| DANCE | |
 Ballet la linguère |
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| Many occasions
are pretexts for a dance party: after a wrestling
victory, after the harvest, at a baptism, etc. Dance and
wrestling parties offer a magnificent opportunity for
singles, lovers and friends to meet in their best
presentation. Usually, every suburb, village or age group
has some kind of organizing committee.
The most important things are the date, the band, and the invited patrons. The date, because some days are not allowed, for instance there are no dances during the farming season. The band is a group of at least 3 professional drummers, ordinarily between 5 and 7. Sometimes, another instrument, African or European joins them. The venue is a sandy area in the middle of the village or at some crossroads in the town. The youngest sit on the sand in the inner circle. Behind them, the women sit on chairs and benches, or stand up. Finally, on the outer circle, men stand up. Boys and females do the clapping, sometimes using wood or metal clappers. The band plays at a corner of the inner circle, facing the most distinguished patrons dressed in their best clothes, and who will give money to them and to the best dancers.
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The dancers relay
each other almost continuously, in a jubilant disorder. Normally,
only women, girls and young boys dance, but men usually dance in the
Wolof country. Elsewhere, in the South and the East, religious and
age related ceremonies, such as initiations, will offer the opportunity
for men and boys in their teens.