Facts About African Dancing
Dancing is an important aspect of African life. Throughout the varied countries of that vast continent, dance is used not only as a form of recreation and entertainment, but more important, it teaches social patterns and values to the members of the community. Rural tribal areas of Africa do not have a strong written history, so traditions and rules of each society are passed down from generation to generation through dance, music and storytelling. Dancing is a custom associated with important gatherings and milestones in the lives of the villagers, so it is viewed as an opportunity to come together as a community and share a common connection.
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History
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Tribal dance styles have been around for centuries in most of the countries throughout Africa. With the westernization of some parts of Africa, the prevalence of tribal dancing has decreased, but is still present in modern African life. Traditional African dance has hundreds upon hundreds of variations and styles, which have been handed down over the generations, keeping it vibrant and adaptable.
Significance
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Dancing plays a significant role in tribal life in Africa. In addition to being a unifying activity for community members, dance is often an expression of spirituality in tribal religious rituals. Africans dance to celebrate a birth or a marriage, to pray for prosperity and better crops or to ward off danger and disease, for example.
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Features
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Tribal dances vary throughout Africa, but there are some unifying features. Dance and music are generally very rhythmic and uptempo because the principal instrument is the drum, which is considered the heartbeat of the village. Depending on the culture and the reason for the dance, performances can be theatrical. Dancers sometimes wear elaborate costumes, including leaves, braided raffia and masks crafted from wood or plant husks. Tribal dancing is considered polyrhythmic because all parts of the body are used to move with the rhythm.
Types
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Each African community uses specific dances for different events. Coming-of-age dances, which are performed when a young member of the village reaches maturity, celebrate his independence as an adult. Welcome dances mark the birth of a new child in the tribe or welcome visitors to the villages. Dances of summoning are important, as they are the process by which tribes can call spirits for help in dire situations such as a war or drought.
Influences
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You can see the influence of traditional African tribal dancing throughout many modern dance styles. West African slaves brought to the West Indies in the 1500s had an impact on American dance, and one of the many places you can see the influence of African dance in hip-hop, where dancers rely heavily on rhythm and free-form intuitive movements of the body.
Geography
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Africa is an incredibly vast and diverse land mass, and each tribe in each region accompanies community-specific celebrations with its own style of dance and music. The custom of tribal dance is more prevalent in countries that have not been as heavily influenced by Western modernization. Although each of the continent's 53 independent countries has its own identity, they are united by the traditional culture of Africa, which can be seen everywhere, from the akogo dance of courtship in Uganda to the gombey dance of harvest in Senegal.
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References
- Photo Credit Reed Dance in Swaziland - tribal chiefs image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com
