People have been dancing since the first humans could walk upright. Dance is a great form of expression and different cultures have different dances. New dance styles develop all the time too and in South Africa, rubber boots led to the creation of a unique dance form with a fascinating story.
Late in the Victorian Era, it was discovered that South Africa is home to untold riches. An area called the Witwatersrand turned out to have vast gold reefs and the ensuing gold rush led to the formation of Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Even today, the City of Gold is at the center of the South African economy and gold is still the country's major export.
As mining operations grew, those in charge realized that they needed more laborers. They imported indentured laborers from China but an even cheaper source to exploit was right there in the country. Young black men came to Johannesburg from their tribal villages to make money which could support their families and pay for the hut taxes that the government implemented. Even today, most miners in South Africa are black men that come from the country and its neighbors.
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 early days, workers weren't allowed to talk during their shifts. Using signs was often futile too, since it's dark underground. However, the workers soon found another way to communicate. They developed a system of coded messages by slapping on their gumboots and on their chests.
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.
The mine bosses didn't realize just how subversive gumboot dancing was. The dancers would parody their superiors and the movements still conveyed secret codes that told of long hours, harsh working and living conditions, poor treatment by superiors and wages that were too low to live on. These were complaints that the miners couldn't voice out loud if they wanted to keep their jobs.
While gumboot dancing still exists on the mines, today it's a legitimate art form more often seen on stage. It's popular with tourists visiting South Africa. There are even professional troupes that tour the world to showcase the dance that started with a pair of boots.
Late in the Victorian Era, it was discovered that South Africa is home to untold riches. An area called the Witwatersrand turned out to have vast gold reefs and the ensuing gold rush led to the formation of Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Even today, the City of Gold is at the center of the South African economy and gold is still the country's major export.
As mining operations grew, those in charge realized that they needed more laborers. They imported indentured laborers from China but an even cheaper source to exploit was right there in the country. Young black men came to Johannesburg from their tribal villages to make money which could support their families and pay for the hut taxes that the government implemented. Even today, most miners in South Africa are black men that come from the country and its neighbors.
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 early days, workers weren't allowed to talk during their shifts. Using signs was often futile too, since it's dark underground. However, the workers soon found another way to communicate. They developed a system of coded messages by slapping on their gumboots and on their chests.
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.
The mine bosses didn't realize just how subversive gumboot dancing was. The dancers would parody their superiors and the movements still conveyed secret codes that told of long hours, harsh working and living conditions, poor treatment by superiors and wages that were too low to live on. These were complaints that the miners couldn't voice out loud if they wanted to keep their jobs.
While gumboot dancing still exists on the mines, today it's a legitimate art form more often seen on stage. It's popular with tourists visiting South Africa. There are even professional troupes that tour the world to showcase the dance that started with a pair of boots.
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