible despite the body not being able to move in space.
Drumming represented a guide that coordinated the dancing
performance. However, most meaning came from nonverbal cues
and metalanguage of hose taking part in the dance. The skill of the
dancer was not meant to boost the ego of the dancer but to add
fame to the community as a haven for expert dancers. Therefore, as
seen from the above characteristics we can see that the African
dance was highly diversified. This is because of the different
cultures which occupied different geographical locations. The
characteristics also uniquely identify each dance according to its
community of origin.
Importance of African dances to the society
The dances are part of the cultural heritage of a society. The
Maasai for example are renowned for their dances. Dances act as a
way of preserving the community’s history. Various historical
aspects are encompassed within the dances and therefore are
preserved for future generations for them to understand their
history. Dances also act as identification to the community. One is
able to associate themselves with a specific community because of
its distinctive dance. African dances have helped in opening up the
African communities to the outer world. This happens when visitors
from the outside world visit these communities to watch them 7
Running head: African Dance Culture dance. The cultural life of Gikuyu youths includes a broad field of
activities. They set up numerous all the time dances for
entertainment and pleasure. At these socials teenagers and women
mixture freely. It really is generally at these sociable gatherings
that companionship begins. A man may get the interest of a girl, or
females, by his appearance, his smartness in dance or dressing his
scalp, or by his captivating and elegant carriage. Similarly a girl may
appeal to the interest of a man or men. Can simply be identified, for
he dances with several young girls around him. However in order
that he'll not need a monopoly, some sort of Kikuyu 'Paul Jones'
boogie, 'gothombacana,' is repeated frequently to be able to permit
the less attractive teenagers a chance of dance with nice females.
Females visit their boy-friends frequently, especially through the
dancing months. The children also go to the females in their homes
and take them to dances and escort them home soon after.
(Kenyatta, pp. 149-150)
Problems faced by African dances
Every traditional thing has to be faced with problems as a
result of the ever-changing society. These problems as a result of
the change in perception of the African dance or development of
modern dance styles. Below are some problems encountered by
traditional African dances. The main problem facing African dances 8
Running head: African Dance Culture is the encroachment of western culture in the communities. As a
result, new dance moves have been incorporated into the African
culture therefore eroding the tradition. Secondly, another problem
facing the African dance is the association of the dance with old
dated religious and spiritual practices. Certain dances that are used
to exorcise evil spirits or encounter gods tend to give a bad
impression of African dance. Finally, lack of tutors who pass down
the dance moves is also another problem facing African dance. This
is because most people have lost interest in African dance and
therefore prefer modern dances.
Absence of mastery and involvement in legacy administration in
government and the workforce plagues Africa. In the meantime,
Africa has couple of fantastic archeological locales south of the
Sahara abandon and nothing on the size of Libya, Morocco or Egypt.
Forsaken Great Zimbabwe is one of the main major indigenous old
locales in sub-Saharan Africa, which is twice as expansive as
Europe. African Rock Art is very astounding on the off chance that
you know where to think that its somewhere down in the mountains,
however memorable towns and huge scale design either have been
crushed or never existed. The destinations of Lamu and Gede give a
phenomenal gauge of the general condition of legacy in Africa and
the difficulties confronting countries and neighborhood groups to
guarantee their long haul survival. Lamu Old Town is one of the first 9
Running head: African Dance Culture Swahili settlements along beach front East Africa. Chinese boats of
Zheng He's armada were accounted for sinking close Lamu Island in
Kenya in 1415. With over 700 years of constant improvement, it was
at one time the most imperative exchange focus in East Africa,
before being overwhelmed by Zanzibar. Its staggering structures
show the long history and advancement of Swahili innovation.
A gigantic new port is being worked by Lamu, and unregulated
development is harming the trustworthiness and realness of this
novel UNESCO World Heritage site. New solid developments
overshadow the indigenous design going back to the twelfth
century AD. Whole memorable homes have been dismantled and
sold off for their uncommon cut entryways, windows and insides.
Lamu faces genuine water deficiencies because of fumble, absence
of sanitation and contamination created by several jackasses going
through the roads and crude sewage streaming into the ocean.
Numerous nonnatives and Kenyans have been reestablishing
notable properties to constructive outcome by empowering the
protection of customary craftsman aptitudes through the
reclamation of structures by conventional specialists known as
"fundis." Young individuals are carrying on antiquated conventions,
for example, wood cutting, furniture making and plasterwork in
light of the fact that there is interest for these abilities. 10
Running head: African Dance Culture Gede National Monument is under the administration of the National
Museums of Kenya, and is a charming site in a rich wilderness
spread out more than 45 sections of land inside antiquated border
dividers. In its prospering period around the fifteenth century, Gede
was occupied by a large number of individuals and exchange with
China, Asia and the Middle East is plainly clear in archeological
discoveries of imported porcelain, adornments and metalwork. Like
Lamu today, Gede was relinquished because of poor water
administration and even the most profound of wells couldn't achieve
the water table after it was drained. The scale and excellence of the
mosques and open structures is amazing, and the site is well-run
and clean, in spite of having no signage or manual and a passage
street preferred for jackass trucks rather over guest transport. A
nearby group amass has manufactured a tree house stage for
disregarding the site, asking for a little gift for its upkeep. The site
stays extremely all around safeguarded and is by all accounts under
great care by the National Museum, with great support, cleaning
and guest pathways. In spite of its size and great history, and focal
area in Malindi, a well-known traveler goal, there are couple of
guests Gede still remains a mystery and the locale has just started
to exploit its potential for legacy based advancement and work era.
The difficulties for Sub-Saharan Africa to expand on its restricted
archeological legacy and help juvenile economies advantage from 11
Running head: African Dance Culture reasonable improvement of these critical resources is to a great
extent because of absence of ability and accessible experience.
Consolidating Africa's lively living legacy — move, music,
sustenance and workmanship into the noteworthy towns and
archeological destinations can give extra chances to legacy
safeguarding and monetary improvement. Political shakiness,
kidnappings and saw security issues keep on setback legacy
tourism, and most guests coming to Africa are more centered on
untamed life safaris, normal legacy and shorelines. Better
translation and advancement of Africa's final constructed legacy
locales could offer assistance. While we cherish being out of the
way, the street could be a great deal more intriguing in Africa if its
worldwide legacy destinations woke up through all around archived
history, compositions and pictures, and coordinating living legacy to
make it more significant today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, African dances have proven to be quite
important in the society as seen from the discussion above. This
culture must therefore be preserved for the benefit of the future
generations .it also should be preserved in order to act as a
reservoir for the African history. Africa is mysterious and its rich
indigenous history needs to leave the shadows of later provincial 12
Running head: African Dance Culture occupation and the engineering legacy deserted. Lamu Old Town
and Gede National Monument a two noteworthy destinations where
seek after African legacy is as yet solid and entices the world to
come and experience References
Bakare, R. O. (2002). VOCABULARIES IN AFRICAN DANCES: FOCUS
ON ANCESTRAL WORSHIP AND FERTILITY DANCES. Humanities
Review Journal, 2(1). doi:10.4314/hrj.v2i1.5893
Blacking, J. (1969). Songs, dances, mimes and symbolism of Venda
girls' initiation schools. African Studies, 28(3), 149-199.
doi:10.1080/00020186908707309
Hughes, H. A. (2012). Dialectical Dances: Exploring John Dube's
Public Life. South African Historical Journal, 64(3), 418-433.
doi:10.1080/02582473.2012.669787
Woodson, C., & Tanson, J. (1977). Traditional Drumming and Dances
of Ghana. African Arts, 10(2), 86. doi:10.2307/3335206 13
Running head: African Dance Culture

 

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