THE SACRED DANCE
A STUDY IN COMPARATIVE FOLKLORE

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
C. F. CLAY, Manager
LONDON: FETTER LANE, E.C. 4

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE SACRED DANCE
A STUDY IN COMPARATIVE FOLKLORE

By
W. O. E. OESTERLEY, D.D.
Vicar of St Alban’s, Acton Green, W.
Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of London

CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1923

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

PREFACE

The following study is an attempt to estimate the part played by the Sacred Dance among the peoples of antiquity as well as among the uncultured races in modern times; to account for its origin; to note the occasions on which it was performed; and to indicate the purposes of its performance.

The subject is more complicated than would appear at first sight; for while the fact of its universal prevalence among all races at one time or another of their cultural development shows how essential a rite it was, its origin is obviously veiled in obscurity seeing that it developed in prehistoric times. So that in seeking to throw light on the question of its origin one has to try to get at the back of the mind of the savage, and envisage things from his point of view; but that mind represents a complex of such crass and illogical elements that one may easily be led astray.

The purpose of the Sacred Dance, again, presents us with another set of problems; for while in some cases this is clear enough, in others there are alternatives which suggest themselves; and, further, it is probable that a variety of motives not infrequently prompted its performance. To disentangle these is not always easy.

On the other hand, the interest of the subject from the human point of view is great; for, as an indispensable rite at all the crises of life, it was evidently a means of emotional outlet. From the psychological standpoint, therefore, its prevalence is not without importance. Indeed, it will probably be thought that from the psychological side the subject is inadequately treated in the following pages. And this is true, though it does receive some attention; but in extenuation it must be said that the writer’s main object has been merely to give some account of the Sacred Dance as a widespread rite; and he feels that its treatment from the psychological aspect would best be left to one who is an expert in psychology.

That the Old Testament figures somewhat prominently in the following pages is partly due to the fact that the writer has made a special study of this body of literature, and it seemed wise to start from that with which he was most conversant; but there is the further reason, as is pointed out in the introductory chapter, that the Old Testament offers, in most cases, an exceedingly convenient starting-point from which to study the various “types” of sacred dance.

The writer desires to express his thanks to Dr Jevons, Dr Lukyn Williams, and Dr S. A. Cook for a number of helpful suggestions, to Miss Bevan for reading through the proofs, and his warm appreciation of the kindness and courtesy of the Secretary of the University Press.

The minute care taken in pointing out oversights in the correction of proofs, as well as other slips, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Finally, the writer would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Curator of the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities in the British Museum for his ready help in arranging for the photographing of the Greek Vase, representing a Maenad dancing in honour of Dionysos, which is reproduced on the cover of this book.

W. O. E. O.

St Alban’s Vicarage,
Bedford Park.

February 1923.

CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS

DB. Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible.

EB. Cheyne’s Encyclopaedia Biblica.

ERE. Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.

GB. Frazer’s The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (3rd edition).

JE. The Jewish Encyclopaedia.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY

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:

When they dance all the spirits rejoice, as do all the people. When dancing, all food grows well; but when not dancing, food grows badly. No drums are beaten uselessly [the drum-beating is the invariable accompaniment to dancing, one implies the other]. When anyone dies drums are beaten to comfort friends.

The second was this:

Drum-beating and dancing are a sign of rejoicing and thanksgiving, in order that by so doing there may be a large harvest. If the dancing is not given there will be an end to the good growth; but if it is continued, all will go well. People come in from other villages and will dance all night. There will be several feasts during the time, and each leader of the dance will pray and thank the spirits for the good harvest.

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,

all through the present societies of savage men there prevails an extraordinary uniformity, in spite of much local variation, in ritual and mythology, a uniformity so striking as to suggest belief in an ultimately identical tradition, or, perhaps more reasonably, the psychologic theory that the human brain-cell in different races at the same stage of development responds with the same religious speech or the same religious act to the same stimuli supplied by its environment[2].

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 human instinct of play,” says Crawley, “is closely connected with the human love of excitement. The dance satisfies both, and its rhythmical character also makes it suitable for the expression of the most solemn and controlled emotions. It is at once the servant of Apollo and of Dionysus[12].”

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:

Homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum puto.

CHAPTER II
THE ORIGIN AND PURPOSES OF THE SACRED DANCE

I

In his thoughtful and very suggestive volume, The Threshold of Religion, Marett makes the assumption that

an inductive study of the ideas and customs of savagery will show, firstly, that an awareness of a fundamental aspect of life and of the world, which aspect I shall provisionally term “supernatural,” is so general as to be typical, and, secondly, that such an awareness is no less generally bound up with a specific group of vital reactions (p. 124).

Every student of such ideas and customs must know how thoroughly justified this assumption is. In studying the particular custom, and the ideas connected with it, with which we are here concerned, we find that this “awareness of the supernatural,” together with the “vital reactions,” are, at any rate in the earlier stages of its history, invariably present. That much, at all events, we have to go upon in seeking a theory as to the origin of the sacred dance. To account for its origin is, however, difficult; that is fully realized; and the present writer would desire to lay stress on the fact that as in seeking such origin he is largely in the domain of speculation and theory, nothing is further from his mind than to be dogmatic. The whole subject of the sacred dance has been so little dealt with excepting as a mere rite, that one is to a great extent on new ground; one must, therefore, be quite prepared to be convicted of fallacies.

That the sacred dance originated in prehistoric times goes without saying; but this means that no proofs can be adduced in support of any theory as to its origin; it must be a question of probabilities; perhaps only of possibilities. What is, however, certain is that since the sacred dance originated at a time when man was in a very primitive stage of culture, what first induced him to perform it must have been something very naïve and childlike. That, presumably, everyone would agree with. Now, there is no sort of doubt that one of the most ingrained characteristics of human nature is the imitative propensity. This is more pronounced in the child than in the grown man; and what holds good of the individual applies also to the race; the more uncultured man is, the more does he, mentally, approximate to the child; so that the further back we go in the history of the race, the more pronounced and childlike will be that imitative propensity. As Crawley has reminded us[19], Aristotle maintained that dancing is imitative; and in all its forms it is an artistic imitation of physical movement expressive of emotions or ideas. Rightly or wrongly, then, we believe that the sacred dance owes its origin to this imitative propensity in man.

Now, in the animistic stage what first suggested the presence of life in anything was movement. The cause of the movement was neither understood nor enquired into. A tree, swayed by the wind, moved; therefore it was alive. But it would not strike a more or less primitive savage that it was the wind which caused the movement. What he would instinctively have recognized was that here was something which he did not understand; and therefore there was a mystery about it which inspired awe. So, too, with streams, and rivers, and the sea; they were alive because they had motion. In course of time this would be modified in so far that the belief arose that the tree or stream contained life because of an indwelling spirit which caused the movement, thus indicating its presence; but even so, it would have been difficult for the savage to draw a distinction between the two at first. Whether the same course of savage “reasoning” will apply in regard to the sun, moon, and, later, to the stars, in the earlier stages of the period when he first began to take “reasoning” note of his surroundings, is doubtful; for it is probable that he looked around and downwards before he looked upwards. At any rate, sooner or later he would have realized that they too moved, and that therefore they were alive, either themselves, or animated by something, more probably by somebody. Thus motion, movement, which, on the analogy of man himself, was believed to denote life, was the first thing which the savage mind connected with supernatural powers[20].

We suggest, then, that the origin of the sacred dance was the desire of early man to imitate what he conceived to be the characteristic of supernatural powers. Not that this was, in the first instance, a dance in the generally accepted sense of the word; but merely a movement, whether in the form of the swaying of the body in imitation of trees, or a single-file running in imitation of a stream, or a more boisterous movement in imitation of the waves of the sea or of a storm-swept lake. The innate tendency to rhythmic motion would soon have asserted itself, and primitive dance, in the more usual sense, would result. But it would be a sacred dance in so far that it was performed in imitation of some supernatural power, vague and originally impersonal, as it undoubtedly was; to honour such by an imitative dance denotes a religious intention.

The reasonable objection will be urged that it was not only things which “moved” that early man regarded as living or as indwelt by a spirit, but that stones, for example, were among the very early things which were treated with veneration because they were believed to be the abodes of spirits; these did not move, so that the suggested theory of the origin of the sacred dance breaks down here. But when one seeks to penetrate the mind of uncultured man and to get behind his mental outlook, and especially when one contemplates the working of the child-mind which offers so many analogies with, and illustrations of that of the mentally immature savage, one becomes convinced that this veneration of stones, early as it was in the history of religion, was later than that of things which move. And the reason of this is simple; a moving thing attracts attention before that which does not move; that lies in the nature of things alike with the child and the savage mind. When once the moving things are believed to be the abodes of spirits, and the existence of these is universally recognized, then the further step that they exist in other things follows easily and naturally. We are thinking of the time when as yet early man was only impressed by those things which, because of their motion, attracted his attention.

Réville says that

the dance was the first and chief means adopted by prehistoric humanity of entering into active union with the deity adored. The first idea was to imitate the measured movements of the god, or at any rate what were supposed to be such. Afterwards this fundamental motive was forgotten, like so many other religious forms which tradition and habit sustained even when the spirit was gone[21].

We entirely agree; but the question is whether this does not represent a later stage in the religion of prehistoric humanity. Must there not have been a prior stage in which a less concrete idea of supernatural powers obtained? What induced the supposition that the god performed “measured movements”? And what would have been thought to be the form of these movements? Mr Marett, in the first essay of the volume already referred to, brings forward incontrovertible arguments, as it seems to us, for believing that there was a stage in the mental and religious development of man in which he was not yet capable of other than a vague sense of the supernatural; in which he had not yet associated definite spirits or ghosts with what he conceived to be supernatural phenomena; but in which the sense of mystery and consequently of awe in face of these supernatural phenomena filled his heart. This is also dealt with in the fourth essay: “The Conception of Mana.” It is in this stage that we would locate the origin of the sacred dance, performed in imitation of what were the movements of supernatural powers, but powers of the vaguest kind; merely a something, unknown, mysterious, and therefore to be feared; but associate yourself with it, and already you are in an indefinable way in communion with it; you have in some sense made friends with it, which makes things safer. “Given the supernatural in any form there are always two things to note about it: firstly, that you are to be heedful in regard to it; secondly, that it has power[22].” So that what Réville says is true, but it must be referred to a later stage of religious development.

Another consideration in connexion with the origin of the sacred dance must be briefly dealt with. Many savage peoples trace the origin of their sacred dances to various animals by which, as they maintain, they were taught to dance; therefore they imitate, in their dances, the movements of these animals. Thus, for example, we have kangaroo-dances, dog-dances, and cassowary-dances among the Monumbo of New Guinea[23]; bear-dances among the Carrier Indians[24], the Gilyaks (in Eastern Siberia), the women of Kamtchatka[25], and others. It may, therefore, be urged that the sacred dance originated in this way. But apart from other arguments, it will suffice to point out that to early man the sight of animals was probably so much in the natural order of things that there was nothing about them to strike him; in any case there was nothing supernatural or mysterious about them, nothing to be afraid about in the sense of fear inspired by the unknown. Such being the case there would have been no reason to imitate their movements, as there was in the case of what were to early man those mysterious powers whose movements he could not explain. The connexion of animals with gods, and the belief in descent from animals belong to subsequent ages; such conceptions necessitate reflexion during long periods of time. Therefore it cannot have been in imitation of animals that the sacred dance took its origin.

The theory as to the origin of the sacred dance suggested may or may not commend itself; but that it took its rise from supernatural powers of some sort seems certain; and this is supported by the belief of many savage peoples that their sacred dances were originally taught them by their gods[26]. The ancient Greeks also held that their sacred dances were performed in imitation of gods and goddesses. The Pyrrhic dance was said to have been the invention of the Dioscuri by some; others attributed it to Athena. Again, Artemis, Dionysos, and Zeus himself, were all believed to have set men the example of dancing. Ḥatḥor among the Egyptians and Baal-Marqôd among the Phoenicians are other examples. Is it not quite conceivable that this echoes what obtained in more primitive times?

II

We come now to consider the purposes of the sacred dance.

The whole idea and object of dancing, among civilized peoples, has now become so purely a matter of pastime and enjoyment that it is, at first, difficult to realize its very serious aspect among men in past ages, and among uncivilized races to-day. It may be true enough that dancing has always been a means of exercise and pleasure[27]; but from the earliest historical times—and, judging from what can be gathered from its very widespread practice among all known races of uncivilized men, the same is probably true of remote prehistoric times—this purpose has always been subordinated to religious uses primarily. There are, it is true, many instances among savages at the present day of dances being nothing more than a means of exercise and enjoyment; but it is not too much to assert that in every case the elimination of the religious element is due to extraneous influences. This is vividly illustrated in Polynesia, for example.

“Polynesian dancing,” writes Mr Macmillan Brown, “has advanced far on the road to conventionalism. It has shed much of its pantomimic purpose and its religious meaning, and in this it reveals the collision of two or more cultures. In a region marked by so much that is so highly primitive, nothing but the clash of different religious systems could explain its divorce from rites and ceremonies and its appearance as an almost purely secular art, intended to amuse and delight an assembly of spectators.”

The same writer shows that the character of the dancing among them presents the proof of its originally purely religious purpose; for

it is not like European dancing, a harmony of “twinkling feet.” It is wholly occupied in posturing, waving the arms and bending the body, as if before a shrine. It is the upper part of the body that is chiefly engaged. Where the feet come in, it is only to effect the occasional advances or retreats, as if to or from the altar, or in the resounding thud of the war-dance. The Polynesian dance is oftenest stationary[28].

At the same time it would be a mistake to suppose that all religious dancing was necessarily of this more or less stationary character; we shall refer to examples of a very different kind below; but it is well to emphasize the truth that all dancing was originally religious, and was performed for religious purposes.

Of course it often happens that the different objects of the dance coalesce; religious and secular, or religious and utilitarian, or more than one religious purpose, being combined in the same dance; this, as we shall see, is illustrated in Israelite practice. Nevertheless, it is very certain that in numberless instances all feelings of enjoyment had ceased though the dance continued hour after hour because it was believed that a sacred duty was being performed thereby. The young North American Dakotahs, for example, did not go on dancing for a couple of days because they were so enamoured of it; nor was it for pastime that the Thyiads danced on madly in honour of Dionysos until they dropped to the ground unconscious. The reasons which made this sort of thing necessary are absurd to us, but from the point of view of antique thought it was a very serious and solemn matter.

It is this serious aspect of our subject upon which stress must be laid because now-a-days we naturally think of dancing as mere enjoyment and pastime. Some of the dances and their objects, and the ways in which they are performed, among savages are so funny that they would, we imagine, provoke a smile on the face of a sphinx, were it capable of doing such a thing; but while, at times, we cannot resist a laugh, we shall do well to remember that it was far from being a laughing matter to the savage; to do him justice we must seek to get to the back of his mind, to enter into his feelings, and to look at things through his eyes; then it will be realized what the sacred dance meant to him, and its essential seriousness will become apparent.

What the sacred dance meant not only to uncivilized men, but also to the most cultured races of antiquity, will be seen from the purposes for which it was performed. These we will now briefly enumerate.

(a) It was, first and foremost, performed for the purpose of honouring what were regarded as supernatural powers[29]. In the pre-animistic stage these powers were entirely vague and undefined; in the animistic stage they developed into spirits, some benevolent, others maleficent, powerful for good or evil. Later they became gods and goddesses. Why dancing was a means of honouring these supernatural, later superhuman, powers was for these reasons: It was supposed to be an act of imitation, and therefore flattering to the higher power (the imitative propensity in man has already been referred to). Secondly, by “taking it out of yourself” in the presence of the power or deity you were offering something in the nature of a propitiation, whether as a gift or as an act of self-sacrifice; in either case it would be honouring the higher power. This taking it out of oneself in honour of a spirit or a god is an interesting phenomenon, and in one form or another has asserted itself throughout the history of religion. It is the earliest form of what in course of time showed itself in such things as self-castigation and self-mortification; its extreme form being the love of martyrdom; for to whatever degree the cult of self may have entered into these things, it would be grossly unfair not to recognize that they were believed to be pleasing in the sight of the deity, and that they were, therefore, done with a view to honouring him.

(b) Psychologically connected with the foregoing we have as another purpose of the sacred dance that of “showing-off” before a higher power. One must enter into the child-mind in order to grasp what a real thing this is. The close analogy between the way-of-thinking in the child and in the more or less primitive savage has already been referred to, and is recognized on all hands. Here are two cases of great interest which vividly illustrate the point under consideration. The present writer vouches for the literal truth of each. A little girl, not exceeding five years, was dancing before a picture of the Madonna and Child; after her dance she turned to her mother and said: “Do you think the Baby Jesus liked to see me dance?” It is not quite easy to say in this case in how far the purpose was to please the “Baby Jesus,” and in how far the perfectly natural and innocent purpose was to “show off” before Him; probably both motives were combined. But the second is purely one of “showing off.” A child of about three, a boy this time, kept on jumping as high as he could in the fields; presently his father heard him say: “See, God, how high I can jump!” We could hardly have more delightful and instructive illustrations of the innate desire, common to the child and to man of immature mental development, to show what they can do in the sight of their betters. So that we may justly reckon among the purposes of the sacred dance this desire to “show off” before a superhuman power, or what is conceived to be such.

(c) Next; the honour done to the higher power by means of imitation had, in the eyes of uncivilized man, some important consequences which offer further reasons why the sacred dance was performed. Just as in imitative magic the thing imitated was thereby effected, so by imitating the supernatural power the imitator conceived himself to be making himself one with him who was imitated. This purpose of the sacred dance would not, however, have belonged to the earliest stage, for it presupposes the recognition of personality in the supernatural power, and that points to a distinct advance; and the possibility is worth contemplating as to whether, and in how far, the sacred dance may have contributed to this advance. At any rate, this idea that an undefined union was brought about by means of the sacred dance seems to be the precursor of the more developed form of the same idea that union could be brought about by personating a god or a goddess. When, for example, men and women, by disguising themselves as horses, cats, pigs, or hares, personated Demeter and Persephone, and danced in their honour, they believed that they were, in some inexplicable way, united with these goddesses. In the earlier stage, by imitating what a god does, i.e. dancing, union with him is effected; in the later stage, the like result is achieved by imitating what he is, and dancing in that guise. At the bottom of all this lies the principle which looms so large in savage philosophy that “like produces like,” i.e. sympathetic magic which assumes that

things act on each other at a distance through a secret sympathy, the impulse being transmitted from one to the other by means of what we may conceive as a kind of invisible ether, not unlike that which is postulated by modern science for a precisely similar purpose, namely, to explain how things can physically affect each other through a space which appears to be empty[30].

As is well known, a more pronounced and realistic means of union was that of eating the flesh or drinking the blood of a sacrificial victim which represented the god; by receiving the god into himself a man became identified with the god. So that we have in the course of the development of religious thought and practice, in a materialistically ascending scale, three means whereby union with a supernatural power was believed to be effected: imitation, personation, and the act which produced identification. But the important point for our present purpose, and it is one which needs emphasis, is that over and over again it is found that the two latter rites (i.e. those of personation and of absorbing the god) are accompanied by the sacred dance as a necessary adjunct. It may be argued that this is merely done on the principle of making certainty doubly certain; but it is at least possible that we have here a case of the retention of the earliest rite simply because it is the earliest. We are bound to look for great naïveté in considering the ideas and practices of backward races—and, indeed, not only backward races where religious rites are concerned;—and if, in course of time, new means suggested themselves of uniting oneself with a god or goddess, it is quite in accordance with what we know of uncivilized man to suppose that he continued the older method side by side with the newer ones, even though there was not much meaning attached to it.

This theory that one of the earliest purposes of the sacred dance was to imitate what supernatural powers did, and that this imitation was believed to be the means of union with this supernatural being (as it came to be), receives some support and confirmation from what we know to have been the purpose of the ecstatic dance.

(d) Uncultured man believed that by dancing to such an extent that he became unconscious he was not only doing something that was honouring to the deity, not only offering something in the nature of sacrifice, but that, he was, above all, making his body a fit temporary abode for his god. He did not enquire how this came about. Conceivably, the earliest idea, though unexpressed, was that by honouring the god to this extent the god showed his approval by uniting himself with his dancing worshipper. The earlier widespread belief that the deity took up his abode at certain times in trees, stones, etc., may well have suggested the possibility of the same thing occurring in men, but more especially in those more intimately and directly dedicated to his worship. The question would have arisen as to the means to be employed whereby this end could be achieved in the case of men; and as dancing was the earliest form of worship this would have been the most natural means to suggest itself. The dance would then proceed; during it the performers would be anxiously awaiting some inner indication of the entrance of the deity; nothing, of course, would happen until the long-continued dance would induce first giddiness, then semi-consciousness, and finally a state of semi-delirium ending not infrequently in total unconsciousness for some time. But it is easy to understand that the first signs of semi-consciousness would have been interpreted as the advent of the deity and the beginnings of the divine overpowering. Given belief in the possibility of divine indwelling in a man, the further belief that the god utilized his worshipper as his mouthpiece was a natural and easy transition. Natural, because it could not be supposed that the god would take up his abode in a man without some purpose, and what more obvious purpose than that of making his will known? Easy, because the mechanism, if one may so call it, of utterance was all ready to hand. Other things would follow, also in the natural course; for if, on the one hand, the god utilized the body of his worshipper as the vehicle for making his will known, the worshipper could, on the other hand, utilize the divine power with which he was suffused for other purposes. Thus, for example, we have the Hebrew prophet who, in an ecstatic state, utters the will of Jahwe, or gives an oracle; or, as illustrating the other side, we have the Bodo-priest “devil-dancer” of Southern India who utilizes the divine power within him for working cures.

But whatever the result might be, the important thing from our present point of view is that the requisite state required for the accomplishment of these things was brought about by the performance of the sacred dance.

The ecstatic dance will receive a good deal of notice below ([pp. 107 ff.]), so that we need not say more about it here.

(e) Another purpose of the sacred dance was to make the crops grow, or of helping, or inducing the god to do so. From one point of view here the sacred dance was an act of imitative magic. Thus, by a dance in which the chief characteristic was high leaps it was believed by many peoples that the corn would grow high. It is probable, as Frazer suggests, that this was at any rate one of the purposes with which the Salii, the priests of the old Italian god of vegetation, danced high and leapt. As an act of imitative magic, again, the sacred dance had among some peoples the purpose of helping the sun to run his course. For example, this was probably at one time of its history the object of “Ariadne’s Dance”; and the dance known by the name of the “Labyrinth” may well have been believed to assist the stars in their courses. These, and many other examples, are dealt with in the following pages.

(f) Further, there are instances on record of the sacred dance having the purpose of hallowing or consecrating a victim for sacrifice, as in the case of the Arabs performing a processional dance round a camel destined for sacrifice, or of the Israelites making the circuit round the altar, or of the Kayans of Sarāwak circling round their sacrificial pigs. In all such cases it is an act of consecration by means of the magic circle.

(g) As an adjunct to initiation ceremonies the sacred dance was also believed to serve some useful purpose. Presumably it was an act of homage to the god or goddess who was supposed to be present. This is suggested by the dancing at the Brauronian ceremonies of Artemis which, according to Farnell, was a kind of initiation ceremony by which young girls were consecrated to the service of this goddess.

(h) There are some grounds for the belief that the sacred dance was sometimes performed with the purpose of assisting warriors to gain a victory in battle; here, too, it was an act of imitative magic. It had, in this connexion, the further purpose of appeasing the spirits of slain enemies.

(i) As a marriage rite the sacred dance, at any rate during some time of its history, fulfilled, as was believed, one or two important purposes. The reference to the “Sword-dance” in the Old Testament is in all probability a relic of the antique custom of combating the vague dangers which were supposed to menace those entering upon the marriage state. These dangers, undefined but nevertheless very real to those who believed in their existence, arose not only from the fact of the new conditions of life that were beginning, but also because of a reciprocal fear on the part of the sexes, and a close contact between them emphasized this. Another way of combating, or at least averting these dangers, was by means of a change of identity; hence the once world-wide custom, still in existence in some countries, of the bridal couple assuming “royal” state, and being treated as king and queen during the period of the wedding festivities.

Further, there are some reasons for thinking that the sacred dance as a marriage rite sometimes had the purpose of bringing about a fruitful marriage; there are certain ceremonies during the period of celebration in which the dance figures prominently which point to this, and the analogy of the dance for making the crops grow offers some corroboration.

(j) There are special purposes for which the sacred dance was performed as a mourning or a burial rite. At times these are of a curiously contradictory character. The ghosts of the dead number among them those who are kindly disposed towards the living, and those who are malevolent in their attitude towards them; the latter are supposed to be able to do harm. Speaking quite generally, it appears, upon the whole, that the less advanced the cultural stage the greater the tendency to regard the spirits of the departed as malevolent. Since the various races from which illustrations of the sacred dance as a mourning rite are gathered were, or are (as the case may be), in different stages of civilization, it follows that the purposes of the rite vary; for the belief regarding the attitude of the dead towards the living has a good deal to do with the purpose for which the sacred dance was performed. Thus we find that it sometimes has the object of driving away the ghost of the departed; or else there will be a dance on the grave for the purpose of preventing the ghost from roaming. At other times it is the means of scaring away evil spirits who are believed to congregate in the vicinity of a corpse. Very strange, but interesting, is the custom among some races of personating the dead in the sacred dance; this is supposed to be a potent means of bringing him back, and he is believed to join the survivors in the dance; he is present, but invisible, in the man who personates him. This reminds one of the union with a supernatural spirit by imitating him in the dance, to which reference has been made above; the same idea underlies each. But the purpose of the sacred dance as a mourning or burial rite which appears as the most usual is that of honouring the departed. This is doubtless very frequently simply a mark of affection; but at other times it is in the nature of a propitiatory act whereby the spirit of the departed is persuaded to refrain from molesting the living.

Many illustrations of these various purposes of the sacred dance will be offered in the following pages.

CHAPTER III
THE SACRED DANCE AMONG THE ISRAELITES

I

So far as the Old Testament is concerned this subject of the dance in religious ritual illustrates a fact which biblical study, on the comparative basis, is bringing more and more into prominence, and which needs to be recognized both in the interests of truth and in order to realize more fully the evolutionary development of religion as an eternal principle in the divine economy. The original aims and objects of the sacred dance were, as we have seen, “primitive”; the continuance of the rite throughout the ages, even to comparatively recent times among practically all peoples, does not in any way detract from the truth of this, for everyone knows with what persistency religious custom and ritual continues, not only after the original object and meaning has been forgotten, but even when it has no meaning at all. Its existence among the Israelites, therefore, shows them to have been and to have acted throughout their religious history as other races did in this respect (and it is only one of many other illustrations that could be given), in spite of what we rightly believe to have been special opportunities for more exalted forms of worship.

It must be confessed that the religious uniqueness of the Israelites, as a nation, has been, and often still is, exaggerated to an undue extent. Certainly there were among them those who may well be described as unique, sui generis; but they were the great exceptions. The nation as a whole was for many centuries no better and no worse than others; and what stronger evidence for this could be afforded than that given in the prophetical books of the Old Testament? Its ultimate emergence from the religious norm of the world to a position of isolated superiority was due to a mere handful of men who offered the greatest example that the world had hitherto seen of what could be accomplished by subordinating will and personality to the influence and guidance of the Divine Creator.

True, it was among some of these very prophets that the most interesting kind of sacred dance—the ecstatic dance—was in vogue, with its wildness and extravagances; in this they, or at least the earliest of them, did not differ from certain classes of “holy men” all the world over; where they did differ was in their development of the conception which underlay the purpose of the ecstatic dance, i.e. union with the deity; and it is just here that they stand out in such bold relief from all others. The earliest prophets believed that this sacred dance was the means whereby the divine spirit came upon them; this belief they shared with others; but they rose to the higher belief that this means was not necessary for achieving the purpose for which it was used. It had served a useful purpose; but having served its purpose it was dropped. The prophets came to the realization that there were more spiritual means whereby union with the deity was brought about; then the sacred dance found no further place among them. They shed the husk, but retained the kernel. It was the same principle upon which St Paul acted in later days in regard to the Law. The sacred dance, too, was in its way a “school-master” (Gal. iii. 24), leading men to better things. When, centuries later, the far more cultured Greeks were still “raving” in honour of Dionysos, the Hebrew prophets had long since learned that it is God Himself Who puts His spirit upon men (cp. Isa. xlii. 1), and that this is not a thing to be effected by the will or act of man. “Who hath directed the Spirit of Jahwe?” asks one of them in fine irony (Isa. xl. 13).

Thus the history of the ecstatic dance among the Hebrew prophets is one of many illustrations showing their uniqueness.

It is not, however, with these extraordinarily gifted prophets that we are now concerned. We are thinking of the very ordinary and very human Israelites as a whole who, like innumerable men and women of other races, were endowed with emotions and aspirations which were common to humanity. And it is a curious but interesting phenomenon that the sacred dance was among the Israelites, as among all other peoples, one of the means whereby these emotions and aspirations were expressed.

The fact that in the Mosaic legislation no provision is made for ritual dancing when so many other minute details of ritual are given might seem to suggest that such a thing was discountenanced. Without question it is true to say that “the priestly historians and legislators resolutely excluded, as far as possible, everything that could infer any similarity between the worship of Jahwe and that of heathen deities[31].” But it is doubtful whether the subject of the sacred dance would have come into consideration in such a connexion; it was a practice too deeply ingrained in human nature as a means of expressing religious emotion to suggest that it implied assimilation to heathen worship. The bringing of oblations, the offering of sacrifices, were also common to Israelite and heathen worship, but that similarity would never have struck the Israelite legislators as derogatory, because these, too, were means of expressing religious emotion which, in one form or another, were common to all races. The Mosaic legislation makes no provision for the posture to be assumed in the presence of the deity, nor does it say anything about singing in worship; but it is difficult to believe that there were not fixed modes in regard to these which had been in vogue from time immemorial; and therefore they needed no mention. The same may be postulated in the case of the sacred dance. A thing which all the evidence shows to have been a world-wide means of expressing religious emotion and of honouring the deity during a long period in the history of religious development, was not likely to have been wanting among the Israelites.

In those passages in the Old Testament in which religious dancing is recorded there is no hint of disapproval, let alone prohibition. It is, therefore, evident that it must have been looked upon as a usual and integral part of worship. It must also be remembered that the sacred dance continued to be an important element in worship on special occasions among the Jews in post-biblical times; the evidence will be considered later. That this could have been an innovation is out of the question; it was merely the continuation, in some cases quite possibly an elaboration, of a rite familiar to the people from time immemorial.

The comparatively rare mention, therefore, of the sacred dance in the Old Testament must not mislead us; the reasons for that are very natural. And when it is realized what a number of words there are in Hebrew for dancing (see pp. 44 ff.), and that only once is there a possible reference to secular, as distinct from religious, dancing, the conclusion will be forced upon us that it played a much larger rôle in the religious life of the people than first appearances would seem to indicate.

As far as can be gathered, religious dancing among the Israelites was, as a general rule, performed by the sexes separately; in the account of the worship of the Golden Calf, however, it must be allowed that the possibility of promiscuous dancing is not excluded, see especially Exod. xxxii. 2, 3. Among other peoples it is found that, mostly, the sacred dance was performed by men and women separately; but there are notable exceptions among the Egyptians as well as the Syrians, also among the Greeks; and the same applies to the uncultured races.

II

When all the data in the Old Testament have been gathered it is possible to discern certain types of the sacred dance; by this we do not necessarily mean varieties of mode, not but that these also occur; the type is indicated rather by the connexion in which the dance occurs. Therefore, although it is not to be supposed that there was, generally speaking, any idea of having particular kinds of dance reserved for different occasions, it is possible to attempt some kind of classification. At any rate, it is a convenient method to adopt in reviewing the evidence.

Emphasis must again be laid on the fact that when one is speaking of the “sacred dance” in past ages one has to allow to the term a wide connotation. We have come to use the word “dance” in a very restricted sense; in antiquity it was different; included in it are modes varying from a staid, march-like rhythmic step, to the wilder movements of the ecstatic dance.

(1) We draw attention first to the sacred processional dance. A cursory reference to one or two examples will suffice here as a more detailed examination of each type of dance will be found in the chapters to follow. Judging from the few data offered by the Old Testament, the sacred processional dance among the Israelites was always performed in honour of Jahwe. In the well-known instance of David and the Israelites dancing in procession before the Ark, it is really in the presence of Jahwe that it takes place since He is conceived as being present in the Ark. The dance assumes various forms according to the degree of religious excitement engendered. It is spoken of as being dancing of the ordinary kind, i.e. the common Hebrew word for dancing is used; but presently it takes on the character of a rotating dance, then there is jumping followed by something in the nature of skipping, and it is also spoken of as a whirling movement. It will be noticed that five different words are used here to express the different ways in which the dancing was performed. Although the occasion on which this took place was a very special one, it would be a mistake to suppose that the sacred dance was only reserved for such special occasions. It is rather to be gathered from the incidental way in which the dancing is mentioned that the rite was usual, and was only of a more elaborate character because of the special occasion. A single mention of this kind must, it may be safely asserted, imply a well-known and usual custom, otherwise it would be commented upon as something out of the ordinary.

(2) The sacred dance also takes the form of encircling a sacred object, either an idol, or a sacrificial victim, or an altar; in this last case the sacrificial victim would, of course, be included. The form of this type of dance was either a march-like step or a running step or else the worshippers held hands and danced round. This latter is nowhere specifically mentioned in the Old Testament; but it is such an obvious form for a dance to take that we can scarcely doubt its having existed among the Israelites. Besides, interesting examples of a concrete kind have been found depicting this form of dance round sacred objects which quite possibly owe their origin to Semitic inspiration; some of these are described in Chapter VI below. This encircling dance was undoubtedly an act of worship; it is also possible that in some cases it was intended to have a consecrating effect either upon the worshippers or upon the sacrificial victim; in the example given by Nilus (see [p. 95]) the latter would seem to have been the case. The theory of some scholars that the circle dance was a symbolic representation of the movement of the heavenly bodies has also a good deal to commend it. As a funeral rite this form of the sacred dance served some other purposes (see below).

(3) The ecstatic dance is that which has received most attention from scholars, and deservedly, for it is one of the most curious phenomena in the history of religious ritual. In the exuberance of emotion engendered by it the performers experienced what appeared to them to amount, for the time being, almost to a metamorphosis; they believed themselves to be infused and permeated by the influence—perhaps it would be truer to say the essence—of the deity in whose honour they were dancing. Thus came about what was conceived to be in some mystic, but wholly inexplicable way, a union with the deity adored. In the Old Testament we have the well-known example of the prophets performing this dance in 1 Sam. x. 5 ff.; its contagious character is graphically illustrated by the case of Saul, whose condition becomes such that the people ask: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” and he is spoken of as having been “turned into another man” because as a result of the ecstatic dance the spirit of Jahwe came mightily upon him. The language implies that when once the required condition has been reached it is then Jahwe Who takes the initiative; the body as such remains a passive instrument, but it becomes a Beth-el, a temporary house of God from which He speaks forth through the medium of the voice of the possessed.

As in the case of other types of the sacred dance, there cannot be anything unique about this even though it is only referred to once or twice in the Old Testament; its incidental mention without further comment stamps it as being nothing out of the ordinary.

Another form of this ecstatic type of dance is mentioned in the Old Testament, also in connexion with prophets, though not Israelite prophets. There was a peculiar kind of limping dance performed, as it would appear, on special occasions by the prophets of Baal. This began with a limping step round the altar as though the performers were lame, but soon developed into a wild jumping about on the altar, and culminated in self-laceration with knives and the like. In how far a state of semi-consciousness or total unconsciousness was attained is not indicated; but in the light of analogous cases (referred to in [Chapter VII]) it may be gathered that the loss of the physical sensation of pain inflicted by the self-laceration must imply to some extent a loss of consciousness so far as external surroundings were concerned. In writing about the prophetic ecstasy of Syrian as well as Israelite prophets, Dr T. H. Robinson well expresses the state in saying that it was

a peculiar psychic condition in which the subject seemed to be possessed of powers, indeed of a whole sphere of consciousness, which was denied to the ordinary individual, and to the prophet himself in normal states. He did not cease to be conscious of the world as it appeared to others, but he heard and saw things which were beyond their range. There were a number of well-marked physical phenomena connected with the condition of ecstasy, though these were not invariable. The subject might be affected with a certain constriction of the muscles, in which case the state resembled that of a trance. On the other hand, muscular activity might be largely increased. Leaping, bodily contortions, and loud cries resulted, which, as they tended to become regular and rhythmical, developed into dancing and song. The subject frequently experienced a kind of anaesthesia, and would slash wildly at his own body with knife or whip, without showing any signs of physical pain[32].

We shall find all this illustrated in the examples, to be given in [Chapter VII], of this type of dance among a number of races.

Various means were employed to bring about this ecstatic state, such as alcohol, and other drugs; but there can be little doubt that the most frequent, and certainly the most primitive, means adopted was that of dancing.

(4) The kind of sacred dance which was the most common among the Israelites, as among other peoples, was that proper to Vintage and Harvest Festivals. That it seems, from the scanty references to it which we have in the Old Testament, as well as from many indications in regard to its performance among other races, largely to have lost its sacred character will not deceive us as to its originally religious purpose. It was a characteristic of Israelite worship that the note of joy should sound during its celebration; the command: “Ye shall rejoice before Jahwe your God” sufficiently bears this out. Apart, therefore, from the original purpose of this kind of sacred dance to which reference will be made in Chapter VIII, there is no reason to doubt that Vintage and Harvest dances among the Israelites were essentially of a religious character, although the rejoicing, of which dancing was one of the most natural modes of expression, might not always appeal to some of the more austere prophets, see, e.g., Amos v. 21-23. The very rare specific mention in the Old Testament of the festival dances is quite comprehensible, for what was obviously proper to the celebration of a feast it would be superfluous to speak about. Moreover, there is ample evidence in post-biblical Jewish literature of the existence of the sacred dance at festivals.

(5) Dances in celebration of victory in battle are referred to several times in the Old Testament. Taking the passages in which these are mentioned by themselves the custom of which they speak is nothing more than a simple and natural expression of joy and thanksgiving for victory. But all such customs have a long history behind them; and when analogous customs among other, less civilized, peoples are considered, some points of interest and significance emerge which suggest the possibility of the custom being, in its origin, due to a different and more practical cause. There are some grounds for believing that the custom of which the Old Testament speaks was a remnant of what was originally a dance performed by women which had for its object the helping of the men to gain a victory by means of imitative magic. In the Old Testament there is, of course, no trace of this beyond the fact that the dance was performed by women; and it has become simply an act of joyful thanksgiving to God and a tribute to the returning victors. It is necessary to consider the analogous rite in its earlier forms as seen among peoples of lower civilization to estimate what justification there may be for this supposition. If it should be the fact that this type of dance was, in its origin, a means of effecting victory by magic, it would be an interesting illustration of magic being, as Marett says, “part and parcel of the ‘god-stuff’ out of which religion fashions itself.”[33] Indeed, when dealt with in detail, this subject of the sacred dance in the Old Testament receives its chief interest and importance from the fact that at all events some of the types there mentioned are illustrations of the development of religion out of magic.

(6) There is some reason to believe that the sacred dance had a part to play during the rite of circumcision; late Rabbinic tradition seems to imply as much. It had its place among the Arabs on such occasions; and at initiation ceremonies all the world over the sacred dance was essential.

(7) Once more, the sacred dance during the Wedding ceremony, though only once implied in the Old Testament, was in all probability a regular institution; post-biblical Jewish literature offers presumptive evidence of its existence in earlier times among the Israelites.

(8) And lastly, we have the sacred dance as a Burial rite. As in other cases we have to rely, firstly, on the evidence of later Jewish literature, and, secondly, upon the analogous practice among other peoples. As we shall show, the emotions of fear, honour, and love, which according to the cultural stages of uncivilized men are felt for the spirits of the departed, are such as are common to mankind; and these emotions are expressed, among other ways, by means of the sacred dance. What cultural stage, or stages, are represented in the Old Testament as that, or those, through which the Israelites passed may well be a matter of difference of opinion; but that in both thought and practice they were, as a whole, in many respects no more advanced than other contemporary peoples does not admit of doubt. So that when we find this rite in existence at burials or during the mourning period among other Semites, and among the Egyptians, not to mention the Greeks, the presumption is justified that the Israelites practised it too.

In regard to much that has been said we are prepared for the objection that the evidence of the Old Testament does not offer sufficient justification for the assumptions made. We agree that this is so if we are to rely upon the Old Testament alone. But the object of the whole of our investigation will be to show that the beliefs and practices of any one race of people must, to do them full justice, be studied in the light of analogous beliefs and practices of other peoples. Only so can one fill up the lacunae which inevitably exist in the records of the races of antiquity. We have chosen as our illustration a rite which may, likely enough, be regarded as of very secondary importance; yet it is one which the evidence shows was at one time regarded as essential to man. It is therefore a study worth undertaking; for apart from its interest as a mere antiquarian investigation, we hope that it may be found to throw some modest side-lights on various other subjects.

CHAPTER IV
THE OLD TESTAMENT TERMS FOR “DANCING”

I

How large a rôle dancing in its various forms must have played among the Israelites is shown by the fact that, either in the restricted or in the more extended sense, no less than eleven Hebrew roots are used to describe its different characteristics. This in what is a relatively poor language is not without significance.

Before saying something about the meaning of these roots it will be well to give a list of them:

• Sāḥaq and tzāḥaq, used in the intensive piel form.
• Ḥūl.
• Kārar, used in the pilpel form, also intensive.
• Pāzaz, used in the piel form.
• Rāqad, used in the piel form.
• Sābab, used in the hiphil, causative, form.
• Qāphatz, used in the piel form.
• Dālag.
• Tzālaʿ, occurs only once.
• Ḥāgag.
• Pāsaḥ, used in the piel form.

The first thing to notice here is that most of these roots, when used in reference to dancing, occur only in intensive forms; this is significant as pointing to the nature and character of the sacred dance. Of the exceptions, ḥūl “to whirl” is intensive in its root-meaning; it has no piel, and its other forms occur only rarely, and almost entirely in the later poetical books. The roots dālag and tzālaʿ, refer to a particular kind of ritual step; and as to ḥāgag more will be said in a moment.

Now as to the meaning of these different words for dancing:

The root sāḥaq, in its intensive form siḥēq, means in the first instance “to laugh,” and it is also used in the sense of “playing” (Job xl. 29) and “merry-making” (Jer. xv. 17, xxx. 19, xxxi. 4, Zech. viii. 5; cp. also Judg. xvi. 25). In the specific sense of “dancing” it occurs in 1 Sam. xviii. 7: “... and the dancing women answered one another and said ...” (see also 1 Chron. xv. 29). Equivalent to this root is tzāḥaq, also used in the intensive form tziḥēq, which occurs, e.g., in Exod. xxxii. 6: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to dance.” It is also used of “playing” or “sporting,” e.g. Gen. xxi. 9, Judg. xvi. 25, but in the second of these passages its obvious meaning is “to dance,” for as we shall see later this was the custom at feasts. This root, therefore, presents dancing in the aspect of a pleasant and enjoyable pastime. Further, in various passages this root is used as a parallel to other words for dancing. For example, in 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7 just cited, it occurs as a parallel to the root which is the one most frequently used in the Old Testament for dancing, viz. ḥūl. This root expresses the “whirl” of the dance (e.g. Judg. xxi. 21, 23, Ps. lxxxvii. 7). It is the word used of the “writhing” or “twisting” of a woman in travail, e.g. Isa. xxvi. 17, xlv. 10, or of one in great pain, Isa. xiii. 8, xxiii. 5, Jer. li. 29; so that when used in the sense of dancing, contortions of the body are thought of, which suggests something of a rather wild character.

The “whirling” idea is also contained in the root kārar (in its intensive pilpel form, kirkēr), “to whirl about,” or “rotate.” It occurs, in this sense, only once in the Old Testament, 2 Sam. vi. 14-16, of David dancing before Jahwe[34]; and in this passage we have another root which does not occur elsewhere in the sense of dancing, viz. pāzaz (again in the intensive form pizzēz); this expresses the idea of agile leaping as part of the dance[35], the cognate Arabic root means “to be excited.” The idea of leaping is also contained in another root rāqad (in its intensive form riqqēd) which in its ordinary sense means “to skip about[36]”; as applied to dancing it occurs in the passage last mentioned, and see further, Isa. xiii. 21, Job xxi. 11, Joel ii. 5, Eccles. iii. 4, 1 Chron. xv. 29; in Ps. xxix. 6 it is used of a calf “skipping.”

The root sābab, used of “going round” the altar, is spoken about below ([pp. 93 f.]), so that we can leave this for the present.

So far, then, we have briefly touched on words used in reference to dancing which either express or suggest the ideas of its being something enjoyable, of its involving the bending about of the body, whirling about, leaping, and skipping; as well as that of forming a circle, perhaps round the altar, but in any case encircling something, or going round about it.

Now we come to some rather special words. In including dālag in our category we realize that this is only justified because we are using the word “dancing” in its extended, as well as in its more restricted, sense; and we have shown above that this is not only permitted, but necessary in view of the general ideas underlying the whole subject. This word is used of the “leaping” of a hart in Isa. xxxv. 6, just as the word rāqad is used, as we have seen, of the “skipping” of a calf; the latter, as already pointed out, occurs in several passages in the sense of “dancing”; dālag may, therefore, be regarded as in some sense parallel to it. In Cant. ii. 8 dālag certainly seems to refer to some form of dancing. But in two other passages the word has a special sense; in these, though the reference is not to dancing in the strict meaning of the term, it is used of a ritual step of a leaping character, and may justifiably be applied to dancing in the more extended sense. Thus, in 1 Sam. v. 5 it is said that no one ever treads on the threshold of Dagon’s house in Ashdod. This is explained in the Septuagint by the addition of the words “leaping over they leap over”; this is probably only an explanatory gloss (though it is conceivable that they represent a text in which dālōg yidlōgū occurred), but it witnesses, at any rate, to what was a well-known custom, for in the other passage, Zeph. i. 9, punishment is pronounced against “all those who leap over the threshold,” without further explanation, showing that something quite familiar is being referred to. There was a similar Persian custom which forbad stepping on the threshold, one had to leap over it with the right foot first. The custom was due to the belief that evil spirits crouched down on the threshold, and the leaping over it prevented coming into contact with them, and the consequent risk of harm. The action implied the recognition of an alien cult, hence its prohibition[37]. In Cant. ii. 8 the root qāphatz is used as a parallel to dālag, and also means “to jump,” or the like; but this is the only passage in which the word is used in this sense.

We come now to two roots of which rather more must be said. The first is ḥāgag. In 1 Sam. xxx. there is the account of David’s attack on an Amalekite troop who had carried off all the women from Ziklag, among them his two wives; the Egyptian slave of an Amalekite, who had been abandoned by his master because he had fallen sick, is asked by David to lead him to the spot where the Amalekites were encamped; this he undertakes to do on condition that no harm comes to him; then we read in verse 16: “And when he had brought him down, behold, they were sprawling about all over the ground, eating and drinking and feasting” (hōgĕgim); that is how the Revised Version renders this last word. To render it thus, however, is pleonastic, for if they were eating and drinking they were quite obviously “feasting”; the word, therefore, cannot well have this meaning here. The more natural rendering would be “dancing”; and, indeed, this would be the meaning that we should expect, for, as will be shown below, “dancing” is almost synonymous with “feasting,” because it was characteristic of feasts. Driver, in discussing this passage, says in reference to the word:

Whether, however, the sense of dancing is really expressed by the word is very doubtful. Modern lexicographers only defend it by means of the questionable assumption that ḥāgag may have had a similar signification to ḥūg, which, however, by no means itself expresses the sense of to dance, but to make a circle (Job xxvi. 10).... It is best to acquiesce in the cautious judgement of Nöldeke[38], who declares that he cannot with certainty get behind the idea of a festal gathering for the common Semitic ḥag. Here then the meaning will be “behaving as at a ḥag or gathering of pilgrims,” i.e. enjoying themselves merrily[39].

Nowack is of a similar opinion; he says that the word here can hardly mean more than “to celebrate a feast”; but he adds: “perhaps the word is originally used of the sacred dance[40].” But apart from the question of the relationship between ḥāgag and ḥūg, if the Arabic Ḥagg, “the going round in a circle,” is the word from which the Hebrew ḥag is derived, and presumably there is little doubt about that, then the root-meaning of ḥāgag will be “to go round in a circle,” and this was the essence of the sacred dance—or of one type of the sacred dance—among the Semites. Wellhausen points out that the central and most important part of the cultus of the ancient Arabs was the circuit round the sanctuary, or, when this was offered, round the sacrifice. It is from this fact, he says, that the Ḥagg, which means really “the sacred dance,” is so called. He points out, further, that this original meaning of the word has not even yet been entirely lost in Arabic, for the verb still often has as its transitive object the stone or the “house.” The holy stone is itself called Davar “the object of the encirclement” because of the custom of performing the sacred dance round it. Evidence is forthcoming that this was done not only round the sacred stone, the Kaaba, but also in all sanctuaries generally[41]. König gives as the primary meaning of ḥāgag “to make dancing movements,” “to turn,” and regards the sense of “celebrating a feast” as secondary[42]. This is borne out by the use of the word in Ps. cvii. 27, where it means “to go round in a circle,” like a drunken man.

The chief original Hebrew term for a religious dance was doubtless ḥag. The rendering “feast” or “festival” will indeed suffice in most cases, but only because religious festivals necessarily included the sacred dance, at least as long as the sacred stones remained in the sanctuaries[43].

There is thus sufficient justification for reckoning this root among those which are used for “to dance” in the Old Testament.

Then as to the root pāsaḥ (in its intensive form pisseaḥ). According to Exod. xii. 13, 23 the root-meaning of this word would appear to be “to spare,” for we read there: “... and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague upon you”; and again: “... and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, Jahwe will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to destroy you.” Both Zimmern[44] and Schrader[45] hold that the word is derived from the Assyrian pasâḥu, “to pacify,” which would support the Exodus interpretation. Robertson Smith, on the other hand, thinks it by no means clear that this was the original meaning;

“there is,” he says, “no certain occurrence of the name before Deuteronomy (in Exod. xxxiv. 25 it looks like a gloss), and the corresponding verb denotes some kind of religious performance, apparently a dance, in 1 Kings xviii. 26. A nocturnal ceremony at the consecration of a feast is already alluded to in Isa. xxx. 29, who also perhaps alludes to the received derivation of pāsaḥ in xxxi. 5[46]. But the Deuteronomic passover was a new thing in the days of Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 21 f.). It underwent further modification in the exile...[47].”

So that the opinion is worth hazarding as to whether Pesaḥ, the Passover, did not originally get its name from the particular form of limping dance peculiar to it, just as the ordinary feast got its name from the sacred dance, the Ḥagg, which was characteristic of it. See further p. 92.

A ritual dance of a somewhat similar character is mentioned in Gen. xxxii. 31, 32, where Jacob, as he passed over Penuel, “limped upon his thigh.” Here the root used is tzālaʿ, which in this sense occurs here only[48]; but there is the place-name tzēlaʿ, Saul’s ancestral home (2 Sam. xxi. 14), which was possibly an ancient sanctuary where this special kind of limping dance was performed.

These, then, are the words used in the Old Testament for “dancing” in its various forms; they will come before us again and their meanings will be more fully illustrated when we deal in the following chapters with the nature of the sacred dance.

II

It will be appropriate if we add here a word or two about the musical accompaniment (if this can in all cases be called “musical”) to dancing so far as can be gathered from the Old Testament.

In its earliest and simplest form this accompaniment consisted of the rhythmic beating of what is translated “timbrel” in the Revised Version; the word is tôph in Hebrew, and it was probably the most primitive instrument among the Hebrews. It would be better described as a hand-drum, or “tom-tom,” being made of a circular (though also square and sometimes probably three-sided) piece of wood over which the skin of an animal, after preparation, was tightly drawn and fastened with a thin thong of skin. It was held in one hand and struck with the open palm of the other. In addition to this two other instruments of percussion are mentioned as accompanying dancing, namely “cymbals,” tzeltzĕlim, and what are called metziltaim, evidently also cymbals in some form or another as both words come from the same root; the latter must clearly have been held one in each hand and struck together, the dual form of the word shows this. Wind instruments for accompaniment were represented by the ḥalîl, “flute,” and the ʿugâb, perhaps something in the nature of a Pan’s-pipe, though this is quite uncertain; it is mentioned in Gen. iv. 21, where the Revised Version renders it “pipe.” Stringed instruments as an accompaniment to dancing were a later development, though of course used in what are to us early times, among the Israelites; the simplest of these were the kinnôr, “lyre” and the nēbel, “harp.” For the accompaniment to dancing of all three types of instruments, percussion, wind, and string, see Job xxi. 11, 12. We also read of “rattles,” mĕnaʿnĕʿim, probably something equivalent to the sistrum of the Egyptians[49].

Besides instrumental, there was also vocal accompaniment, and doubtless the rhythmic clapping of hands, the most primitive form of accompaniment, and the beating of the thighs, though neither of these is mentioned in the Old Testament.

It has been truly said that

music is rarely divorced from dancing in the early stages of culture, and seldom advances beyond mere rhythm into melody or harmony. To a modern European ear it sounds not much more than rhythmic noise, a mere marking of time for concerted movement of the limbs, monotonous and unattractive, if heard without its origin and inspiration—the dance[50].

But the writer is mistaken in his mention of harmony here; such a thing was quite unknown in “the early stages of culture,” if he means by that “culture” among uncivilized men[51].

The normal accompaniment to the sacred dance, then, among the Hebrews was the beating of the drum and the blowing of the flute; this, as will be seen in the following chapters, is true of all peoples. The accompaniment of stringed instruments is, as we have said, a later development.

CHAPTER V
THE SACRED PROCESSIONAL DANCE, AND DANCES IN HONOUR OF SUPERHUMAN POWERS

I

An illustration of the processional type of dance among the Israelites which immediately suggests itself is that of “David and all the house of Israel dancing before Jahwe with all their might” (2 Sam. vi. 5)[52]. The picture is that of an imposing procession, headed by the king going in front of the Ark into Jerusalem. The entire body of those forming the procession is described as dancing, but special attention is drawn to David, and the words used in reference to his mode of dancing are instructive; he not only dances in the ordinary sense of the word (sāḥaq), but he “rotates (kārar) with all his might” (verse 14), and “jumps” (pāzaz, verse 16), and “whirls round” (ḥūl); and in the parallel passage 1 Chron. xv. 29, his dancing is described as “skipping” (rāqad) or the like; it is the word used in Isa. xiii. 21 of the “hopping” of satyrs, and also of “galloping” horses (Joel ii. 5) and “jolting” chariots (Nah. iii. 2). The self-abandonment of this dancing can be imagined in the light of Michal’s jibe that the king had shamelessly uncovered himself. Nevertheless, the religious character of the processional dance is obvious, and is emphasized by the phrase “before Jahwe,” and by the fact that David “was girded with a linen ephod” (verse 14), the officiating priest’s dress (see 1 Sam. ii. 18).

It is probable that the sacred processional dance is again referred to, though one cannot say so positively, in such passages as Ps. cxlix. 3: “Let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with timbrel (tôph) and lyre”; cl. 4: “Praise Him with timbrel and dance,” etc.; and although in Ps. lxviii. 24, 25 (25, 26 in Hebr.) there is no special mention of the dance, it is clearly implied by the reference to the damsels playing on the timbrel, which was the usual accompaniment to dancing; the passage runs: “They see Thy goings forth [i.e. processions in honour of Jahwe], O God, the goings forth of my God, my King, into the sanctuary; the singers go before, behind (are) those playing stringed instruments, in the midst (are) damsels playing timbrels,” see also Ps. lxxxvii. 7.

Further quotations are unnecessary, for it is clear that the sacred processional dance formed a normal adjunct to worship among the Israelites.

In studying these types of the sacred dance among other peoples we are faced with the same difficulty that meets us in the case of various passages where the dance is mentioned in the Old Testament, viz. it is by no means always possible to say whether a processional dance is meant or not. It is, therefore, inevitable that some uncertainty should exist in the case of some of the illustrations to be offered; but if not always of the processional type, the examples to be given will all illustrate the sacred dance as an act of honour to some superhuman power.

II

As to those peoples most closely allied to the Israelites, namely the Syrians and Arabs, our data, so far as processional dances are concerned, are very scanty, though we are not without information on the general subject of the sacred dance among them. In one of the inscriptions found in Deir el-Ḳala near Beirut there is a reference to Θεω Βαλμαρκωδι; he is called upon as Βαλμαρκως κοίρανε κώμων; this witnesses to the existence of a Phoenician god known as Baal-Marqôd, according to the Semitic form, i.e. the “Baal, or Lord, of dancing[53].” He was either thought of as the originator of the sacred dance among the Phoenicians, just as the Greeks and others ascribed the origin of dancing to certain gods and goddesses; or else he was so called “because of a bacchanalian dance which was performed in his honour[54]”; or because he was the god, par excellence, to whom dancing was due as an act of homage[55]. The name shows that among the Phoenicians the sacred dance had its place.

We shall come, later on, to other types of the sacred dance among the Syrians and Arabs. Here we may, in passing, point to the fact that the Bedouin Arabs of the Syrian Desert even at the present day perform dances in honour of exalted personages; this may confidently be regarded, especially in view of other evidence to be given below, as pointing to similar dances being performed in earlier times in honour of gods; for divinities were honoured in this way for ages before men were. Thus Ritter describes the dancing of the Bedouin Arabs which he witnessed, adding that the far-travelled sailors who were with him told him that this mode of dancing was strikingly similar to that which they had seen performed by the savage South Sea islanders[56]. Dancing in honour of the newly married couple, regarded as king and queen, is interestingly described by Wetzstein[57]. Such dances, though not now strictly sacred, deserve a passing reference, for they have a long history behind them, and at one time were certainly connected with religion.

In many Babylonian psalms and hymns which were sung in procession, and which have come down to us, there is, it is true, no mention of dancing; but it is difficult to believe that it did not take place, especially in view of the evidence to be given below. The silence may well be due to the fact that it was so obvious a part of the ritual that there would have been no point in mentioning it. One can hardly conceive of its absence, knowing what we do of the Semitic religious temperament, during such a great festival, for example, as that of the re-entry of Marduk on the 11th Nisan into the temple of E-sagila. On this occasion a great procession of priests and choir was formed, and during the re-entry of the god into his sanctuary they sang the hymn beginning:

“O Lord, at the entering-in into thy sanctuary...[58].”

At such a time of solemn religious rejoicing it can hardly be doubted, judging from many analogies, that some form of sacred dance formed a striking feature of the ritual. The dance-step may well have been of a sedate character, but, as we have seen, the steps and performance of the sacred dance range from an almost march-like, though rhythmical, tread to antics of the most diverse character. It is important to remember that in Assyrian the word for “to dance” (rakâdu) means also “to rejoice.” Among all the Semites the religious festivals were special times of rejoicing. So that when we read of processions during Babylonian and Assyrian festivals it is justifiable to assume that sacred dances were performed as a recognized part of the ritual.

But we are not without tangible evidence on the subject. On an inscription discovered in the palace of Asshurbanipal a procession is depicted which is led by men playing harps; the foremost among these, each of whom has one of his legs raised, quite obviously represent dancers. They are followed by women with arms uplifted, and also by children who seem to be clapping their hands, apparently in rhythmical time with the dancers. An illustration of this is given, e.g., by Jeremias[59], who quotes from the inscription the Assyrian account of Hezekiah’s subjection to Sennacherib. In this inscription, among other things sent by the king of Judah to Nineveh, “playing men and women” are mentioned; the illustration represents these as both dancing and playing instruments. It is, therefore, as Jeremias rightly emphasizes, very important for the light it throws on the subject of the Temple music and worship in pre-exilic times. But it also throws light on Assyrian usage since it is obvious that the inscription reflects Assyrian ideas.

Mention may be made here, but very tentatively, of three inscriptions found in Cyprus by Ohnefalsch-Richter. It is conceivable that these bear witness, though indirectly, to early Mesopotamian ritual, for in style and representation they are somewhat reminiscent of ancient Babylonian cylinder seals. They are numbered cxxviii. 4, 5, 6 and a sacred dance is represented on each; they are cylindrical in form, and very ancient, pre-Homeric and pre-Mycenaean, according to Ohnefalsch-Richter, who says also that they bear a striking similarity to later Olympic representations[60]. The dancers wear long dresses rather like those of priests on Assyrian cylinder seals.

III

A religious processional dance of great interest is that represented on the well-known Hittite rock-inscription at Boghazkeui, in Cappadocia. The central portion of this inscription represents a company of gods and goddesses; towards them, from either side, the procession moves; the figures on the left hand which form the procession are almost exclusively men, while those on the right are all women. The men all wear the cone-shaped Hittite cap and tip-tilted shoes, and they are performing a running-step dance, the right feet being partly raised and touching the ground only with their toes. The inscription belongs approximately to B.C. 1200[61]. That it represents a religious processional dance is clear both because of the presence of gods and goddesses, and also from the fact that in front of or over the heads of a number of the figures there are hieroglyphic signs which denote the names of divinities.

A small inscription on a haematite cylinder, from Cyprus, also represents a Hittite sacred processional dance. As in the previous inscription, the procession, which is preceded and followed by a priest, moves towards the god. Ohnefalsch-Richter thinks that the scene represents a moment at which the dancers are resting[62].

IV

Although we find that among the Egyptians the data leave something to be desired, yet they are sufficient to suggest that dancing as a religious ceremony formed an important feature among them. As is the case among all other peoples the sacred dance has divine sanction.

Ḥatḥor, for example, was the goddess of music and dancing, and is often depicted with a small boy rattling a sistrum in front of her.... The king, in the capacity of Ḥatḥor’s son, similarly rattles a sistrum in front of her and is called “goodly Iḥy (the goddess’s child) of the golden one of the gods.”

The name Iḥwy, a variant form of Iḥy, is applied to the priests of Ḥatḥor; they are represented as “dancing and clattering castanets[63].” At the festivals held in honour of Ḥatḥor and Bastet dancing was an indispensable feature; so, too, at the Apis festivals[64]. Again, Bēs, or Bēsa, originally a dancing figure of the Sudanese type, is represented on inscriptions as holding the youthful sun-god Harpokrates in his left arm, and offering him food with the right hand; he also provides for the young sun-god’s amusement, and is depicted performing grotesque dances before him, and playing the harp and laughing. Thus he, too, became in course of time, a god of dance, music, and merriment[65].

In dancing in honour of their gods and goddesses, therefore, the Egyptians were employing a method of honouring which they imitated from the gods themselves; and this seems to have been the case, at one time or other, of their religious history, with most, if not all, races, so far as the evidence enables us to judge.

As to processional dances Blackman says that

there is some reason for supposing that at Thebes and elsewhere, on the occasion of the annual festival of Ḥatḥor, that goddess’s priestesses, when the temple service and the subsequent procession were ended, paraded the streets, and, in company with the Iḥwy-priests, stopped at one house after another in order to bestow Ḥatḥor’s blessing upon the inmates. This they did by dancing and singing and holding out to their audience—perhaps that they might touch them—the emblems of their goddess, the sistra and mnit-necklaces[66].

Again, according to Apuleius, there was a sacred dance in connexion with the worship of Isis. On stated days there was a great procession held in honour of this goddess which went through the streets of the city; the column was headed by a band of dancing masqueraders. He describes this procession of the Isidis Navigium minutely; among other details he mentions that in one part of it there were musicians, playing on pipes and flutes, followed by a chorus of chosen youths, clad in snowy white garments; behind them came more musicians playing on pipes, and many other men jingling on bronze, silver, and even golden sistra[67].

Another kind of procession, namely of barges, in which dancing also took place, is described by Herodotus in speaking of the religious festivals of the Egyptians. He says:

Now, when they are being conveyed to the city of Bubastis, they act as follows,—men and women embark together, great numbers of both sexes in every barge; some of the women have castanets which they play, and the men play on the flute during the whole journey; the rest of the men and women sing and clap their hands together at the same time. When in the course of their passage they come to any town, they lay their barge near to the land and do as follows, some of the women do as I have described ... some dance, and others stand up and pull up their clothes. This they do at every town by the river-side[68].

Mention may be here appropriately made of a kind of ritual dance, though not processional in the strict sense, which seems to be represented by a scene very often portrayed on the doors of Egyptian temples. Here the king is seen hastening towards the deity while performing a curious dance-like running step in which only the fore-part of the foot touches the ground. Kees has shown that this frequently occurring representation on Egyptian temple-doors does in fact record a ritual dance in honour of the god which was performed by the king when making his offerings[69].

Other types of the sacred dance among the Egyptians will come before us later. It may be remarked here, however, that, in regard to the sacred dance in general, it was, in the more ancient periods, of a staid and measured character, if we may judge from the inscriptions. From the time of the new empire onwards it assumed a form more like that of modern times. As to the apparel worn for the sacred dance and the mode of its performance, what held good of dancing in general applies also to this, as may be gathered, again, from the inscriptions. In most representations the women, like the men, wear quite short tunics, the former being decked with all kinds of ornaments; sometimes long transparent robes are worn, but this is exceptional. The women hold tambourines which they strike with the open palm, others have castanets which they click. Mostly they appear whirling about, evidently in quick time. The representations show that there was much bending and other movements of body and limbs[70].

V

Among the Greeks dancing has from the earliest times been associated with gods and goddesses. Thus, for example, Apollo, Ares, Dionysos, Pan, are all described as dancers. Artemis dances with her companions, and even Zeus and Hera do not disdain it. The “Pyrrhic Dance[71],” accompanied by flute-players, which was performed during the festival of Panathenaia[72], was said by some to be have been invented by the Dioscuri[73], according to others it was originated by Athena. The Muses danced on the Helicon around the altar of Zeus[74]. In the train of Dionysos were the satyrs with their special dance, the Sicinnis[75].

That wherein the gods themselves delighted would, of course, delight their worshippers; and it is true to say that there was scarcely ever worship among the Greeks without song and dance. In his Peri Orcheseōs (XV. 177) Lucian says:

... I pass over the fact that you cannot find a single ancient mystery in which there is not dancing.... To prove this I will not mention the secret acts of worship, on account of the uninitiated. But this much all men know, that most people say of those who reveal the mysteries, that they “dance them out[76].”

There is abundant evidence to show the truth of Farnell’s statement that “the dance and song were indispensable in Greek religious service[77].”

This fondness of the ancient Greeks for dancing necessitated suitable places where it could be performed, whether for religious or secular purposes. Ready-made plots for this were rarely to be looked for, since what was wanted was a more or less circular level space. It happened far more frequently that the ground had to be prepared artificially[78] and a dancing-ground constructed by levelling up the soil which then had sand strewn upon it. But wear and tear, as well as the dampness of the ground, would soon have called for something more solid and abiding, and therefore pavements were laid. By means of patterns formed of differently coloured stones such pavements served also the purpose of facilitating dance-formations. Such places for dancing were a source of pride to the Greek cities in the time of Homer when there were as yet no open spaces of public resort[79].

At least two inscriptions on which the sacred processional dance is depicted have been found in Cyprus; one is a relief on limestone; it represents a procession approaching the deity before whom an altar stands; underneath on the left a sacred dance is vividly portrayed, and on the right a sacred feast is taking place[80]. The other, which is of a simpler character, shows the god seated under a tree, the worshippers are coming towards him in solemn procession[81].

A great deal of light is thrown upon our subject by representations on ancient Greek pottery, etc.; from a wealth of material we select the following illustrations. On a vase-painting in the British Museum[82] a triumphal dance procession is portrayed, it is in all probability intended to be taking place in honour of Dionysos; men and women are dancing, the latter playing tambourines and lyres; in the centre is the god sitting on a camel. Some of the figures are Greek, others are clearly oriental, thus illustrating the alien character of the cult of Dionysos. The dancing in honour of this god is dealt with in [Chapter VII]; this example of it is given here because it illustrates the processional type of the sacred dance. Many illustrations can be seen in the British Museum, and excellent reproductions of originals are given in various books[83].

Our most informing source is, of course, Greek literature. In the examples to be given we shall not restrict ourselves to processional dances, for it is not always possible to say what formation a dance took.

Sacred dances were performed in honour of Artemis[84] at the feast of Tithēnidia which was celebrated in the temple of Artemis Koruthalia by a stream outside Sparta; on this occasion sucking pigs and loaves were sacrificed to the goddess. She was apparently also honoured with sacred dance on Parnassos, for Farnell refers to a passage in the Phoenissae according to which a maidens’ chorus was danced there “in honour of the ἀθάνατoς Θεά, who, from the context, appears to be Artemis[85].” A passage in Pausanias runs as follows:

A third cross-road leads on the right to Caryae, and to the sanctuary of Artemis; for Caryae is sacred to Artemis and the nymphs, and an image of Artemis Caryatis stands here under the open sky. Here every year the Lacedaemonian maidens dance in troops their national dance[86].

Frazer, in his notes on the passage, says that the dancing of the Lacedaemonian maidens “is said to have been taught the Lacedaemonians by Castor and Pollux (Lucian, De Saltatione, 10)....” “The name Caryae,” he says further, “means ‘walnut-trees,’ and may have been given to the town from the walnut-trees which grew there[87].” Further on Pausanias tells of the Messenians who “waylaid by day the maidens who were dancing at Caryae in honour of Artemis, and seizing the wealthiest and noblest of them, carried them off to a village in Messenia[88].” When dancing in honour of Artemis the maidens were dressed in short chitôn, and carried a basket-like receptacle on their heads[89].

The worship of Artemis, as Curtius has observed, was peculiarly associated with low-lying land and reed-covered marshes. The reeds shared with men in the worship of the goddess, and moved to the sound of the music in her festivals, or, as Strabo says, the baskets danced, or in Laconia maidens crowned with reeds danced[90].

At the Brauronian ceremonies of Artemis it was the custom for young maidens to dance, in honour of the goddess, dressed in saffron robes; in this dance both they and the priestess were called “bears.” The saffron robe, according to Farnell, was “possibly worn in order to imitate the tawny skin of the bear,” but he is doubtful of this; it is, however, very probable, as he says, that in the earliest times of the rite an actual bear-skin was worn by the dancers[91]. This dance was known by the name of Arkteia; quite young girls took part in it, from the ages of five to ten, and it appears to have been a kind of initiation by which they were consecrated to Artemis before arriving at puberty[92].

On the dance called Orkēsis Iōnikē, which was performed in honour of Artemis, see Julii Pollucis Onomasticon, IV. 193. Mention is also made of the dancing in honour of this goddess at Elis, in Pisatid territory, Pausan. VI. xxii. 1; see also Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States, II. 445; and for other dances belonging to her worship see Gruppe, op. cit. I. pp. 254, 283, 342, II. 842 and especially 1284; Lobeck, Aglao. II. 1085 ff.

The dancing performed at the festival of Gymnopaediae, also in honour of Artemis, as well as Apollo and Latona, which was held in Sparta at the beginning of July, is referred to by Pausanias; he says:

In the market-place at Sparta there are images of Pythaean Apollo, Artemis, and Latona. This whole place is called Chorus, because at the festival of Gymnopaediae, to which the Lacedaemonians attach the greatest importance, the lads dance choral dances in honour of Apollo[93].

Gruppe draws attention to the dancing performed in honour of Apollo Karneios[94], so also Bekker[95]. Mention may also be made of the Cretan legend of the birth of Zeus which is represented on coins from Tralles; they have the inscription Διὸς γοναί, with Corybantes dancing in honour of the new-born god, and striking their shields[96].

There can be no doubt that every type of dance among the Greeks was in its origin connected with religion; but in the case of some it is evident that they quite lost their religious character. The “Pyrrhic Dance,” which was at one time purely sacred and later lost this character, is an instance[97]. Another is that of the dance called the “Labyrinth,” known also as the “Game of Troy,” and “Ariadne’s Dance[98].” Réville, in referring to it, says that

in certain mythologies it has been observed that all the stars move, turning round the earth and following their regular courses. Nothing more is wanted for these movements of the stars to be likened to a rhythmic and complicated dance. The consequence will be a religious dance in honour of the “army of the heavens.” The dance will develop in a manner apparently entangled, but nevertheless methodical. There were several sacred dances having this character of imitation of the movements of the stars; among others, that of the “Labyrinth,” which was danced in Crete and Delos. The labyrinth itself, with its thousand circuits, was a symbol of the starry heaven, and the dance of the same name must have been a sort of animated representation of it[99].

An interesting representation of this dance occurs on an Etruscan Polledrara vase, painted by an Ionian artist, and found in Cyprus, where the dance was at one time performed in Amathus in honour of Aphrodite-Ariadne; according to tradition Theseus led the Attic youths and maidens in this dance[100]. The representation is superbly executed. The connexion of the name of Ariadne with this dance is sufficient to show its originally religious character, and probably it remained so always, theoretically; but even as early as the time of Homer, according to the following account from the Iliad, the religious element does not appear prominently:

Also with cunning art he wrought a dancing-floor; like unto that which erst, in broad Knossos, Daidalos had made for fair-haired Ariadne. Thereon young men and comely damsels were dancing, that clasped each other by the wrist. The damsels were arrayed in vestures of fine linen, and the men in fine-spun tunics, glossy with oil. And the damsels wore fair coronals, while the men carried golden dirks hanging from baldrics of silver. Now they would dance with cunning feet, lightly, as when a potter sitting at his task maketh trial of the wheel that is ready to his hands, to see if it run; now they would dance in long lines, facing one another. And a great company stood around the beauteous dancing-place, rejoicing; and two tumblers, leading the dance, kept whirling through the midst[101].

This dance was adopted by the Romans from the Greeks. Virgil compares its complicated evolutions with the windings of the Cretan labyrinth[102]; and

that the comparison is more than a mere poetical flourish appears from a drawing on a very ancient Etruscan vase found at Tragliatella. The drawing represents a procession of seven beardless warriors dancing, accompanied by two armed riders on horseback, who are also beardless. An inscription proves that the scene depicted is the “Game of Troy”; and attached to the procession is a figure of the Cretan labyrinth, the pattern of which is well known from coins of Cnossus, on which it is often represented. The same pattern, identified by an inscription, Labyrinthus, hic habitat Minotaurus, is scratched on a wall at Pompeii, and it is also worked in mosaic on the floor of Roman apartments, with the figures of Theseus and Minotaur in the middle[103].

After pointing out the widespread occurrence of this labyrinth pattern, both for the purpose of games as well as of decorations, Frazer continues:

A dance or game which has thus spread over Europe, and survived in a fashion to modern times must have been very popular, and bearing in mind how often with the decay of old faiths the serious rites and pageants of grown people have degenerated into the sports of children, we may reasonably ask whether “Ariadne’s Dance,” or the “Game of Troy,” may not have had its origin in religious ritual. The ancients connected it with Cnossus and the Minotaur. Now we have reason to hold, with many other scholars, that Cnossus was the seat of a great worship of the sun, and that the Minotaur was a representative or embodiment of the sun-god. May not, then, “Ariadne’s Dance” have been an imitation of the sun’s course in the sky? And may not its intention have been, by means of sympathetic magic, to aid the luminary to run his race on high?... If there is any truth in this conjecture it would seem to follow that the sinuous lines of the labyrinth which the dancers followed in their evolutions may have represented the ecliptic, the sun’s apparent annual path in the sky. It is some confirmation of this view that on the coins of Cnossus the sun or a star appears in the middle of the labyrinth, the place which on other coins is occupied by the Minotaur[104].

Frazer’s interesting suggestion points to the originally religious character of “Ariadne’s Dance,” which in course of time it lost. Like the dances at Harvest and Vintage festivals, “Ariadne’s Dance” was one of the mediums whereby the sacred dance developed into a purely secular amusement. The same may be said of the Geranos, or “Crane Dance,” danced at Delos, which was apparently derived from “Ariadne’s Dance[105]”; and also of the Hormos, or “Chain Dance,” which was also performed by youths and maidens holding their hands in a changing line[106].

Finally, reference may be made to a few representations of the sacred dance found in Cyprus, in addition to those already mentioned. On a vase, numbered cxxxii. 1 by Ohnefalsch-Richter[107], a dance is represented in which men and women are taking part, two of the former hold semi-circular instruments with which they accompany the dance; also, three of the men, one of whom seems to be acting as the leader, carry small swords at their sides; this illustrates the words of Homer in the quotation given above (lines 597-8). Again, on two bronze vases, numbered cxxix. 2 and cxxx. 1, the dance represented shows women only, some of whom are playing instruments, pipe, harp, and drum[108]; a similar representation occurs on a painted Etruscan vase (cxxxii. 4), while on a thin golden plate from a grave near Corinth[109] women are portrayed dancing and clothed with long garments; this is numbered xxv. 15.

VI

In turning now to the sacred dance among the Romans we find that there is not nearly the amount of material from which to gather information that there is among the Greeks. Cicero said: “No man who is in a sober state and not demented would dance either privately or in decent company[110].” If, as we may suppose was the case, this reflected the general opinion, one can well understand why it was that dancing never played such a part in the national life of the Romans as it did in that of the Greeks. Cicero, however, as is clear from the context of this quotation, was referring to dancing as a pastime, which respectable Romans regarded as inconsistent with their dignity. The dance in worship was a different matter. Nevertheless, even in this domain it did not play the part, nor anything like it, that it did among the Greeks. And what there was of it was, in the main, due to Greek influence[111]. Not altogether, however; and the influence of oriental cults must not be overlooked. Reinach, in speaking of the effect that eastern religions produced upon that of Rome, pointedly contrasts the hypocrisy of the sceptical priests in Italy (“deux aruspices, disait Coton, ne peuvent se regarder sans rire”) with the earnestness and sincerity of the oriental priest:

Quelle différence avec le prêtre oriental qui va droit au fidèle, l’appelle son frère et le traite en conséquence, éveille et nourrit les élans de sa dévotion, lui enseigne l’exstase, l’espérance d’un monde meilleur....

Then he refers to the alien influences on the religion of Rome:

Juvénal se plaint que l’Oronte de Syrie se soit déversé dans le Tibre; il aurait pu en dire autant du Nil, du Jourdain, et de l’Halys... L’Empire romain se remplit des adorateurs d’Attis, d’Isis, d’Osiris, de Sérapis, de Sabazios, de Zeus Dolichenos, de Mithra. Les pratiques les plus étranges, empreinte d’un sombre mysticisme, remplacèrent les froides et sévères coutumes romaines[112].

But while giving due weight to the effect of these oriental influences, the fact remains that it is chiefly to Greece that Rome owed the entry of new cults. Within the small domain with which we are specially concerned we have already considered the example of the “Game of Troy,” where it was evident that this was borrowed from Greece. Another example which may be cited is the ritual which accompanied the processions of supplication; a solemn dance-step was characteristic of these; such, for instance, was that which went from the temple of Apollo before the Porta Carmentalis to that of Juno Regina on the Aventine; to her an offering of two white cows was made by the Decemviri. These latter formed the centre of the procession, and in front of them were twenty-seven virgins who had to sing in honour of Juno. The singing took place during a halt in the forum; here the maidens sang their song while dancing with a measured, stately tread. As Wissowa says, the entire ritual was Greek from beginning to end[113]. It is probable that the dancing priests who belonged to the early Roman cultus[114] witness also to Greek influence.

An interesting case of what may well have been an indirect importation from Greece, and which records one of the earliest instances of the sacred dance among the Romans, is mentioned by Frazer:

“In the fourth century before our era,” he writes, “the city of Rome was desolated by a great plague which raged for three years, carrying off some of the highest dignitaries and a great multitude of common folk. The historian who records the calamity informs us that when a banquet had been offered to the gods in vain, and neither human counsels nor divine help availed to mitigate the violence of the disease, it was resolved for the first time in Roman history to institute dramatical performances as an appropriate means of appeasing the wrath of the celestial powders. Accordingly, actors were fetched from Etruria, who danced certain simple and decorous dances to the music of a flute. But even this novel spectacle failed to amuse or touch, to move to tears or laughter, the sullen gods[115]....”

The means which were subsequently found to be effective do not concern us here; the point is that the sacred dance was imported from Etruria, and it is well known that the Etruscans were largely indebted to Greece for their religious ideas and ritual.

It will be unnecessary to offer further illustrations of this type of religious dance among the Romans since it was mainly derived from Greece, and we have already devoted a section to the rite among the Greeks. It only remains to be said that there is a marked difference in the mode of performing the sacred dance between the two peoples. Due largely to national temperament, but also to earlier oriental influences, the Greeks in their sacred dances gave freer vent to natural impulse, a characteristic which was especially pronounced in the ecstatic dance, with which we deal below ([pp. 119 ff.]). The Romans, on the other hand, were far more restrained and dignified in their performance of them. Nevertheless, among both peoples the sacred dance was a necessary adjunct to worship, and that is the point with which we are specially concerned.

VII

We do not propose to deal, excepting incidentally, with the sacred dance among the Asiatic peoples; firstly, because it would greatly increase the bulk of this volume; and secondly, because it is doubtful whether our doing so would really throw much further light on the subject than we gain from the study of its prevalence among the peoples here considered. It may be said generally, that the Asiatics are like the other peoples with whom we deal in their belief that the sacred dance comes from the higher powers. Among them, too, the sacred dance is an important part of the ritual of worship, it has different purposes, and it is very widespread. That much even a superficial knowledge of the religion of the Asiatic peoples makes clear.

In referring to the subject of Vedic and Brahman worship in India Lehmann says that the original character of Vedic sacrifice was a friendly feast for the gods, and among the different ways of showing honour to the exalted guests during the sacrifices were offerings of incense, music, and dances, which were believed to give them pleasure[116].

VIII

Lastly, we come to consider a few examples of the sacred dance in general among some of the uncultured races.

The Dakotahs perform a sacred dance in connexion with their worship of the sun; it is executed by two young men “in a very singular attitude,” as Schoolcraft says. These two young worshippers perform the dance while in a state of almost complete nudity; each has a small whistle in his mouth with which he accompanies the dance at intervals, and each faces the sun while dancing, that is, as long as the sun is above the horizon. The mode of dancing is a kind of hitch of first one leg and then the other; they do this in a rhythmic manner and keep time by beating on raw hides of parchment.... This dance is kept up for two, and occasionally three, days, during which time the worshippers partake of no food[117].

To take, next, an example from Central America; Lumholtz[118] relates of the Tarahumare Indians of Mexico that they believe that by dancing they are able to gain the favour of their gods; their dancing is “a series of monotonous movements, a kind of rhythmical exercise,” which they keep up sometimes for two nights. “By dint of such hard work they think to prevail upon the gods to grant their prayers.” According to the same writer, the Tarahumares say that the animals taught them how to dance; that is an interesting point which will come before us again in a moment. They regard dancing as a very serious and ceremonious matter, it is “a kind of worship and incantation rather than amusement.” The same is true of the ancient Peruvians, to take a South American example; the sacred dance was the “grand form of religious demonstration among them,” and they were very assiduous in this form of devotion[119].

The belief of the Tarahumares that the animals first taught them how to dance is interesting, for although it points to a relatively low religious mentality, it is a stage in advance, for example, of that of the natives of Ponape, one of the Caroline islands, in the Pacific; among these

the different families suppose themselves to stand in a certain relation to animals, and especially to fishes, and believe in their descent from them. They actually name these animals “mothers”; the creatures are sacred to the family and may not be injured. Great dances, accompanied with the offering of prayers, are performed in their honour[120].

These animals are their gods whom they honour by dancing; the Tarahumares have separated their gods from the animals, but we may well surmise that in an earlier stage among them their gods were the animals who taught them to dance, and in whose honour they danced. Réville is certainly right in his conjecture that the sacred dance among uncultured races was the earliest form of adoration[121].

A good illustration of the way in which similar forms of worship are in vogue among different peoples where there can be no question of borrowing is afforded by the worship of the Pleiades. This was practised by the ancient Peruvians[122], though whether dancing was performed in their honour (which was highly probable) we are not told; but the aborigines of Australia “sing and dance to gain the favour of the Pleiades” (whom they call Mormodellick), they are worshipped as the givers of rain[123]. The Blackfeet Indians of North America likewise worship the Pleiades;

at the general meeting of the nation there is a dance of warriors, which is supposed to represent the dance of the seven young men who are identified with the Pleiades. For the Indians say that the seven stars of the constellation were seven brothers, who guarded by night the field of sacred seed and danced round it to keep themselves awake during the long hours of darkness[124].

Frazer has collected many instances of the worship of this constellation in lands widely separated; in most cases there is no mention of dancing in its honour, but it is difficult to believe that this did not take place during the celebration of the Festivals held at its appearance[125].

Finally, one or two examples of the sacred dance in the continent of Africa may be offered. Speaking of the religion of the African aborigines generally, Schneider says that a living faith in a beneficent god of some kind is one of its characteristics. He is worshipped, on the one hand, from fear; but on the other, as a mark of gratitude; and one of the chief ways whereby this gratitude is shown is by songs and dances accompanied by music[126]. Again, the Kaffirs perform ceremonious dances on all sacred occasions; their mimic dances, performed with a view to prepare for hunting or war, have also a serious side[127]. The same is true of the Namaquas; among these when anyone embraces Christianity it is said that “he has given up dancing[128].” The Masai worship the god Engai whom they conceive as embodied in the sky, or at all events as dwelling there; he, too, is worshipped with songs and dances[129].

Examples could, of course, be multiplied to any extent; those given are, however, quite sufficient for our purpose; and, as will have been noticed, they represent, apart from Europe, all the continents.

SUMMARY AND CONSIDERATIONS

The sacred dance among the Israelites was performed in honour of Jahwe, their national God; and it is evident that the processional form of dance was a normal mode in the ritual of worship. Although the evidence as to the existence of this rite among the Syrians and Arabs is scanty, yet its prevalence is sufficiently attested by the mention on an inscription of Baal-Marqôd, “the lord of dancing”; this name may well point to the belief among the Phoenicians that its divine bearer was the originator of the sacred dance; so that in performing it his worshippers did it in imitation of him, and therefore in his honour. Dances performed by the Bedouin Arabs of the Syrian Desert in honour of exalted personages may quite reasonably be regarded as an adaptation of the earlier religious rite of dancing in honour of a god or spirit.

Religious processions which were common in the worship of Assyrians and Babylonians must be regarded as a form of sacred dance in the extended use of the term. In connexion with the well-known joyful character of the religious festivals among the Semites it is worth remembering that the Assyrian word rakâdu means both “to rejoice” and “to dance”; where there was rejoicing, whether of a secular or religious kind, there was dancing; from which we may assume that at Assyrian religious festivals the sacred dance had its place. Direct evidence of the processional dance among the Assyrians is offered by an inscription found in the palace of Asshurbanipal. Some inscriptions found in Cyprus may possibly reflect Babylonian and Assyrian usage, but the dance represented on these is of a less formal character than the processional dance.

Two inscriptions, one from Boghazkeui, the other from Cyprus, bear unmistakable evidence of the religious processional dance among the Hittites.

Dancing in honour of Egyptian divinities is well attested on inscriptions; there is justification for the contention that the Egyptians believed that their gods and goddesses danced, and that therefore their worshippers performed the sacred dance in imitation of them. Ḥatḥor, Bastet, Bēs, and Isis are Egyptian divinities in connexion with whom dancing is mentioned. A special ritual dance was performed by Egyptian kings in honour of the god when making their offerings.

Of particular interest is the sacred dance among the Greeks. They, too, believed that gods and goddesses first danced; it was in honour of them, and in imitation of what they did, that their worshippers danced. Apollo, Ares, Pan, Zeus, Hera, the Dioscuri, Athena, and, above all, Dionysos and Artemis are the deities especially mentioned in this connexion. The evidence, which is abundant, is obtained from representations on pottery and inscriptions, as well as from literary sources. Among the Greeks the type of dances here considered was performed primarily in honour of gods and goddesses; but there is reason to believe that some dances had originally other purposes. “Ariadne’s Dance” is probably the most striking example; for there are distinct indications of its having been at one time an imitation of the sun’s course in the sky, and of having, by means of imitative magic, the purpose of assisting the sun in running its course.

The Romans were primarily indebted to the Greeks for their sacred dances, though oriental influences were also pronounced.

The sacred dance was an important element in Vedic and Brahman worship; it was, likewise, performed primarily in honour of divinities.

Probably the most instructive area in which to study the sacred dance and its objects is that of the uncultured races, for among them it is seen in its native simplicity, unaffected, for the most part, by the exigencies of a more advanced civilization. The dance in honour of the sun, performed, for example, by the Dakotahs in a practically nude state points to the belief of the sun being a person with whom it was possible to have a more or less direct contact; the sensation upon the naked body of the warmth of its rays would denote this contact. The long-continued dance in its honour offers an example of touching, if naïve, devotion, emphasized by the accompanying fast. The belief that by means of dancing in honour of the gods they can be prevailed upon to answer prayers—as exemplified by Central American Indians—reveals a mentality so deeply ingrained in human nature that the underlying idea can be paralleled by the religious exercises of people among the most civilized nations at the present day. That is an interesting phenomenon about which much could be said, but which would involve our straying far away from the immediate subject in hand. These same Central American Indians say that the animals taught them to dance; this belief is undoubtedly the explanation of the form of many dances in vogue among savages; just as more civilized peoples, such, for example, as the Greeks, imitated what they believed to be the dances of their gods and goddesses, so these savages imitated what they saw to be the movements of animals[130]. There, however, the parallel ceases, for the savages believed they were descended from these animals; it was, thus, their ancestors whom they honoured by their imitative dances. Could the beliefs of these Mexican Indians have developed spontaneously, untouched by extraneous influences—a thing which is, of course, out of the question now—it is quite possible that from these animals “high gods” would have been evolved. Perhaps an illustration of this evolutionary process is to be seen in one of the forms of the Greek worship of Artemis, viz. in that of the Brauronian ceremonies. The high probability that in the dance performed during these ceremonies it was at one time customary for the dancers to wear bear-skins points to the connexion of Artemis with the bear. The meaning of this ritual is clear if we suppose that some remote ancestors of the Greeks danced in honour of the bear in the belief that they were descended from bears. The dance in bear-skins would thus be a personating of the goddess, that is to say, a means of union with her[131].

Another line in the process of religious evolution is seen in the widespread worship of the Pleiades. Australian aborigines dance in their honour for the purpose of inducing them to give rain, without, apparently, forming any ideas as to the nature of the Pleiades; but the Blackfeet Indians of North America imitate in dance seven young men, identified with the Pleiades, who appear to be the guardians of the crops.

In the few examples of worship among different African aborigines given above we have seen that dancing was in honour of their gods and an essential part of their worship, and we may well believe that the reason of this was the belief that the worshippers were imitating their gods in doing so. While the purpose is always honorific, we may be sure that they also had practical ends in view, viz. either the obtaining of food, or effecting union with the god. So that it is true to say that the sacred dance was the means of satisfying two essential needs of man: natural and spiritual sustenance.

In asking, finally, what is the bearing of this short investigation upon the religion of the Israelites we note first of all that the Israelites were at one with practically all the nations of antiquity, as well as with the uncivilized peoples, in performing the sacred dance in their worship. The primary object was, among the Israelites, as among the others, to honour their God. Why this rite should have been thought of as pleasing to the deity we have already considered. It is, however, improbable that the question troubled the Israelites; it was sufficient that it had been handed down from time immemorial as an essential constituent in the ritual of worship.

Further, we have seen that there was a very widespread belief that the sacred dance originated with the gods, or, in the case of savages, with animals regarded as ancestors. While there is no hint in the Old Testament of any similar belief among the Israelites, we may well ask, in view of what has just been said about the ubiquity of the sacred dance itself, whether such a belief, or the echo of it, may not actually have existed among them. It can scarcely be without significance that we get definite traces of it in the later Jewish literature which preserves in such numberless instances ancient traditions. It is said, for example, in the Midrash Shir ha-Shirim to vii. 1 that God Himself will lead the dance of the righteous in the world to come. In an exegetical exercise of a typically Rabbinical type on Ps. xlviii. 13, 14 (14, 15 in Hebr.) we are told that the words: “Mark well her bulwarks,” should be rendered: “Direct your heart to the dance”; for instead of lĕḥēlah one must read lĕḥūlah (“to the dance”). It is said, further, that, in that day the righteous shall point with their fingers and say, “This is our God, who will lead us,” i.e. in the dance. Then it is said that the last word of the psalm ʿal-muth (“unto death”) should be read ʿalamôth (“maidens”), i.e. God will lead the dance of the righteous in the world to come just as the maidens lead the dance in this world! We are not concerned with the exegesis, but only with the idea put forth. It is quite conceivable that some old-world tradition lies behind it. In any case, it suggests a parallel to the belief of many other peoples. It shows also that we may at times be justified in seeking for side-lights upon the religion of Israel from quarters which may not appear promising; we fully realize the pitfalls into which we may stumble in such cases, and the consequent need of caution; but one must be venturesome on occasion.

We drew attention just now to the belief of the Central American Indians that their gods could be prevailed upon to answer prayer by means of the sacred dance; the “limping” dance of the prophets of Baal had a similar purpose, though in this case there is a toning down inasmuch as there is an appeal to the pity of the god. Not very far removed from this is the idea of putting compulsion upon the god; an idea familiar to uncivilized man[132]; and it is quite possible that in some cases the sacred dance was believed to have the effect of coercing the god to do what was required of him. The underlying idea is similar to that expressed in Gen. xxviii. 20-22:

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall Jahwe be my God....

CHAPTER VI
THE RITUAL DANCE ROUND A SACRED OBJECT

I

The ritual encircling dance, whether in procession with measured tread or in the form of a dance-step—and both are varieties of what is essentially the same thing—is perhaps the commonest kind of sacred dance. Its occurrence is world-wide. The object around which it takes place was in most cases, at any rate originally, a sacred one: an idol, an altar, a sacrificial victim, a holy tree, or a well. The encirclement was also performed round other things; but in these cases the dance is of another type to which attention will be drawn later.

Of sacred trees[133] and wells[134] among the Israelites we have abundant witness in the Old Testament; there is also plenty of evidence of their existence among other Semitic peoples, see, for example, Baudissin, Studien zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte, II. 154 ff. (1876); Robertson Smith, The Religion of the Semites, Lecture V. (1894); Lagrange, Études sur les religions sémitiques, pp. 158 ff., 162 ff. (1903), to mention but three of the foremost authorities. The Old Testament nowhere mentions any details of the cult in connexion with these sacred objects, for reasons which have been pointed out[135], and therefore there is no allusion to the dance around them; but as we know from so many sources that wherever sacred trees and springs existed (which has been all the world over) part of the ritual in connexion with them consisted of the sacred dance, we need not gather from the silence of the Old Testament that it did not take place.

An interesting instance may be given of the way in which we are able to supplement an Old Testament record from other sources. In Num. xxi. 17, 18, occurs this song to the well:

Spring up, O well. Sing ye unto it;

To the well which the princes digged,

Which the nobles of the people delved,