Belly Dancing

 

(First published in Small World Ezine on 1 July 2002)

Nobody was sure what the original purpose of belly dancing was. Probably sexual, probably faithful, or probably pure artistic. I just feel the ability to move one's body like that is amazing. And it should be worth talking about. 

When, where and why are problems. 

Egyptians claimed there were paintings on ancient tombs as old as 14 centuries BC of ladies dancing with costumes and movement similar to today's belly dancing, but the Turks said the dance was introduced to Egypt by Turkish merchants. 

There were many more theories, but all accepted it should be originated within the area of Mediterranean's, Balkans, Middle-East, and North Africa. Today, it went as north as Scandinavia, as west as America, and as east as Japan.

To Greeks, belly dance is the cifte telli; to Turks, rakkase;  to Egyptians, raks sharki. Despite such variety, the belly dance traditions of different cultures share some generally recognized features. 

Good dancers had incredible muscle control - every gesture and posture included the whole body, each movement being a significant expression of love towards the gods.

Throughout the ancient cultures of Greece, Persia, Palestine, and North Africa, sacred dancing was an important part of the fertility. It then became rituals that blended the erotic with the religious. The incredible belly movement is said to be the imposture of child birth. It had probably become erotic when, later, the movement of conception was included.

In Africa and Polynesia dancers of both sexes would gyrate their hips and breasts in an endless variety of postures, to an ecstatic rhythmic beat which developed into a complete erotic dance. The dancing girls of Egypt from the Ghawazee tribe performed unveiled in the public streets to amuse the rabble. In India the symbolic movement of the dancers was not only an art but an act of worship. In Turkey, it was first perform in temples but became so erotic that several of the temple dancers had turned prostitutes for greater pay. In Persia, belly dance was performed only privately, among women. 

It was not intended for male viewing pleasure. 

The common practice among traditional belly dancers of dancing barefoot also connects the dance to ancient practice. 

Barefoot dancers remain in physical touch with the earth, while defying modern stereotypes of eroticism. And emphasizing the flow and ripple of belly muscles and the 
sway of the hips, belly dance is not based on patterns of steps, as in Western dance, but on continuous movement. 

Today, belly dance takes many forms. Some belly dance remains highly traditional, some employ Westernized music. 

In whatever form it expresses itself today, it is not arguable that belly dance is one of the world’s strongest and most vital links to an ancient heritage. 

More:

I used to see the belly dancing many times in my life. Most of which in Turkish restaurants here and there. We know those were not real. However, the memorable one was in Egypt. I took a night dinner cruise in the Nile. And the dance was arranged for tourists. The cruise's dancer was just an amateur. But there happened to be a retired dancer on board and she could not help showing tourists how the REAL thing looked like! I could not believe my luck that night. I was told that the real belly dance was performed in places not appropriate for girls to go. Now the real dancer was showing her magnificent moves in front of my eyes! 

For me it's not erotic at all. The lady worked hard practicing all these. If ballet, with that many touching between male and female dancers is defined as an art, belly 
dancing, without any touch at all, should be too. And how about the Hula dance of Hawaii? With lots of similar tummy moves, is it an art? Oh who am I to say? I am a woman  anyway. If there was anything sexual in the dance I saw, I have already missed it.