Moribayassa

Ethnic: Malinké
Region: Northeast Guinea
When a woman wished for something important that came true, she would organize a dance in the village called Moribayassa to celebrate this joy. As she circled the village three to seven times singing and dancing, she would be accompanied by one or more musicians. The women of the village would follow her and sing as well. After the dance, the woman would bury the old and torn clothes she wore for the dance under a mango tree. In Mamady’s village, Balandugu, this mango tree is called Moribayassa. Whatever the woman wished for is usually a big problem such as an illness in the family or childlessness. She would had exhausted all her resources but to no solution, and that would be when she took the vow and said, ”when this huge difficulty is over, I will dance Moribayassa”. In the older days, this vow was so significant that a woman could only take it once in her life.