About this Event
Francesca Declichh will speak on decades of fieldwork with the matrilineal group of Zigula speakers who have been separated historically between Somali and Tanzanian populations. They provide extraordinary evidence for resilience through ritual and dance traditions shared with numerous other Bantu speakers
Francesca's presentation highlights a video documentary dedicated to the Sharappa dance of Zigula speakers which was first filmed in southern Somalia, then in Tanzania and finally in Mozambique. While it summarizes the anthropologist's long research journey, during which they accompanied refugees in various countries for several decades, following the thread of the matrilineal ceremonies the ethnographic case offers chances for reflection on the role of matrilineal ceremonies in this part of Africa.
Mame Keray, an elderly Somali Makua who became a Tanzanian citizen after escaping the war in her country in 1992, has the chance to watch a performance of the Sharappa dance on a computer. It was filmed in a village near the place she used to live in Somalia. She sees the elderly leader of the Makua group in Somalia, Mze Chiperpero; she watches her deceased sister dancing; she cries and expresses what the dance means to her. A woman asserts that performing the Sharappa dance healed her from the trauma she suffered during the war in Somalia. The dance evokes memories of ancestors and has a positive effect on the well-being of those who participate. Performed in Somalia by matrilineal descent groups, the dance demonstrates the importance of ancestral cult practices to the identity of Bantu language speakers who migrated to East Africa when societies were based on oral traditions. The Mozambican Makua Shalipa dance is filmed and compared with the Somali Makua dance. Invoking the spirits is considered crucial to achieving one's aspirations in life. The role of spirits in Europe is also questioned at the end.
Everyone welcome
LIVE Daryll Forde Seminar Room, 2nd Floor, UCL Anthropology Dept, 14 Taviton St, WC1H 0BW
Please note our ZOOM ID 952 8554 1412 passcode Wawilak
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
UCL Anthropology, 14 Taviton Street, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
