"The dance, which was to be somewhat similar, I was told, to one I had witnessed in Kismayu, took place in the afternoon. Boxes meanwhile had been placed in a semicircle in front of my tent, for the elders to sit upon. My men put on their best clothes.and their cartridge belts, and took their rifles, while my escort, together with the headman, interpreter and gun-bearers, came up armed to the teeth and stood behind and on each side of me. There is always a certain element of danger in these dances, for the young men, or warriors, work themselves up to a high pitch of excitement, and sometimes the elders lose control over them. Soon the whole village assembled, and the dance began. It was characterised by much noise and extreme energy, but, like all African dances, it soon became very monotonous. In the same way as at Kismayu, each warrior came springing towards me, brandishing his spear a few inches off my face, crying out, "Modt" (Hail!). Everybody watched me to see if I would flinch, but I had been warned beforehand by my headman of what was going to happen, so that I was able to maintain my self-control, although I must confess it was somewhat disconcerting at first. This went on for about two hours, when I called a halt, as I was growing very tired of the performance. I then made another short speech of thanks, gave the dancers some more coffee, and the elders some presents, with which they were very pleased, and then dismissed them. Thus ended a very pleasant and interesting day"
See page 92 for the quote above:
http://books.google.com/books?id=J0RCAA ... text#c_top
While all the other cultures are showcasing their cultural dances with pride, I am very surprised to see that the famous Somali dance Diisoow is near extinct. I wish I had pictures of great grandfather dancing to the rhymes of Diisoow getting ready for a warrior style war.
Here is little bit blurred video about Diisoow. The dance is very specific to reer Waamo mainly Jubbada Hoose, J/Dhexe and NFD.
