The Mokala is a long-lived tree. And in those parts of Africa where its roots and branches spread, the shade it provides is recognised as a gathering place, Makaleng - a place not just to socialise, and maybe gossip, but a place where a community can come together in tribal ritual or worship of their gods. People have come and gone, but who they were and the part they played in the life of their community has been witnessed, silently, by the Mokalas across the centuries. And it is this sense of the past, the history and tradition, that Adzido are now bringing out of the shade, in their new piece Secrets of Makaleng.

Artistic director George Dzikunu explains that, as the millennium approaches, the company decided to look at what had gone before, partly as a way of paying homage. ''It is about remembering,'' he says. ''About paying homage to the great leaders of the past, the people who shaped our African civilisation. Also, honouring our ancestors, those ritual leaders who have protected us in so many ways. It is a way of seeing where we came from, celebrating that.''

For some who see this new production, it won't be a matter of remembering at all, for everything that unfolds on stage will be a fresh discovery, not just for Western audiences. George is aware of the concept of African culture that assesses it on a naive level without knowing - or understanding the impact - of great chiefs who shaped the political history of the country, of the architects and builders who crafted monuments and cities, the philosophers and artists who affected the way people thought and lived.

Like the complex, shifting rhythms of the drumming and dancing, the history of Zimbabwe, Burkino Faso, Ghana, and Ethiopia is more sophisticated than many realise at first. George laughs when he says of the dancing: ''It's not just jumping, hopping up and down!'' Look closely and you will see the impressive variety of small, detailed syncopation of rhythm and movement that gives each dance its specific character. Likewise, the history of Africa's diverse civilisations is full of individual personalities whose contributions are now absorbed into the general canvass of change and progress.

Secrets of Makaleng hopes to focus attention on such figures, and on the legacy they created. With that in mind, George set about bringing together traditional dances that marked either specific occasions or had a special cultural reference. Adzido is, he explains, a company that specialises in Pan-African dance - their repertoire is already provided with several examples of celebration dances from all over the continent and they have, too, dances of death and burial, war and folklore. But even so, there was a need for thorough field research.

George spent time in different parts of Africa, looking out for dances that would sit well with the scenario that was being scripted for the company. He then brought artists over to England, so that Adzido's dancers and musicians could learn first hand.

You sense how important that is to George and his vision of the company. Since its foundation in 1984, Adzido has worked hard to promote the richness and diversity of Black African culture in a way that would reach audiences of all origin in Britain and beyond. They've explored different ways of present the dance, using elements of contemporary stage design - text and narrative, even film - in order to draw onlookers from other cultures into some kind of understanding and appreciation of the work.

For this production, the company has decided on a framework that involves video and storytelling. ''We use different narratives from the different countries to give each dance the right context,'' says George. ''It makes it dramatic, but also it explains where the dance is coming from, why it is done, what it is really - whether we are trying to praise a chief or tell about the wisdom of a leader. The video gives you details, the story before the dance itself begins - so the dance more or less completes the story for you.''

But even as those various stories unfold, on stage, at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre - where the work is, in fact, having its premiere - other chapters in understanding will be written in the workshops being given by Adzido in local schools.

The company has its own Education Unit that devises programmes for different age and experience levels. They go into schools, colleges, and community projects - usually with the same effect! For once the drums start beating, it's hard for feet, shoulders, bodies, to keep still for long.

n Secrets of Makaleng is at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre, from Thursday to Saturday. Adzido are then at the Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy (October 22), MacRobert Centre, Stirling (23), Old Fruit Market, Glasgow (25).