African dancing has both historical and social traditions that reflect more significance than those of many other cultures. The dances help celebrate not only special events and festivals, similar to other cultures, but often tell the stories of the nation's history. Unwritten oral history, passed through generation before writing became part of the culture, often included African dance as part of the process.
Many of the dances taught the young about social morays and values, others were simply for the joy of celebration. Some of the dances were tributes of thanks to the gods for helping the tribe achieve success on a hunt or harvest.
Many tribes trained singers to provide the music for the African dance. They produced intricate harmonies and set the rhythmic pace for the dance. While most of the music came from vocals, often drums accompanied the singers to provide heavy rhythms for the dancers. The bougaragou, on of the drums used, is by far the most popular, although there are dozens of others.
The drum is often seen as a sign of vitality and life and is considered the heartbeat of the tribe or village. Oftentimes the beating of a single drum will serve the same purpose as a bugle call in the military - it lets the community know that it is time to get up and gather together. The drum is also a symbol of solidarity in African music and Dance and lets people know that they are all different but connected. They are all cut from the same cloth.
The African dances not only told of historical feats and actions; they were a way to pass on the societies social values to the tribe's young people. Some of the dances, however, were actually praises to the gods for help with the crops or a victory in war or on the hunt.
The African culture and morays explain the lack of couple dancing and close contact. In the early African culture, it was immoral for men and women to display public contact, let alone dance together. It explains why most African dances tend to be specific to a gender and when both genders are dancing, they often don't touch.
There are a few extremely popular traditional dances from Africa, which held their place through time. Even though more exist, these are samples of those dances.
The warrior dance is a wild and violet dance that prepared the men for battle. As the dance continued, the fervor of the dancers increased in violent actions and mimicked those movements found on the battlefield.
Dance of Love: A slow dance that is performed to acknowledge and celebrate special occasions like weddings or anniversaries. It is often danced only by the women.
Coming of Age Dance: Performed to mark the passing of a young person from childhood into adulthood.
These are only a few of the dozens of dances that Africans consider traditional and therefore an important part of their history.
Many of the dances taught the young about social morays and values, others were simply for the joy of celebration. Some of the dances were tributes of thanks to the gods for helping the tribe achieve success on a hunt or harvest.
Many tribes trained singers to provide the music for the African dance. They produced intricate harmonies and set the rhythmic pace for the dance. While most of the music came from vocals, often drums accompanied the singers to provide heavy rhythms for the dancers. The bougaragou, on of the drums used, is by far the most popular, although there are dozens of others.
The drum is often seen as a sign of vitality and life and is considered the heartbeat of the tribe or village. Oftentimes the beating of a single drum will serve the same purpose as a bugle call in the military - it lets the community know that it is time to get up and gather together. The drum is also a symbol of solidarity in African music and Dance and lets people know that they are all different but connected. They are all cut from the same cloth.
The African dances not only told of historical feats and actions; they were a way to pass on the societies social values to the tribe's young people. Some of the dances, however, were actually praises to the gods for help with the crops or a victory in war or on the hunt.
The African culture and morays explain the lack of couple dancing and close contact. In the early African culture, it was immoral for men and women to display public contact, let alone dance together. It explains why most African dances tend to be specific to a gender and when both genders are dancing, they often don't touch.
There are a few extremely popular traditional dances from Africa, which held their place through time. Even though more exist, these are samples of those dances.
The warrior dance is a wild and violet dance that prepared the men for battle. As the dance continued, the fervor of the dancers increased in violent actions and mimicked those movements found on the battlefield.
Dance of Love: A slow dance that is performed to acknowledge and celebrate special occasions like weddings or anniversaries. It is often danced only by the women.
Coming of Age Dance: Performed to mark the passing of a young person from childhood into adulthood.
These are only a few of the dozens of dances that Africans consider traditional and therefore an important part of their history.
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You can learn more about African dance by watching the African Side movie to see some great African dancing. Visit the African Side website today to obtain your copy.
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