TipoDengAjak_FirstDance

Abstract

The recording at the center of this item is a narrative in which the performer describes a personal experience. The first dance is one of the important events in the Shilluk Life. It is the event that shows that one has become a man and not a child anymore. After the first dance a boy passed from childhood to manhood. In the first dance ceremony, the boy is given a spear and is dressed like a warrior; with spotted wild cat’s skin and the ostrich’s egg shell beads around the waist. For some clans, a necklace made of giraffe tail’s hair is a must. In the first dance, objects are put on and taken out for three times and tied on the fourth time (see comment on this in TextGrid). The first dance is a major event in every Shilluk man’s life.