Traditional African Hip Shaking Dances

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases eight videos of traditional hip shaking dances from four regions of Africa (North, East, South, and West). I'm particularly interested in the close similarity between these dances from these various African regions.

These traditional African hip shaking dances also remind me of Hawaiian hula dances and other Polynesian hip shaking dances.

With the exception of this short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb_PW8iQmWw "Traditional Congolese Dance", this post doesn't include any videos of traditional hip shaking dances from Central Africa. I would appreciate any help in identifying YouTube videos of traditional hip shaking dances from Central Africa. Thanks!

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, educational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

My thanks to the performers, musicians, and videographers of these featured videos. Thanks also to the uploaders of these videos.

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FEATURED VIDEOS

Video #1: Rhythm of the Nile - ACT II Traditional Egyptian Wedding [Egypt, North Africa]



Published on Mar 26, 2012 by HannanBellyDance

The Rhythm of the Nile production of 2008 was a breakthrough in Egyptian Dance in Canada. Act II showcased the dances of a traditional Egyptian Wedding. Brought to you by the Egyptian Dance Company and Nada El Masriya.

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Video #2: Bellydance with Sadie.flv [Egypt, North Africa]



Uploaded by isaorchidea on Feb 19, 2011

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Video #3: Mesach Semakula: Njagala Nyimbire Omutanda (sautivideos.com) [Uganda, East Africa]



Uploaded by zidoolo on Jun 21, 2008

Luganda music video
For free music videos, please visit:
www.sautivideos.com

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Here's some information about the "Luganda" language from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luganda
"Ganda, or Luganda (Ganda: Oluganda [oluɡaːnda][missing tone]), is the major language of Uganda, spoken by over sixteen million Ganda and other people mainly in Southern Uganda, including the capital Kampala. It belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo language family.".

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Video #4: UGPulse.com : Kiganda Drums and Dance by the Planets [Uganda, East Africa]


Uploaded by ugpulse on Dec 19, 2006

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/homepage.asp?ID=551

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"The Planets" is the name of this Ugandan dance company.

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Here's a comment from this video's viewer comment thread http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=5rPw2JLeIZk:

"wow!wow!wow! you have to love africa!we are one people-in zambia we have similar dances-is this a bantu tribe?if it is it would explain alot!proud to be african-proud to be a bantu! bantu=people."
-bwazi24, 2012
"
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Video #5: South African Music (Dikgomo remix) [South Africa]



Uploaded by ushotee on Jul 31, 2007

Beautiful AFRICA. FROM CAPE TO CAIRO. GOD BLESS YOU AFRICA. WE LOVE YOU.

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This is a traditional Tsonga dance called "xibalani" ("shibelani"). From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsonga_people:
"The Tsonga people (Tsonga: VaTsonga) inhabit the southern coastal plain of Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and Mpumalanga and Limpopo Province of South Africa...

It is believed that ancestors of the Tsonga, who now primarily inhabit an area in southern Mozambique, originated farther north in central Africa."...
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Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xibelani_dance to read information about this dance.

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Video #6: South African music (Vomaseve Dance Mix) [South Africa]



Uploaded by ushotee on Aug 2, 2007

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Video #7: Bamaya [Ghana, West Africa]



Uploaded by awalalhassan on Jun 24, 2007

Awal Alhassan and the Center for National Culture in Tamale. Performing their traditional dance, Bamaya, of the Dagombas in Northern Ghana. www.sohoyini.com

-snip-
Here's some information about this dance from http://www.afridance.com/repertoire.html:

"Bamaya, a Dogbane harvest dance usually performed by men in ladies’ skirts, involves wiggling of the pelvis. This special dance is based on the story of a man who maltreated his wife, resulting in a plague of famine for the whole territory. It was revealed that in order to humble the man in question to his wife, all the men in the village had to dress like women - hence the Bamaya costume. The gender equality element furnishes us with food for thought…be nice to all living things. Some schools of traditional thought links the dance movements of Bamaya to fanning off mosquitoes".

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Video #8: Bamaya dance in Northern Ghana [Ghana, West Africa]


Uploaded by BrianneA9 on Mar 23, 2010

"Bamaya" traditional dance at a village in Tamale, Ghana, West Africa.

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