Title: Uji Tails

General Information about Item:

• Genre: Customary Folklore: Rituals

• Language: English

• Country: United States of America

Informant Data:

Raegina Hill, aged 21, is a Director of Ujima who joined the group her freshman fall (2014). She is a senior at Dartmouth College majoring in Anthropology with a concentration in Biological Anthropology and minoring in Theater. Raegina was born, raised, and currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Before Ujima, Raegina had six years of dance experience with hip hop, theatrical dance, high stepping, and cheer.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: The entire team participates in Uji Tails. The event typically occurs on a termly basis towards the end of the term in a member’s dorm room. The ritual originated at the group’s founding, and Raegina first learned of it when she participated during her freshman fall.
• Cultural Context: Dartmouth extracurricular groups, Greek houses, and societies often host their own Tails to increase closeness and commitment to the group. In line with Dartmouth’s culture, Ujima hosts similar events every term. Furthermore, Uji Tails plays into Ujima’s cultural focus on inclusivity and togetherness by promoting bonding.

Item:

Once a term, Ujima hosts a social gathering known as “Tails” (short for “Cocktails”) to bring the team together outside of practices and performances. Uji Tails allows Ujima members to better familiarize themselves with the team and bond with one another, inadvertently increasing their comfort on stage.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Video

Transcript of Associated File:

“My first Uji Tails is when I got my name. Everyone’s having fun and it was towards the end of the term and everyone was really stressed out, but it was just so nice to have a group of people that I could just hang out with. And the five of us, we got our new names. And it was just kind of like, ‘Ooh, well I’m this person now.’ And it was just fun to get another sense of self, so to speak.

We have Uji Tails, when its a get-together, and we typically just ask random questions in this game called ‘Hot Seat.’ And it really just breaks down any barriers between people being uncomfortable and just shy. And it just makes us bond a lot more, which really translates in our performances. There’s no like, “I don’t know how I feel about performing this with this person.” For example, in our last show we had a chair dance and everyone was extremely comfortable because we break those barriers pretty early on. And so everyone’s comfortable with each other and I think that really helps for a great performance in the long run.”

Informant’s Comments:

The bonding aspect of Tails plays an integral role in improving performances through greater familiarity within the team.

Collector’s Comments:

As Raegina mentioned, Tails during a member’s freshman fall not only serve to strengthen team bonds, but also establish the new member’s identity as part of the group.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed By: Shinar Jain

Tags/Keywords:

• Ritual
• Dance
• Team