Mbende Jerusarema Dance

The mbende jerusarema is danced by the Zezuru of Murewa and Uzumba northeast of Harare, to a single drum with hand clapping and whistles, men and women dancing together in a vigorous acrobatic style whose movements are openly related to courtship and fertility. Missionaries disapproved and pushed the name jerusarema, from Jerusalem, onto it to make it respectable; mbende, the mole, is the older name. UNESCO recognised it in 2005.

What you actually see

• The single drum - the one instrument the whole dance is built on.
• The paired dancing - men and women dancing together in the older style.
• The two names - mbende, the mole, and the imposed jerusarema.
• The whistles and clapping - the rest of the sound the dancers work to.

When to go

Performances happen at weddings, funerals and community gatherings through the year. Cultural festivals in Harare stage it. Murewa and Uzumba are the home districts.

Honest expectations

It belongs to community occasions rather than to a stage, and staged versions are a lesser thing. Attending a real gathering needs a local connection. The dance's frank content was censored for decades and some presentations still soften it.

Nearby

Murewa is the home district, and Harare is southwest.