The Ajun Kupa Dance

The Ajun Kupa dance is a cultural dance among the Jukun community in Nigeria. It is a
cultural dance that is associated with therapy. It is said to have healing powers. Women in the
Jukun community engage in this dance with the aim of exorcising evil spirits (Chang, Gu, & Liu,
2022). The ajun kupa dance is categorized as a traditional dance that emerged before World War
II. It dates back to the late 18th century and has been a critical part of Nigerian culture, especially
among the Jukun community (Zanna, 2018).
The Jukan community in Nigeria, like most African communities, believes in the
existence of a strong bond between the living and the ancestors or the living dead. The complex
web of relationships between the living and the dead is often renewed through dance and ritual
festivals (Zanna, 2018). The ajun kupa dance helps strengthen the relationships among the
women and men in Jukan community. Thus, the ajun kupa dance is performed to exorcise evil
spirits and try and appease the ancestors who may be angry with the living. Further, the ajun
kupa dance is performed during the initiation ceremonies. After the boys have been circumcised,
they publicly perform the ajun kupa dance as they are initiated into the society.
The ajun kupa dance helped deal with various societal issues faced by the Jukan
community. For instance, it helped deal with women’s disorders, especially those believed to be
possessed by evil spirits. It also helped strengthen the bond within the community. During
circumcision, which was a very important rite of passage, the initiates performed the dance to
culminate their integration into the community as adult members. The dance is still practiced
today in Nigeria, many years after it was first performed.

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References

Chang, H., Gu, X., & Liu, S. (2022). Religion. The African Dance. Retrieved 30 March 2022,
from http://theafricandancehistory.weebly.com/religion.html.
Zanna, A. (2018). African dance. African Dance. Retrieved 30 March 2022, from
https://alimohammedzanna.wordpress.com/2018/03/29/kanuri-people-kanuri-african-
people-the-dominant-element-of-the-population-of-bornu-state-in-northeastern-nigeria-
and-also-found-in-large-numbers-in-southeastern-niger-the-kanuri-language-is-classi/.