The sacred dance

I

Our study is concerned with the “sacred” dance; that this epithet applied to the dance, at any rate during the earlier phases of its history and as still practised among many uncultured and even some semi-cultured peoples to-day, is more than justified, the following pages will, it is hoped, show.

Its extreme importance in the eyes of early man, who regarded it as indispensable at all the crises of life—initiation, puberty, marriage, burial—who used it as one of the essentials in worship, who saw in it a means of propitiating whatever supernatural powers he believed in, a means of communion with the deity, a means of obtaining good crops, fruitful marriages, and of communicating with the departed—to mention only its more important uses, shows that it is a subject worth investigating though the domain it occupies is but a modest one in the great sphere of the history of Religion.

Probably one of the most instructive first-hand pieces of information which we have on the subject is contained in the answers given to Chalmers in reply to questions which he addressed to some natives of New Guinea. He asked “What does the dance signify?” and he got two replies from the natives of the two most important districts of this big island respectively; the first ran thus:

The second was this:

Among other questions he also asked: “Is there any useless dancing?” and the two replies were: “No, the drum is never beaten uselessly”; and: “Dances are never merely useless[1].”

The study of the subject brings out without a shadow of doubt that these answers illustrate what were, and still are to a great extent, the beliefs held in regard to the sacred dance by numbers of peoples in an undeveloped stage of culture. It is a good illustration of what, within a circumscribed area, holds good of the wider study of religions in general, that, as Farnell has so well put it,

A survey over the whole field produces the conviction that the stimuli which, in its beginnings, induced the sacred dance appear to have been what we should now describe as the two prime spiritual and material needs, respectively, of man, viz. the response to his “god,” and the obtaining of food. To early savage man it was not, of course, a god as we understand the word, nor yet even as it would have been understood for millenniums among uncivilized men in remote ages; we merely use the word as a convenient term for expressing a supernatural power, or powers, at first vague, impersonal, “mana[3],” or something of that kind; at any rate, some power beyond the ken of man, of whose existence he had no doubt whatsoever, and to which he was impelled to respond to the best of his very feeble powers. Why he should have chosen this form of response (we are not contending that it was the only form) is a difficult, perhaps an impossible, question to answer, though we shall make the attempt to do so (see pp. 15 ff.); but that he did choose this form all the available evidence goes to show. That the sacred dance should have been believed to be the means of obtaining food is less difficult to understand when one remembers the universal belief in the efficacy of imitative magic among uncivilized men. The natives of New Guinea dance as a means of obtaining a good harvest; but there is evidence for the presumption that early man did the same thing for obtaining food long before harvests existed.

As a means of response to supernatural powers the dance was obviously a sacred act; but the epithet may also be applied, though perhaps in a modified way, to the dance as a means of obtaining food; for the belief in the existence of supernatural powers once attained, the conviction of their intrusion into all the affairs of life would naturally follow, as indeed we know to have been the case. But this implies that savage man believed that these supernatural powers were, in some sense, the givers of food; and this is hardly compatible with the idea that the dance as an act of imitative magic was the means of procuring food—an idea which is abundantly proved by the evidence to exist. If an act of imitative magic, such as the dance, is ipso facto the means of bringing out what it imitates, how can it be said that supernatural powers have anything to do with the matter? And how can the dance in this case be called sacred? It is a question, however, whether there was not a subconscious intention of setting in motion the “machinery” which brought about the thing imitated every time an act of imitative magic was performed. By the “machinery” we mean the active intervention of supernatural powers in an undefined, mysterious way. In this case the dance as a means of obtaining food would likewise be, strictly speaking, a sacred act.

However this may be, there is a large consensus of opinion that the dance in its origin was sacred, and that every other subsequent form of dance was ultimately derived from this. It is true to say that “the ritual or worship dance is the source of all others[4].” One of the earliest modern writers on the subject, de Cahusac, likewise says: “Aussi la danse sacrée est-elle la plus ancienne, et la source dans laquelle on a puisé dans les suites toutes les autres[5].” This point is particularly emphasized because it is only the dance in its sacred aspect that will be dealt with in the following pages.

II

As soon as one attempts to define what dancing in its essence is one realizes the difficulty of doing so. It can be defined in such a number of ways, all of which contain elements of truth; so much depends upon the point of view taken in regard to it. The recording of a number of definitions would be wearisome, Voss alone gives dozens by different people[6]. But one thing which these various definitions teach must be noted and insisted upon: they show that the term “dancing” connotes a great deal more than is attached to it now-a-days. When, for example, de Cahusac rightly defines dancing as “l’art des gestes[7],” it is obvious that these cannot be restricted to the feet or legs. A number of the Egyptian inscriptions make it clear that the arms played as important a part in the dance as the legs; representations of it on Greek pottery show that the motions of the head, and even more of the whole body, are necessary parts in the movements of the dance; among some savages the sacred dance is performed while the legs are more or less still, but the arms and the body are constantly in motion. To make but one reference to modern dancing: in some of the figures of the quadrille the dancers simply advance and recede, and at times they are stationary, merely bowing; yet this all belongs to the dance, and comes under the category of dancing. Crawley truly says that “dancing is an instinctive mode of muscular expression of feeling[8].” If, then, the feelings are restrained the muscular expression may take the form of a staid procession, as seems to be characteristic of the Assyrian sacred dance. We must, therefore, include under the many forms of the sacred dance such as range from a formal procession, stately and measured, to those of the wild orgy in the Dionysiac ritual. As we shall see, the intention which prompts the dance will have a great deal to do with its external form; a fact which gives point to Giraudet’s phrase that “la danse a été l’expression d’un état d’âme[9].”

The wide connotation which must be accorded to the word “dancing” is illustrated by what the Bedouin Arabs understand by it. They are a race which, as is well known, has retained many beliefs, customs, and practices which have been handed down from time immemorial; therefore the evidence afforded by them is valuable. By dance, which they call raḳṣ, they understand every rhythmic movement of hands or feet, whether remaining on the same spot or not[10]. Of them as of all other peoples rhythm is as inseparable from the movements of the dance “as it is from other bodily functions, and therefore belongs to it without saying[11]”; but, as the Arabs show, rhythmic movements can be performed while standing on one spot; emotions can be expressed by the rhythmic movements of the arms and of the body and of the head while the legs may be more or less motionless.

The close, one may almost say the inseparable, connexion between the dance and music is as marked in its sacred as in its secular character. In the first instance it is the rhythmic instinct which demands this, so that among many savages the “music” which accompanies the dance is the mere clapping of hands, or the striking together of pieces of wood, or the beating of the tom-tom, all in rhythmical time. The same is also found among some peoples more advanced on the path of culture, though they usually add the sound of other instruments, among which the flute figures prominently. Singing is, of course, and always has been, another favourite accompaniment to the dance. The Bedouin Arabs accompany their dances by the beating of cymbals or of hand-drums, or by clapping of hands; sometimes singing accompanies the dancing[13]. This was also the case among the Israelites.

III

In the following discussion on the sacred dance we have made the Old Testament our starting-point. In spite of some drawbacks which will become very apparent, this course has its advantages. The Old Testament offers, either explicitly or implicitly, as we hope to show, evidence of the existence among the ancient Israelites of most of the typical sacred dances of antiquity. By “typical” we do not mean dances in their outward form, but in the intention and object for which they were performed. In dealing with sacred dances it is only by considering their intention and purpose that a classification of them can be attempted. The Old Testament gives within the compass of its pages certain points d’appui which afford convenient starting-points for the consideration of these different types of the sacred dance. Then, in each case we go on to the further investigation of these among various other races. From this we are often able to discern, with tolerable probability, the early underlying ideas which prompted the performance of the type of dance in question; for, as may well be supposed, it is not from the Israelites that we can expect to discover, excepting in the one case of the ecstatic dance, the root motives of the different types of the sacred dance. The most promising sphere for the discernment of these is among the uncivilized races; their naïve and unsophisticated naturalness reveals things which a gradually developing civilization obscures. Hence the devoting of a good deal of attention to the sacred dance among savages in the following pages.

Another advantage of using the Old Testament for our various starting-points is that the Israelites were in that stage of culture in which a people still retains many more or less primitive rites and customs while pushing forward on the path of cultural development; so that among them we are in touch with the past and yet experiencing the upward trend that is taking place. Crawley truly says that “it is in the middle stages of culture that dancing is seen at its highest development[14]”; that applies to the Israelites. It is like standing on an eminence and looking behind and before. That has its advantages.

At the same time, we are not blind to the drawbacks involved. For in some important instances the Old Testament is silent. We give reasons which we believe are sufficient to explain this silence. But when a particular type of the sacred dance is not mentioned in the Old Testament it must not be supposed that it did not exist; indirect evidence is forthcoming which makes it highly probable that the reverse is the case. For this reason we shall often refer to post-biblical Jewish custom and practice. Such a thing as the sacred dance is not likely, from the very nature of things, to have been an innovation of later ages; so that its existence in post-biblical times may well be regarded as the continuance of traditional custom; and if so, its existence among the Israelites of Old Testament times may be taken for granted.

Still, we realize the precariousness of seeming, in some cases, to build upon an apparently non-existing foundation; but the risk must be taken, and, as we hope to show, the evidence from subsequent times justifies the risk.

IV

A few words must be said about the sources from which information regarding the sacred dance is to be gained.

(1) There are a certain number of ancient inscriptions of various kinds upon which dancing is represented. On these the dancing is not always of a religious character; but it is not difficult to discern when it is religious and when secular. For example, there is a very valuable fragment of an Egyptian fresco belonging to the 18th dynasty (B.C. 1600-1450) in the British Museum[15], on which two nude women dancers are depicted; the dancing is accompanied by other women, some clapping their hands, and others playing the flute. But another part of the fresco shows clearly enough that the scene represents a banquet during which professional dancing is being performed for the entertainment of the guests. Though it is secular dancing that we have here the inscription is important from the present point of view, because the dancing, which is so graphically depicted, does not differ greatly from that shown on other Egyptian inscriptions, where it is unmistakably sacred. Egyptian inscriptions are those which offer most material here; one or two Hittite and Assyrian inscriptions are also available, and will be described later; but otherwise there is but little to be obtained from this source.

(2) Very prolific, on the other hand, is the second source, in the main, Greek. There are large numbers of vessels of different kinds—vases, bowls, cups, dishes, flasks, jugs, bottles, jars, pitchers, etc., on which dancing is depicted[16]; many of these represent secular dancing; some give dances of a quasi-religious kind, e.g. the dances of satyrs; but most of them depict religious dances, sometimes of gods and goddesses, at others of worshippers dancing in their honour; a very favourite subject is the dancing of Maenads. Belonging to this source are a variety of other kinds of vessels on which sacred dancing is depicted; sometimes the vessel itself is in the form of a sacred dance. Excavations in Cyprus have yielded some interesting material to which more detailed reference will be made below. Some coins have also been found which throw light on the subject. This source is, above all, valuable for showing us the kind of dances in vogue among the ancient Greeks, and bears out the truth of the remark that “the Greek dances may be divided and subdivided ad infinitum[17].”

(3) Our third source also offers abundance of material, viz. ancient literature; this source includes Egyptian literature (the Book of the Dead); the Old Testament and post-biblical Jewish literature; ancient Arabic literature; some of the ancient Church writers; and, above all, Greek and Latin classical authors, quotations from whom would alone fill a small volume.

(4) Lastly, there is modern literature. This must be divided into two classes. The first is a small and very unsatisfactory class: treatises which deal specifically with dancing. We have found this class of literature unsatisfactory for two reasons; first, because there is, comparatively, so little information of a tangible character to be gained from it; and, secondly, because no references are given to authorities, even when cited. Nevertheless, it is only fair to the respective authors to say that they are mainly concerned with modern dancing. As Crawley says, “there are no treatises written on any scientifically comprehensive lines[18].” With one exception, moreover, we have found the articles on the subject in all the well-known English and German Bible Dictionaries of extraordinarily little help. The exception is Hastings’ ERE; here articles by Crawley, Farnell and Blackman have been of real help, and the writer gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to them.

As to the other class of modern literature, it can only be described as limitless; we refer to the vast number of volumes dealing with uncultured races. To mention even a tithe of those which have been used would be out of the question; references to a good many will be found in the following pages. But it is impossible for the present writer not to say how much he owes to the works of Sir J. G. Frazer; without their stimulus these pages would never have been written.

The material contained in this source would fill a number of volumes; we have restricted ourselves to a certain number of more or less typical illustrations chosen from a great mass.

More than a hundred and fifty years ago de Cahusac wrote in the Preface to his Historical Treatise on Dancing: “J’ai traité assez sérieusement un sujet qu’on ne regardera peut-être que comme très-futile.” The present writer hopes and believes that his effort will not be regarded as “très-futile”; for we in these days have come to realize more fully than was possible in the eighteenth century the significance of the well-known words of Terence: