Hello Peeps!!
My letter for the Day is ‘X’
There are 300 – 600 ethnic groups in Africa who all are known as ‘Bantu’. One such group is Tsonga who lives in Limpopo province of northern South Africa.
The Xibelani Dance is an indigenous dance of the Tsonga women and it is originated from the native Xitsonga (a Bantu Language) language.The name “xibelani” refers to a typical dance style with a skirt. The skirt is known as “tinguvu”. This xibelani skirt is tied around the dancer’s waist and then shake from the waist.It is made from cloth or wool and is customized with different colors and designs.
How to perform this dance?
This dance of Tsonga people you can see in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique also.
For Tsonga girls, learning this dance is mandatory. This xibelani dance is the way to show their pride and heritage. It is a typical Caribbean shake with faster rhythm. The aim of this skirt is to make the dancer’s hip looks bigger. Throughout the dance, they shake the hips with the drum’s beat and the typically designed skirt emphasizes the shaking.
Instruments:
Xibelani dancers are performed the dance with Tsonga music in addition to clapping and whistles. When the mbila (xylophone) and swigubu (drum) players engaged in an orchestra, the Tsonga women would follow up with the singing, which was in the form of a call-and-response method, and at intervals the women would take turns to dance in front of the orchestra.
Costumes:
The outfits are colorful always. The females wear colorful shirt like dress and the skirt is the main attraction of Xibelani dance. Modern-day xibelani skirts are usually designed for dancing and therefore have a swirl when the hips are shaken.
Xibelani is specifically a women’s dance which is performed during the Tsonga ceremonies. All Tsonga bands should have female xibelani dancers.
Sharing here videos of The Xibelani Dance:
See what dance form I have shared for the letter ‘W’
What will be my next dance form for the letter ‘Y’?
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Source: Wikipedia
Pic Couryesy: Shesaid.co.za
I love dancing. Xibelani dance is something new and interesting. Lovely Post 🙂 Their skirts are so beautifully made 🙂
Thank you so much for giving such indebth description of the dance form and the rich heritage.
Great to know about Xibelani dance. You have beautifully covered all the minute details here.
Your posts provide something that’s more than asked for and a lot intellectual. If it weren’t for you, onwouI wou have known this dance form either. Excited for Y
I didn’t know about this dance. I really like this challenge got to learn many new things..
I have not heard of this dance form. Looks very interesting. Good to explore so many cultures and art forms via your blog.
Dance is my passion.i am loving this series. Great to know more about Xibelani dance.
I love dancing and reading about various dance forms. The more popular ones everyone is aware of but the ones you have mentioned here sound way more interesting and so much more cultural.
This dance form for South Africa, aka dance with a stylish skirt made me curious to see it one day live in its natural way.
Aha! Very unique dance form, costume and the name itself. I just love reading your dance ka panchmana series.
I love dancing and Xibelani is something new and looks really interesting. The costume too very unique and the art form is fun to watch and perform as well. Loved reading this post.
What an insightful writeup with amazing pictures and videos. Thanks for letting us know of this dance form.
Definitely a nice article to know about a new dance from Xibelani. Great pics and info regarding the dance. I will definitely look into videos and share with friends 🙂