Dinaka/kiba: A descriptive analysis of a Northern Sotho song-dance performative compound

Abstract

A disjuncture in the description of persists between practitioners of the genre, deemed custodians of Northern Sotho culture, and some scholars. Drawing from extensive fieldwork and consultation of literature from established scholars, this article presents a descriptive analysis of the dinaka/kiba song-dance performative compound. It does so by looking into the constituent elements of the genre, particularly its attendant nomenclature, instrument playing techniques and the technology used in instrument making. It was found that by investing in unravelling the deep lying philosophical underpinnings, as well as gaining insight into the functions of genre, chiefly embedded within the attendant indigenous languages systems, a contextually sound and accurate description of the genre is possible. This article, therefore, apart from challenging a few misrepresentations surrounding scholarly definitions, seeks to provide a practitioner-informed, analytical and comprehensive definition of dinaka/kiba as a song-dance performative compound.

Keywords: Indigenous music, African drumming, African performance, African folklore, African dance.