Choda is one of the few traditional dances still practised on the Mozambique shores of Lake Malawi. Each year, a number of villages invite their neighbours to a dance-off.
Male drummers, positioned in the centre, are surrounded by a thick, two-tiered circle of women, who are colourfully-clad and resplendent with sunglasses and whistles. –
As the drums start, the circle moves around, hips jutting out, elbows elevated, and the excitement begins. The better the dancer, the more apparel is heaped on her by ecstatic supporters caught up in the excitement. Interestingly reminiscent of many nightclubs around the world, the village men mostly watch from around the sides, many finely fuelled for the day. When the dance ends, dancers from another village take their place, and the beat continues long into the afternoon.
