A conga is a dance in a line: each person holds the person in front — often at the waist or shoulders — and the line snakes around the room to a simple beat. You see it at weddings, parties, and school discos; someone shouts “conga!” and the line grows as more people join. You can also use it as a verb: to conga is to dance in that line. The English word comes from Spanish Congo, a dance named for people from the Congo region of Africa. Though actually, the cheerful party line many students know is a later, lighter party version; it is not a full picture of the older Afro-Cuban dance. The same spelling also names a tall drum, but this entry is the line dance.