Page 50 - Heritage Streets of KwaMashu 2025

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HERITAGE STREETS OF KWA-MASHU
Typical ceremonies and dance styles include:
• Umemulo: Coming of age ceremony is performed for •
maidens when they are ready for courtship, around the age of 21. A girl is usually secluded for almost a month, and that act is called “ukugongqa”. For “umememulo” or “icece” the father slaughters a fattened cow and its stomach fats (“umhlwehlwe”) is worn by girl as a vest together with a puffed “inyongo” (gall bladder) which is worn on the head.
• Umhlonyane: a ceremony for girls when they reach womanhood (puberty stage), and is done to introduce a girl to the different stages of womanhood and to ensure that she will have healthy relationships. This is the most important ceremony for girls as lessons of life and expected behaviours are passed on by elder women. (Umhlonyane is a must ceremony for girls just as ukuqatha is a must for boys when they enter puberty stage).
• Indlamu (Ndlamu Road): Also known as the “warrior dance,” indlamu is a powerful and rhythmic dance
that showcases strength and agility – accompanied by traditional drums. It imitates the movements and actions
of Zulu warriors during battle, incorporating stomping, high kicks, and dramatic gestures. The dance is mostly performed by men but some women also participate. Indlamu is performed with small shields and sticks. This
is a striking war dance that was introduced by Isilo Shaka Zulu to psyche up his amabutho (warriors) while they were • being prepared for battle. Resembling a military drill with strict precision, the dance style has dancers following
a specific pattern, accompanied by drums and minimal singing. A lot of showing-off is highlighted, accompanied
by much loud whistling, to lend encouragement to whoever is dancing at the time. •
Ingoma: This is a traditional dance performed by a group
of male dancers to celebrate and honor significant events
or rituals. It involves synchronized movements, chanting,
and the rhythmic hand clapping. The dancers often wear traditional attire, such as leopard skins and headbands. There is also ingoma of the girls. Ingoma yezinsizwa
is accompanied by singing, clapping and at times, drumbeats (by choice though). It is commonly performed during young men’s rite of passage formalities, as well as
at weddings and other traditional ceremonies; and is most distinctive for the dancers’ high kicks. Some dancers carry decorated sticks matching their colourful attires. Ingoma itself socializes participants, entrains bodies, and finely crafts expressivity in ways envisaged to cultivate admirable men, participants in a community. In the case of ngoma, “a • team consists of ten or more singer-dancers and usually at least double that. An elected igoso or ukaputeni (captain)
and iphini (vice-captain) are responsible for the training, discipline, song selection, choreography, and leadership of the team. A disciplinary adviser, iphoyisa (police), mediates between dancers and the leadership when necessary and assists with management of the team. Elders advise the igoso and iphini and give their blessings to the team at performance events. These elders are community leaders, including former team leaders and members”.
IsiBhaca Dance: This dance originated from the Bhaca people of Zululand and is characterized by its energetic and acrobatic movements. It involves high jumps, kicks, and flips, displaying the physical prowess of the male dancers.
Isishameni/uShameni: Isishameni is a traditional dance performed by Zulu men during weddings or as a form of
entertainment. It involves rhythmic clapping, singing, and circular movements. The dancers often wear vibrant traditional attire adorned with beaded accessories. Ushameni is named after the Shameni River in Umsinga. Oral narrations say this style was formed at a time when railways were being built. It is a variation of Ingoma yezinsizwa, mixed with Indlamu, but with a regional flair. Dancers bend one leg during the dance to show the ankle, and they follow specific line formations, stretching their hands up high, while being accompanied by singers who also clap. Nowadays the dancers wear uniformed pants and colourful vests or T-shirts, as well as traditional sandals (udabuluzwane/imbadada).
Umzansi: The history specific to uMzansi dancing, as recounted by the late Juluka’s Johnny Clegg, is that it originated around Bergville, Ndwedwe, Maphumulo and the Umvoti area of KwaZulu-Natal. It was later taken up by the migrant workers around eThekwini and became very popular at the organised dance competitions that were held around the end of each year. The uMzansi style adds a marching bass drum. Each style features the kick, though its execution differs stylistically. The uMzansi dancers kick highest and straightest and land hardest, often following a phrase-final kick with a flamboyant backward fall. The uMzansi style is seemingly the most warriorlike, the most ferocious or aggressive, and so also appears as the most traditional. Usually, an uMzansi dance event begins with an entry dance in file formation called ifolo (follow, as oxen in a yoke). Thereafter the performance is usually broken up into two sets. The opening and closing sections of a set always involve the whole team: the beginning is sung and danced with line choreography for the whole group (isipani). The line dance consists of a slower part followed