Exploring the Communicative Power of Mwazindika Spirit Healing Dance from the Dawida Community in Kenya

Abstract

Dance in Africa is not a separate art but an integral part of everyday living. Unlike many dances of the West, traditional dance is a cultural instrument for preparation of the young for adulthood that is interwoven into the mosaic of African life. It is a means of storytelling and expression, a communication and connection with the spirit world, a language that speaks of community, spirituality, and the human experience. Traditional African dance is a cultural heritage for identity, community support and wellness. Based upon the spoken language, dance is a source of communication through which it is possible to demonstrate emotions, beliefs, and other reactions through movement. However, African dance has been studied in areas of aesthetics, art of movement, healing, entertainment, recreation and theatre performance but hardly are there any studies on its communicative power. Using communication models and rhetorical theory as lenses, the study explores the communicative power of Mwazindika spirit healing dance from the Dawida community in Kenya.