A Brief History of the Art of Belly Dance

Belly Dance is known by the French as ‘danse du ventre’(dance of the stomach), by the Greeks as Ciftetelli’, by the Turks as ‘rakkase’ and by the Egyptians as ‘raks sharki’. It is among one of the greatest art forms that has been characterized as the ‘divine feminine power’ associated with the cult of fertility in ancient times.

Karol Henderson Harding in her work ‘The Origins of Oriental Dance’ states that, ‘it is impossible to completely separate the history of belly dance from Gypsies, Spanish dance, Indian dance, and Persian dance. She also adds that ‘it is easy to see how the sensual dances which originated with Greek mystery rites and comedy dances, where the dancer might have also played a type of cymbal or clapper, traveled to Spain where it became what is today Flamenco, and that another form of this dance developed throughout the Middle and Near East as what we call belly dance. Both types of dance are also associated with the Gypsies, who came out of India, through Persia, and spread, by the Middle Ages throughout Europe.

Not many people can really understand the true meaning that lies behind oriental dance since the real story of belly dance and its symbolic significance are unknown. Belly dance has primordially been the symbol of feminine divinity in its essence; the fact that women have the ability to give birth became a ritual of celebrating and honoring the fertility cult in the name of goddesses like Aphrodite, Artemis, Isis, Ishtar, Hathor, Salabhanjika (ancient tree deity of fertility), Venus and the list goes on.

Today, many pregnant women practice belly dance under the supervision of experts due to its beneficiary factors. Belly dance was itself considered sacred by women who practiced the ‘birthing ritual’ and it was not intended to be seen by men at all. Furthermore, Karol Henderson mentioned that dancers are invited to Berber tribal birthing ceremonies whereby women are gathered in a tent while the men wait outdoors and the mother is surrounded by concentric circles of women who dance with repeated abdominal movements while she gave birth. It is still believed to be auspicious for newly wedded couples to hire a belly dancer for their wedding and to take a picture with their hands on the belly dancer’s stomach.

Armen Ohanian a Persian dancer relates that, ‘in this olden Asia which has kept the dance in its primitive purity, it represents maternity, the mysterious conception of life, the suffering and the joy with which a new soul is brought into the world.’

Generally, eastern dance is called the ‘muscle dance’. Oriental dance has its focus on the abdominal muscle, hip moves and chest moves. It is firm and earthy, with bare feet connected to the ground, connecting the dancer to Mother Earth. It is a dance characterized by smooth, flowing, complex and sensual movements of the torso alternated with shaking and shimmy-type movements.

The Beginning of Belly Dance

Women who have the ability to give birth to a child, were indeed regarded as very pious. Girls practiced sacred dancing which featured the abdomen; the source of goddesses’ fertility at temples. They were sent to the temple as the result of their pious vow and practiced sacred rituals to the extent that they were ‘married’ to the temple deity.

Karol Henderson Harding states that, ‘in Sparta, girls and young women came to the shrine of Artemis and performed unrestrained, ecstatic dances to the goddess wearing "only one chiton", that is what was normally their underdress. There were also maiden priestesses in Asia Minor, engaged in ‘ecstatic dance’ in honor of Artemis and goddess Athena as well. There were also mysteries celebrated in honor of Aphrodite, goddess of human love and fertility on the island of Cyprus. ‘

In some instances, music and dance were used as a form of healing the spirit and body; this was basically practiced by the ‘trance dance cults’ which still exist in many parts of Middle East. The cults practice healing dance in Greece, Thrace, Syria, Phrygia and Asia Minor in general. They were characterized by the stirring accompaniment of shrill flutes, tympana, metal cymbals, and castanets of wood, earthenware or metal. They also used snakes for prophesying.

The use of props in the dance such as snakes, swords, veils, and candles were believed to have magical protective functions for primitive people that can still be found in the folk dances of these countries - basically in the Middle East. The snake is a symbolic animal which represented both male and female principles and also immortality.

It has also been noted that in ancient India around the 9th and 10th centuries, there was the practice of temple dance; virgin girls also known as devadasies married to the temple deity and offered their services to the temple. Even during the Mughal era, the institution of dancing girls maintained. There were the non-temple dances that were known as ‘tavaifs’ who were considered as sophisticated courtesans and repositories of culture and refinement. They were, however,’ married’ to the trees and flowers just like the devadasies who were married to temple deity. Eventually, these dancers were to be known as ‘Bayaderes’ which would be sent to Egypt and its neighboring countries. It should also be noted that there is a link between Northern Indian dance and Persian dance. It is important to highlight that over time, sacred ritual practices were degraded by the upper classes of the ancient society. There were many who took advantages of the dancers.

Likewise, Egypt had its own legacy of the temple dance. It is believed that it was the goddess Isis who introduced dance to Egypt. Susan Rueppel pointed out that ‘Hathor of Egypt, Goddess of the moon and mistress of the dance, played a sistrum (an ancient percussion instrument) and was goddess of music and dancing, leading the priestesses in temple rituals of music and dance. Some of these dances were rituals as a prayer for fruitfulness. Hathor was the protector of pregnant women and childbirth. The sistrum frequencies were thought to be a focussing tool for transcendence.’

Harem women and society ladies who were known as the ‘adorned ones’ were instructed by choirmasters and mistresses of dance as part of their education. Some were able to play lute, lyre, the harp, the sistra and menit which were religious instruments. Those who specialized in dance had a definitive system for choreography. There were steps and gestures such as ‘the calf, the successful capture in the boat, the leading along of an animal, the four capture of the beauty, the taking of the gold and the colonnade.’

Historically, the eastern civilizations were much more sophisticated and organized. They were not only exchanging goods but learning and exchanging cultures as well. The Indian temple dancers (the Bayaderes) were sent to Egypt on certain occasions to present their dance. Ancient Egyptians were said to be influenced by many cultures like those of the Phoenicians, Persians, Assyrians, Syrians, Nubian, the Sudanese, Ethiopian and that of the Bedouins. Foreign customs and wealth poured into Egypt. It is mentioned in ancient documents that the dances were becoming less like marches and more elegant- 'the line flow softly and pleasantly, nowhere do they bend sharply or break; and even where the mood is impetuous and impassioned, the movements remain close.’

In 30 B.C, Egypt became a Roman province. However, just as Egypt was influenced by several cultures, the Egyptian culture had a strong influence on the Roman Empire. Marcus Valerius Martialis, a Roman poet and writer at the end of the first century A.D mentioned that dancers from the Nile were often sent to Rome .

While coming to an understanding of belly dance, it is important to discern that the ancient societies were mostly patriarchal and the dance was intentionally suppressed to marginalize the cult of fertility and ‘feminine power’. Careful analysis and observation shows quite clearly that as society and patriarchy prevailed, women became subordinate. This patriarchy went so far as to call the “fertility cult” a form of witchcraft. Honoring plants or female deities (which represented women’s attributes like compassion, affection, motherly love, and ‘feminine power) were considered ‘magic’ and were discouraged as negative.

There is so much more to belly dancing than one would initially think. The true meaning of belly dance is certainly understood when one dances with his or her whole entity; when one is able to feel the ambiance of the ancient times and comes into or reaches a feeling of mysticism and spiritualism.

This beautiful and ancient dance had a major role in fertility, whereby feminine power was honored and celebrated. Today, many belly dancers around the world are sharing and spreading their love for this art form through their own cultural expeiences. You should too! Its “in” all of us...

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