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African dance refers mainly to the dance styles of Sub-Saharan Africa, of which many are based on traditional rhythms and music traditions of the region.Modern African dance styles are deeply rooted in culture and tradition.
- Overview
- The cultural position of dance
- The religious context
African dance, performing art deeply woven into the social fabric of Africa and generally involving aspects of music and theatre as well as rhythmic bodily movement. See also African music and mask.
In African societies, dance serves a complex diversity of social purposes. Within an indigenous dance tradition, each performance usually has a principal as well as a number of subsidiary purposes, which may express or reflect the communal values and social relationships of the people. In order to distinguish between the variety of dance styles, therefore, it is necessary to establish the purpose for which each dance is performed.
Often there is no clear distinction between ritual celebration and social recreation in dance performances; one purpose can merge into the other, as in the appearance of the great Efe mask at the height of the Gelede ritual festival in the Ketu-Yoruba villages of Nigeria and Benin. At midnight the mask dramatically appears to the expectant community, its wearer uttering potent incantations to placate witches. The dancer then moves into a powerful stamping dance in honour of the great Earth Mother and the women elders of the community. The dance continues as the performer pauses to sing the praises of people of rank, carefully observing their order of seniority. In this way a ritual act becomes a social statement, which then flows into recreation as the formal dancing by the Gelede team gives way to free participation by spectators until sunrise. The great Efe holds a central position, entertaining his audience with tales that make comic and satiric reference to irregular behaviour within the community over the past year.
Thought systems traditional to African cultures are rooted in a world view in which there is continuous interaction between spiritual forces and the community. Spiritual beings may inhabit natural elements or animals and may also take possession of human mediums. This possession of persons is usually temporary and confined to ritual, as when the priest of the Yoruba god Shango dances into a state of deep trance at the annual festival, expressing the wrath of the god of thunder with the lightning speed of his arm gestures and the powerful roll of his shoulders. In Zimbabwe the Mhondora spirit mediums, who relate the Shona people to the guardian spirits of the dead, enter a trance through the music of the mbira lamellaphone, to which they sing while performing simple, repetitive foot patterns. Thus, the dances of priests and mediums confirm their ritual leadership.
Dance is used as therapy by ritual societies in many cultures. Hausa women, for example, find healing through dance and spirit possession in the Bori cult. Among the Jukun of Nigeria, a similar organization is called the Ajun, whose elders deal with hysterical disorders in women by exorcising evil spirits in initiation ceremonies. During a three-month period in a house shrine, the sufferer is taught songs and dances that have a therapeutic function culminating in a ceremony in which the initiate publicly joins the members of the society to perform the Ajun-Kpa dance. The female spirit mediums of the Kalabari in the Niger delta, using dance and song as an essential part of their therapy, are also credited with powers of healing.
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African dance - Rituals, Movements, Music: Although often similar in social purpose, dances are realized in radically different styles in the multitude of diverse cultures of Africa. Movement patterns vary greatly from one culture to another, depending upon the way in which environmental, historical, and social circumstances have been articulated in working, social, and recreational movements ...
- Agbadza Dance. Agbadza dance is a popular music and dance which originated from the Ewe tribe of Ghana. This dancing step originated from an ancient war dance referred to as Atrikpui, but it has been converted into a ceremonial or festive dance.
- Adumu Dance. The second on our list of most popular African traditional dances is the Adamu dance, a traditional dancing style that involves jumping, and it is performed by the Maasai tribe of Tanzania and Kenya.
- Indlamu Dance. Next is the Indlamu dance of the Zulu tribe of South Africa. This popular African traditional dance is often referred to as the warrior dance, being mostly performed by warriors.
- Lamban Dance. We have come across different ceremonial dances that are noteworthy but this is a griotic or storytelling dance. Storytelling is an ancient African tradition where elders teach young folks wisdom in entertaining and alluring ways.
Jun 19, 2023 · The Lamban dance was performed by the griots, the storytellers in African communities. Djeli (Griot) is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a source of oral ...
African dance occupies central place in cultures throughout the African continent, embodying energy and a graceful beauty flowing with rhythm. In Africa, dance is a means of marking life experiences, encouraging abundant crops, honoring kings and queens, celebrating weddings, marking rites of passage, and other ceremonial occasions.
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Feb 20, 2024 · As African dance has traveled through time, we now have the infectious beats of Afrobeats and the vibrant melodies of Amapiano, which have become internationally acclaimed styles. With the rise of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, these music genres have also led to the rise of ‘ Afro-dance ’, seamlessly transforming into contemporary expressions that excite global audiences.
