Mobilizing Dance/Traumatizing Dance
Kongonya and the Politics of Zimbabwe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11223610 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jairos Gonye (0000-0002-0856-7066, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 65-79 |
| Publication date | 2013-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Dance Research Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0149-7677 • E-ISSN: 1940-509X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0149767712000277 |
| OpenAlex | W2046866898 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 5 |
The article analyzes kongonya dance as it occurs in everyday Zimbabwean spaces. Tracing its origins, utility, and metamorphosis, I studied kongonya dance in its performed world; observed kongonya being danced at a pungwe, a gala, and a political function; and watched kongonya being performed on state television. Through participant-observations, respondent testimonies, and personal interviews of dancers and nondancers for all these contexts, pertinent data on kongonya were collected. The article contends that kongonya has both a human and inhuman face, having been transformed from a dance for the people into a dance against the people—a phenomenon at the mercy of political manipulators. Despite kongonya having creatively promoted the nationalist cause of the 1970s Zimbabwean liberation party, kongonya has been abused in the postcolonial state in an attempt to placate citizens, suppress dissension, and (also) in the hopes of reinvigorating the waning fortunes of the ruling party, ZANU PF. Initially, kongonya reflected an apparently more national outlook than an ethnic one, but lately it has revealed rather hegemonic traits. Regrettably, politicians sought to manipulate the malleability of dance and harness kongonya 's national character to an exclusionist political agenda
Aesthetics · Art · Contemporary dance · Dance · Elite · Media studies · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science) · Visual arts · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Cinema and Media Studies · Gender Studies · Law
“ Mdhara Vachauya ” (The Old Man Is Coming) and “ Kutonga Kwaro ” (His/Her Style of Governance)
Appropriated and Commodified Dance in the Post-2000 Zimbabwe Crisis Period as Represented in Petina Gappah’s “The Mupandawana Dancing Champion”
Interpreting Zimbabwe's Third Chimurenga Through Kongonya
Politics at Play
Muchongoyo and Mugabeism in Zimbabwe
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,56 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2024 (8) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |