African Dances: An Introduction
African dances have both historic 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 regularly tell the stories of the state's history.
Unwritten oral history, passed through generation before writing became part of the culture, frequently included African dance as a part of the process.
Lots of the dances taught the young about social morays and values, others were simply for the excitement of celebration. Some of the dances were tributes of thanks to the gods for helping the clan achieve success on a hunt or crop.
Many clans 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, frequently drums went with the singers to provide heavy rhythms for the dancers. The bougaragou, on of the drums used, is obviously the hottest, although there are lots of others.
