Response 10: An Opera of the West African Bondo

JJ Janikis
DANC 163

The Bondo traditions for women of the Temne people of Sierra Leone highlights a “coming of age” ceremony that is shared through many cultures. Frederick Lamp describes the Bondo ceremony as an opera that transforms the entire Temne village into the stage of the performance. The actual ceremony itself represents a female’s metamorphosis and initiation into adult society. Unlike many modern “coming of age ceremonies” in Western cultures such as Bar/ Bat Mitzvah’s, Quincineras, or Sweet Sixteen parties, the Bondo tradition is mandatory for all women. The Bondo ceremony serves as a case study of the symbolism and tradition of culture represented through dance in West Africa.

Frederick Lamp’s study and observations of this sacred and secret ceremony compares the practices and design of the tradition to that of a Western opera. The ceremony is divided in separate acts and scenes in which each dance symbolizes a part of the rebirth of the woman. In the symbolic dance of the “The Fence” the girls are “metaphorically devoured by the serpent and left to gestate in its womb” and fight their way out to represent their new birth and initiation (Lamp, 91). In the final dances of “The Descent” at the courthouse, the sacred rhythm of the Bondo drums “guides the Bondo women in their dramatic actions” (Lamp , 94). At the end of the ceremony, Lamp concludes that girls are “accepted into adult Temne life and are granted all the rights, privileges, and duties […] of a Temne women in regard to home, family, procreation, commerce, and religious activity” (Lamp, 96). Therefore, the practice of each dance in the Bondo ceremony symbolizes the education and duties of becoming a Temne woman.

In our society, both men and women can choose to celebrate their “coming-out” by hosting extravagant parties. Bar/ Bat Mitzvah’s and Quincineras underline the religious background of these ceremonies as in the Bondo tradition; however, the whole community does not participate. These ceremonies underline the cultural significance of acknowledging the “coming of age” from a child and the acceptance as a woman or man in society. The power of dance in the Bondo ceremony represents the “human cycle” to show birth, death, and the acceptance into a mature life.

JJ Janikis