Indlamu, the War Dance of Africa

Indlamu is a traditional dance from Zulu nation, South Africa. In this dance, the dancer lifts one foot over his head and after that brings it down hard, landing squarely on the downbeat. Usually, there will be two persons performing the Indlamu dance together. Both of them will do a kind of shadowing the moves of each other perfectly.

Indlamu is famous with the “war dance” name. This dance is often performed at some wedding ceremonies. It is performed with drums and full traditional attire. This dance is called war dance because the movements are derived from the war dances of the warriors. 

In performing the dance, the performer must have an uncompromised posture and wear full regiment attire, and do everything in perfect timing. This dance can be performed by men of any age. The performer should wear skin (amabeshu), ankle rattles, ceremonial belts, head rings, and shields. The weapons used include knobkerries and spears.

This dance is about showing muscular strength, yet not too frantic. It is performed in such a calculated way, so that the performers can control the weapons they use to stab the imaginary enemy. Dancers are more likely to make eye contact with the audience. To accompany the dance are some people playing drums and whistles.