A look
Bwola,
royal
in Uganda
dance
at
the 45shares
AMA NUNOO Feb 5, 2020 at 10:30am
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February 05, 2020 at 10:30 am | CULTURE, OPINIONS & FEATURES
AMA NUNOO | Staff Writer
The Bwola dance of the Acholi people of Uganda is said to be a royal dance. It is
originally performed when a new chief is installed or at royal functions.
Bwola is also reserved for other dignitaries like political leaders, elders, religious
leaders to honour and welcome them at functions.
In recent times, Bwola is performed at funerals of royals, weddings and other
important functions among the Acholi. For instance, the dance is performed when
a clan leader or elder dies at home. The family deems it an honour to have the
Bwola dance to pay their last respects to the deceased.
Photo: YouTube
So, in the procession to the burial grounds, the dancers take the lead before the
body.
Generally, Bwola is a fun and entertaining dance that comes with cultural
freshness. It can easily be used as welcome dance for dignitaries at functions.
The dancers will dance gracefully before the distinguished guest and usher them
to their seat while performing. Even when seated the dance goes on for a while
to entertain the royal guests.
At weddings, this unique dance is “always performed by a bunch of traditional
dancers who entertain guests leaping, wiggling and pulling moves no ‘new skool’
dancers will easily match.”
Photo: wikimedia
The people of Acholi bond over the dance and to them it
reinforces marriages and entertains the guests as well.
Some call it the “21st Century break dance performed in Uganda where
traditional meets popular in a dance matrimony.”
The dancers do not take dance lightly, their clothes must command attention. It is
a pillar of the Acholi culture. It portrays their fierce “warrior skills.”
Africans are generally brave people and mostly ready to attack and face their
enemy regardless of how the opposition looks. Bwola is a celebration of all that
and more. In short Bwola shows how “people confronted their enemies – with
unbridled brevity.”
Both men and women perform Bwola.
“The men performing this dance carry small drums in their left hands while
holding small sticks they use the beat the drums to produce a very beautiful
acoustic sound that the women shake their long necks and chests to, while
moving forward and backwards.
Photo: View Uganda
“The men too will perform footwork while beating their small drums, and dancing
to the beautiful sounds coming from them.
“During the Bwola dance, a big drum literally known as min bul is beaten to
produce a very beautiful sound while a medium size drum is also used to
produce its own sound along with the tiny drums that the men hold in their left
hand to make the dance more colorful.”
The men wear ostrich feathers on their heads that depict royalty and leopard or
any other animal skin on their waists and backs. Some of the feathers are worn
on their arms as well.
The women wear waist beads and fold cloth into little pleats which is also tied
around the waist. They wear a blouse, at times a bra or anything to cover their
bust leaving their waists open.
Photo: Uganda Radio Network
“Voluptuous, traditional sounds sear through as dancers leap and jump and
fashionably wobble on the ground like a well-choreographed dance troupe.
“They make a beeline and file and dance leaning towards the instrumentation
usually played by someone in the middle.”
Uganda. The Bwola, The Royal
Dance.
Among the many cultural dances of the Acholi people, who live in the northern region of
Uganda, the Bwola dance is known as a royal dance performed before the chiefs.
Unlike many tribes in Uganda that were ruled by kings and still maintain their kingdoms, the
Acholi people were governed or ruled by chiefs in chiefdoms. Every chief among the Acholi
represents a clan.
Just like all tribes and people in Uganda, the Acholi people have a very rich culture which they
have managed to preserve to date. Among the preserved cultures are the dances of which
the bwola dance, which is a royal dance, is one.
This dance was preserved for the entertaining of traditional chiefs during their installations and
other functions among the Acholi people at the palace. The dancers wear traditional warrior
costumes while performing the dance, they wear them to depict the strength of their culture.
The bwola dance was originally a dance performed for the royals; today the dance is performed
for other dignitaries like political leaders, religious leaders and elders as a sign of respect, honour
and welcome at various functions.
This dance is also used at functions such as wedding parties, funerals of the royals and
other respected persons like politicians, clan elders, at coronations and other important
functions. It is performed to honour the function itself and its important participants. At funerals
before burying the deceased who may be a chief, king, or others they consider to be important
persons, the dance is also performed.
The dance can also be used as a welcome dance at the different functions. The dancers of the
bwola lead a procession while dancing and indicating the way to usher in the invited guests as
they take their seats. After the guests take their seats, the dancers continue dancing with their
dancing to entertain the rest of the guests.
When an elder or clan elder dies in a home, the grieving family always want to send off their
deceased with respect so they will opt for the bwola dance as a sign of the last respects accorded
to the deceased. The dancers lead the body of the deceased in a procession to his final resting
place.This dance is performed by both men and women. The men performing this dance carry
small drums in their left hands while holding small sticks they use the beat the drums to produce
a very beautiful acoustic sound that the women shake their long necks and chests to, while
moving forward and backwards. The men too will perform foot-work while beating their small
drums, and dancing to the beautiful sounds coming from them.
The men wear ostrich feathers which are attached on a ring like item on their heads to look like
crowns and leopard skins or skin from any other animal on their backs and waists; some of the
feathers are made into a costume and worn on the the men’s arms also.
The women on the other hand will wear beads round their waists, and fold sheets into small
pleats which they also tie around their waists and a blouse or sometimes only a bra that will
cover the bust only leaving their waists open. During the bwola dance, a big drum literally
known as min bul is beaten to produce a very beautiful sound while a medium size drum is also
used to produce its own sound along with the tiny drums that the men hold in their left hand to
make the dance more colorful.
They call it a royal dance because it is one of the graceful dances that the Acholi people
perform because royals are believed to be graceful in everything they do. All songs sung during
this dance are songs of respect or praise for their leaders or elders.
Unlike the other dances performed in Acholi, the bwola dance has no particular time or season; it
can be performed at any time as long as the royals are visiting their subjects or when death
occurs or at funeral homes. Today the dance is also considered and used for other entertainments.
Irene Lamunu
