Abstract

In this article I undertake a literary analysis of Petina Gappah’s short story entitled “The Mupandawana Dancing Champion” (2009) focusing on the author’s portrayal of the intersection between the dancing body and political power in post-2000 Zimbabwe’s crisis period. I draw from Michel Foucault’s notion of the docile body to discuss how the politically dominant appropriate and commodify the dancing body of the subordinate for political survival and financial benefit. I argue that Gappah ironically depicts the hypnotic place of kongonya dance among the populace, especially as performed by the pupils from Mupandawana growth point. I further contend that Gappah cynically depicts the transformation of M’dhara Vitalis’s dances from a social entertainment performance into a strictly business transaction. A reading of “The Mupandawana Dancing Champion” is, therefore, useful to appreciate how the ruling political elite appropriate enfeebled ordinary people’s dance and use its influence to maintain their grip on power and their monopoly on business opportunities.

摘要

在本文中，我对佩蒂娜·加帕 (Petina Gappah) 的短篇小说《穆潘达瓦纳舞蹈冠军》(2009) 进行了文学分析，重点关注作者对 2000 年后津巴布韦危机时期舞蹈身体与政治权力交集的描写。我借鉴米歇尔·福柯关于顺从身体的概念来讨论政治统治者如何为了政治生存和经济利益而将下属的舞蹈身体挪用和商品化。我认为 Gappah 讽刺地描绘了Kongonya的催眠之地民众中的舞蹈，特别是由穆潘达瓦纳成长点的学生表演。我进一步认为，加帕愤世嫉俗地描述了姆达拉·维塔利斯的舞蹈从社交娱乐表演到严格的商业交易的转变。因此，阅读《穆潘达瓦纳舞蹈冠军》有助于了解统治政治精英如何利用削弱了普通民众的舞蹈，并利用其影响力来维持对权力的控制和对商业机会的垄断。