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This paper explores how Ingoma, a dance of the Ngoni of Malawi can be described as an identity marker and a cultural text of the Ngoni. The Ngoni constitute one of the nine major ethnic groups of Malawi. Unlike the other eight ethnic groups, however, the Ngonido do not have a language with which they are identified and use for everyday communication. This is largely due to socio-cultural and political influences that they experienced in the areas they settled. Notwithstanding this aspect of their identity, their dance Ingoma has stood the test of time and continues to be transmitted from one generation to another. Since language is key to the transmission of dance, the paper also examines the implications of transmitting dance in other people's language. The paper focuses on three main groups of the Ngoni, namely, the M'mbelwaJere found in the north, the MpezeniJere found in the west and the GomaniMaseko in the centre. The Ingoma performances by groups from each of these areas were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was conducted on the Brekete Gatsi cult in Ghana to investigate the use of the body in action during the dance in the ritual context. Brekete is a possession cult found among the Ewe's of the Volta Region-Ghana. Devotees in this cult worship the deities Kunde and Ablewa on every Friday, Sunday and during ceremonial days. They also propitiate other pantheons who are children of Kunde and Ablewa. During ritual moments they call on these deities, who manifest themselves by embodying trained mediums to enter into an act of communion with the religious community. This state of embodiment is manipulated by rhythms paralleled with ritual sacrifices and dance which the community believes attains efficacy through possession. Therefore, this article will discuss the role of two dances which are performed during the ritual of the cult. Both dances occur during the same ritual events but may be distinguished by the fact that one of them is accompanied by possession and the other is not. I have therefore labelled them as Wu (Dance) and Trɔwo le ewu du (deities are dancing). It is through the analysis of these dances that it is possible for the reader to understand the relationship between the mundane world and the supernatural world of the people who perform in this cult. The methodology used has been that of classical anthropological research approach and more particularly of participant observation of events of which I had no prior knowledge due to my Christian urban upbringing. I wish to highlight the exoticism of the experience for a researcher who, despite his own upbringing, tackled a different religious phenomenon irrespective of his social and religious affiliations. Thus, with my focus on the bodily actions and how they are used to gain access into the celestial world, I identify dance as an instrument and a medium by which the physical evidence of possession comes about. To that effect, and through the phenomenon that religious possession dance is laden with complexities and meaning, this article will hereby develop how the ritual processes and the differences between the movement of "Wu and Trɔwo le ewu du" teaches us about the ritual efficacy of possession dance. I argue here that both possession dance and the dance without possession (i) are contra-kinetically constructed, (ii) have movement sequences employing sagittal symmetrical principles, and (iii) although they have limited motifs of the steps and arm gesture, the possession dance has many variations. Finally, the Wu serves as a prelude to Trɔ di amedzi (deity has embodied or mounted its medium) and Trɔwo le ewu du, which has the concept of possession among the Brekete Gatsi cult based on the philosophy of repetitive motif characterised by intense energy, rhythmic tempo and musicality (multidi-mensional, accentuation and phrasing) from the brekete drum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amateur dance category in Ghana has been a vibrant force in the performance of traditional Ghanaian dancing for over 20 years. Fluid in ideologies, they have been able to affect the paradigms of traditional dancing in Ghana so much that their activities cannot be overlooked. Even though they are mostly taunted as the 'destroyers' of traditional forms by some schools of thought, this category's input is especially important as they have a direct influence on dance structures in Ghana through their re-interpretations of traditional dance forms. This paper seeks to identify some distinctive re-interpretative styles/patterns this category exerts on traditional dances and their effects on preservation of traditional dances in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly research in the field of traditional dance1 has been carried out under the umbrella of cultural studies that have been ignored in all academic circles in the East African states of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Until the late 1960s, there was no distinguished academic institution in the East African region that offered studies in dance. Although traditional dance plays a pivotal role in the execution of the day-to-day activities in many East African communities, less effort has been put into its development in form of research from within the region. Much of its sources today create concern due, but not limited only, to their scarcity, but also to the fact that outsiders from the dance traditions in question mostly author them, thereby creating a perennial outsider-researcher phenomenon. In this paper, I reflect on two traditional dance research experiences; In Transylvania -- Romania in October 2013, and a comparatively longer experience of folk dancing in the different rural communities of Uganda in a quest to further understand the practical results of a field research in traditional dance that is rather dominated by dance researchers from outside that dance culture, and the influence of such research results to the bearers of the dance tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria, dancers have the ability to relate not only to music and rhythm, but also to the Yoruba tonal language. This is due to the fact that instruments being played during a dance event, once they are manipulated by the drummer, can follow the Yoruba language's tonality. Therefore, the so-called talking drums have the ability to articulate proverbs, poems, stories. The dancers' representations or interpretations of what the drums are saying create different artistic and cognitive dimensions during the dancing. When does a dancer follow only the rhythms of the drums and when does he or she have meaning in his/her gestures? What happens when the meanings derive from proverbial language? And moreover, what happens with the newest Yoruba dance generation which is said to have neglected their indigenous language for English? Going beyond choreomusical relationships, improvising, mimicking, interpreting and verbalising the content of the tonal percussions are some dimensions of Yoruba dance, which derive from exploring the personal dance experiences of a community of thought in Yorubaland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Archivio di Etnografia is the property of Pagina Societa Cooperativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)