Reflections on Ipi Ntombi The play Ipi Ntombi portrays the classic theme of tradition versus modernization. Act one portrays a very traditional Zulu tribe. While men and women danced, wearing grass skirts, beads, shells, and animal hides, native drums kept the beat alive. The people danced with great emotion, and they took great pride in their dancing, their tribe, and their tribe leader. At the end of Act I, the tribe leader’s son returns dressed in a hat, T-shirt, jeans and boots. He tells his father, the tribe leader, that he has intentions of getting married in the city’s Christian church. The main conflict