Chibale themes

Life in Chibale encompasses a variety of themes. They help to understand the ideas of structure and the ways in which people in Chibale order experiences and ideas. They present ways of understanding Chibale music and related dance, text and ritual.

Whereas practically all people in Chibale will refer to themselves as Lala, Chibale society is heterogenous. Many forms of groupings co-exist, with sometimes fundamentally different views on life, culture and the like.

Lalaness is a factor on the homogeneity side of the heterogeneity-homogeneity theme. With the increase of confrontations with other ‘cultures’, the expression and feeling of Lalaness has increased.

In Chibale much attention is given to all kinds of rules of conformity but at the same time it is up to the individual to find the ‘performance leeway’ within this. This theme is expressed in music and especially in dance.

Dealing with both the need for maximum independence and the need to be able to fall back on others in times of distress define a significant part of strategic behaviour in Chibale.

Adapting your life based on your own experiences or those of (external) others is a major theme in Chibale. It has had many expressions in Chibale life in the past seventy years. In general, people are less interested in contrasting modernity with tradition than they are in finding an effective blend of the two.