Tufo

What it is

Tufo is a traditional dance from the north of Mozambique. Women dance it in groups, and drummers, who may be men or women, keep time on flat instruments like tambourines. Everybody in the group sings, and a lead voice usually carries the song. The dance is at home on the coast, and it is also known in Maputo. It is Arab in origin and it belongs to Islamic celebrations, but people who are not Muslim dance it too, and its verses sometimes speak about matters of the day rather than religion alone.

Origins and history

Nobody agrees about where tufo began. On the Island of Mozambique, a story links its beginning to the migration of the prophet Muhammad to Medina, when followers welcomed him with songs and dances in praise of God, and with tambourines. He approved, the story goes, and so such dancing went on at religious festivals. A trader named Yussuf, who came from Kilwa, is said to have brought the dance to Mozambique in the 1930s. Its name probably comes from ad-duff, the Arabic word for the tambourine, which Portuguese took up in the form adufe; the dance's name is a shortened shape of it. The matrilineal Makhuwa, who trace descent through the mother's line, left a strong mark on it.

How it is performed

A tufo group is usually made up of fifteen to twenty women, with four people on the flat, tambourine-like drums. Men once danced as well, but nowadays they take part only now and then. The older style is danced on the knees, the body turning and swaying from the waist up while the legs stay put. Newer choreography allows dancers to stand and move their whole bodies. Every dancer sings, and one or two lead singers carry the tune. Matching scarves and capulanas, the bright printed wraps worn in this region, are required, and a fresh capulana is worn for each dance.

Song and meaning

Tufo songs are carried by ear; nothing is written down. A dancer or the group's poet may compose a new one. Emakhuwa, the language of the Makhuwa, is the usual tongue, and Arabic or Portuguese also appear. At festivals the verses give praise to God, while at other times they take up social and political questions. Because the dance has spread beyond Muslim circles, people of other beliefs now join it. For the communities that keep tufo, it marks the great days of the Islamic year and gives women a public voice, in song and in movement.

Today and change

Tufo is still danced at religious feasts in northern Mozambique, and groups are also found in the capital. Standing choreography, which came in more recently, sits beside the older kneeling style, and both can still be seen. Groups keep their own poets and lead singers, and new capulanas are worn for each outing. Since the songs are learned by ear rather than set down on paper, every group holds a version of its own. The dance has travelled past the Muslim communities where it began, and it now carries everyday concerns as well as praise.

How Tufo is kept

A tufo group forms with fifteen to twenty women and four drummers, who may be men or women. A lead singer starts the song and the whole group answers, everyone singing. The drummers beat flat tambourine-like instruments while the dancers move only their upper bodies, kneeling in the older manner; in newer programmes they stand and move the whole body. Dancers wear matching scarves and capulanas, with a new capulana for each dance. Songs are learned by ear, and a dancer or the group's poet may compose them, in Emakhuwa, Arabic or Portuguese.

When and where

Tufo is kept for Islamic festivals and holidays and for other religious feasts. There is no single date for it; groups perform across the year as those occasions come round. The dance reached Mozambique at some point in the 1930s, according to the account of a trader from Kilwa, though nobody can say for certain when it began.

Tufo belongs to northern Mozambique. It is found in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula and on the Island of Mozambique, and it is also danced in Maputo, the capital. The Islamic coast and Makhuwa country are its strongest ground, and its origin story is told on the island.

What Tufo means

For those who keep it, tufo is praise as much as it is dancing: the songs lift up God at festival time, and the drums and voices carry the community's thanks. It also gives women a place to speak in public, and to raise matters of the day. The dance has moved past the Muslim circles where it began, so it also stands for shared life on the northern coast, where Arab, Islamic and Makhuwa threads meet.

Questions people ask about Tufo

See also

Southern African traditional healingAncestral divination, herbal muthi, and spiritual care across Southern AfricaNyauA secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.HalayA traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.PoiA Māori performing art of swinging tethered weights in rhythmical patterns.

Good reading and sources

• Tufo (dance) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.