Free Essay - The Complex Concept of African Traditional Dances

African traditional/cultural dances, the main topic of my dissertation, is a concept that is composed out of 3 terms, namely Africa, tradition/culture, and dances. To fully grasp what African traditional/cultural dances are, it is necessary to give some more information on its keywords.

In this chapter, I will firstly discuss the terminology of the word 'tradition/culture' in past and present based on its different Latin meanings, after which I will continue to talk about the role of the Art regarding the transmission of tradition/culture with a focus on dance – which has long been taken for granted as art form given its natural presence in humans. And secondly, I will move on to the concept of African traditional/cultural dances: How was it perceived in the past? How is it perceived in the present? What are the differences (cf. tradition, multiplicity), and what are the commonalities (cf. Art)?

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TRADITION/CULTURE

Before discussing 'African traditional/cultural dance,' it is necessary to explain the terminology of 'tradition/culture/intangible cultural heritage (ICH)' a bit more – given these words are part of the definition.

1.1 ETYMOLOGY OF TRADITION

"The use of the word 'tradition' in the English language was first noted in the fourteenth century and it carried with it from Latin (tradition) several meaning":

"notion of something handed down with a strong sense of respect and duty" (see 2.1 'tradition a invariance')

"tradition as surrender or betrayal" (see 2.2 'tradition as invented')

"insistence on an act of passing on. Tradition is not merely an object but a process of transmission, which derives from the root word tradere – to give something to someone, particularly for safe keeping" (see 3.3 'tradition as process of transmission')

1.2 PAST VISION OF TRADITION

Africa is a large continent with diverse cultural as well as religious traditions. Traditional practices were viewed as a way of upholding societal cultural values and practices. Most African communities’ practice diverse cultural practices as a way of maintaining the integrity of the community. Most communities tolerated some traditional practices which were regarded as rites of passage or even their way of life. Some of this practice include, female genital mutilation, circumcision and also early forced marriage. These activities were done to uphold communities’ cultural values in all aspects.

1.2.1 Tradition as invariance (or invariant?)/unchanging’

Some African communities view their traditions as resistance to change. They explore strategic creativity which supposedly underlies in some invariant cultural practices and traditions. A good example is in the Maasai community, a Kenyan ethnic group whose members have upheld their cultural practices up to date. Their cultural practices which includes, their mode of dressing, traditional songs and dances and their nomadic way of life are still being upheld up to date. Tradition invariance is an illusion of considerably having a persuasive power to maintain communities’ cultural values. Tradition constitutes a major bedrock of values in classical sociology. Some cultural practices in certain community’s act as a form of identity thus the said communities are resistance to abandon or change those practices. However, migration of individuals from rural areas to urban setups have somehow diffused other cultural practices in different ethnic groups.

"The essential characteristic of tradition, according to Hobsbawm, is invariance": a clear distinction between 'tradition' and 'custom.' Tradition usually ensures continuity as well as stability in most of the human activities. It symbolizes the passing on of cultural practices from a generation to the next one. It also involves the death of particular customs, rituals, and beliefs from generation to another. Tradition is a central concept in any given society. About twenty years ago, Terence and Hobsbawm carried out Invention on practice and how legitimacy is acquired by some governments and also status through the creation of traditional ceremonies. Their work contributed to bringing about a revolution in understanding the sociology of various communities, their history, and stimulating a lot of research in existing cultural practices. Ideas of traditions can easily be eroded in a community if individuals are not keen to maintain the norms and cultural practices in the community. One of the main contributions of Hobsbwam is based on three key assumptions which are; the development of tradition is a way of developing formalizations well as ritualization, which is found in some communities.

1.2.2 Tradition as 'invented'.

In some African communities’ traditions are typically invented where communities establish continuation with assumed historic past. In most cases this continuity is usually fictious. This is according to Hobsbawm (1913) invented traditions are usually responses to certain novel situations which in most cases take the reference form of prior situations. Inventing a tradition is a highly conscious process in adapting falsifying and transforming materials so that they can fit certain ideologies.

'Invention' means that the practices are actually new. Consequently, they do not lead to express continuity with practices that took place in the past, and therefore this claimed continuity is mostly fictitious.

Tradition as surrender or betrayal (Oxford, 1993): "tradition appears to have, already inbuilt into its very essence, an element of deceit. This may serve as a warning to the potentially illusive (and therefore perhaps elusive) nature of tradition." (Beiner, 2001).

Hobsbawm defines invented tradition in his book as a set of practices that are usually governed and tactfully accepted by the community guidelines. There are some norms, values, and beliefs which usually lead to repletion of practices over the years. Hobsbawm makes two observations. Firstly, he observes that these practices, which are repetitive in nature, bring about continuity. Secondly, he observes that invented traditions usually cause a clearer connection with a particular history.

Hobsbawm's idea of tradition comes from a distinct critical definition of tradition, which is different from the similar perceptions of the resolution, routine, and custom. While traditions are characterized by invariance, customs, on the other hand, are flexible and change even if they are repetitive in nature. Contrary to traditions, routines, and conventions have no important symbolic and ritual functions.

In his introduction, Hobsbawm draws a contrast between real traditions and invented traditions in the framework of a discussion on how tradition invention is influenced by social change. The conceptual discriminations are important and appropriate even though the term 'real' is considered somehow unfortunate because it overemphasized the difference between genuine continuity and created an idea of permanence. For some reason, the focus will be on the level of clarity of created continuity. In this paper, the observation that custom is above traditional societies and that modern societies have a higher likelihood to invent traditions is opposed. It will argue that both customs and traditions are part and parcel of all types of societies, even if the traditions practiced in those societies are different.

Culture is an aspect of ideas as well as different extents in the community's way of life, especially in practices and general activities in the given community. In Africa, some traditions based on aspects of customary law and religion or ethnicity are too narrow. The historical divide in Africa corresponds with pre-colonial cleavage as well as the colonial societies. According to Ranger (1993), European inventions in African colonial states focused narrowly on the Invention of traditions. In addition, colonial supremacy was seen to be far from total involvement in invented traditions. Africans, in most cases, participated fully in coming up with new traditions or even changing the existing traditions.

Ranger also suggested that the imagination of tradition can be used in place of inventing tradition. He emphasized the relationship between existing traditions and newly invented traditions in post-colonial states. On the contrary, he also shifted his interests from traditions that are invented to discussing ethnicity. It is believed that ethnicity existed before colonial times and that all traditions were not invented after colonization.

E. Hobsbawm: "the importance of 'invented' traditions as attempts to structure parts of social life as unchanging and invariant in the midst of the constant innovation and change characterizing the modern world" (Hobsbawm, 1983, 2; in Tonkinson, 2000, 127)

"'Traditions' which appear or claim to be old are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented." (Beiner, 2001, 1)

! Note/critique: Hobsbawm's book 'Invention of tradition' "has become to be regarded as a key text in the study of modern political and social history (both within historical studies and the social sciences)" and "is still referred to as an uncontested authority" while it should be questioned in our present-day globalized world. (Beiner, 2001, 1)

1.2.3 'Invention' as 're-imagined/relocated cult' & 'tradition' as 'dynamics of change and continuity' (being, 2001)

"Recently, 'invention' has acquired a new-found currency in the titles of writings by post-modern and post-colonial thinkers": "Invention is used here in the sense of re-imagining, interpretation or, to borrow again from the cult of the saints, translation. Relics, once invented/discovered, were then 'translated' or relocated (in Latin: translat-; also translated – transferred in a move from one place to another). This point reiterates the importance of adaptability and helps to identify transformations, as materials from the past are appropriated and moved into new contexts." (Beiner, 2001, 3)

Cultural inventions or traditional inventions are people's innovations that originate from within themselves. They constitute individuals' behaviors that are perpetuated by being inherited from one generation to the next. Cultural values can sometimes get assimilated by the neighboring communities. Sources of social as well as cultural Invention usually come from the same group or a different one.

According to Allan Hanson, the main purpose of studying cultural and traditional inventions is to understand the parts of individuals' beliefs and cultural inventions so as to accept them. He then describes invented tradition as a term used in a wide but not in an imprecise sense. It involves traditions that are actually invented, instituted, and constructed, and even those are coming out in a manner that is less easily traceable within a brief period (perhaps within a few years) and gaining establishment with a lot of rapidity’s. Invented tradition is known to imply a set of practices usually ruled by accepted laws that are ritual and symbolic in nature. These rules seek to impart certain virtues and behavioral norms by repetition, and this automatically implies continuity with history. Actually, where applicable, they usually try to create continuity with a relatable past. The history into which the newly introduced tradition is implanted should not be lengthy going back into the mist of time. 'Tradition' in this aspect ought to be clearly differentiated from 'custom,' which rules traditional societies. The characteristic of traditions, including those that are invented, is invariance.