Description
ABSTRACT
Discourses relating to functions of indigenous dances in their respective cultural contexts is an ever on going subject whose end cannot be contemplated even by the communities that practice dance. This paper focusses on dance as a mode of communication. The paper explores the potency of dance to communicate through non-verbal aspects such as body movements, facial expression, gestures, patterns/formations, costumes and décor, accoutrements, musical instruments and other visual devices. This paper discusses this aspect within a conceptual framework of semiotics as propounded by Umberto Eco (1976). With a focus on indigenous Kamabeka dance, of the Bukusu community of Bungoma County, the main objective of the paper is to interpret the meanings embedded in the nonverbal elements involved in the overall rendition of Kamabeka dance which in this paper constitute non-discursive symbolism. The essence of the paper is to disseminate the meanings and general communication behind Kamabeka dance to the public and the academia who may have otherwise reduced and limited dance to the entertainment.
