The thrilling healing dance performances by the Nca’anca’ase Traditional Troupe were a highlight of the sixth edition of the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Award, organised by the Africa Tourism Partners and held in Gaborone, Botswana.
The troupe’s performances at the opening ceremony of the event held at the Gaborone International Conference Centre (GICC) were superb, and its performances at the Cultural Night at the Three Dikgosi Monument in the Central Business District of Gaborone were ‘out of this world’!
An assistant coach of the dance group, Thomas Sekepese, in a brief chat with REPORTERS AT LARGE disclosed that “The San people of Namibia, Botswana, Angola, and South Africa see dance as a potent spiritual power to heal the sick. Under the direction of healers and elders, the entire community congregates around a fire for a few hours or possibly the entire night. The healers breathe heavily, dance around the fire, and chant until they create a potent trance-like state. They are given access to the spirit world in this state. The San healers try to eradicate what they call “star sickness” in addition to treating medical ailments in their community.”
Performing the healing dance, the troupe slowly matched to the podium, launching into their seemingly marathon healing dance with their rhythmic clapping and singing and the beat that drives the dancers around in a circle.
The dance rattles that round their legs quicken the song’s tempo. The Nca’anca’ase traditional dancers use these rattles made of dried cocoons and packed with ostrich shell fragments to produce a percussion sound as their legs move. The Nca’anca’ase traditional dancers mark the sand by moving in a tiny circle while holding thin sticks, creating a ring of dark grey. As they have been for more than a millennium, they are joined in a very charged manner.
To elaborate, Sekepese stated that the most enigmatic aspect of the Kalahari Bushmen is their trance dance. This ritual involves rhythmic dancing and hyperventilation to induce an altered state of consciousness. It’s also referred to as a healing dance. The Bushmen believe that during trance dances, which can last the entire night, they are endowed with animal strength and journey into a spiritual dimension where they can see and hear from God, battle evil spirits, and obtain healing abilities.
According to Sekepese, rhythmic dancing and hyperventilation, known as a healing dance, which can last all night, provide them with animal potency and allow them to access a spiritual world where they can see, feel, and even communicate with God.
“The combination of repetitive dance moves with the singing, clapping and drumming helps to release the life force in the men dancing around the circle at the base of their spine. When the life force is activated in this manner, the energy moves up their beings, healing themselves and giving them the power to help heal others too.
“Our fathers believe this spiritual energy allows gifted healers to ‘see’ illness in others and use their healing hands to pull the malady out of a patient physically. It can also heal negative aspects of the community, such as anger and disputes,” Sekepese noted.
Nca’anca’ase Traditional Troupe performs the healing dance to entertain and heal by stamping and shuffling on the podium as guests watch in fascination. Their bodies shake with their own rhythm, responding to the pain that pulsates through their bodies.
One man in particular was awash with emotion. His unseeing eyes were a clue that the spirits had taken him, and he spoke out in an odd voice. He lurched forward, falling to his knees like an overturned giraffe, tears flowing down his cheeks. Just before his face met the ground, people nearby rescued him.
Watching the Nca’anca’ase Traditional Troupe perform the healing dance might offer a unique look into the past, right into the tradition and culture of the people of Botswana and other San people.
