The Dance Form That Came From Rubber Boots
People will find any reason to dance. There are dances for weddings, for funerals, for religious ceremonies and war dances. It's one of the easiest ways to express how you feel. In South Africa, there is a dance that managed to transcend cultures and became a form of communication and it is all thanks to the arrival of rubber boots.
In the late nineteenth century, gold was discovered in the area around what is today Johannesburg, one of Africa's largest cities. In fact, Johannesburg started out as a camp for miners seeking their fortune on the gold reefs and boomed within only a few years. It's called the City of Gold and the area's mine are still among the world's most productive.
When mining operations started, they grew so fast that more young men were needed to do the hard work. The mining companies brought in indentured labor from countries such as China but they soon realized that they could get labor at even lower prices right there at home. Hut taxes were introduced to tribal villages and to pay for these, the young men from the villages had to go work in the mines. The gold mines still employ vast numbers of men from South Africa as well as from neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique.
Over the years, mines were dug deeper and deeper and today many of the deepest mines in the world are located on the reef known as the Witwatersrand. Working so deep underneath the Earth's surface means that conditions are harsh. It's hot and humid and miners were soon given boots that they dubbed gumboots to keep their feet dry and prevent skin conditions.
In the beginning, talking during your shift was prohibited. The miners couldn't communicate through the use of sign language either because there wasn't much light deep down in the shafts. However, they soon devised a series of secret codes by slapping on their chests and on the boots and by stomping their feet.
Africans are born with dancing in their blood and it wasn't long before the miners turned their secret codes into dance moves. They would often sing while they were working, so their superiors accepted the movements as part of the act. Over time, the mine bosses realized that the dancing was a way for the men to alleviate the boredom of life in a miners' hostel and they encouraged the development of gumboot dancing.
The mine bosses didn't realize just how subversive gumboot dancing was. The dancers would parody their superiors and the movements still conveyed secret codes that told of long hours, harsh working and living conditions, poor treatment by superiors and wages that were too low to live on. These were complaints that the miners couldn't voice out loud if they wanted to keep their jobs.
Today, gumboot dancing has moved from the mines to the stage. Dancing troupes often take their performances on tour in Europe and other corners of the world. You'll also find performers dancing at tourist sites such as Gold Reef City, the popular Johannesburg attraction that tells the story of gold mining in the city. It's even been incorporated into a song on Paul Simon's 'Graceland' album, which brought South African music to the world.
In the late nineteenth century, gold was discovered in the area around what is today Johannesburg, one of Africa's largest cities. In fact, Johannesburg started out as a camp for miners seeking their fortune on the gold reefs and boomed within only a few years. It's called the City of Gold and the area's mine are still among the world's most productive.
When mining operations started, they grew so fast that more young men were needed to do the hard work. The mining companies brought in indentured labor from countries such as China but they soon realized that they could get labor at even lower prices right there at home. Hut taxes were introduced to tribal villages and to pay for these, the young men from the villages had to go work in the mines. The gold mines still employ vast numbers of men from South Africa as well as from neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique.
Over the years, mines were dug deeper and deeper and today many of the deepest mines in the world are located on the reef known as the Witwatersrand. Working so deep underneath the Earth's surface means that conditions are harsh. It's hot and humid and miners were soon given boots that they dubbed gumboots to keep their feet dry and prevent skin conditions.
In the beginning, talking during your shift was prohibited. The miners couldn't communicate through the use of sign language either because there wasn't much light deep down in the shafts. However, they soon devised a series of secret codes by slapping on their chests and on the boots and by stomping their feet.
Africans are born with dancing in their blood and it wasn't long before the miners turned their secret codes into dance moves. They would often sing while they were working, so their superiors accepted the movements as part of the act. Over time, the mine bosses realized that the dancing was a way for the men to alleviate the boredom of life in a miners' hostel and they encouraged the development of gumboot dancing.
The mine bosses didn't realize just how subversive gumboot dancing was. The dancers would parody their superiors and the movements still conveyed secret codes that told of long hours, harsh working and living conditions, poor treatment by superiors and wages that were too low to live on. These were complaints that the miners couldn't voice out loud if they wanted to keep their jobs.
Today, gumboot dancing has moved from the mines to the stage. Dancing troupes often take their performances on tour in Europe and other corners of the world. You'll also find performers dancing at tourist sites such as Gold Reef City, the popular Johannesburg attraction that tells the story of gold mining in the city. It's even been incorporated into a song on Paul Simon's 'Graceland' album, which brought South African music to the world.
