How Rubber Boots Led To A Unique Dance Form


By Patty Goff


Every culture in the world dances. Dance features in religious ceremonies, at weddings and other celebrations and even at funerals. For many it's a form of communication and at the southern tip of Africa, the arrival of rubber boots soon inspired a dance form that is uniquely South African.

In the late nineteenth century, gold was discovered in the area around what is today Johannesburg, one of Africa's largest cities. In fact, Johannesburg started out as a camp for miners seeking their fortune on the gold reefs and boomed within only a few years. It's called the City of Gold and the area's mine are still among the world's most productive.

In order to get the gold from the ground, more and more workers were needed. They came from all over the world and many Chinese South Africans are the descendants of indentured workers brought in by the mining magnates. However, right from the start, most of the men working the mines were from the black tribes living in Southern Africa. Today they come from all parts of the country but also from neighboring countries such as Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The mines are a melting pot of cultures and languages.

In order to get to the gold, the mines became deeper. Many of today's gold mines stretch about a mile into the depths of the Earth. Working in those depths is not easy, with intense heat and high levels of humidity. Underground streams mean that you will often find yourself up to your ankles in water and it wasn't long before a standard part of a miner's kit was a pair of waterproof boots, which in South Africa are known as gumboots.

In the beginning, talking during your shift was prohibited. The miners couldn't communicate through the use of sign language either because there wasn't much light deep down in the shafts. However, they soon devised a series of secret codes by slapping on their chests and on the boots and by stomping their feet.

Africans are born with dancing in their blood and it wasn't long before the miners turned their secret codes into dance moves. They would often sing while they were working, so their superiors accepted the movements as part of the act. Over time, the mine bosses realized that the dancing was a way for the men to alleviate the boredom of life in a miners' hostel and they encouraged the development of gumboot dancing.

When gumboot dancing became a legitimate art form on the mines, it didn't stop the secret messages. The mine bosses never knew that in the dances, they were often being made fun of. The dancers would do parodies of particular superiors and would use their dances to talk about the terrible conditions they were working in, the long hours underground, the low wages and life in the miners' hostels where they were being housed.

Today, gumboot dancing has moved from the mines to the stage. Dancing troupes often take their performances on tour in Europe and other corners of the world. You'll also find performers dancing at tourist sites such as Gold Reef City, the popular Johannesburg attraction that tells the story of gold mining in the city. It's even been incorporated into a song on Paul Simon's 'Graceland' album, which brought South African music to the world.




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