Borno cultural troupe’s dance with heritage

The Borno Cultural Troupe truly mirrors the people’s culture, observers and leadership of the troupe say. The beauty and allure of the Kanuri people is special and recognisable anywhere. The hair style and the traditional tattoo called Lalle in Hausa language are legendary with Kanuri women. Besides, the Kanuri people adorn colourful dresses virtually unmatched […]

The Borno Cultural Troupe truly mirrors the people’s culture, observers and leadership of the troupe say.
The beauty and allure of the Kanuri people is special and recognisable anywhere. The hair style and the traditional tattoo called Lalle in Hausa language are legendary with Kanuri women. Besides, the Kanuri people adorn colourful dresses virtually unmatched in the northern part of the country. Laced with their mode of dressing are the Kanuri dance steps.
Youths of Borno State origin who spoke to Daily Trust on Saturday said the state cultural troupe is a true representation of the good culture of the people through its dressing; music and nature of dance, especially the majestic steps.
Bulama Modu Isa, a trader at the Monday Market in Maiduguri, said though the prominent traditional dancing groups are the state cultural troupe, there are also the Shehu of Borno’s traditional dancing group and the Shuwa cultural dancers. “The state cultural troupe has distinguished itself as one of the best in the country as it truly represents the real culture of our state,” Isa stated.
“Look at the dressing of the troupe members; it is exactly the way of dressing of the people. Though it is a mixture of men and women, they remain away from each other as you find our people do on the street. They do not exhibit any form of shameful act on stage,” he said.
A staff nurse, who simply identified herself as Miss Yana, said: “What I like to see most in the state cultural troupe is the majestic steps they take on stage. When they are in that act, I always forget myself. One will not know when one joins in the dance. It is fantastic.”
The leader of the state cultural troupe, Usman Ganjuwa, said the troupe was established in 1977 to represent the defunct North Eastern State at the FESTAC and that the Borno State government has been maintaining it since then by employing young artistes to replace aging ones.
“The Borno cultural troupe maintains our uniqueness. It is different from all other cultural troupes in Nigeria because if you go to the southern part of the country for example, you will discover that the mode of dressing of their cultural troupes is entirely different. The point I am trying to make is, when you see our ladies dress in wrappers with veils, go to the town and you will see our women dressed the same way,” Ganjuwa said.
“It is the same with the males that put on flowing gowns with caps. This means that the mode of dressing of our cultural troupe is exactly the way the people of the state dress,” he added.
“Go to other states and see, the people of the state do not dress the same way the cultural troupes dress. I do not want to mention names, but there are some that are almost naked. But when you go to their towns and villages, you hardly see anyone dressed that way. You will be wondering, which culture are they representing? Our mode of dressing is informed by the culture and religion of the people of Borno State. Our men wear gowns with caps while our women wear clothes depending on the type of dance they are going to perform,” the state cultural troupe leader explained.
“Our dance steps are very interesting. While on stage, our ladies maintain an appealing smile and so also the men. We are never in a hurry while dancing. We take majestic steps that signify royalty. We have different colours of dresses like ‘Gida wanga show’ and ‘Fuskar Kura.’ We have Maliki (for the Kanuri), contemporary dance is not for any particular tribe rather it cuts across all tribes, Bonsuwe (for Babur/Bura), Koroso (from Kano), Tangarno (Fulani dance) and so many other types of dances,” Ganjuwa narrated.
He noted that the troupe dances Shuwa steps but do not play their music, adding that it invites Shuwa musicians to play for them to dance “because we do not have Shuwa musical instruments.”
He explained that: “Sometimes we invite them to come with their dancers when there is any serious performance because Shuwa dance is too technical. We do not dance exactly like the Fulani for example; we modernise the dance steps to fit our style. We do not go out to look for dancers; dancers come to ask us to recruit them. We always like people that are interested. That is why you realise that all our dancers are happy doing what they are doing.”
The troupe leader also dwelt on the age of the dancers: “Our dancers are very young men and women because we ensure that only young men and women are recruited as dancers. First, we do not go out looking for dancers. If you are interested, you come over to us yourself. When you are recruited, we train you. We only employ ladies between the age of 20 and 25 and men between 25 and 30.”
Ganjuwa explained further that: “We do not only perform at government functions, corporate bodies and individuals can come and hire the troupe to perform for them. Most of the people and groups that hire the troupe do so to entertain their guests at wedding ceremonies or when they have important guests coming from outside the state.”