African Journal of
History and Culture

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Hist. Cult.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-6672
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJHC
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 201

Review

Expressing indigenous knowledge through dance

  Akas Nicholas Chielotam      
Theatre Arts Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 12 April 2012
  •  Published: 30 June 2012

Abstract

 

In many cases, indigenous knowledge has been orally passed from one generation to another. It encompasses the wisdom, knowledge and teachings of traditions to communities based on their social, economic, religious and political beliefs. The knowledge of indigenous and local communities is often embedded in a cosmology. These cosmologies are inextricably bound to ancestors, festivals and ancestral lands. To acquire indigenous knowledge, it may not be acquired by naturalistic trial and error, but through direct revelation and constant conversation with the people that own the various indigenous traditions. Therefore, this paper is aimed at using dance as an expressive tool in retaining indigenous knowledge.

 

Key word: Indigenous, festival, aesthetic.