Botswana Traditional Dance/Music
Drums
Drum playing is a way of communication and cultural expression. They use drums for occasions, entertainment and enjoyment. In many musical areas, they will include the drum, as their background and beat.
Rain praying
There are 2 types of rain praying: Wonsana and Mayile.
Wosana
Wosana rain praying is a song and dance for a good life and hoping for rain. It can be sung and danced by both male and female, but the population of female is more than male in the dance. It is usually performed in September and October, also when rain comes in the unexpected time of the year. This is also sung and danced to praise the supreme Deity Mwali, for appreaciation belief, especially during good years of harvest. Sometimes the songs have a mixture of 2 languages: Ikalanga/Kalanga and Isindebele/Ndebele. Their costumes is made out of wild animal skin, the beads they wear is made out of ostrich eggshells.
Mayile (Circle Dance)
On the other hand, Mayile dancing is for ladies only. This dance is a short and repeated song. This Mayile singers is split into 2 groups: one group calls, the other group responses. The dance includes: dancing, clapping hands, singing and running. The dancers criss-cross turning around forming a circle. These dancing ways are to imitate birds that come out during rain, such as: Eagle (Njelele), White Stork (Nyenje), Stork birds (Makololwani) and swallows (Nyenganyenga).
Healing
There are 3 different types of music/dance for healing: Mazenge (Shumba), Sangoma, Mantshomane.
Mazenge (shumba)
It is performed by women, to heal sick people. On this occasion, people only eat cooked traditional food. The traditional food includes a mixture of Samp, Beans and Bean Leaves cooked in crushed ground nuts. This dish is eaten inside a traditional mud pot called Jilonga.
Sangoma
It can be performed by men and women, in the song they ask the powers of their ancestors. The singers have a special power to identify the source of: misfortunes, disease and other negative things. This includes singing, clapping, drumming and dancing.
Mantshomane
Mantshomane is similar to Sangoma. It also is a traditional dance to bring away evil spirits and misfortunes.