View source for Rieldans

{{Short description|Celebratory dance of southern Africa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
[[Image:A Nuwe Graskoue Trapper with a hat in the hand.jpg|thumb|right]]
'''Riel''' (or '''Rieldans''') is a [[Khoisan]] word for an ancient celebratory dance performed by the [[San people|San]] (also known as Bushmen), [[Nama people|Nama]] and [[Khoi]].<ref>Richard George, Denise Slabbert, Kim Wildman. 2006. Offbeat South Africa the travel guide to the wacky and wonderful. Cape Town: Struik Publishers</ref> It is considered one of the oldest dancing styles of indigenous South Africa. Also known as Ikhapara by the Nama, it is danced at an energetic pace and demands a lot of fancy footwork.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Petersen |first=Isaac |date=2012-10-24 |title=Clanwilliam hosts Khoi San dance competition |url=https://www.groundup.org.za/article/clanwilliam-hosts-khoi-san-dance-competition/ |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=GroundUp News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="IOL.Max">{{Cite news |last=du Preez |first=Max |title=Honour Khoisan by learning about them |work=IOL |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/honour-khoisan-by-learning-about-them-1796157}}</ref>
== Etymology ==
The dance was not originally called "riel". The original [[Khoisan]] and San languages had mostly disappeared and in South Africa these groups mostly speak [[Afrikaans]].  The word was later borrowed from "reel", a Scottish folk dance and in [[Afrikaans]] the dance became known as the "riel".<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Nel |first=Elias P. |date=2011-11-30 |title=Kô laat ons riel |url=https://www.litnet.co.za/ko-laat-ons-riel/ |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=LitNet |language=af-ZA}}</ref><ref name="auto">Van Wyk, MM. [Re]claiming the Riel as Khoisan Indigenous Cultural Knowledge. Studies on Tribes and Tribals, 10(1): 47–56</ref>
In [[Nama language|Nama]] the dance is known as Ikhapara which is derived from the word "khapas" which means "hat". The hat of the man is a useful article to win a lady's hand in marriage<ref name="auto1"/>
== History ==
The riel is the oldest entertainment form used as a social, cultural and educational tool by the [[Khoisan]] people long before Western cultures and traditions arrived at the [[Cape of Good Hope]].  It is an age-old dance of the [[Khoisan]] hunters, with distinct Irish and Scottish folk music influences, all performed to the beat of "[[boeremusiek]]", Dutch folk songs and minstrel songs of the south of America (Click here for an example.){{dead link|date=December 2017}}.  It became the dance of the working classes, particularly between the 1940s and 1950s and was danced, especially in the [[Northern Cape]], [[Karoo]] and some other regions.<ref name="auto"/>
This lively dance was danced around the campfire after hunting expeditions, good harvests or during a celebration Later it also became the dance of farmworkers and [[Sheep shearing|sheep shearers]], whose daily activities are often portrayed during a dance.<ref name="IOL.Max"/><ref name="auto1"/>
The riel was made popular again in recent years and is a true celebration of ancient traditions that finds new expression in contemporary forms.  Its modern version has elements of [[colonialism]] as the accompanying instrumentation includes guitar and violin, and the outfits adorning the dances are commonly known as 'working class clothes'.
=== Dance style classification ===
[[File:The Riel dance.webm|thumb|The Riel Dance]]
==== General ====
The most outstanding feature of the riel is the ingenious and frantic footwork and energetic pace at which it is danced.  The dance was performed in the dusty sands around a campfire and thus the dance is described by a beautiful [[Afrikaans]] expression: "Dans lat die stof so staan" (Dancing at a fast and energetic pace resulting in a lot of dust)
The unique dance is performed by a group, often in a circle.  This dance consists of cultural movements (gestures) and is often used to tell a story<ref>an Wyk, MM. [Re]claiming the Riel as Khoisan Indigenous Cultural Knowledge. Studies on Tribes and Tribals, 10(1): 47–56</ref> It is about wooing and lovemaking, and takes some of its moves from animal-like movements and animal courtship, particularly the [[ostrich]]. The bright colours of prancing animals' is portrayed in the characteristic colourful costumes.
=== Styles and moves ===
Dance moves portray the wooing between man and female and this is portrayed through imitation of animal and bird movements, such as the [[butterfly]], [[antelope]], [[baboons]], [[snakes]], [[meerkat]] and [[horses]], as well as the flirting of [[pigeons]], [[rooster]], [[turkey (bird)|turkey]] and [[ostrich]] male. These movements include, "bokspring" (gamboling), "kapperjol", trotting and strutting as horses.
The [[Afrikaans]] idiom "vlerksleep" (courtship dance like a bird) is displayed in the riel.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |last=La Vita|first=Murray  |title=Murray La Vita gesels met Elias Nel: ‘Die riel is in ons siel’ |url=https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/murray-la-vita-gesels-met-elias-nel-die-riel-is-in-ons-siel-20151106 |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=Netwerk24 |language=af-ZA}}</ref> The man use his coat panel, his arm or his hat held in his hand, to court with a lady or for example, to invite her to dance.
There is also the ever-popular [[monkey]] dance or depictions of the working environment, the galloping of horses, [[sheep shearing]] or herdsman dance.  Everyday use is manifested in the "askoek" slapping, where the right foot is securely placed above the left knee and slapped – or vice versa – to demonstrate how excess ash are dusted from the "askoek" (a bread baked in ashes).<ref name="auto2"/>
=== Instruments ===
The dance is characterized by lively music and music instruments such as the "ramkie" (tin guitar made out of an empty oil can and a piece of wood with strings), odd handmade violin or, sometimes, a [[banjo]], [[accordion]] or [[mouth organ]], are used as accompaniment<ref name="auto"/>
=== Competitive dancing ===
In an effort to preserve the riel from dying out, the riel project was officially launched in 2006 by the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurverening ([[ATKV]]) as one of their cultural community projects. The [[ATKV]] has been hosting a national rieldans championship with regional elimination rounds culminating in a final competition. It started out with only four groups who compete against it other.  Within four years the culture event became one of its most successful [[ATKV]] cultural initiatives.<ref>Rieldans: Die ware wenner in Paarl {{cite web |url=http://afrikaans.news24.com/Reis/Nuus/Rieldans-die-ware-wenner-in-Paarl-20111205-2 |title=Rieldans die ware wenner in Paarl &#124; Nuus24 |accessdate=2012-01-31 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129092006/http://afrikaans.news24.com/Reis/Nuus/Rieldans-die-ware-wenner-in-Paarl-20111205-2 |archivedate=29 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }} [26 June 2016]</ref>
In July 2015 the "Nuwe Graskoue Trappers" and their orchestra from [[Wupperthal]], competed at the World Championship of Performing Arts, an international cultural competition in Los Angeles, United States, and won 14 gold and eight silver medals in the senior dance category, and the band of musicians won seven silver medals in the senior instruments category. They also received a trophy for being the winners in the open dance category.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2015 |title=Rieldans Revivalists Are World Champions |url=http://www.thejournalist.org.za/spotlight/rieldans-revivalists-are-world-champions/ |access-date=2023-05-16 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Rieldans}}
[[Category:Folk music genres]]
[[Category:South African styles of music]]
[[Category:Dance in South Africa]]