Teachers Guide

Introduction

Teachers Program Guide 
“Dances of West Africa” 

African Heritage Dancers & Drummers

 

Dance and Music play an important part in the life of African peoples.  Dance and Music is performed to worship God andAncestors, to make hard work easier, and to celebrate important events in the community, such as Initiations or Coming of Age ceremonies, Marriages, Funerals, Births, Deaths and to celebrate the harvest.

 

Among the Sou-Sou and Malinke peoples of Guinea, West Africa, dance is used at harvest time to celebrate the graduation of young people from Childhood to Young Adulthood, as is done in many other Tribal families.

Many of the movements of the dance are copied from Birds and Animals in the environment, possessing qualities admired by African people such as Gracefulness, Strength, Intelligence and Beauty.

 

Many of the Rhythms of the drum are obtained from watching the wonders of nature.  The sounds of falling rain, the wind, running water, as well as, from animal and reptile calls, such as the voices of birds, frogs and other wildlife.

The natural rhythms of daily work activities, such as hoeing the earth to plant crops, harvesting, grinding grain with mortar and pestle, etc.

 

Key Words