Chakacha is a traditional music and dance style (a '' ngoma'' performance) of the

Swahili people The Swahili people (, وَسوَحِيلِ) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab, and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the East African coast across southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambi ...

of coastal

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, originally associated with

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

s and performed and watched only by women. Men were not allowed to attend chakacha dance parties. The women dress in very lightclothing and wear a belt around their waists for ease of movement. The hip-swaying dance movements of Chakacha also bear some resemblance with

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

ern belly dances. Chakacha shares similar music and Swahili lyrics with

Taarab Taarab is a music genre popular in both Tanzania and Kenya. It has been influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Taarab rose to prominence in 1928 with the adv ...

, a popular music style of the Swahili coast, often performed by women singers and a male orchestra. In the late 20th century, musical groups such as

Mombasa Roots Mombasa Roots (or Mombasa Roots Band) are a Kenyan Afro pop music, afropop/hotel pop musical group. They have recorded some of the most successful hit singles in Kenyan pop music, such as ''Disco Chakacha'' and ''Kata''. Their most famous album ...

, Safari Sound Band and Them Mushrooms have adapted this style to

Afropop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

music.

References

African dances Culture of Kenya {{Africa-music-stub