Ngoni Dancers
on July 2, 2009
Dancers at The Falls Resort
The other day as I was visiting the Zambezi Sun, I stopped to chat with the group of dancers who entertain our guests as they arrive and leave the hotel. This group is such a lot of fun for our visitors.
The dance troupe is a traditional Ngoni dance group. The Ngonis were originally from North-eastern Zambia, on the border with Malawi. They are an offshoot of the Zulus of Shaka Zulu fame from South Africa.
Being a warrior tribe, their dance reflects this. During the dance, the men stamp their feet on the ground, shout warrior chants and shake their clubs and shields above their heads. The shield is called a chishango, and the club an induku, in the Ngoni language. I have seen a group of about fifty Ngoni men doing this dance and the ground seems to shake with the power of their stamping.
Fortunately we do not have a group of fifty, just four – Francis, Pintoni, Robert and Gabriel. Two of them play the drums while the other two dance. Their style of dress is a ‘skirt’ made of tassels of animal skins and a headdress of animal skin and feathers. In the old days, of course, the skins would be from wild animals. Now, though, they are mostly cowhide although Robert did show me a skin which he said was from a wild cat, but I think it was probably a squirrel.
Pintoni has skins on his legs with long fur. I asked him which animal they came from. He told me it came from an old billygoat. He got it when he visited Chipata for a traditional ceremony a few years ago.
During our chat, a Spanish couple on their honeymoon asked if they could take a photograph of the dancers. The men rushed over to the photo-spot on the lawns, insisted that the lady come and join them. She was given a headdress, a shield and a club. Then the drums started and the men began to stamp their feet and sing. The poor lady looked worn out at the end of her dance, but the husband, I am sure, got some good photos for his album.
