Therapeutic Potential of a Drum and Dance Ceremony Based on the African Ngoma Tradition
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Ngoma ceremonies are used throughout Central and South Africa to help people address "difficult issues," including medical illness. They are examples of ceremonies that use strong rhythms and dance for this purpose in indigenous cultures throughout the world. This study sought to modify an ngoma ceremony to make it appropriate for biomedical use and to determine its acceptance and potential for benefit for people living in the United States. METHODS: The Congolese Zebola ceremony, an African healing practice, was modified to be religion-neutral and to involve only moderate exercise. Seventeen participants were recruited for the current study. Most participants were living with a chronic illness (n=15), and a few had no medical diagnoses (n=2). Participants spent 10 minutes in a focused activity, such as meditation, yoga, or prayer. They then danced to the Congolese rhythm Zebola for an hour and a half, with a rest every 20 minutes. Afterward, they indicated whether the experience was positive, neutral, or negative and wrote a narrative describing their experience and what they saw as strengths and weaknesses of the ceremony. They then participated in a focus group discussion. Data from the narrative and focus group discussion were coded, tabulated, and analyzed for themes. RESULTS: Sixteen of seventeen participants found the ceremony to be a positive experience. None found the form uncomfortably foreign or disturbing. Participants described diverse benefits, including increased exercise tolerance, stress reduction, feelings of group support, and beneficial spiritual experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Further study of the modified ngoma ceremony is warranted. Global health programs should consider the potential benefits of transferring technologies in both directions rather than only from technologically advanced countries to less technologically advanced ones.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Ngoma has been integral to healing, conflict resolution, social bonding, and spiritual experiences across various cultures for generations.
“Ngoma, rooted in Central and South African traditions, an indigenous rhythmic and dance ceremony, has been integral to healing, conflict resolution, social bonding, and spiritual experiences across various cultures for generations.”
From Comprehensive review of chronic stress pathways and the efficacy of behavioral stress reduction programs (BSRPs) in managing diseases. (2024) · cites this paper as [191]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) · Qualitative Research in Psychology · doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa · Cited by 194,414 · see citing works
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
Piercy, K. L., Troiano, R. P., Ballard, R. M., Carlson, S. A., Fulton, J. E., Galuska, D. A., George, S. M., & Olson, R. D. (2018) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2018.14854 · Cited by 9,755 · see citing works
Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007.
Barnes, P., Bloom, B., & Nahin, R. (2008) · National health statistics reports · doi:10.1037/e623942009-001 · Cited by 2,958 · see citing works
Hackney, M. E., & Earhart, G. M. (2009) · Neurorehabilitation and neural repair · doi:10.1177/1545968309353329 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
NgomaDiscourses of Healing in Central and Southern Africa
Janzen, J. M. (1992) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1525/california/9780520072657.001.0001 · Cited by 290 · see citing works
Dance/movement therapy for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients
Bradt, J., Shim, M., & Goodill, S. W. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007103.pub3 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Holmerová, I., Macháčová, K., Vaňková, H., Veleta, P., Jurašková, B., Hrnčiariková, D., Volicer, L., & Andel, R. (2009) · Journal of Aging and Health · doi:10.1177/0898264309351738 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Mindfulness meditation practices as adjunctive treatments for psychiatric disorders
Marchand, W. R. (2013) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2013.01.002 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Sawanyawisuth, K., Janyacharoen, T., Kanpittaya, J., Auvichayapat, P., & Laophosri, M. (2013) · Clinical Interventions in Aging · doi:10.2147/cia.s41076 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Magico-Religious Practitioner Types and Socioeconomic Conditions
Winkelman, M. J. (1986) · Behavior Science Research · doi:10.1177/106939718602000102 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Dance/movement therapy for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients
Bradt, J., Goodill, S. W., & Dileo, C. (2011) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007103.pub2 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Refiguring the person: the dynamics of affects and symbols in an African spirit possession cult
Corin, E. (1998) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511802782.004 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- [1]Shamanism WM A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford: Praeger, 2010
- [3]Harvey G Shamanism: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 2003
- [7]van Dijk R, Spierenburg RR, Spierenburg M The Quest for Fruition Through Ngoma. Oxford: James Currey Ltd.; 2000
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Galante, J., Friedrich, C., Dawson, A. F., Modrego-Alarcón, M., Gebbing, P., Delgado-Suárez, I., Gupta, R., Dean, L., Dalgleish, T., White, I. R., et al. (2021) · PLOS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003481 · Cited by 319 · see citing works
Shchaslyvyi, A. Y., Antonenko, S. V., & Telegeev, G. D. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21081077 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Modified African Ngoma Healing Ceremony for Stress Reduction: A Pilot Study
Vinesett, A. L., Whaley, R. R., Woods-Giscombe, C., Dennis, P., Johnson, M., Li, Y., Mounzeo, P., Baegne, M., & Wilson, K. H. (2017) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2016.0410 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“The authors recently reported a study done to test the acceptability and appropriateness of a modified ngoma ceremony in a group of individuals who lived in the southeastern United States.(6) Ngoma is a broad tradition involving rhythms, generally with drums, and dance; it is practiced throughout Central and Southern…”
BackgroundInfluential
- Authors
- Vinesett, A. L., Price, M., & Wilson, K. H.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wilson, Kenneth H.
- ORCID
- Wilson, Kenneth H.
- Venue
- The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-08
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 460-465
- ISSN
- 1075-5535 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-7708
- PMC
- PMC4523073
- OpenAlex
- W1888123245
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 3.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Diversity and Impact of Dance
- Keywords
- chronic disease, stress reduction, exercise tolerance, group support, spiritual experience, technology transfer, global health
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Ceremonial Behavior, Chronic Disease, Dance Therapy, Dancing, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Africa South of the Sahara, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
