Gumha (founder of the Bagalu dance society)

Sukuma · mortal · Sukuma traditional religion; continuing · mortal

Gumha was the second of the two famous dancer-composers who founded the competitive Sukuma dance societies in the mid-nineteenth century. He and Ngika each lived for many years with traditional doctors to acquire powerful medicines, and their fierce public contest, in which each used his preparations to attract the spectators and to bring misfortune on the other, ended by dividing the dancers of Usukuma into two camps. Gumha became the first leader of the Bagalu, while Ngika led the Bagika. The rivalry of the two societies has outlasted their founders: Sukuma dancers still belong to either Bagalu or Bagika and continue to compete against one another through the dance season, above all at the great seasonal dance festivals.

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