Muchongoyo:
Muchongoyo is a traditional dance practised in Chipinge, Chimanimani, Chiredzi and Buhera districts of Zimbabwe.
The traditional dance identifies especially with the Ndau people but to a lesser extent the Tsonga (Shangani) people. In Tsonga it is called Muchongolo. Although scholars say the Ndau borrowed the traditional dance from Zululand, most Ndau people dispute it.
Muchongoyo is derived from kuchongoya which means stomping of feet in Ndau. Historically, muchongoyo was a war dance performed to instill discipline into warriors before a war and to celebrate victory after the war, thus the forceful stomping of feet. Nowadays the dance is performed to provide entertainment in events such as traditional weddings, installation of chiefs, celebrating a good harvest, keeping physical fitness and dating or in memory of a deceased dancer. Unlike other dances, muchongoyo does not have any religious inclination.
It is performed by both males and females. The males do the dancing as the females provide lyrics to motivate the dancers.The dance has a cow horn formation. It is usually composed of eight males and eight females. The females form the back row as two male drum beaters stand in the middle and six male dancers constitute the front row.
Muchongoyo is one of Chipinge’s oldest cultural dances and it commands a huge following and respect. One of the leading promoters of the cultural dance is former Member of Parliament for Chipinge and local businessman, Wilson Tarugarira Kumbula.
