Enduro Dance
In this video children of Olukonda village in Namibia, show us the competitive tribal dancing game of endurance called Okochokwa.
Okochokwa was brought to Namibia by tribes migrating from West and Central Africa many centuries ago and helps tribal members make a cultural connection with their ancestors.
Production
After a gruelling 7 days of crossing Angola, the bike and I limped into Namibia and came upon Olukonda, a quiet place to rest and make much-needed repairs.
Olukonda is the home of the Nakambale museum where many traditions are upheld. My host, Maggie Kaanante, arranged for local children to perform dances and games as part of their mission to preserve local culture.
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It just so happened that one of the dances being performed was the ancient competitive dancing game of Okochokwa. Maggie alerted me to a cultural event taking place in the next few days which would have more dances and games on display, so I had good reason to investigate this tradition of dancing games in Olukonda.
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Whilst the children were quite shy, Maggie felt confident that I would be able to record interviews with them after parental consent. The interviews with Julia and Brandon were very sweet and direct.
We had fun recording the dances and later the children were able to use the screen on my video camera to watch themselves and their respective performances.
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Whilst the production had been short and sweet, these children left a lasting memory of their calm disposition, making it difficult to leave them behind.
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I hope that Nakambale Muesum continues to strengthen the cultural heritage of Olukonda through all their endeavors.
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Credits
Featuring
Julia - Dancer Brandon David - Dancer
Fixers
Maggie Kaanante Martha Kalumbu - Dance Group Leader John Mendelsohn - Windhoek Unit - Transport
Camera
Martin Mendelsohn - Windhoek Unit
Music
"Songs of Olukonda"
Children of Olukonda
Introduction Music
"Whatsitallabout"
Stereo De Luxe
Special Thanks
Children of Olukonda Nakabale Museum
Producer
Tim Jules Hull
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