Performer of RWMF - Black Umfolosi

Black Umfolosi

On the left: When they were young









They were first formed 15th March 1982 at George Silundika Primary School in Ntabazinduna and 1983 moved to Nyamandlov. It starte because the boarding school have no facilities to entertain children during weekends and one evening the campfire children started singing at random the community songs. It was so much enjoyed by both the children and school staff that it was suggested the formation of a school choir. Last year, 2007 were their 25th anniversary and they came for the RWMF 10th year anniversary so it was a double celebration for them at the Sarawak Cultural Village.

The popularity of The Group was such that they soon caught the eye of some international booking agents and they started touring outside Zimbabwe. They were just an harmonic A-capella singer and traditional Dance group. The original six members have developed their skill and their organization point where the now 18 members provide a multitude of services in the performing arts industry in Zimbabwe and internationally.

They sung in close, rich harmony and addressing general human concerns - love, family, spirit as well as contemporary problems - like wars, apartheid, the environment and AIDS. Their music gives the audience a fresh and surprising, not only for the interesting text but for their typical intricate rhythms, unusual harmonies and interspersed clicking, clapping and shouting which combine to produce a natural funky and rugged aura. Their music instrument are mostly drums and vocal only.

They always include a dance called the INGQUZU. The dance INGQUZU is believed to have originated from the miners who slap their boots to remove the dust and mud and discovered that it could be a form of entertainment for them. So you can see the picture that they usually dressed like miners, which means wearing yellow, red and white miner's hats and rubber boots without any shirts on. So, can you imagine this tapping, smacking and slapping dance can actually bring all the audiences in RWMF to get on their foot to dance with the Black Umfolosi? They are the group that really amuse me when I was at RWMF last year and in which I won't regret for going just to watch an amusing group of musicians from Zimbabwe! They are really good so two thumbs up for them! So what you guys think about this group?

Okay, go on lil bit bout them again. Well, they are actually well known for singing instead of dancing. However, the Black Umfolosi who perform imbube, which is known as the A-capella style of singing has been described as a 'vocal newspaper' because the way they combines entertainment with songs about issues such as global warming, AIDS and children's rights.

P.S: Alright I will stop here about a lil bit detail of my favorite performer at RWMF.