Once there came to the court of the Prince of Birkasha, a dancer and her musicians. And she was admitted to the court. And she danced to the music of the flute, the lute, and the zither.



She danced the dance of flames and fire, and the dance of swords and spears, she danced the dance of stars and the dance of space, and then she danced the dances of flowers in the wind.

When she had finished, she approached the prince and bowed her body before him. The prince bade her to come nearer, and said unto her, "Beautiful woman, daughter of grace and delight, whence comes your art and how is it that you command all the elements in your rythms and your rhymes?

And the dancer came near and bowed her body again and said, "Gracious majesty, I know not the answer to your questionings. Only this I know:

The philosophers soul dwells within his head, the poets soul dwells within his heart, the singers soul dwells about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body." This sums up beautifully the power of dance.

Dance and rites of passage go far beyond the birth, marriage and death ceremonies which immediately come to mind. There are also educational, social and spiritual rites of passage and a great many rites combine all three. People throughout the world are in a highly emotional state at times of major life changes. These stressful changes may be due to psychological causes, life threatening illness, divorce, retirement and other problems.

What follows is not an anthropological study on the subject of dance and rites of passage. I would just like to illustrate the role of dance at times of joy as well as stress and strain. I shall use the rituals of birth, marriage and death to demonstrate how dance is a vital component of almost all ceremonies worldwide connected to these events. These rites of passage rituals sometimes involve an individual and at other times they are a group event.

These occasions are not just social transitions but have a very strong spiritual element though it must be said that in highly industrialized and "individualistic" societies the sacred aspect has less and less importance. Rites of passage continue to be extremely important in societies where the emphasis is still strongly on family and group solidarity rather than on individual self-fulfillment.Value is placed on the wisdom of age and the elders pass on the groups collective wisdom. Many societies to-day would benefit from finding a respectful and honoured place in society for the elderly.

In Haiti ritual dances are held for healing at birth. Even to-day there are reports from Middle Eastern countries of women in labour being surrounded by their female friends and family who belly dance with the woman in labour to help her to give birth.As much Middle Eastern female dancing is "down into the ground", soft and sinuous I can well imagine that this helps to relax the birthing muscles. The baby is danced into the world. What a wonderful way to welcome a newborn child!

A very important rite of passage marks the transition of the young person to adulthood. The ceremonies for girls don't necessarily take place at the time of the first menses. Some societies wait until just before marriage. Ceremonies for both boys and girls emphasize that on becoming adults they will have responsibilities to their society. They are taught tribal history and how adult men and women are expected to behave and interact with others. The ceremonies are always led by the elders.

Girls are taught what is is to be a wife, daughter-in-law, mother and how to run a household. Boys might have to undergo frightening and painful ordeals such as scarification, camping deep in the bush, hunting amongst many others.The Aranda of Central Australia peform circumcision and fire ordeals to strengthen cooperation among male hunting groups and to gain access to the Dreamtime. In Central Africa certain groups consciously use dance to bring about changes in the bodies and spirits of the young girls so that they emerge as full women.

In some parts of Africa and the Middle East this is the time when young girls undergo clitoridectomy or infibulation. Personally, I fervently hope that the practitioners themselves will decide to allow this custom which causes such pain, sexual and birth difficulties to fall into disuse.

The Sunrise Ceremonial marks the point when an Apache girl becomes a woman. The rite takes place after a girls first menstruation. There is a report of a girl dancing for six hours in her heavy buckskin robes. In times past the girls danced all through the night.The ceremony is accompanied by numerous prayers and songs. At the end the girl has become a strong woman with spiritual understanding.

The Bambuti Pygmies in the Ituri forest of Zaire have a rite of passage called "elima". Older female relatives teach the girls among other things the songs, dances and village history. The conclusion of the ceremony is marked by dancing which goes on for many hours.

In many parts of Latin America and areas of the United States where there are Puerto Rican, Cuban or Mexican Americans girls may celebrate their "quinceanera" which has some aspects similar to a "sweet 16" party. The young girls show a renewal of devotion to the church but it is also the age at which they are old enough to begin dating boys. The celebrant picks an escort for herself and invites sixteen other young people to be members of her court. Each court member is expected to spend many hours rehearsing choreographed dances for the event.

The rites of passage can mark stages in education, social status or spiritual knowledge.In Australia debutante balls are generally held in the eleventh year of the Australian school system. It is the girl who asks a boy to the ball. Boys cannot "do the deb" unless they are asked.

A cotillion or debutante ball in the United States of America is a formal presentation of young ladies to those who are considered to be the "cream of society". The girls are usually recommended by a distinguished commitee or sponsored by an established member of polite society. These balls are often charity affairs.

This is rather different to tribal society where all members will undergo the rites of passage. In the United States approach , selection, social status and finance are the qualifying factors.

Countries such as Australia and the U.S have been influenced by customs which originated in England. The debutante season and "coming out" originated in the eighteenth century when Kind George 111 held a ball for his wifes' birthday. The most important ball was Queen Charlottes'Ball where well-bred girls danced with eligible young men and hoped to find a suitable marriage partner. This rite of passage asured a girl of her position in society while also declaring her to be of marriagable age. Queen Elizabeth 11 abolished the ceremony of presentation at court in 1958.

In the United States, England and no doubt in other countries there has been a marked interest by parents, educators, the clergy and people of various spiritual orientations in arranging retreats for teen-agers which provide a rite of passage relevant to the youths and the position they will have to take in this increasingly complex world.

Marriage is a rite of passage that worldwide is associated with dancing so I'm not going to dwell on this subject. In Mexico while the bride and groom dance, guests gather around in the shape of a heart. The Cajuns of Louisianna are famous for their good food and life-style. They celebrate a wedding with a dance or reception. In french a wedding dance is called "la Bal de Noce " which is the term the Cajuns have adopted.

In death too, music and dance play a part. Farewells can take place to the throbbing of drums and much dancing or may be very staid and stiff affairs.

The New Orleans jazz funeral has its origins in the Dahomean and Yoruba cultures of West Africa. The joyful music and enthusiastic dancing which takes place after the funeral rites reflects the belief that death is a gateway to a better place where one is re-united with the ancestors. The band accompanies the mourners and the coffin from the deceased's home or the funeral parlour, to the church. then the party either march to the cemetery or they "cut the body lose" (send the hearse off to the cemetary). Until this point the procession is solomn and the band plays dirges adapted from French martial music. As soon as they "cut the body loose" or leave the cemetery, the band strikes up a joyous sound and everyone dances back to the lodge hall with others joining in along the way.

Death is the final and ultimate rite of passage!