Gumboot dancing comes from South Africa workers who worked in the gold mines. The gold mines they worked in were completely dark. Workers were chained to their work stations with shackles and not allowed to speak to one another while working months at a time. Many workers were killed

during this work by accidents, while others were beaten and abused.

"Mbube" (Zulu: lion) was written in the 1920s by Solomon Linda, a South African singer of Zulu origin, who worked for the Gallo Record Company as a cleaner

and record packer. "Mbube" wasn't the most catchy tune. The third take was the great one, but it

achieved immortality only in its dying seconds, when Solly [Solomon Linda] took a deep breath, opened his mouth and improvised the melody that the world now

associates with these words. In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.

South African men sang songs while hunting and minings.

South African mothers used songs to sing lullybys to children.

Dogon dancers in Mali wear traditional masks to mourn the dead at a funeral ceremony. South Africans dance when babies are born ,

when people die and when people get married.

In this project we have learnt so much about all different things from singing lullabies to bells on boots and and jumping to show strength. We have really enjoyed learning and sharing about our cultures and love for

these traditional dances and music.

We have also learnt about how the traditional dances and music connects to there beliefs and values. It can be dancing or playing the drums it can all connect to there beliefs , for example the Gitega drummers in

Burundi play at a dance competition to attract good spirits.

We really feel connected and attached to these dances and songs even though we don't hear them a lot any more. Halli: Shishaloza one of the songs has been my favourite for ever. I never new what it actually meant but after 3 of us having argument on what it meant and looking at 3 Websites we finally found what we needed to Know. My mum is from South Africa but left when she was 12 so I've never been to South Africa but I've always had it in my blood. Some people say that I'm half South African and half Australian

but I'm not to sure. But I don't care what any one says I know that I have South African culture in my blood. Natasha: I was born in South Africa and lived the first 6 years of my life there, I learnt many different

cultural dances and songs but I never knew what the dances actually meant to the South Africans and how these dance can affect there beliefs and values. Throughout this inquiry I saw and heard the dances and

music and all my childhood memories came back and I finally learnt the real meaning of the cultural dancing and music.

This connects to our central idea because we did not only look into why they danced but we also looked

into how it connects to their traditions and values.

Thanks for watching

By Natasha and Halli

We want to do our inquiry on cultural South African dancing and music because our family background is mostly South African so we wanted to know about what

musical background they grew up in.We want to know how the traditional South African dances and music connects to their different beliefs and values. We also want to look deeper into our culture that we did not have a lot of time to experience. We want to know how the dance

and music changed the South African people throughout time and what the dance and music meant to them.

We are really excited to share our learning with you and we also hope you learn a lot to.

ENJOY

Cultrual Dancing and Music

The maasai warriors do the jumping comps to show that they are really strong and can do good tricks, they also invite anyone to

join the game.Gitega drummers in Burundi play at a dance competion to attract

good spirt.

SHOSHALOZAShosholoza began as a folk song for the gold and diamond miners traveling back and forth between

zimbabweand south africa the word shoshaloza is a combanasion of both ndebele (zimbabwe) and zulu

(of south africa) words meaning "to push forwardor to strive " The sound of the word itself is symbolic of the

steam engine train that carried miners through the mountains. It said that the song helped to lesson the

workload and to help create a rythmn to work to through the long and hard days.

For the people of South Africa, singing in itself is a tradition. They enjoy singing to pass the time during daily chores, or to celebrate

special events. The music they sing has, over the years, been influenced by many different people and groups.

Natasha and Halli Inquiry