The Gumboot Dance has its origin in the South African goldmines during the apartheid regime. Migrant workers from either the neighboring countries, such as Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe, or from the rural areas were not allowed to speak during work. Even in the evenings in their little huts they were not supposed to talk, laugh or have fun. However, they had to wear their gumboots (also known as wellies) for work. This allowed them to not only communicate during work, for example to warn fellow workers if a warden was on his way, but also to provide rhythmic support to their songs in the evenings. By stomping, clapping and hitting the gumboots against each other they were able to create whole frequencies of beats, which all carried a special meaning and one was even able to almost tell a whole story just by using their gumboots. After the early implementation of their gumboots as a means to communicate, the gumboot dance developed into a recreational activity, which was later used by the apartheid regime to keep workers happy. They organised competitions between different mines and it was considered a achievement and pride to win those. Today, the gumboot dance is one of South Africa's most famous traditional dances and it represents the pain and suffering the migrant workers went through while working in the mines. It is used in almost every South Africa musical (like Umoja, Gumboots and others).