CULTURAL DANCE AS COMMUNICATIVE TOOL AND TOURIST ATTRACTION: A STUDY OF IKELE OJI EGO DANCE OF AKWAEZE COMMUNITY IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

Dance is a unifying act in Africa and beyond as the case may be. It has always given people a sense of belonging and source of cultural identification, but indigenous dance in its unique status, style and form, is still being regarded by some as a mere festive dance or communal performance only, which such assumption has ironically degraded the value, respect, preservation, and projection of indigenous African dance, thereby restricting the outside world in appreciating the tourist potency in the performances beyond mere festivals. This research aims seriously to x-ray those elements in indigenous dance understudy that will help as a tourist tool for development. Objectively, through the tourist potency, the indigenous dance would be seen as a communicative tool for cultural sustainability, as a tool for inter-cultural development for tourism, and presenting indigenous dance as a marketable commodity that requires serious packaging. The research adopted qualitative method which involved content analysis and face to face interview, while theoretical framework used was the Cultural Identity Theory. It would aid in interpreting the cultural norms in the dance (Ikele Oji Ego), towards understanding its socio- communicative essence towards tourism. From Findings, beyond the festive celebrations, there is a sociological essence in any indigenous dance and that is what this paper sets to project. In conclusion, indigenous dance should henceforth be taken beyond the comfort zone of its originators, rather let it be an interconnecting tool between the originators and the outside world for tourism development.