Semba Music and Dance

Semba is the most important traditional rhythm in the contemporary Angolan music and dance; it
pronounces the culture. This entry introduces this practice from the perspective of
ethnomusicology. It reviews the history of Semba music and dance, introduces important artists,
highlights DJs that are expanding the music into an electronic subgenre and the Semba dancers
in the diaspora representing the culture internationally.

Ney Corte Real and Iris De Brito, London, UK, 2009

Semba describes both a genre of music and dance, and is a distinctive and unique style of music
and sound originated and created in Angola by Angolans; as a voice and spirit of the country.
Semba highlights the value of music and artistic practice as a manifesto of identity and religion,
in Made in Angola: Arte Contemporanea, Artistas e Debates (2009) Adriano Mixinge, in a
different context of the Angolan artistic practice and tradition, articulates the dynamic and
reinvention of the matrix of the creative expression as a reference of an Angolan postcolonial
discourse of history and culture.

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Early 20th century Semba music and dance from Angola

Semba is typically constructed with musical instruments, which includes: guitar harmonizes to
coordinate with the circular rhythms of the marimba and sanza kissanje (the xylophone dear to
the Mbundu ethnic group), accordion, piano, trumpet, panflute, saxophone, guitar, violin,
berimbau (a single-string percussion instrument and a musical bow), pandeiro, conga and ngoma
drums, tarolas (snare drums), dilongas (bass drums), double bells, timbales, shakers, rattles and
dikanza (Brazilian reco-reco). In Semba the African musical instruments emphasizes the strong
influence of African music practice.

The solo guitar-driven style is an important component in creating the sound and it counterpoint
to the voice of the artists, which harmonize the rhythm and melody. Semba rhythm is primarily
guitar led, which is a signifier of multicultural influences in the Angolan culture, evident on the
sound and melody of guitar and storytelling nature of Semba, expressive in balladic and
melancholic yearning and nostalgia of the past. The drums and the dialogue between the lead
vocal and chorus gives a particular dynamic of representation and production of Angola identity
and the daily life, social events and activities as entertainment. Semba is sensual and very
energetic, fast paced and upbeat music, and because of this artists are able to convey a broad
spectrum of emotions, sorrow and the Angolan way of living. However, because of this Semba is
the premiere style of music for the wide variety of Angolan social gatherings. The rhythm and

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versatility of the sound is generally and inevitably present at funeral ceremonies and many
Angolan parties, celebrations of birthday and wedding.

Ney Corte Real and Iris De Brito, London, UK, 2009

History of Semba

Semba as a musical practice was preceded by Massemba which means “a touch of the bellies” a
movement that characterizes the essence of Semba music and dance. Massemba was an early
urban social form of couple dancing. Semba was created as a result of social environment and
part of the culture of elderly Angolans. Because of this, the early Portuguese settlers described
and named Semba, ‘Angolan Merengue’. Semba is also influenced by the music and dance of the
carnival celebration and the multitudes of hybrid cultures and traditions in the capital city of
Luanda, Angola. Carnival in Angola is a celebration that takes place once a year and different
groups take part from various locations in the country, representing local and regional ethnic
groups. In Empire in Africa: Angola and Its Neighbors (2006) David Birmingham narrates a
visual history of the carnival of victory with masquerade and ritual, representing the essence of
Semba music and dance as a social and postcolonial form of freedom, liberation and celebration
in the streets, a collective cultural production and imaginary identity. In the context of Angola,
carnival manifests a rich, vibrant collective tradition, whereby the competition promotes the

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presentation and participation of new dance and music forms derived from the traditional conjure
of physical and oral history.

Ney Corte Real, London, UK, 2010 Ney Corte Real, London, UK, 2010

Semba relates to Angola’s pre-colonial heritage, and is popular today as it was long before the
country’s independence from the Portuguese colonial regime on November 11, 1975. It is
important to consider that there are other styles of Angolan music and dance related to Semba,
which are Kizomba, Kuduro, Rebita and Kazukuta, Kabetula, Maringa, Caduque, Cidralia and
Dizanda which are primarily carnival music. However, based on historical records there is an
allegation from Angolan historians that Semba have originated as a dance in celebration of
special events such as births, marriages, and good harvest. In this seminal work O Percurso
Historico Da Musica Urbana Luandense (2007) Jose Weza elaborates in great depth the history
of Semba music as a creative contributor of social and national development and cultural
production in the 21st century.

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 Ney Corte Real, Nottingham, UK, 2010

Semba Dance

Semba dance is fast tempo dance, somewhat sensuous, in which dance partners touch each other
by the forward thrust of the bellies, there is a constant body movements, where the male would
grab the female by the hips and draw her close to him for their bellies to touch with the main
focus on the compass and choreography of the legs. Semba is based on a firm stepping motion,
rather like pushing into sand. The steps are fairly quick, and can be linear or move around the
lead. The male takes the lead and create the steps with the female following as bodily
choreograph. Dancers adjust the structure and creativity of their movements in correspondence
of their bodies navigating in the space. People dance Semba generally in clubs or in homes at
backyard parties. Semba is complex in its nature but dancers tend to be highly skilled. Some are
capable of constructing a creative experience symbolizing the identity of the nation. Currently,
Semba has evolved as a reflection of the global development, which made the genre more
playful, with the incorporation of comedic and acrobatic expressions, mimed grabs for an
escaping partner, and now there much room for improvisation. There are two main types of
Semba: the slower ‘Semba lenta’ (also known as ‘cadencia’) and the fast ‘Semba rapida’.

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Semba dance was originated and developed in the seventeenth century as part of the traditional
culture and way of life in the coastal areas of Angola in the direction of Atlantic Ocean around
Luanda and Benguela, urban provinces. It is widely believed that Angolan Semba gave birth to
the Brazilian national Samba, which arrived with enslaved Africans who carried it to Brazil by
way of the transatlantic slave trade in the seventeenth century. The slaves were transported to
Salvador in Bahia where there are a great number of Afro-Brazilians. Bahia is an important city
for the practice of Samba with enormous component of carnival groups. In Working the Spirits:
Ceremonies of the African Diaspora (1994), Jose M. Murphy constructs a classical ethnographic
understanding of Afro-Brazilian experiences in the context of ritual and music. He describes the
cultural symbolism of black music and religious epistemology in the new world. However, the
text Angolan Traits in Black Music, Games and Dances of Brazil: A Study of African Cultural
Extensions Overseas (1979) Gerhard Kubik goes further by presenting field research and
documentary sources about the dimension and panoramic inscription of the Angolan and African
music and dance into the Brazilian music and culture through the generation of enslaves
Africans. Kubik particularly draws literary references between Semba and Samba music and
dance, relating the origin with certain ethnic groups in Angola.

Paulo Carnoth, London, UK, 2011

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Semba Music Artists

Historically, Semba music and dance gain national popularity and attention in the end of 1940s
during the Portuguese colonialism, by the group N’gola Ritmos, which created lyrics that were
mixture of Portuguese and Kimbundu, a Bantu language (widely spoken in the north of Angola).
In the more recent times, a couple of new Angolan Semba artists become visible each year. It is
the tradition that new artists always render homage to the veteran Semba masters, many of whom
are dead and others still alive and performing. The subject matter of Semba song is often a
cautionary tale or story regarding day-to-day mundane life, social events and activities, usually
sung and narrated in a witty rhetoric common to the culture, inspiring collective identification
and determination. Semba artists are characteristically able to convey through their music a
broad spectrum of emotions and feelings by means of vocal expression and the dialogue of oral
story-telling. In Angola, Semba is the primary style of music and dance for a wide collective and
variety in social gathering and events. The versatility of Semba is evident in its inevitable
presence at lamentations in funerals, and at parties and family events.

Paulo Flores, The Forge in Camden Town, London, UK, 2015

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José Barceló de Carvalho (Bonga Kuenda) the Angolan popular singer, is the most successfully
Semba artist with a long international reputation. He travels around the world representing
Angolan music and he is generally categorized in the genre of world music. The contributions of
Bonga Kuenda to Semba music are described by Frank Tenaille, in his study Music is the
Weapon of the Future (2002), considered a fundamental ethnographic research on African and
Angolan music in the postcolonial period, particularly during the 20th century.

Bands that played Semba include: Os Kiezos, Ngola Ritmos, Bongos, Africa Ritmos, Águias
Reais, Banda Maravilha, Semba Master and Jovens do Prenda. Other important Semba musicians
are: Carlos Lamartine, Urbano de Castro, David Ze, Artur Nunes, Belita Palma, Lourdes Van-
Dunem, Carlitos Vieira Dias, Joãozinho Morgado, Marito Arcanjo, Carlos Burity, Dom Caetano
and Elias Dia Kiemuezo. Kiemuezo who presently lives in Angola and has been instrumental in
the development and popularization of Semba. He has achieved great success in Angola, but
without much international exposures

Young artists who are joining veteran Semba musicians to give continuity of the music are:
Paulo Flores, Yuri da Cunha, Don Kikas, Rei Helder, Matias Damasio, Sabino Henda, Maya
Cool and Puto Português. The new generation of performers is also travelling divulging the
culture and tradition internationally. For Angolans abroad Semba music and dance creates a
sense of nostalgia for home, distant family, and loved ones. Indeed, Semba typically unites the
people in the context of culture and tradition, creating memories for those in diaspora. The
distribution of Semba music is not really visible it is very difficult to find music shops to buy
Semba music. It seems to be more accessible to find this type of music in Portugal.

Ney Corte Real, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2010

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DJs of Semba Electronic

An electronic subgenre of semba has been created due to the evolution of the music, whereby
DJs are creating an electronic style of Semba, which is influenced by the featured work of DJs or
producers such as: DJ Pausas, DJ Satxibala, DJ Marito, DJ Barata and DJ Tinta.

DJ Deusa, London, UK, 2011 DJ at Bar Contemporary in Nottingham, UK, 2010

The DJ’s of Semba electronic plays an important part in the dissemination of Semba music and dance, particularly in
the diaspora. They produce the music and also in the night clubs they play the music to entertain the audience and
fans of the style of music and dance, which is part of the culture and way of way. The DJ’s really creates the
atmosphere; whereby each person expresses the rhythms of the music and dance by bring with them their unique
personalities and characters.

Semba Dancers in the Diaspora

Semba music and dance is popular in Europe and North America

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In the context of the African diaspora there are a number of Semba dancers who are
internationally representing Angolan culture through dancing, include Petchú & Vanessa,
Morenasso & Anais, Paulo & Lanna, Enah and Carolina, Tecas & Jo, Ricardo & Paula, Miguel
& Susana and Tony Pirata and Sophie Fox.

See Also: Angolan: History, Culture and Geography of Music, Angola: Modern Contemporary
Performance Practice and Kizomba

Chikukwango Cuxima-Zwa
Brunel University London

Further Readings
Birmingham, David (2006) Empire in Africa: Angola and Its Neighbours, Athens: Ohio
University
Kubik, Gerhard (1979) Angolan Traits in Black Music, Games and Dances of Brazil: A Study of
African Cultural Extensions Overseas, Centro De Estudos De Antropologia Cultural, Number
10, Lisbon: Junta De Investigacoes Cientificas Do Ultramar

Mixinge, Adriano (2009) Made in Angola: Arte Contemporanea, Artists e Debates, Paris: L’
Harmattan

Murphy, M. Joseph (1994) Working the Spirit: Ceremonies of the African Diaspora, Boston:
Beacon press
Tenaille, Frank (2002) Music is the Weapon of the Future, (trans. by Stephen Toussaint and
Hope Sandrine, Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books
Weza, Jose (2007) O Percurso Historico da Musica Urbana Luandense: Subsidios para a
Historia da Musica Angolana, Luanda: Sopol, SA

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