Overview
The Mangwengwe is a traditional dance that is performed by the Mambwe and Namwanga people of Zambia. Dating to pre-colonial times, it is characterized by circular movements of the shoulders and sometimes waist. The performance involves a lead singer or dancer, supporting singers and dancers, hand-clappers and musicians. The rhythm is set by the rubbing of wooden stools against the bottoms of clay pots. Most of the singing, dancing and clapping is performed by women, with men occasionally participating on special occasions. Practitioners compose their own songs, which generally describe everyday life, the land, leaders, and current events. The Mangwengwe dance is reserved for important events such as weddings, funerals and traditional ceremonies. Notably, it is the only dance performed at the funeral and burial of a chief. It is also featured in political gatherings to praise or...
This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.
Community and Authority
- Communities
- Zambia
- Languages
- Not specified in UNESCO dataset
- Cultural territories
- Zambia
- Countries
- Zambia
How the System Works
The Mangwengwe is a traditional dance that is performed by the Mambwe and Namwanga people of Zambia. Dating to pre-colonial times, it is characterized by circular movements of the shoulders and sometimes waist. The performance involves a lead singer or dancer, supporting singers and dancers, hand-clappers and musicians. The rhythm is...
Sources and Evidence
Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.
Field-Level Provenance
- title
- UNESCO DataHub field title_en
- preferredTitle
- UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
- summary
- UNESCO DataHub field description_en
- type
- UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
- countries
- UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
- categories
- ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
- relationships
- UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
- sourceUrl
- UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
- rights
- UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url
Original Source Metadata
Why This Record Is Credible
This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.
Cultural Access
Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.
Relationships
Review and Corrections
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