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The main argument of this study is that Tanzanian youth do not have access to socioeconomic, political and cultural space. As a result of this, they use ‘ngoma’ to combat this lack of space. The study employs globalization and gender concepts to explore how youth use ngoma as a substitute for denied space. Apart from gender and globalization, the study employs concepts of ‘hybridity’, ‘authenticity’ ‘space’ and ‘participation.’ The concepts are used as a window through which to explore how youth use global culture to seek space. The same concepts are also employed to gain an understanding of the extent to which Tanzanian ngoma performances have been influenced by global cultures and how youth make use of ngoma to search for alternative space.
As regards methods, the study used focus group discussion, participant performer researcher and questionnaires to collect primary data. Documents were reviewed to back up the information provided by informants. This study discloses that young people take advantage of ngoma to establish a strong network of friends and individuals from different social classes with whom they share happiness, grievances and what they consider triumphs. Ngoma as an alternative to political space is used by youth to voice their political concerns and to suggest the way forward towards change. This is often done by reconstructing movements and songs whose purpose is to send messages to the audience in a diplomatic way without causing harm.
As regards economic space, the study reveals that youth perform ngoma at different events to gain economic power since they are paid for that. Besides performing at social and political events, youth assist each other financially through the scheme known as ‘vikoba.’Ngoma as cultural space is used by the youth to exercise their agency as cultural actors. They often fuse and juxtapose cultures from diverse sources in a manner that suits their changing circumstances.
Despite youth’s endeavour to use ngoma to resolve their problem of space, they encounter challenges on the way. The study underscores that gender, the status of a dancer, theatrical infrastructure, donors, the lack of proficiency in English and inadequate skills in ngoma are stumbling blocks undermining youth’s struggle for space through ngoma. |
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