Kalenda

  “They shout: Life! They cry: Hurrah! They drink a rum and say: Fuck it!”      Kalinda is a form of martial arts and folk music that takes place in the caribbean. This ritual  dance is an art form that was performed by slaves during the 17th century. Two combatants dressed in costumes and perform a stick-fighting dance that is accompanied by drums. While sometimes performers just wear street clothes, the costumes usually consist of a head tie, shiny decorations, feathers, and stockings. Kalenda evolved to incorporate a singing element that involves a call and response led by a chantwell. Men, women, and children sing along to the stick fighters who fight to the beat of drums. Many of the participating slaves traced the art form origin back to their home countries. While the original Kalenda stems from the Kongo Kingdom, a similar form of the art took place in Egypt. Tahtib is an Ancient Egyptian stick-fighting art that later evolved into a folk dance with woode...