TRADITIONAL KAMBA MUSIC

Traditional Kamba Music

            They are various types of music and dance among the Kamba community, which were classified according to the age of the participants. The performance of traditional Kamba dance depended on the occasion, time and the purpose of the dance at any particular time. As a result, there were different types of dances. To each of the dances, there was a particular set of costume as well as instruments. In addition to that, each dance had a particular place and time allocation. The dances included:

            i.Kilumi

Traditionally, the Kamba people believed that this dance would drive away the evil spirits or rather demons of a possessed woman. It was a dance for married women including the elderly.  It took place at the home of the woman believed to be possessed by evil spirits or at the home of the village’s witchdoctor.  The elderly married women began the dance at night while the young married women joined them during the day. It involved vigorous dancing which they believed was the most effective tool for driving away the evil spirits of the possessed women in the society.  The dancing costumes were black sheets decorated with white beads, flywhisk (muingu) and shakers (iamba). The instruments of the dance were drums and whistles. The young women in the dance blew the whistles while the elderly women acted as the drummers. All the dancers put on traditional strong scented oil known as kyutu.

            ii.Nzulya/ngutha

It was a dance for young men and women, which took place at in a village field, kituto. It was solely for entertainment though the participants would at times decide to compete. Several clans met in the kituto and each clan danced separately during competitions.  The dancers grouped themselves in pairs and maintained a distance of about two meters between the individuals in a given pair. The dance involved two steps forward and backward. The dancers wore a black clothe, kaniki, decorated with white buttons and one-cent pieces, tuwela. Whistle blowing was a fundamental in this dance. When the dance reached climax, the pairs crossed lines, the men sat on their heels and their counterparts knelt while both touched each other’s shoulders. This marked the end of the dance.

            iii. Mbevi

This was a dance for young and energetic boys and girls. The people considered it as a tiring dance thus it only lasted for approximately ten minutes. The major accompaniments of the dance were three whistles and a set of four drums. At the climax of the dance, the boys jumped about four feet in the air followed by several somersaults.

            iv. Kilui/kiveve

There were two forms of kilui: A ceremonial dance took place after a girl married. The girl’s age mates met at the newly married girl’s home and performed the dance as a way of bidding the girl goodbye. It began in the early afternoon and ended immediately after sunset. The other was performed after a day’s work in every village at the kituto. It was mainly for boys and girls in a given clan. For the participants, it was a chance for choosing partners as well as for courtship. The other form of leisure dance was known as mwasa.  The instruments in these leisure dances were two drums. Besides enjoying the dance, the participants enjoyed beer.

           

v. Kisanga

A ceremonial dance that was performed during thanks giving occasions- after the community had a good harvest. All the members of the community irrespective of their age joined in the dance. They met under a certain sacred tree, kitutu, where they sacrificed a white goat to both Mulungu and the community’s ancestors. The goat was slaughtered by the village elders under the leadership of the overseers.