Cultural Song and Dance: An Enduring Tradition

On July 17, I was privileged to be able to attend the Ncamagoro Circuit Culture Competition. Ncamagoro Circuit consists of about 20 schools in Kavango Region. It was an amazing event, and more importantly, it was my first cultural song and dance festival! I only heard about it in passing when I was at school. My school has a culture group, and they were going to attend the event. I asked if I could attend and was given permission.

The morning of the competition I walked to the school around 630. On a side note, there is something that people widely refer to as “Africa Time.” In essence, Africa Time means that everyone shows up 2-4 hours after the original time. I must tell you, Africa Time is no joke, and it occurs 99% of the time. I am accustomed to it somewhat, but I still do not like it. I still show up to everything early or at the latest, on time. The culture competition was no exception. I was told to be Mpora School at 7am, but we did not leave until after 9am. I wasn’t worried because this was just a day to learn about the culture I live around.

We arrived at the Ncamagoro Circuit Head Office to find hundreds of people gathered to watch event. I was the only white person there, and as usual, I received hundreds of stares until I left back to my village. I went and found as good a spot to take pictures as possible, although the spot was not ideal. It’s hard to remember every group that performed, but it gave me such joy and happiness to take pictures and videos of the entire day. I took about 400 pictures and video clips.

The largest class grade bracket was the primary school level, elementary school in the United States. I think there were about 15 groups to perform. There was a format that each group had to follow. They were allowed 10-15 minutes for the whole program. The judging was based on three segments: dancing, singing, and drama. Each group could divvy up the allotted time between each segment; but there had to be three songs.

Singing in Namibia is significantly different from what people would consider singing in America. A good voice in Namibia is usually a female voice. Mainstream musicians and vocalists would probably describe the ideal Namibian voice as coming from the nose, in a pinched manner. When I first heard it, I was not sure if that’s how the person was supposed to sound, but as time went on, I found out that it is. I don’t think it’s bad in the current context; it’s just different. I tried to imagine how a typical Western voice would sound in a cultural competition; it is a laughable thought. Traditional songs, Kwangali Tribe song more specifically, vary in meaning. I’ll give a few examples of the songs with background:

Vindele viloya, Vindele viloya, Eeeh!

Vindele viloya, Vindele viloya Kuluwanda

Vapatu valoya, Vapatu valoya, Eeeh!

Vapatu valoya, Vapatu valoya Kuluwanda

Background: Once upon a time there was a war in Angola; the war broke oe between black Angolans and the apartheid regime of the Portoguese. In order for black Angolans to soothe the emotional pain the war inflicted upon their lives, they came up with this revolutionary song.

It might seem strange to have a song based off Angolan history in a Namibia culture competition. However, Angola and Namibia have had an exchange of culture for a long time. Many Namibians came from Angola. Some other examples of songs include a song about the life of an orphan, and how he was taken care of at home by caregivers. Some other subjects of traditional songs include pounding Mahangu, a staple grain that looks like corn, and hunting wild animals.

The dramas, as they are referred to in a Namibia, were about daily life. Some were funny. Some were sad. Some of them were very poignant in how they illustrated current issues in Namibia such as domestic violence and so-called “passion killings.” There was one play about a person who fell ill and went to a witch doctor. I asked a friend if witch doctors did some of the things that were in the play, and he said yes. Another side note: the friend I asked was supposed to be killed by a witch doctor in the early 90’s when he was a baby, but his family saved him.

My favorite parts were the dancing and costumes. The costumes that were used were amazing. They were all made of brightly colored beads, animal skins, and some cloth. Everything was handmade. I have seen my mother making the ones for my school. I never had an idea how long it would take, but seeing how often she was slaving away on each one, I would not be surprised if the man hours for each one was 20-30 hours (this is a guess). When the students danced, the beads would make a clicking sound and sway rhythmically. The traditional Kwangali tribe dances use shoulders, shuffling feet, and limber hips. The hands are usually clapping. The dancers will form lines. There are always drums going, usually three males. Then 1-3 dancers, usually one male and two females, will slowly dance their way out to center stage. There is a lot of interplay between the guy and the girls. The guy will dance around the girls using his shoulder while also sticking out his tongue as far as it can go. There is a lot of eye contact.

Something else happened during the competition that was really interesting. Midway through the competition, everyone was told to get up and go to greet the new governor. I was surprised to find the place we had to go about one mile away. However, Africa Time struck again and the Governor was about 1.5 hours late. Many people had tired of waiting and left. The Governor came and said her piece while everyone formed a massive circle. Then, we went back to the competition. I got a much better seat this time. My learners did not do very well, but it was not their fault. The teachers who were supposed to teach them had only started practicing about two weeks before the event, and it had been inconsistent. Putting that issue aside, I had an amazing time and learned so much about the Kwangali culture. I am more excited now than ever for the big all-region cultural festival in Rundu, the big town, that takes place from August 15-17.