THIS year’s finals of the annual Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competition were held last weekend in Bulawayo with Mashonaland East Province representative Makarekare Dance Group emerging winners.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
The Mbende group walked away $4 000 richer for their efforts after claiming the top prize in the competition, which is in its 52nd year. Chinyakare came second and got $3 000 for their efforts while Mashonaland West’s Budiriro danced away with $2 000.
The Goromonzi-based dance troupe’s victory came after another group Ngoma Dzepasi who play the same traditional genre won in last year’s competition, meaning that Jerusarema has done it in two consecutive years.
According to Munyaradzi Horita, Makarekare Dance Group leader, their victory came as a result of hard work.
“Yes, Jerusarema won last year and the fact that another group from Mash East has won again is not surprising. This is a competition with judges. We perfected our skills, we went into the competition with confidence and we won,” he said.
“The truth is that groups in my province have a deep understanding of the traditional dance,” he said.
Mbende/Jerusarema dance is a popular dance style practiced by the Zezuru people living in the Murewa and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe districts in north-eastern Zimbabwe.
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The dance is characterised by sensual and acrobatic movements by women in unison with men, driven by a single poly-rhythmic drummer accompanied by men playing woodblock clappers and women handclapping, yelling and blowing whistles. Unlike other drum-based East African dance styles, Mbende/Jerusarema does not rely on intricate foot stamping or many drummers.
Instead, the music is performed by one master drummer, and no songs or lyrics are involved.
The success story of the groups from the province is attributed to the numerous programmes being conducted to promote the cultural dance. The Jerusarema/Mbende Festival that is held annually in Murewa has contributed much to the birth of a number of serious dance groups from the province.
The brainchild of the late Chief Mangwende of Murewa, the festival is sponsored by Unesco and supported by National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.
Independent arts critic Chamunorwa Mashoko said the successive win by Mbende groups was not a fluke, but only best groups are destined to win.
“The best group won. However, Neshamwari, besides being a tateguru (ancestor) of preserving and promoting traditional dance and song is yet to attract the mainstream Zimbabwean,” he said.
“One factor is that of improving presentations. There has not been a drive to develop presentations in terms of amplifying the sound. They still use drums, but the sounds don’t reach far. There is need to record the drum beats in the studio, the competition should introduce new rules requiring sound amplification because it is remaining behind world trends.
“For instance, steel pan is a traditional instrument, but their sound is amplified as well as mbira. Botswana Cultural Warriors have amplified their sound and the presentation is great,” Mashoko said.
In a bid to promote the traditional dance in the province, notable artistes in the names of Ngoma Dzepasi and popular drummer Douglas Vambe have been touring schools in the province educating pupils on the popular dance.
Vambe is the man behind the popular Jerusarema/Mbende drumbeat that accompanies news bulletins on ZBC television and radio stations.
As a respected drummer, he has been nurturing talent in the whole province and is the man behind the formation of a number of Mbende groups in the province.
Ngoma Dzepasi under the leadership of Alfred Chiyangwa runs an arts academy in Goromonzi that is meant to equip youngsters with Jerusarema/Mbende dancing skills.
Mashonaland East Province National Arts Council of Zimbabwe programmes officer Njaravani Ernest said the reason behind Mbende groups’ victories was discipline and hard work.
“The story behind the success of traditional groups from this province is that with the help of Delta we assist the groups after winning the provincial finals through a number of things. The first thing is instilling discipline in group members in that after winning the little money they can fight over it and this leads them into disarray,” he said.
The Chibuku Neshamwari Dance Competition is targeted at dance groups aimed at practicing and preserving traditional dances through this festival. The festival which run in partnership with the Chibuku brand has generated a lot of interest among the young and older generations in Zimbabwe. The programme has managed to revive and preserve Zimbabwe’s rich dance culture.
