People have been dancing since the first humans could walk upright. Dance is a great form of expression and different cultures have different dances. New dance styles develop all the time too and in South Africa, rubber boots led to the creation of a unique dance form with a fascinating story.
Late in the Victorian Era, it was discovered that South Africa is home to untold riches. An area called the Witwatersrand turned out to have vast gold reefs and the ensuing gold rush led to the formation of Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Even today, the City of Gold is at the center of the South African economy and gold is still the country's major export.
When mining operations started, they grew so fast that more young men were needed to do the hard work. The mining companies brought in indentured labor from countries such as China but they soon realized that they could get labor at even lower prices right there at home. Hut taxes were introduced to tribal villages and to pay for these, the young men from the villages had to go work in the mines. The gold mines still employ vast numbers of men from South Africa as well as from neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique.
In order to get to the gold, the mines became deeper. Many of today's gold mines stretch about a mile into the depths of the Earth. Working in those depths is not easy, with intense heat and high levels of humidity. Underground streams mean that you will often find yourself up to your ankles in water and it wasn't long before a standard part of a miner's kit was a pair of waterproof boots, which in South Africa are known as gumboots.
Especially in the early days of the mines, communication among the miners was difficult. Talking wasn't allowed and because of the darkness, using sing language wasn't an option. The workers soon realized that they could communicate in secret by stamping their feet, slapping on the boots and beating on their chests in something akin to Morse code.
Tapping out the codes was soon accompanied by intricate dance-like movements. These became more rhythmic too. The bosses on the mines came to appreciate these dances and because they thought that gumboot dancing was a good way to keep the men entertained when they were living far from their homes, they even encouraged this new form of expression.
The mine bosses didn't realize just how subversive gumboot dancing was. The dancers would parody their superiors and the movements still conveyed secret codes that told of long hours, harsh working and living conditions, poor treatment by superiors and wages that were too low to live on. These were complaints that the miners couldn't voice out loud if they wanted to keep their jobs.
Over the years, the dance form took on a life of its own. It's now performed on stage and at tourist sites. It's even incorporated into high-brow art, such as contemporary dance and choral performances. It's become part of the South African identity too, which is quite a feat for something that had its origins with the humblest of workers.
Late in the Victorian Era, it was discovered that South Africa is home to untold riches. An area called the Witwatersrand turned out to have vast gold reefs and the ensuing gold rush led to the formation of Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Even today, the City of Gold is at the center of the South African economy and gold is still the country's major export.
When mining operations started, they grew so fast that more young men were needed to do the hard work. The mining companies brought in indentured labor from countries such as China but they soon realized that they could get labor at even lower prices right there at home. Hut taxes were introduced to tribal villages and to pay for these, the young men from the villages had to go work in the mines. The gold mines still employ vast numbers of men from South Africa as well as from neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique.
In order to get to the gold, the mines became deeper. Many of today's gold mines stretch about a mile into the depths of the Earth. Working in those depths is not easy, with intense heat and high levels of humidity. Underground streams mean that you will often find yourself up to your ankles in water and it wasn't long before a standard part of a miner's kit was a pair of waterproof boots, which in South Africa are known as gumboots.
Especially in the early days of the mines, communication among the miners was difficult. Talking wasn't allowed and because of the darkness, using sing language wasn't an option. The workers soon realized that they could communicate in secret by stamping their feet, slapping on the boots and beating on their chests in something akin to Morse code.
Tapping out the codes was soon accompanied by intricate dance-like movements. These became more rhythmic too. The bosses on the mines came to appreciate these dances and because they thought that gumboot dancing was a good way to keep the men entertained when they were living far from their homes, they even encouraged this new form of expression.
The mine bosses didn't realize just how subversive gumboot dancing was. The dancers would parody their superiors and the movements still conveyed secret codes that told of long hours, harsh working and living conditions, poor treatment by superiors and wages that were too low to live on. These were complaints that the miners couldn't voice out loud if they wanted to keep their jobs.
Over the years, the dance form took on a life of its own. It's now performed on stage and at tourist sites. It's even incorporated into high-brow art, such as contemporary dance and choral performances. It's become part of the South African identity too, which is quite a feat for something that had its origins with the humblest of workers.
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