Tangwa la Bodwe is a group comprising 28 women from two villages, namely Mavhima and Tshivhade. The two villages were initially one village called Bodwe. The group was formed around 1980 when the regent Chief Maligana Wilson Mashau was in power. Maligana Wilson was forcefully removed from his regent-ship in 1990.
From that time until 2017 the group was dormant. It was in 2018 the group leader Mr Godani Mashau asked the women to revive the Tangwa dance. The group is now a mixture of some old members and newly recruited members.
The name if the dance performed by the group is called Tangwa. The dance is a slow and jazz-like dance, which is different from the popular Tshigombela dance that is by far a very fast dance. The songs are not meant for any specific ceremonies except entertainment.
Instruments used by the group are ngoma (big drum); thindimedzo (small drum which is played by the palms of one’s hands); phalaphala (the horn); and whistles. The name of the leg rattles is called matshwayo. The attire is made up of different items namely, nwenda (the bottom skirt) which goes with the waist towel, waist belt made of beads; t-shirt; pala (beads worn around the neck with a satellite dish-like finish at the back of the neck); lutomola tsie (belt-like beads worn around the head)
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