Umoja Wa Kusini

Group Information

Umoja Wa Kusini is about 13 years old and is a very experienced dance troupe of the Mdomdu style.

They are originally from the village of Msanga and the Wanyamwezi. All the dancers where a necklace called Simbi, made of cowry shells and a ‘skirt’ around the waist called a Kibwaya. Their smaller drums are Dali Dali and larger drums are Mapipa. They also use the marimba. They played 9 songs, 5 regular performances and four ‘magic moments’:

  1. Mkwaju Ngoma: actually four songs in one. About a child going back to his village after a while and being accepted.
  2. Rushwa: about harvests, but also uses a metaphor of a broken chicken leg to say that even if love is broken, it will mend, the ‘girlfriend will come back.’
  3. Rushwa Magic Moment 1: just vocals
  4. Magic Moment 2: percussion
  5. Malalanga: this is about being quiet because a performance is starting
  6. Magic Moment 3:  Francis singing ‘Alelewani’ solo.
  7. Alelewani with full group
  8. Mikocheni Makongwe Malowe
  9. Magic Moment 4: Daudi Fernando Joseph plays the drums in style of Mzee Morris