In English: Mbende / Jerusarema Dance

The Mbende, whose actual name is Jerusarema, is a dance practiced by peoples from eastern Zimbabwe, southern Africa.

Man crouching during the dance.

The dance consists of various acrobatic movements and sensual nature, which do not follow any particular order. They are made by both men and women. However, there is always a step that is repeated. It is produced by men when they begin suddenly to bow, giving a stamp on the ground.

The meaning of this act is a complaint to the mole, an animal that symbolizes fertility, the fact of living on earth. Be associated with the mole baby leaves the mother's cervix, genital part said channel being a simile that builds the mole in the ground.

During the usual dance movements of the dancers are marked by drum beats. Slaps, taps with wooden slats and using whistles is equally feasible in this dance.

Before the colonization of Zimbabwe by Christians from Britain in the nineteenth century, dance was called Mbende (word used to designate the'' mole''). However, the natives managed to keep dancing along with the music used in it,'' cheating'' by the colonizers. They replaced the indigenous name for Jerusarema Mbende; a transliteration of the word Jerusalem. In this way they could continue practicing their particular fertility ritual without being discovered their true purpose.

Dance currently undergoing a process of exoticism that has become a tourist attraction for foreigners. This leads to a false perspective to see it from even being synonymous with African barbarism, like many other dances of the continent. UNESCO seeks to remove this misconception, also trying to protect the originality of dance. Thus, it is immaterial heritage since 2008 by the aforementioned organization.