Abstract:
As the kongonya dance commenced in the backdrop of high-pitched chimurenga1
song, I became barely conscious of my obscure presence amidst the rising thick dust.
I remember looking at the bigger dancers and imitating their steps, moves and
routines. What I distinctly remember to this day is that both young men and women
danced in line formation, with those dancers behind clutching the waists of those
ahead of them—man to woman, woman to man—then simultaneously rolling
their buttocks exaggeratedly and stamping the ground as they hopped forward till
the leading dancer completed a turn and clutched the waist of the last dancer in
the line and thus formed a rotating ring (personal recollection by Jairos Gonye, the
first author).
