Diware Dance

Diware dance is a Hambukushu healing dance ritual

Cultural Heritage Festivities

Thanks to the cultural heritage festivities. The Diware dance is seen by multitudes of Batswana and southern African audiences, as the dancers from the Northern side of Botswana showcase a dance style not known before in many parts of the world. It is not just the graceful orchestration of their singing, but the dance style and the Diware dance wear are something many local traditional music followers are seeing for the very first time, simply because the dance had for decades been confined to the Northern part, unlike other traditional dance forms like Phathisi, Tsutsube, Setapa, Hosanna and others.

Diware dance is a Hambukushu healing dance ritual found mainly around like Maun, Gumare, Etsha, and Kasane. At the heart of the dance is a traditional healer who revives or heals a patient. The women form a horse-shoe circle, clapping hands and singing Tjmbukushu healing songs for the medicine man who work to heal the sick. The climax of the performance is when the sick person is healed and immediately joins the performance in celebration.