This video clip shows a small group of boys and young men from the Laango age-set dancing in a cattle-camp along the Kong-Kong River, Pibor county May 2015.
This video is not the popular style of Murle dancing, nor do Laango themselves often dance this way. This dance style is used along with a song about a lion killing its prey, and the style is referred to as ‘atongde maa lotorkocha’, which means ‘Lion is killing a prey by it’s arm’.
If they sing other songs, the style is changed to the more typical dancing of Murle. This video clip does not reflect tradition because the of the way the young men are dressed is not for organized for cultural dance. However, it shows how dance and song are an important way of socialising and coming together in the dry season by small groups of friends from the same age-set.
(The video was recorded by Diana Felix da Costa; the explanation and text was provided by Johnson Kengen).