History Dances

<p>The field of history is founded on the interrogation of written documents from the past. However culture is the center of life in Africa. As a result in the past – and to a degree in the present – the process for documenting events in Africa was not written it was performed. <i>History Dances: Chronicling the History of Traditional Mandinka Dance </i>argues that a wealth of information is housed within traditional Mandinka dance and consequently the dances can be used as an African-derived primary source for writing African history. Ofosuwa M. Abiola highlights the overall value of studying Mandinka dance history specifically and African dance history generally as well as addressing the issue of scarcity with regard to primary sources for writing African history. </p><p></p><p><em>History Dances</em> proves to be a vital read for both undergraduate students and scholars in the fields of dance history African history performance studies and cultural anthropology.</p>