CHOREOGRAPHING COEXISTENCE: DANCE, INTERFAITH DIALOGUE, AND CULTURAL MEDIATION IN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES OF NORTHERN GHANA

Abstract

This article examines the potential of dance as a culturally grounded medium for interfaith dialogue and social mediation within Muslim-majority communities in Northern Ghana. Drawing on qualitative ethnographic research conducted in the Tamale Metropolis, the study engages Muslim clerics from diverse Islamic sects, traditional authorities, dancers, and youth groups to explore contested perceptions of music and dance within Islamic cultural life. Guided by structural functionalist and cultural mediation frameworks, the article argues that traditional dance functions as an embodied social institution capable of fostering moral reflection, dialogue, and communal coexistence. While dominant religious interpretations have contributed to the marginalisation of indigenous dances, the study demonstrates that performance-based interventions particularly the choreographed work Waa-pa zagbegu Musulinsini, developed from Islamic values of peace, tolerance, and faith created spaces for reflection and dialogue among Muslim audiences. Audience responses indicate that dance can operate as a mediating cultural practice rather than a source of religious conflict. The article concludes that choreographed performance, when grounded in local religious and cultural ethics, offers a viable tool for interfaith engagement, cultural sustainability, and peacebuilding in plural African societies.