Music (continued)

Part VII: Dance - Folk Dancing, Court Entertainment, and Sufi Religious Dancing

Introduction: Just as with music, there are different views that Muslims have about dancing. To some, there should be no dancing at all. They see music and dancing as moving toward sin. To others, folk dancing just between men or just between women is fine, but not between mixed couples or in front of the opposite sex. They also would criticise dancing as is popular with youth in the United States, for example, as very wrong and too sexy. Others have no objection to watching professional dancers, but "good Muslims" would not do that. And in contrast, some Muslims saw music and dancing as a way to become closer to Allah. Throughout the history of Islam, there have been times of greater acceptance or rejection of dance.

One story that shows this difference is from Sa'adi, a Persian poet who wrote about a band of travelers who came upon a boy who danced beautifully. All were awed (amazed) by his talents, except a man who complained that dancing was wrong. But his camel, too, lifted his feet in dance and threw the rider to the ground. Those around said that even God's creatures could enjoy the dance, so why couldn't he!

A. Traditional Folk Dances

Student performance, University of Montreal

Folk dances have been part of all the cultures that later became Muslim. Because they were so popular and so much a part of the culture, Islam was not able to stop people from dancing entirely, but Islam did influence some behaviors. Most traditional folk dances, however, were with separate groups of men or women, not mixed. Therefore, they were not considered too "nasty". Some of the folk dances celebrated the achievements of the warriors. Some dances were originally to celebrate nature or agriculture: the planting season, the end of harvests, the change of seasons. Others were to celebrate rites of passage in a person's life: weddings, circumcisions, or births.

• Sword dance of Arabia - men's dance (shown above) and another men's dance were (and still are) popular in the Middle East.
• Traditional Music and Dance in the United Arab Emirates tells about the three types of instruments and the traditional dances. One dance is with two to four rows of male dancers who simulate (act out) a battle scene with their sticks as swords. They moving forwards and backwards alternately signifying victory and defeat. In between them, there are groups of people carrying the drums or Tubool as well as other musical instruments. In another dance women perform by tossing their hair about their heads in big circles. See the image of the dancers at a cultural presentation below. Click on the picture below to get a larger view.

From UAE site.

Above, the "Saudi Arabian Folk Dancers -- ArabNet" also shows the separation of men and women in folk dancing. See another dance like this (called Ayyala) from the UAE.

Egyptian Cane Dance

Women enjoyed singing and dancing by themselves. A nice miniature painting (1832) entitled "Evening in Algiers" shows three women sitting and enjoying music.

Muhammad Racin. Detail from "Evening in Algiers". 1832. Miniature. From Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World, by Wendy Buonaventura.

B. Court Dancing as Entertainment for the Rich in the Middle Ages

Dancing, singing and instrumental music were all part of the court entertainment of the sultan and his guests in Turkey, Egypt, Spain, and Persia. In some periods of history, slave women (not Muslims) went to school to learn how to dance, sing and entertain. Because they were not Muslims, they were not expected to be as "modest" in dress and movement. Men also danced to entertain. In general, professional dancers were looked down upon in Muslim society.

 

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The image above is from Persia (Iran) (Duke Univ.) ... Right: Turkish Dancers "Minyat" c. 1500 (Topkapi Collection)

Go to Part One: Middle Eastern Music

Go to Page Two: Were Music and Dance Sinful?

Go to Page Three: Secular (non-religious) Music

Go to Page Four: Musical Instruments (1) for string instruments

Go to Page Five: Musical Instruments (2) for wind & percussion instruments

You are here at Page Six: Dance

Go to Page Seven: Religious Dancing of the Sufi Muslims