Chakaba; Masked Dancer on Stilts

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Chakaba; Masked Dancer on Stilts

Posted Monday, July 21, 2008

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All photos by Jerry Leist.

The third concert of the season featured the Chakaba Entourage, a group specializing in African drumming and dancing. Their performance included Djembe drumming, a unique form of percussion from western Africa, along with traditional dances.

As an added bonus the group brought a Chakaba masked stilt dancer. The dancer on stilts had an elaborate costume, performing an incredible dance while nearly 12 feet tall.

The concert was free and held on the lawn of the Brazoria County Courthouse in downtown Angleton.

Chakaba (pronounced shah-kah-bah) is the traditional African practice of wearing a sacred spirit mask while dancing on stilts. The practice goes by many names, depending on the African language that is spoken by the people.

Abubakr Kouyate books performances of the masked stilt dancer at http://www.abubakr.info/chakaba_masked-stilt-dancer.html . An African storyteller is also available.