The 'Alanta' Dance - An Evil Ritual or Ignorant Concpetion?

Warning!

Please do not read this post if you’re a FAITHFUL fan of the group Artquake and if you don’t believe in the existence of the supernatural! You might be offended.

 

I’ve heard the song on radio and I was not all trippy about it, and that was mainly because I felt it was just another pointless song just urging people to dance to a new style that was equally the title of the song.

It was not until I got to see the video that I made up my mind that this song was a suspicious lot. With visuals on display and lyrics following the rhythm and my mind all set for serious scrutiny, I was able to see and hear more than just meets the eye and ears.

The song is ‘Alanta’ from the Nigerian duo known as Artquake. ‘Alanta’ refers to a dance style which I can’t be sure if Artquake are the actual originators. 

 

The dance style has to do with a patterned movement of the hands in which it looks like you’re fanning flames around you. Actually I wouldn’t have described it like this; not until I heard a part of the lyrics which sort of explained the movement sequence.

 

E be like fire, dey burn my body

Je kin fera, oru n mu mi

 

Translated this means:

 

It looks like fire is burning my body

Let me fan myself, I’m feeling hot

 

As a result you get to see shots of people doing the dance in frenzy with either trance-like or painful expressions on their faces.

There’s a particular lady who we see in a red outfit and at another time in black dinner gown seriously strutting the dance like she was some voodoo high priestess. She happens to be the most extreme about it.

In some scenes she wears scary expressions which you may not see because the scene quickly cuts away before it registers. Her eyes where painfully closed and she looked possessed.

 

And if all these quick passing scenes don’t register suspiciously with you, wait till you get to the church scene. This was the one that topped them all.

We see a pastor trying to cast out a demon from a lady (who happens to be our high priestess). The lady is dancing the ‘Alanta’ dance in a manner that reminds you of a scene from the exorcist, her hair hung down like some undead creature from a horror flick.

 

The pastor tries to cast out the demon but instead is suddenly possessed by it and starts the ‘Alanta’ dance with the same tranced expression on his face.

 

Someone was either downright ignorant about what he was doing when putting the song or video idea together, or he was just following some nasty evil instinct because the message this video eventually passes across is nothing but negative coupled with fact that its making blasphemic suggestions.

I don’t believe in the philosophy that what you don’t know can’t kill you. Actually, it’s the act of not knowing that can kill. Ever seen those horror flicks where somebody accidentally awakes a demon or creature or invokes a spell by accident or out of ignorance? If you do then you know what I'm getting at.

Let’s hope we’re not invoking curses on ourselves each time we hear this song and move in ritualistic ‘Alanta’ fashion to its beat.