"In Zimbabwe Dance, Dr. Welsh Asante's interviews with the keepers of one nation's oral history have yielded a harvest of information on two specific ethnic groups, the Ndebele and the Shona, and their traditional dances, the Muchongoyo and the Jerusarema. Her descriptive analysis of indigenous cultural motifs, myths, and symbols provides us with a "living text" on music, song, and rhythm that radiates - and replenishes - the spirit, the values, and the worldview of a distinctive African society." "She examines and celebrates not only the specific ethnicities of the Ndebele and the Shona peoples (i.e., the ethnic diversity of Zimbabwe) but also the survival and endurance of the Zimbabwean national character (i.e., the cultural unity of Zimbabwe). She also highlights the significant role played in modern African civilization by developments in the southern half of the continent."--BOOK JACKET.