Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance
The gulewamkulu mask dance is the major Chewa dance performed in all Chewa communities of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. With this particular dance – and indeed with many others – historical connotations, cultural reverberations, and systemic institutionalisation come into play....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of the Free State
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Acta Academica |
| Online Access: | http://196.255.246.28/index.php/aa/article/view/1382 |
| _version_ | 1797258216128643072 |
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| author | Grant Nthala |
| author_facet | Grant Nthala |
| author_sort | Grant Nthala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The gulewamkulu mask dance is the major Chewa dance performed in all Chewa communities of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. With this particular dance – and indeed with many others – historical connotations, cultural reverberations, and systemic institutionalisation come into play. The hierarchical organisation of the Chewa dance systems and the orderly and enigmatic tendencies of the dance displays are reminiscent of historical phenomena linked to the Chewa diaspora. In essence, mimicry, satire and other forms of enactment (often dramatic) in Chewa dance subtly or candidly unearth acculturative elements within the Chewa ethnicity. This article seeks to illustrate that the Chewa dances gulewamkulu and mganda constitute theatre and that their performance demonstrates a manifestation of traditional Chewa cultural features that have been altered or modified by borrowing from or adapting to other Bantu-related and European cultures.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:50:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6116a6d1e3474e4a9bc54dec393d3820 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0587-2405 2415-0479 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:50:00Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Academica |
| spelling | doaj.art-6116a6d1e3474e4a9bc54dec393d38202024-03-18T11:05:41ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Academica0587-24052415-04792012-01-01110.38140/aa.v0i1.1382Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa danceGrant Nthala0University of Malawi The gulewamkulu mask dance is the major Chewa dance performed in all Chewa communities of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. With this particular dance – and indeed with many others – historical connotations, cultural reverberations, and systemic institutionalisation come into play. The hierarchical organisation of the Chewa dance systems and the orderly and enigmatic tendencies of the dance displays are reminiscent of historical phenomena linked to the Chewa diaspora. In essence, mimicry, satire and other forms of enactment (often dramatic) in Chewa dance subtly or candidly unearth acculturative elements within the Chewa ethnicity. This article seeks to illustrate that the Chewa dances gulewamkulu and mganda constitute theatre and that their performance demonstrates a manifestation of traditional Chewa cultural features that have been altered or modified by borrowing from or adapting to other Bantu-related and European cultures. http://196.255.246.28/index.php/aa/article/view/1382 |
| spellingShingle | Grant Nthala Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance Acta Academica |
| title | Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance |
| title_full | Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance |
| title_fullStr | Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance |
| title_short | Acculturation as translation: mimicry, satire and resistance in Chewa dance |
| title_sort | acculturation as translation mimicry satire and resistance in chewa dance |
| url | http://196.255.246.28/index.php/aa/article/view/1382 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT grantnthala acculturationastranslationmimicrysatireandresistanceinchewadance |