This dance …
is called:The Kumpo, the Niasse and the Samay
This dance is a social and at the same time religious event of a village. It is home in the region of the Diola people which is the region of Casamance (southern Senegal) and in Gambia.
Societal relevance
The Kumpo, the Samay, and the Niasse are three traditional figures in the mythology of the Diola people in the Casamance (Senegal) and in Gambia. They play a central role in the social life of the traditional village. It is a cult of secrecy in which all three figures are masked dancers. The performance happens in the frame of a social festivity. It is first and foremost a social space and a stimulus for the social community life. Often villages do this dance when there is a festival, a ceremony or a visit of an important person. Not participating to the feast is seen as anti-social behaviour.
The event follows a certain overall structure:
The public forms a big circle in which the performance takes place. The performance is a common act in which the whole community enjoys to perform rhythmical music and dance. The performance is an ongoing procedure that lasts for hours. It has de- and highly accelerating moments in between.
The accompanying music is performed by the people forming the circle. The people chant and play drums. There are approximately 10 men playing drums. In addition, the women of the village play an instrument called calledhoulew. The instrument consists of two small sticks that when tapped against each other make a high ringing bell like sounds. The music forms a continuous tune that accelerates and decelerates at times supporting and driving the action of the performance.
is called:The Kumpo, the Niasse and the Samay
This dance is a social and at the same time religious event of a village. It is home in the region of the Diola people which is the region of Casamance (southern Senegal) and in Gambia.
Societal relevance
The Kumpo, the Samay, and the Niasse are three traditional figures in the mythology of the Diola people in the Casamance (Senegal) and in Gambia. They play a central role in the social life of the traditional village. It is a cult of secrecy in which all three figures are masked dancers. The performance happens in the frame of a social festivity. It is first and foremost a social space and a stimulus for the social community life. Often villages do this dance when there is a festival, a ceremony or a visit of an important person. Not participating to the feast is seen as anti-social behaviour.
The event follows a certain overall structure:
The public forms a big circle in which the performance takes place. The performance is a common act in which the whole community enjoys to perform rhythmical music and dance. The performance is an ongoing procedure that lasts for hours. It has de- and highly accelerating moments in between.
The accompanying music is performed by the people forming the circle. The people chant and play drums. There are approximately 10 men playing drums. In addition, the women of the village play an instrument called calledhoulew. The instrument consists of two small sticks that when tapped against each other make a high ringing bell like sounds. The music forms a continuous tune that accelerates and decelerates at times supporting and driving the action of the performance.
The Samay
The Samay invites the people of the village to participate in the festivities. He can be considered the ceremony master of the traditional dance event. The Samay is single armed and holds a long stick in his hand. He wears a mask with two long horns. The performer underneath stays incognito. His identity is unknown. He can run very hard and with his stick he mandates strict order in the community. He is meant to know everything that happens in the village.
The Kumpo
The Kumpo It is both a mask and a dance to appeal to this spirit that comes out of the forest where the Kumpo lives. It is believed that the Kumpo is not a person but a spirit. The Kumpo, is an exorcist of evil spirits and conveys certain values such as respect for elders, the richness and power of nature in Joola country, the values of sharing, a sense of responsibility and community life. It is a guarantor of order and justice. He speaks a private secret language and communicates through an interpreter with the spectators. He encourages the community to act as good villagers. He promotes everybody to participate in community life and wishes that all people are enjoying the feast.
There is a strong relationship with the so called "Sacred woods". Sacred woods are found in various cultures throughout the world. They play an important role in mythological cult practices. In order to get dressed, the Kumpo must retreat into the sacred woods accompanied by initiated men and no women must attend the scene. This gives the Kumpo a phantasmagorical dimension. The Kumpo is dressed with palm leaves and wears a stick on the head. The performer underneath stays incognito. His identity is unknown. nobody ask about identity of the Kumpo. He may not be touched and it is considered as a sacrilege to look into the palm leaves. Therefore, he defends himself against intruders with his stick by smashing and pointing.
At the start of the dance, a young lady binds a coloured flag on the stick. The colour of the flag differentiates from village to village. Each village has its own flag and chooses their specific colours. Green can mean pride in correspondence to the greenery of Casamance. The white suggests peace. The flag corresponds the traditional clothing of the women of the village.The Kumpo dances for hours with the stick and the flag on the head. His main performative action is to stick the wooden stick with the flag into the earth and spins on it lifting his legs in the air and turning around his own axis. The spins let the costume flutter in the air. At times he sits himself down at the side of the circle or exits the circle to take a pause. At the end of the feast, he says goodbye to the community and revokes into the Sacred woods.
The Kumpo It is both a mask and a dance to appeal to this spirit that comes out of the forest where the Kumpo lives. It is believed that the Kumpo is not a person but a spirit. The Kumpo, is an exorcist of evil spirits and conveys certain values such as respect for elders, the richness and power of nature in Joola country, the values of sharing, a sense of responsibility and community life. It is a guarantor of order and justice. He speaks a private secret language and communicates through an interpreter with the spectators. He encourages the community to act as good villagers. He promotes everybody to participate in community life and wishes that all people are enjoying the feast.
There is a strong relationship with the so called "Sacred woods". Sacred woods are found in various cultures throughout the world. They play an important role in mythological cult practices. In order to get dressed, the Kumpo must retreat into the sacred woods accompanied by initiated men and no women must attend the scene. This gives the Kumpo a phantasmagorical dimension. The Kumpo is dressed with palm leaves and wears a stick on the head. The performer underneath stays incognito. His identity is unknown. nobody ask about identity of the Kumpo. He may not be touched and it is considered as a sacrilege to look into the palm leaves. Therefore, he defends himself against intruders with his stick by smashing and pointing.
At the start of the dance, a young lady binds a coloured flag on the stick. The colour of the flag differentiates from village to village. Each village has its own flag and chooses their specific colours. Green can mean pride in correspondence to the greenery of Casamance. The white suggests peace. The flag corresponds the traditional clothing of the women of the village.The Kumpo dances for hours with the stick and the flag on the head. His main performative action is to stick the wooden stick with the flag into the earth and spins on it lifting his legs in the air and turning around his own axis. The spins let the costume flutter in the air. At times he sits himself down at the side of the circle or exits the circle to take a pause. At the end of the feast, he says goodbye to the community and revokes into the Sacred woods.
The
Niasse
Niasse
The Niasse looks like a wolf- like creature. The performer wears a black mask that looks like a wolf but has two small horns similar to those of a cow. The rest of the costume consists of long black fluffy hair covering also his hands and feet. The costume covers his whole body. The Niasse holds two sticks in his hands.The performer underneath stays incognito. His identity is unknown. His main performative action is to stick the wooden sticks into the ground and perform hyper speed like steps and jumps. He thereby de- and accelerates rhythmically. His costume flutters in the air. At times he sits himself down in the centre or at the side of the circle or exits the circle..
The performance of the public community
The public community is as much part of the performance as the performers themselves. The public performs the music and is actively part of the event by cheering but also by committing to the sacred event itself. At times the public may as well enter the "stage". one person or a group of 2-3 people may enter the circle. They run towards the Kumpo or Niasse and when arrived in front of it quickly run back out of the circle. At other times people enter the space and perform some Sabar dance steps. They may do this also just in front of the Kumpo or Niasse but just for a short moment before quickly running back out. Repeatedly single women enter the space, touch the sand and lay down on their back. When this happens one or two people of the community come immediately to help the women up and carry her out of the space.
The Kumpo or Niasse may at times both leave the space, mingle between the public and “watch” people from the community performing some Sabar.
[1] Persee.fr, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1999_num_39_153_1964
[2] TravelwithKat.com, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://travelwithkat.com/dancing-with-a-kumpo-in-kanuma/
[3] Accessgambia.com, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://www.accessgambia.com/information/kumpo-mask.html
[4] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niasse
[5] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samay_(mythology)
[6] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumpo
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