Are Troupes Ruining Traditional Dances?

Dances are influenced by commercial competition

Published on 14 September 2011

Author(s): The Observer/Simon Musasizi

Type:  Opinion

Traditional dance in Africa is meant to communicate and express the life of the community

Ekitaaguriro is certainly one of the most popular dances.

But even with its popularity, few people, if any, know its essence. Who, for example, knows why ekitaaguriro dancers curve their hands in the air? This dance is supposed to demonstrate the love of the Ankole people for their long-horn cattle.

That is why the singing is supposed to be similar to the sounds of the cow. In this dance you are supposed to feel the sounds of the milk flowing from the udder of the cow. The stumping movements of the men are meant to emulate the cow's movements, and the women's hands demonstrate the long beautiful horns of the cow.

And the flute used is similar to the one used to herd cattle. However, something different happens today. A lot of attention is given to the way dancers uniformly wave their hands and how sexy their costumes are.

This stems from the fact that traditional dances today can be performed by anybody; whether they understand and appreciate the culture or not. As a result, traditional dances as we know them today are far from the purpose they served in their original tribal forms years ago.

Traditional dance in Africa is meant to communicate and express the life of the community. In fact previously, most African villages had a 'dance master' - someone who taught tribesmen from a young age how to perform the various dances. It was important that these dances be performed exactly as taught, with no room for improvisation or ornamentation.

But with the current trend where the dances are influenced by commercial competition, it is a matter of time before we lose the original form of traditional dance as new creations, costumes and instruments take over.

Who is to blame? Critics point at the numerous traditional dance troupes that depend on the dances for a living. While this should have been a positive trend as troupes move to preserve and share our culture and traditions to the rest of the world, some of them instead get too carried away by innovation.

Some groups perform and one wonders: "Is this really our traditional dance or something different?"

For those who know Basoga's Tamenaibuga dance will notice that of late something has changed. Originally, the dance was performed on four drums, but today's troupes use three. According to James Isabirye, executive director of the National Council of Folklorists of Uganda and a lecturer of music at Kyambogo University, the trend is driven by commercialization.

"Most of these dance groups are commercialized. They will do anything as long as it is paying," he says.

Isabirye, for example, reveals that some groups have started recording in studio; so, they just move along with dancers only - just like musicians lip-sync over CDs. Yet traditional dance is not the real deal unless it has the accompanying instruments.

The drums and other instruments create the mood and for some tribes like Baganda, the lead vocalist sets the mood for dancers on two things: clapping and the drumming. The drum is the sign of life; its beat is the heartbeat of the community. To erase its actual presence and recreate it with keyboards and studio technology kills the whole essence.

However, Isabirye acknowledges that dance, like other aspects of culture, changes with time. He attributes this to the intermarriage that has brought together different tribes. He, for example, points out Baakisimba dance whose current hand waving is influenced by Kinyarwanda culture.

"Muwogola, for example, is a product of mixing with Basoga," he says.

Ronald Cox Kibedi, the Marketing Manager Kika Troupe, agrees with Isabirye that culture changes with time. And the troupe has carved its niche by integrating the modern and ancient to stay relevant.

"You have to do that to remain relevant. Even the Kabaka doesn't wear a kanzu all the time," Kibedi says.

Popular traditional dances

  • Baganda: Baakisimba, Nankasa, Muwogola, Amaggunju
  • Basoga:Tamenaibuga, Irongo, Nalufuka
  • Bagisu: Mwaga
  • Iteso: Akembe
  • Acholi: Bwola, Larakaraka, Ding Ding
  • Lugbara: Gaze, Agwara
  • Alur: Adungu
  • Batooro: Runyege, Entogoro
  • Banyankore: Ekitaaguriro, Kimandwa
  • Bakiga: Ekizino, Kaakitaari

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