Two Videos Of The Setapa Dance From The Tswana People Of Southern Africa (with information & comments)

BAMorg, Jan 6. 2014

Setapa performed by Umkhathi Theatre Works Artistic Director Matesu Dube BAM Howard Gilman Opera House DanceAfrica 2013 Artistic Director Chuck Davis Produced by BAM Umkhathi Theatre Works is a theater, dance, and music troupe formed in 1997 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The company has emerged as a leading performing arts organization in its home country and has performed throughout Africa and overseas. Its mission is to strive for community development through the arts while reviving African traditions and cultures.
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BAM Howard Gilman Opera House is located in Brooklyn, New York, USA
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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases two YouTube videos of the Tswana [ethnic group] Setapa dance.

Information about the Tswana people and information about the Setapa dance are included in this post along with selected comments from the discussion thread for one of these embedded YouTube videos.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, aesthetic, and linguistic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE TSWANA 
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
"The Tswana (Tswana: Batswana, singular Motswana) are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group who are native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.[1]

Batswana are the native people of south and eastern Botswana, and the Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape and Free State provinces of South Africa, where the majority of Batswana are located."...
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Tswana are also located in smaller numbers in Namibia and in Zimbabwe.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Setswana, Setapa Dance (Poko Setso Traditional Group)

Traditional Rhythm, July 23, 2021

Botswana 2014 president day celebrations performance Botswana traditional dance
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SETAPA DANCE

From 
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setapa

Setapa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Setapa[pronunciation?] is a traditional music dance which originates from the Bangwaketse tribe of Kanye village and surrounding areas in Botswana, such as Sesung, Selokolela and Molapo wa Basadi villages.[1] Setapa traditional dance was started by Bangwaketse in the past and therefore it is regarded as the dance for the tribe. Setapa involves a group of people stamping in to the ground with their feet to the song played or sung by the choir or the group. The word is derived from the Tswana word Go tapa-tapa, which means to step into the ground continuously. Setapa troupes involves an equal mix of both men and women dressed up with the skin of animals.[2] The dance troupes wear brown shells in their feet which gives out a perfect sound as they dance and the males usually carry on whistles and heifer horns to produce sound from the stream of air or as they blow into them.[3]

Types of Setapa Music Dance

Setapa music dance exists in three different types, which are:

Setapa sa dipitse: this is a kind of dance which is performed and produces the sound of a galloping horse in the ground.

Setapa sa phathisi: Setapa which is performed whilst the lower part of the trouser is tied with a peg or the use of short pants made of animal skin usually referred to as tshega. This kind of influence of tying a knot in a trouser using a peg was adopted from the Bakwena tribe dance known as Phathisi.

Setapa sa go goga maoto: The kind of Bangwaketse dance is performed by dragging feet on the ground. Go goga maoto is a Tswana phrase which means to drag feet. The dance is adopted from the neighbourhood tribe Basarwa dance called tsutsube.[4] The cause of dance adoption in the three types mentioned is sharing of borders between districts.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR SHOWCASE VIDEO #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP8_GAer9jI

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

1 SuperShisto, 2014
"One of THE BEST EVER performance by a ZIMBABWEAN group I've ever seen. I always clap every time I get to 7.02 minutes. Fantastic! Wonderful! Tear jerking! Soulful! Fulfilling! Emotional! i can go on. I feel a lot when I watch what Matesu Dube has done with this group.

Sitha! UMKHULU WENA!"

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Reply
2. Tlamelo Sekao, 2016
"SuperShisto Zimbabwean group?"

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Reply
3. SuperShisto, 2016
"Tlamelo Sekao Yep! Zimbabwean through and through! I should know, grew up and performed with some of them many moons ago. They're from Bulawayo, the arts culture over there encourages all southern African dances hence this Setswana performance. I'm glad you are questioning their origin, it means they nailed it so much you thought they're Tswana's. #onelove #oneafrica😃😃😃"

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Reply
4. Hello bubu, 2017
"Lol this aint no Zimbabwean group, you just don't learn setapa like that and get it believe me it takes yes and yes of practise to actually impress, this is a Tswana group"

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Reply
5. SuperShisto, 2017
"Entertainment Guru Umkhathi Theatre Arts from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. And this performance was not in Botswana but the United States of America. Trust me, why would I lie to you? I know half of them, even more so their director. Like I said on another comment, I'm glad you're disputing their origin, it only means they nailed it! #onelove #oneafrica"

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Reply
6. SuperShisto, 2017
"Hello bubunectar This is a Zimbabwean group. No disrespect but they have been touring and learning Botswana culture and dance since the 90's, granted some members have moved on. They are Zimbabwean and good at Setapa! Nothing wrong with it. Umkhathi Theatre Arts/Productions from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I rest my case. One love"

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Reply
7. SuperShisto, 2019
"@Hello bubu  it's easy lol. Just google 'Umkhathi theatre works' and see what comes up lol. Ill say it again, this is a group from Njube township, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe...not Botswana. They are just good in setswana dance 😁 and everything else they do. You should see them do Zim dances! 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾"

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8. molepha seven, 2016
"this dance is from Botswana its called setapa its a celebratory dance. all the dynamics are good. i love it as a motswana from Botswana who danced traditional dance from a tender age"

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9. polly Seja, 2017
"It's very nice to see Zimbabweans beautifully doing Tswana dance"

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10. Dipuo Shabele, 2019
"The Tswana are not from BoTswana. Setapa belongs to many groups of Tswana people. From Namibia to Zimbabwe to South Africa."

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