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Can We Dance Together? Gender and Performance Space Discourse in Égwú Àmàlà of the Ogbaru of Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2019

Marie Agatha Ozah
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Extract

This performance study is situated within the twentieth century and into the present, a period characterized by a number of sociohistorical developments. This epoch, as noted by Oyewumi (2004:1), “witnessed a host of social and cultural transformations.” During this period, gender appeared as one of the determining factors for categorizing and analysing societies. Given that gender is fundamentally a sociocultural construct, its discursive formations through the performance of égwú àmàlà are peculiar to the Ogbaru people. Égwú àmàlà is a women's dance genre that employs music, dance, and drama as media for enacting the culture of the Ogbaru community. Because it vivifies and mirrors Ogbaru traditions in music and dance, égwú àmàlà occupies a prime place in the social life of the Ogbaru people. In performance, the genre exhibits some gender issues that I will expatiate on in the course of this article.

Abstract in mainland igbo

Abstract in Mainland Igbo

Ihe jikọrọ egwu na ihe banyere okenannye (ọnọdụ nwoke na nwanyị) bụ nnọọ ihe ọmụmụ ihe banyere egwu na omenala (ethnomusicology) bidorola ileba anya ka mgbe afọ iri-abụọ ụma. Ka nchọpụta ndi ufọdụ na-achọ ịkọwa banyere ihe ụmụ nwanyị na-eme n'ịgụ egwu, edemede a na-enyocha ihe gbasara ụmụ nwoke ndi zọnyere ụkwụ n'o ọgbọ egwu Égwú Àmàlà, bụ nke emere naanị maka ụmụ nwanyị dị ka omenala Ọgbaru nke dị na mpaghara ndịda Naijiria siri dị. Ọlọrọ ọhụrụ a, bụ ụmụụ nwoke ịbanye n'ọgbọ egwu ụmụ nwanyị akpalitela ajụjụ ndi dị añaa. Edemede a na-enyochazi ndịiche na mgbanwo ndi batarala n'usoro na iwu egwu a n'ihi ndi nwoke, nakwa ka Égwú Àmàlà si bụrụzie ọgbọ dị mkpa ma baakwa uru na okwu gbasara okenannye.

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook for Traditional Music , Volume 42 , 2010 , pp. 21 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 By The International Council for Traditional Music

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