Dance in Cameroon - Traditional Dance

Traditional Dance

Cameroon is home to more than 200 different traditional dances. Dance is part of most ceremonies and rituals. Such dances accompany births, christenings, weddings, and funerals and invoke the spirits of ancestors to cure the ill or increase fertility. The Bamileke perform war dances, for example, and the motio of the southwest incorporates the slaying of a goat with a single blow to demonstrate the dancers' prowess. The Baka dance the luma to celebrate a successful hunt. Among some groups, dancers work themselves into a trance and communicate with the spirit world. For example, members of the ntsham society of the Kaka people in Cameroon's northwest dance to bring about spiritual possession.

Typically, traditional dances follow certain restrictions. Most traditional dances segregate participants according to sex. For example, women and men may form concentric same-sex circles, or they may dance in separate areas. Among various fondoms in the Cameroon grassfields, nobles and commoners may not participate in the same dances. Likewise, traditional laws severely restrict the dancing of the fon's wives and daughters, often restricting them to the palace.

Some dances are intended only for a specific class of people, such as hunters, jesters, or warriors. Among some ethnic groups, professional dancers make their living performing dances at the appropriate ceremonies. In some villages, a diviner dances as part of his or her duties. In modern times, such traditional dance professionals are rare. Instead, professional dancers live in urban centres and perform for tourists or at national festivals.

Many traditional Cameroonian dances follow strict choreography, although improvisation is common. Dancers move different parts of the body independently, focusing motion on more than one area. Dances are often associated with specific regalia or props. Traditional objects used include leather fans and small pieces of cloth. In the grasslands, masks are common. The gourna of the Tupuri incorporates long sticks that dancers carry upright in a circle.