Re: a long piece of silk, a long time

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: : I've recently found an art piece of a lady doing a dance, with : hennaed : : Is there : : a name for a dance done with a long silk scarf? Is it still done? : I was able to dig up an article on a web site which had the history : of bellydancing. Hopefully, this is what you were looking for. It's a : bit long, but very informative... : : The dancing girls and dancing boys are a recognized institution : throughout the Near East; they were the actors and actresses of their : time. : However so little is known about them because dancing was regarded by : the scholarly writers of the past as an "improper and wicked sport", : especially when indulged in by professionals. The name for both : dancing boys and girls is of the origin of this word is its similarity : to the word "ingene" meaning gypsy. The majority of these dancers : were, in fact, gypsies. The " upperchested harp, which is sometimes : called a "jew's harp". : There are two other words for dancing boys: "kÕek" (and their music : kÕekÕe), and "tav~anÕa". The "tavsan rasan" dance (tavsan=rabbit) : refers to the grimaces, facial contortions, light steps, and jumps, : and facial expressions which imitated the rabbit. The difference in : tav~an and kÕek was more in the manner of their dressing according to : Metin And. : The kÕek, or dancing boys, were organized into different guilds or : companies of entertainers called "kol". By the mid 1600's there were : said to be some three thousand of these dancers, in approximately : twelve companies. They were usually gypsies, Armenians or Jews, as : Turks were not supposed to enter such a degrading profession. Be that : as it may, these dancers were so beloved by their audiences that poets : sang their praises in verse, praising their physical beauty and their : skills. : The dancing boys were young boys whose dance and external appearance : suggested femininity. Sometimes they grew their hair long and : decorated their locks with ornaments and wore pointed hats. On some : occasions they even dressed like girls. Their dancing consisted of : leisurely walks, finger snapping, short mincing steps, slow movements, : suggestive gestures, somersaulting, wrestling, rolling upon the ground : and other forms of mimicry. : The boys danced as long as they preserved their good looks and could : conceal their beards. This custom which so astounded western : travellers arose because of Islamic prohibitions against association : with women. The dancing boys were a safe substitute for the prohibited : women and girls, and any sexual liaisons which might have resulted : were very much a part of the culture, even if not considered : respectable. : The dancing girls also had a following. They were very reported to be : very popular and a delight to see. A kol or company of engi consisted : of the Kolba~i, the leader of the company and her assistant, and : usually twelve dancing girls and four musicians called straci, one of : whom played the fiddle, the other a double drum called nekkare, and : the remaining two played tambourines. : Their age limit was thirty to thirty-five. The Kolba~i and her : assistant were older women. Their dancing was described as suggestive : contortions, a good deal of stomach play and twisting of the body, : falling upon the knees with the trunk held back (a backbend) to the : extent that the spectators were encouraged to put a coin on their : forehead. This is the same custom observed in Egypt called "nukoot". : Every muscle and both shoulders were made to quiver (i.e. a shimmy) : and all this was alternated with graceful poses and feminine : affectations. Sometimes they would perform a pantomime of physical : love with an expression of restrained passion; retiring as if alarmed : or humiliated and sometimes taking bold or daring attitudes, : pretending to throw their breasts or lips to the spectators. : The homosexual tendencies which occurred amongst the dancing boys also : occurred amongst the female engi dancers, who sometimes performed : in the bath houses. There was a special name for this type of dancer, : called Zrefa (lit. graceful). There was a special kind of handkerchief : and a special symbolic language used to reveal their inclinations. : Just as dancing boys chiefly impersonated females dancing, the female : dancers occasionally impersonated males, as they had always done when : women performed plays in the seclusion of the harem. Another : interesting aspect of harem performances is that the musicians who : played for the Sultan's harem dancers were expected to play : blindfolded. : One accessory of the dancing girls was a silken scarf. Holding the two : ends of the silken scarf in their fingers, they would either play the : shy maiden or the flirting courtesan; of they would twist a colored : scarf into a rope and wind it round the head or neck, or else they : would hold the scarf in front of their face like a veil, hence the : names of the dance which have survived are "kaytan oyunu" or "tura : Oyunu" (kaytan and tura mean silk cord, braid, knotted handkerchief). : It was described as a pantomime on amorous relations executed to the : accompaniment of eng and tambourine. Modern belly dancers, in : imitation of this practice use large rectangular or half-circle veils.

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