History of Belly Dance
Where did this erotic dance come from and how has it changed through history?
Perhaps a story from the Westcar Papyrus in the British Museum from Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (around 2000 BCE) can shed some light on its origins:
“Long ago, when Cheops[1] ruled the Nile, the god Ra summoned his two most powerful goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, the goddess of childbirth, Tawaret, and the ancient frog-headed goddess of fertility, Heket. He gathered them together and said,
“Travel and deliver Redjedet of the 3 children in her womb, who are destined to rule Egypt, that they might build your temples, supply your alters and make you great offerings.”
So the deities set forth, disguised as dancing-girls. They found the woman’s husband at the door, his loincloth disheveled. They presented their menet-collars and sistrum as tokens of the goddess Hathor, and the man exclaimed,
“My mistresses, look. There is a woman here in labor who suffers!”
And they replied, “Let us see her, for we know midwifery.”
So he said, “Come.”
Yet even before Cheops and the Great Pyramid, there were dancing-girls in Egypt. The Brooklyn Museum of Art has a predynastic terra-cotta statue of a dancing girl that's nearly 6000 years old. Dancing has always been a part of life in the Middle East, as it was also once a part of death. State funeral processions were only complete in ancient Egypt if dancing-girls were among the mourners. Dancers participated in many religious ceremonies. Even a passage in Exodus in the Old Testament called for dancing, to praise “He whose name can not be spoken.”
We don't know, however, if their ancient dances resembled what is done in Egypt today. The Persians, Greeks, Romans and nomadic Arabian tribes who conquered the pharaohs all left their marks on its culture and dance. And these invaders came before the most important trespassers of all. First came the Ottoman Empire. When the Turks conquered Egypt in 1517, they brought with them rhythms (the chiftitelli, for example) and musical scales from Anatolia, India and other places along the Silk Road.
Then came the French and the Americans who shaped the dance as we know it today. They were, after all, the ones who named it –la danse du ventre, belly dancing. First came the French. When Napoleon invaded Cairo in 1798, he brought with him French Revolutionary thought and the European way of life. He also sparked large scale Western interest in the area. The scientists, artists and journalists who accompanied him sent back captivating stories about the region. And although Napoleon’s military expedition was a disaster, his non-violent scholars left a lasting impression on Cairo’s intellectuals. ...
Interested in the rest? Join us for unseen footage, old images, and long lost texts. BYOB. Bring your own beverage of choice. Click on the picture or below for tickets:
https://serpentine-dance.square.site/product/history-of-belly-dance-lecture
