Madilo, also known as ‘ladans baton’, is a Seychellois stick dance generally associated with the island of La Digue and was made popular by members of the Ladouce family (Masezarin group).
Madilo, kaloupilon and Madelon
Madilo (also at times written as Mardilo) is sometimes confused with the dance ‘Kaloupilon’ or even ‘La Madelon’ and is neither.
Kaloupilon
The “kaloupilon”, is the mortar and pestle dance whereby two players are separated by a mortar and while singing and dancing, they use the pounding sound of the pestle as rhythm. The mortar is a durable bowl commonly made of hard wood. The pestle is a rounded grinding club often made of the same material as the mortar. We will elaborate more on this dance in a future post.
La MADELON
The ‘Madelon’ on the other hand derives from ‘La Madelon’ or ‘Quand Madelon’, also known in English as Madelon (I’ll Be True to the Whole Regiment) which is a French popular song of World War I. Although it is mostly known as ‘La Madelon’ the proper title is ‘Quand Madelon’ which are the beginning words of the refrain. The lyrics are by Louis Bousquet (1914) and the music by Camille Robert.
The song tells a story about soldiers flirting with a lovely young waitress in a country tavern and may partly owe its long-term popularity to the fact that the lyrics were clean at a time when soldiers’ songs were mostly bawdy and rude. It was one of the most popular songs in France during World War I and became a patriotic song as the war wore on. It remains a patriotic, well-known song in France to this day.
I have added, for interest’s sake, a YouTube link below of “La Madelon”, chanson extraite du spectacle “Le Cabaret du Poilu” du Groupe Chansons en Barre:
Stick dance
As mentioned earlier, Madilo is a stick dance. Stick dance is a style of dance that is danced in many countries including the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Let us have a quick look at some of the different stick dances performed in some countries around the world and we will then zoom in on the Madilo– the Stick Dance of Seychelles.
America
Stick dancing was a style of dance that African Americans developed on American plantations during the days of slavery, where the dance was used to perform “military exercises” among the slaves. The stick used was in fact a weapon in disguise. Other slaves would gather around the competitive fighters. They would clap in rhythm and sing in a call-and-response style, while one caller led the rest of the crowd.
The Philippines
In the Philippines, the stick known is known as ‘Tinikling’ ( or tickling) which is a traditional Philippine folk dance originated during the Spanish colonial era. The dance involves two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance. It is traditionally danced to rondalla music, a sort of serenade played by an ensemble of stringed instruments which originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. The locomotor movements used in tinikling are hopping, jumping, and turning.
The dance originated in Leyte, Island in Visayas. It imitates the movement of the tikling birds as they walk between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers. Dancers imitate the tikling bird’s legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles.
India
In India there is a stick dance called the Cheraw dance . It is a traditional cultural dance, recognized as one of the oldest dances of Mizoram, India. The Cheraw dance is characterized by the use of bamboo staves, which are kept in cross and horizontal forms on the ground. While the male dancers move these bamboo staves in rhythmic beats, the female dancers perform by stepping in and out of the bamboo blocks.
In ancient times, Cheraw dance was performed in rituals as it was believed, to provide solace to the soul of a deceased mother who had passed on leaving her newborn child on earth. However, the traditional beliefs have been diluted and the horizon of Cheraw Dance has expanded considerably. In fact, this dance is performed on every occasion by the Mizo of Mizoram.
West Indies
Stick fighting is widespread in the West Indies, and called, for example, Stick Licking in Barbados and Jamaica, Kalinda/Kalenda/Calinda in Trinidad.
The Kalenda (Calinda), a stick dance, owed its origins to pre-colonial times, as early as the late 1700’s. Its roots are that of a martial art that originated from Africa. This art most likely came to the West Indies during the 16th century through the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. After Emancipation in 1834, stick fighting developed and became associated with carnival and was termed Kalenda.
Kalenda, a lively and skillful dance, is an elegantly violent cultural practice that requires dancers to engage in mock combat with their sticks in the middle of circle called a ‘gayelle’ to the accompaniment of drumming and singing, often in patois. They are led by a lead singer whose duty was to either encourage or deride the dancers. A highly ritualised display, Kalenda is an integral attraction of modern Carnival celebrations.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, a type of stick dance is also widespread. The link below shows a traditional stick dance performed at the Melo Village, Flores Island, Indonesia shot by Carole Terwilliger Meyers on November 18, 2015.
The Seychelles
The Madilo– The Stick Dance of Seychelles- is the creolised and shortened version of ‘La Guimbarde’. ‘La Guimbarde’ dance, also known as the “la guillade” or “l’éguillon,” is an old dance of the Limousin herdsmen who wanted to show their agility. It is executed with a stick about 2 meters long. ‘Eguillon’ is a pointed stick or armed with a metal point which is used to prick work animals (more particularly oxen), to make them move forward.
The dance was also performed with a paddle used to propel boats in the marshes of the region.
Limousin was historical region and former ‘région’ of France. As a ‘région’, it encompassed the central ‘départements’ of Corrèze, Haute-Vienne, and Creuse. In 2016 the Limousin ‘région’ was joined with the ‘régions’ of Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaine to form the new administrative entity of Nouvelle Aquitaine. It is an area renowned for its cattle.
Guimbarde can also mean jaws harp as well as a small planner used by a carpenter or cabinetmaker or even a tired old automobile!
Madilo
It is not clear how ‘La Guimbarde’ became known as Madilo in Seychelles, but it is believed to have been introduced to Seychelles either by the ‘Bourbonnais’ or by the political deportees from Bourbon and France.
The ‘Bourbonnais’ was a mocking surname given by the locals to the immigrants from La Réunion, then known as ‘île Bourbon’. Some were genuine settlers, made up of sailors, craftsmen, and traders, who were searching for a better life, and some were also convicts.
The first group of deportees, originating from the Saint Pierre area, South of Bourbon, landed in Seychelles in 1798. They were meant to be sent to India, but they successfully convinced, or bribed, the Seychellois Captain Loizeau to drop them in Seychelles. They were sent to La Digue by the Seychellois administrator because he feared that mixing of the rebels within the rest of the population would distabilise the new colony. La Digue was still uninhabited then.
Following this first unplanned settling of deportees, the French authorities officially began the deportation of political convicts to Seychelles. The most famous came from Paris where they attempted to murder Napoleon in 1801. However, most of the convicts who were sent to Seychelles in 1799, 1804 and 1807 came from Bourbon and the majority of then settled on La Digue where Madilo had its roots.
La Guimbarde
I have listed below a few links that show different versions of ‘La Guimbarde’:
Danse folklorique du Limousin par le Groupe folklorique de St Sornin Lavolps:
La Guimbarde – Danse du Limousin ( Skip Ad)
Groupe folklorique LOU CANTOU – Auvergne – Roanne
La Guimbarde collectée en Vendée et interprétés par les jeunes des Bé Vriott’s.
La Guimbarde – Danse du Limousin
Ecoutez la musique :
A qui la dansera le mieux,
La guimbarde, la guimbarde.
A qui la dansera le mieux,
La guimbarde de noux deux.
Dansons la, ne la dansons guère,
Dansons la, ne la dansons pas !
Dansons la, ne la dansons guère,
Dansons la, ne la dansons pas !
Etc…
La Guimbarde – Par les Pastoureaux de la Valoine, Métode par Roger Blanchard
Below is a reproduction in French of how ‘La Guimbarde’ is danced
Cette danse est éxécutée à l’aide d’un bâton de la dimension d’un manche à balai. Elle est en principe reservée aux hommes; cependant les jeunes filles peuvent la danser, si elles sont assez habiles pour sauter au-dessus du bâtons sans s’embarrasser dans leur grande robe et sans cesser d’être correctes, car l’indécence n’a point de place dans nos danses limousines. Nous donnons ici notre démonstration pour un couple. Il va sans dire, qu’à quelques détails près, leurs mouvements sont identiques si la danse est éxecutée par les hommes.
La Guimbarde (Refer to music sheet above)
Première Figure
Première Partie.
Cavaliers et cavalières tiennent chacun un bout du bâton de la main droite; le jeune homme ayant la main gauche sur la hanche, la jeune fille tenant sa robe. De A à B, les danseurs font parallèlement deux pas courts et rapides sur le côté (cavalier partant du pied gauche et cavalière du pied droit). A B, temps d’arrêt, accompagné d’un léger fléchissement des genoux. De C à D , deux pas sur le côté dans le sens inverse de la première fois c’est à dire cavalier partant du pied droit et cavalière du pied gauche. A D, nouveaux temps d’arrêt et de fléchissement du genoux. De E à F, on recommence comme de A à B; de G à H comme C à D et ainsi de suite en alternant jusqu’à I.
Deuxième Partie.
A J, la jeune fille lève le bâton au dessus de sa tête, et de J à K, sous l’arceau ainsi formé par sa main droite tenant le bâton, elle tourne sur elle-même en sautant d’un pied sur l’autre à raison d’un saut par temps. A K, c’est le jeune homme, qui lève le bâton au-dessus de sa tête et qui tourne sur lui-même, éxécutant ainsi les mêmes mouvements que sa partenaire, mais à une mesure de distance. A L, de nouveau la cavalière tourne sous le bâton; à M, c’est le jeune homme et ainsi de suite jusqu’à N.
Deuxième Figure
Première Partie.
On répète exactement la première partie de la première figure (de H à J sur la musique)
Deuxième Partie.
Cette figure est assez difficile d’éxécution et assez delicate à expliquer. Qu’on nous passe donc la lourdeur du style; nous avons voulu avant tout être précis et nous osons espérer, qu’en lisant attentivement les lignes suivantes, on ne risquera pas de se tromper.
A J, le cavalier saute sur sa jambe droite et fait passer sa jambe gauche pare-dessus le bâton, tandis qu’il passe le dit bâton de sa main droite dans sa main gauche. Les trois mouvements sont simultanés. A J1, la cavalière éxécute les mêmes mouvements qu’on vient de décrire par le cavalier. Le jeune homme saute sur sa jambe gauche et passe sa jambe droite au-dessus le bâton, tandis qu’il repasse celui-ci de sa main gauche dans sa main droite. A K1, la cavalière fait de même. A L, le cavalier recommence les mêmes mouvements éxécutés à J; à L1, la cavalière l’imite et ainsi de suite jusqu’a N, la danseuse éxécutant les mêmes mouvements que son partenaire à un temps de distance. Cette figure doit être dansée avec souplesse, à une cadence rapide et avec un rythme inébranlable. Pour finir la danse on recommence la série des mouvements éxécutés de A à J. (première partie de la première figure) après quoi les deux danseurs se saluent sans lâcher le bâton.
How is the Madilo Seychellois danced?
As already mentioned, Madilo derives from ‘La Guimbarde’. In its transition to the Seychelles, the name got changed as well as the elimination of the first section or ‘première figure’. We inherited only the second section.
This dance is performed using a stick or a short pole about two meters long. In days gone by, this stick or pole was a multi-purpose piece of equipment. Apart from being used for the dance, it was also used as a push pole (locally known as gal) to punt pirogues in the shallows. The same pole was also at times used to pick breadfruit and other fruits from tall trees. A knife was attached to one end, or a fork fabricated at one end to facilitate the picking of the fruits
Madilo is in principle reserved for men; however young girls and women can also dance it, provided they are skillful enough to decently jump over the sticks. Below we describe a demonstration for a couple. It is obvious that, except for a few details, their movements are identical irrespective whether only men or only women perform the dance.
I have also attached below a few YouTube links offering further background information on the dance:
The first one features the Popular Madilo dancer from La Digue Fernande Ladouce who revisits her glory days:
The second one features Molly Ladouce and is produced by National Heritage Research and Protection Section Seychelles
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=342782570092769
Madilo the Dance
This dance is quite difficult to perform, and I shall try and explain it as best as I can. The lyrics are very short and are repeated numerous times. The dance format (of which there are a few) that I have followed is the one performed by Seychelles Tourism Academy students. I have attached the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/SeychellesTourismAcademy/videos/288336742852415
The Entry
The music starts and the caller shouts out:
O Madilo, madilo, madilo met zot pare (instruction to the dancers to get ready)
The dancing couple enters the dance floor carrying the stick on the right shoulder
O Madilo, madilo, madilo bese baton (instruction to the dancers to lower the stick on to the dance floor)
The couple faces each other and lays the stick down on the floor in front of them. They will be approximately 2 ½ meters apart, with the stick on the floor between them. If there is more than one couple, the sticks are laid out parallel to each other about one meter apart.
The Dance
The music starts with a slow tempo and the caller shouts out:
Dilo madilo, madilo, madilo vire baton (instruction to the dancers to dance from one end of the stick to the other end and return to their original location)
The couple slowly dances around the stick. Each dancer claps their hands to the rhythm of the music and dances from their end of the stick to the other end and back to their original position.
The tempo becomes faster, and the caller shouts out:
Dilo madilo, madilo, madilo leve baton (instruction to the dancers to pick the stick from the floor)
The dancers bend down and lift the stick with their right hand, and the caller immediately calls out:
Madilo, madilo, madilo sote baton, Madilo, madilo, madilo sote baton, lapat talonen…. (Instruction to the dancers start ‘jumping’ the stick)
All dancers perform the same steps at the same time. They jump onto their right leg and pass their left leg over the stick, while at the same time passing the stick from their right hand into their left hand. The three movements are performed simultaneously.
They then jump onto their left leg and pass their right leg over the stick, while at the same time passing the stick from their left hand back to their right hand. These steps are repeated many times and the dancers gradually turn anti-clockwise until they have done a full circle. These steps are danced with flexibility, at a rapid pace and with an unshakeable rhythm. Once they have danced a full circle, the tempo of the music slows down and the caller shouts:
The Exit
Dilo madilo, madilo, madilo sorti baton (instruction to the dancers to exit the dance floor)
The dancers lift the stick and place it on their shoulder and dance out from the dance floor.
End of Dance
Below is a snippet of Madilo performed at H Resort Seychelles. This is a slightly different version to the one described above.
I have also linked below a new version of the song by Grace Barbé.
Post author’s note
Now that we know where Madilo originates, will it be sacrilegious to suggest that we produce a modern version of Madilo by dancing ‘La Guimbarde’ to the rhythm of the current Seychellois Madilo?
Sources
Wikipedia
Seychelles News Agency
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