"Untidy tools of colonialism". Education, Christianity and social control in Southern Rhodesia: the case of "night dances"

Abstract

This article investigates the phenomenon of “night dances” as an expression of fluid cultural identities and a medium for contesting power by the youth within the context of the ‘civilising’ influences of education and Christianity. Mostly organised by mission educated and semi-educated people and not by traditional elders in realms where the latter had jurisdiction, the dances became a constant source of conflict. The organisation and participation in these dances upset relations between the generations, particularly between the youth and the gerontocracy (the latter in their capacity as custodians of traditional, moral and cultural values, and in their position as functionaries of the state). Dance became a social expression that entrenched intergenerational struggles between the youth and the gerontocracy, and to some extent buttressed solidarity among the young generation. Issues such as sexuality, organisation and control of labour, and jurisdiction, inter alia, were avenues through which the escalating tensions between the generations manifested themselves.