Transoceanic Dances and Indentured Memories - Nagara Dancing (Video Courtesy: Selvan Naidoo)

This is a short video of Nagara Dancing in Durban that was documented by Selvan Naidoo in November 2022 at a cultural event. Nagara is a form of a kettle drum and the introduction of the Nagara Dance in South Africa dates back to the 1860s. It was introduced in South Africa by Indian indentured laborers. Usually, the dances are performed by men, who cross-dress as women. The songs are sung in the Bhojpuri language and range across a wide number of themes like spirituality, religion, traveling across oceans, childhood memories, family, sexuality, and many more. This form of dancing was introduced in South Africa by the Indian indentured community for entertainment and to preserve their cultural bondings. Today, a lot of creole elements are visible in the nagara dance performances, where local Indian patterns of dance movements are mixed up with belly dancing and traditional African dance movements.

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