Dance in Author(s): Patricia Spencer Reviewed work(s): Source: Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 66, No. 3, in the Ancient World (Sep., 2003), pp. 111-121 Published by: The American Schools of Oriental Research Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3210914 . Accessed: 19/04/2012 18:23

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http://www.jstor.org A ncient Egypthas left a rich and variedtextual legacy.Nevertheless, evidence on dance per se from literarysources is rare, since the ancient Egyptianssaw no need to describe in words something that was so familiarto them. There are a numberof termsthat were used for the verb "to dance,"the most commonbeing ib3. Other termsthat describespecific or movementsare knownbut unfortunately these often occursimply as "labels"to scenesor in contextswhere they saylittle or noth- ing of the natureof the dancein question.From casual references in literatureor administrative documentsit is, however,possible to learnsomething about dance and dancers in ancient Egypt,their lives and the attitudesof the ancientEgyptians towards performers.

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The "Scorpion" mace head, depicting dancers performing at a royal ceremony. Three dancers (there may have originally been more) are shown with braided hair. ': '- \ They have one leg raised and would seem to be clapping . - their hands as they perform.These dancers accompany a scene of the king (named "Scorpion") ritually breaking soil - and were therefore performing in a ceremonial context. .: , Drawing by Richard Parkinson after Marion Cox.

NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) 111 r r ~~ A~~~~~~.~

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Dancers performingat the Festival of Opet, during which the state god, -Re,traveled in his barque from his home at Karnakto temple. Photo courtesy of the author.

In the popularculture, dance was something people took for granted and rarelydescribed. This is, of course, not unique to Egypt in antiquity-references to dance in Egypt from the to the CE are scarce but Byzantine period eighteenth century The god dancingand this does not mean that dance had ceased to exist. It was only playinga . when European travelers started to visit Egypt and the Near Bes, probablya god of East and to record the dance that they saw performed in Africanorigin, was private salons, at parties or in the context of weddings or street usuallyshown as a lion- festivals, that Egyptian or other "oriental" dances were headed dwarfand was associated described in any detail. particularly withthe of There are many obstacles to attempting to understand the warding-off evil spiritsand thus with purpose of dance and the contexts in which it took place in the protectionof the ancient Egypt and especially in attempting to reconstruct any motherand childduring of the movements involved. The same is true of historical any childbirth.The which one has to on textual and decorative period for rely believed that his dancing evidence, but is especially so for ancient Egypt where the and musicwould drive conventions for depicting the human form were so stylized awayevil spiritsand offer and, essentially, static, that any accurate representation of protectionto his movement was difficult, if not impossible. charges.Reproduced Virtually all representations of dancers from ancient Egypt courtesyof the Trustees of The BritishMuseum. are two dimensional. They come from the walls of temples or

112 NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) r Scene fromthe tomb of Intefat DraAbu'l Naga. This I tomb scene shows womenwearing calf-length dresses, braceletsand anklets,and withwhite fillets tied around a (I/? I I IIii I 1I theirlong flowing hair, dancing in pairswith a wide range of movements,some moreelegantly depicted than others.After Petrie (1909: frontispiece).Reproduced courtesyof the PetrieMuseum of EgyptianArchaeology London. .Ac U t UniversityColleqe I . tombs or fromdepictions on ostraca and papyrus, and they were governed by the artistic conventions of ancient Egypt, which required that the human form be depicted in accordance with a strict canon that left little room for flexibility or for the artist to use his imagination and skill to try and show three-dimensional movement with any degree of accuracy.There is also the additional problem that the dance scenes that have been preserved from ancient Itl I II I I'" '^I Il ^ Egyptwere not intended to informviewers about IH I; ^ dance, its nature and context, but were carved or 4 4 'Iii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~11 ,m1 painted on the walls of tombs or temples for purposes that are not always obvious or even

Banquetscene from the tomb of .Two girls are shown dancing accompaniedby a group of female musicians.The two dancers are depicted with much more freedom than was possible for earlierartists and their bodies are almost entwined as they dance and snap their fingers to the beat of the music. Reproducedcourtesy of the Trusteesof The BritishMuseum.

NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) 113 A funeraldance scene fromthe tomb of Niunetjerat .Three of the dancershold a throw-stickin their left handswhile shaking sistra. (The is a musicalinstrument with smallmetal disksthreaded horizontallyto forma kindof rattle.)Throw-sticks were used by the Egyptiansin hunting,to bringdown birds,and their occurrencein dance scenes may indicateorigins in a ritual"hunting-dance." After Junker (1951: Abb.44).

intelligible to modern eyes-for example, to demonstrate devotion to a cult, to facilitiate entry to the next world or to show activities that, hopefully, would occur in perpetuity once the deceased had attained his eternal goal. Most of the scenes were never intended to be seen by more than a handful of , cult devotees, whether of a god or a deceased individual. _* IfoWith these privisos in mind, however,it is possibleto surveywhat is known of , even if a full understanding of its nature and its context must remain tantalisinglyunattainable. It should also be borne in mind that the ancient Egyptiancivilization lasted j for over three thousand years and, while it is deservedly regarded as having been a very "conservative" Acrobaticdancers in the tomb of Kagemniat .The young women are shown standing on one culture, there must have been leg andleaning backwards (with the otherleg andboth their arms raised) to an extentthat would be changes and developmentsin dance physically- impossible a in real life. Reproducedcourtesy of the EgyptExploration Society. during that time.

114 NEAREASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) Dancers in the tomb 4-, n Fei L 0 ~ depicted I ' 1 " I i a. It, .,,^?e olrelp,=~'C7 - = of Antefikerat Thebes. After (5^= I.1 - _Norman....." de GarisDavies (7920: pls. 23, 23a).

4 , . / )/ well-preservedscene fromthe tomb of Niunetjer at Giza. The dancers are described collectivelyas ib3wtand they are accompanied by a (I / f r`??K kneeling group of three female singers (hswt) who \ are marking the beat by clapping.The costumeof the dancers in this tomb is typical of the period, with

-lr '^ss. short skirts and crossed ...... ,::: . bands across their chests. The three dancersare led by a fourth who carries a The earliest depictions of dance in Egypt are found in rock- sistrumbut no throw-stick,and are followed by a female dwarf, art and on predynasticvessels and are describedin Garfinkel's who also plays a sistrum. Another three dancers face in the contribution to this issue. Egypt became a unified kingdom oppositedirection and have neither throw-sticksnor sistra.The about 3100 BCEand the political and military stability that entire groupmay be an attempt to represent (in so far as it was followed unification led to the flourishing of the distinctive possible for the Egyptian artist within the prevailing pharaonic civilization and the establishment of the artistic conventions) seven women dancing around the dwarfin their conventions to which all representations of dance in ancient midst (Anderson 1995: 2563). Egypt had to conform. The "Scorpion"mace head showing an Similar scenes, though the details vary, are found in many Upper Egyptian king of the period just before unification Old Kingdom tombs. The dancers are often shown in rows providesan early representationof dancers in accordancewith (though this, of course, may simply reflect Egyptian artistic dynastic Egyptianartistic conventions. On the mace head the conventions) and their dance would appearto have been very dancersare shown taking part in a royalceremony and the vast stylized with a limited number of movements. Many of the majorityof depictions of dancersfrom ancient Egyptalso come movements depicted are "acrobatic"in nature, as in the scene from ceremonialreligious or funeraryscenes. from the tomb of Kagemni.Here the dancers are accompanied by women clapping (and probablysinging) as in so manyother FuneraryDances funerarypaintings of dancers.In these Old Kingdomtomb scenes, Chronologically,the next seriesof dance depictionscomes from male dancerswear what mightbe regardedas "everyday"clothes tomb-scenesof the Old Kingdomwhere dancersand singersare with a short kilt. Femaledancers, however, at a time when most shownperforming during the funeralprocession or at the entrance women weredepicted with long ankle-lengthdresses, usually also to the tomb. In this period,these entertainersseem to have been wore short skirts, probably to free their legs for the dance. groupsof, presumably,professional musicians and dancers who Occasionallythey aredepicted as if naked,or withjust a belt around wereattached to temples,funerary estates and importanttombs or their hips. Male dancershave short hair and often so do female cemeteries.The collective name for such a groupduring the Old dancers,though some wore their hair long and tiedback with a disk and Middle Kingdomswas the hnr and they would performat at the end of the "pony-tail"to weighit down and makethe hair's importantfestivals as well as funerals.Initially all the membersof movement more dramatic.There are tomb scenes which show the hnr seem to have been female, with women labeled in tomb couplesdancing together, often holding hands, but these arealways sceneswith titles such as "overseerof the hnr"or "inspectorof the two men or twowomen-men andwomen never dance together. hnr"showing a high degree of organizationand professionalism One of the most uninhibited depictions of dance to have within the group. One Fifth Dynasty lady, Neferesres, had the survivedfrom ancient Egyptfeatures pair-dancers (see p. 113). titles "overseerof the hnrof the king"and "overseerof the dances The scene originally came from the tomb of Intef (Second of the king."The female dominance of the hnr seems to have Intermediateperiod, ca. 1795-1550 BCE)at Dra Abu'l Naga on ended towards the close of the Old Kingdom when male the west bank at Luxorbut is now preservedin the Ashmolean performersstart to be depictedand maleofficials are named (Nord Museum, Oxford. The relaxation of rigid state control that 1981: 29-38). Usually the dancers depicted in these scenes are always occured during an "Intermediate period" (when female,though there are also men and occasionallya dwarf,as in a centralizedgovernment broke down in Egypt) has allowed the

NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) 115 Muudancers, with their distinctive i p2,---ffJ- f headresses, as shown in the tomb of r-l 1i::u Antefikerat Thebes. These headdresses -- = .f "\ n ( were made of woven papyrusstalks i~~~~~Zi and recalled dwellers in the marshyNile Delta where the cites of Sais, Pe and Dep were located. AfterNorman de Garis Davies (1920: pl. 22). I 6/ \ /_ Kingdom to the end of the New r \\ iY \X \ Kingdom (ca. 1069 BCE). They were ./ \\~ \'~X often (though not always) shown // N,jJ )_) J wearing distinctive headdresses, which make them instantly recognizable. artist of this scene the freedom to depict the dancers' evident The storyof the TwelfthDynasty official Sinuhe offersa good enjoyment of their performance. descriptionof an Egyptianfuneral involving the Muu dancers: In the Middle Kingdom(ca. 2135-1985 BCE) funerarydances, as depicted in, for example, the tombs at Beni Hasan, Meir and A funeralprocession will be madefor you on the dayof burial, Deir el-Gebrawi, also often included movements that would with a gold coffin, a maskof lapislazuli, heaven aboveyou, you seem to our eyes to be more "acrobatic"than representativeof being placedin the portableshrine, with oxen pullingyou, and "dance"but we should not assume that the ancient Egyptians singersgoing before you. The danceof the Muuwill be performed made the same distinction between "dancers"and "acrobats" at the entranceto yourtomb and the offeringlist shallbe recited that we do. One interestingscene in the TwelfthDynasty tomb foryou. (Sinuhe,lines 194-195) of Antefiker and his wife Senet at Thebes shows three women clappingwhile two groupsof dancers move towardseach other, There were also dancers who would seem to have been in front of the clapping women. Both groups,each made up of permanentlyattached to the headquartersof the embalmers.A two dancers, are female but, unlike the clapping women who story of the Ptolemaic period lists "dancers, who wear long shifts, they are simplydressed in short kilts and floral frequent the emblamingrooms" among those to be summoned collars.The dancersapproaching from the right have short hair for a royalfuneral (Spiegelberg, quoted by Lexova 1935: 67-68). while the paircoming towardsthem fromthe left both have long Dancers also played a major role in the funerary rituals of pony-tailswith the weighteddisk at the end. the most importantof the sacred bulls of Egypt.The Apis and Perhapsthe most importantof the funerarydances was that Mnevis bulls were accorded royal and divine honors during of the Muu dancers, which is attested in scenes from the Old their lives and were given elaborate burials in special cemeteries on their deaths. Their funerals must have rivaled those of members of the royal family and would have been Dancesof the Gods processionalin nature with dancers employed along the route. The dwarf Djeho, who lived during the Thirtieth Dynasty, Certain and were describes himself on his sacrophagus (, gods goddesses particularly Cairo CG 29307) thus: associatedwith dance in ancientEgypt. The goddess, ,for example, was, with her son Ihy, associated I am the dwarfwho dancedin Kemon the day of the burialof withmusic and dance and dancers were often described the Apis-Osiris... andwho danced in Shenqebehon the dayof the as havingbeen performing in herhonor. Sometimes eternalfestival of the Osiris-Mnevis... (Spiegelberg1929: 76-83; dancersare shown carrying musical instruments (sistra see alsoDasen 1993: 150-55 and pl. 26, 2). and or as mirrorsor menat- clappers) objects(such The of ritual dancers at a whether for a thatwere sacred to Hathor.Another presence funeral, collars) Egyptian king, a sacred bull or a private individual, seems to have been god,the popular Bes, was often shown dancing and very important to the ancient Egyptians.The dancers helped playingmusical instruments. This association with Bes the mourners to'bid farewell to the deceased and also mayaccount for the popularity of dwarves in Egyptian celebratedhis passinginto the next world. dance scenes. Dwarves,as we have seen, were shown at the TempleDances frequently dancing funeralsof individuals, An textual reference to a "divine"dance in and wereinvolved in dances. early dynastic they temple Egyptcomes from the well-known letter written by the six-year old king Pepi II (ca. 2087 BCE)to his official Harkhufwho had

116 NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) Muudancers performingat the Delta shrines. Scene from the tomb of Rekhmireat Thebes. The Muudancers originallyrepresented the ancestors of the deceased who greeted the funeralcortege after it had made a sacred pilgrimageto the ancient Delta cities of Sais, Pe and Dep. Whetherthe deceased had actuallybeen taken on the pilgrimageor was just regarded as havingdone so magically,the Muuperformed when the funeralprocession reached the tomb. AfterNorman de Garis Davies (1943: pl. XCII). led an expedition into what is now Sudan to bring back to the cult templesfor the divineimage to be broughtout of its shrineand court at Memphisa dwarf,in this case possiblya ,for the carriedout of the temple at the time of importantfeasts. Usually "dances of the gods." Harkhuf's success in acquiring the placed in a sacred barque and carried on the shoulders of the "dwarf" earned him a personal letter of thanks from the priests,the divineimage would process around the god'slocal area, excited young king which Harkhuf proudlyhad carved on his or be takento visitother gods in neighboringtowns. The procession tomb walls: accompanyingthe sacredbarque included dancers/acrobats as in the important festivals at Thebes (modern Luxor) in the New Youhave said in this letter of yoursthat you have broughta Kingdom (ca. 1550-1069 BCE). In addition to the "Festivalof dwarffor the dances of the god ... come north to the palace Opet" there was the "Festivalof the Valley"when Amun-Re's immediately ... bring this dwarf with you ... alive prosperousand imagecrossed the riverNile to visit the royalmortuary temples of healthyfor the dancesof the god,to distractthe heartand gladden the west bank. Scenes of both festivals, depicted in tombs and the heart of the Kingof Upperand LowerEgypt ... My Majesty temples,show dancers/acrobats accompanying the procession. wishes to see this dwarfmore than the produceof the mining The occasions on which dancers, musicians and singers regionor of Punt. performedwithin an Egyptiantemple would, presumably,have been very formal and, one imagines, somewhat sedate in We don't know exactly what the "dancesof the gods"were, nature. The entertainers would have been called upon to but presumablythey took place in a religiouscontext, probably praise the god or goddess at particularfestivals throughoutthe within a temple precinct. Most Egyptiantemples seem to have year and their performances would have been witnessed by had dancers and musicians on their staff. A papyrusfrom the only a small select group of priests and temple officials. Twelfth Dynasty temple of Senwosret II at Lahun describes in However, when the divine image was taken out of the temple tabular form the occasions on which dances were performed at the time of more public feasts, then the entertainers, with the name and nationalities of the singers and including dancers and acrobats, who performedas part of the dancers/acrobats concerned. From this we learn that the god's procession would have been seen by the large crowds temple employed Asiatic and Nubian performers,in addition who gathered to watch what must have been one of the most to Egyptians.These dancers were paid to performat religious impressive occasions in the local calendar. Dancing on such feastivals to mark the end of the old year, the New Year,the occasions, in the open air,might well have been less inhibited coming of the annual inundation, the full and new moon and than it normallywas inside the peaceful sanctity of the temple. the feasts of specific gods (Griffith1898: 59-62). Most of the ritualsof Egyptianstate religiontook place within Dancein EverydayLife the temple itself, to which only the priests and the king were Although most of the depictions of dance which have allowed entry, so the temple singers and dancers would have survived from ancient Egypt relate to funerary or religious performedonly for the eyes of the priestsand the godswhom they rituals, there is sufficient evidence to show that dance was not served.However ordinary Egyptians were ableto watch dancesfor confinedto ritualcontexts and playeda veryreal, and important, the gods on the occasionof publicreligious festivals, which often role in the life of ordinary Egyptians. Ancient Egypt had no took the formof processions.It was standardpractice at Egyptian theatricaltradition, with the possibleexception of mythological

NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) 117 playsperformed at religiousfeasts, and any publicentertainment dancers and musiciansis their audience, who would, of course as such must have been limited in scope at a time when most have been on the same level as the dancers-Egyptian artistic people probably rarely strayed far from their home town or convention could not show them all in one register, as this village.Entertainment on festiveoccasions would have been to a would have obscured parts of or whole figures. Dancers in large extent "homemade"and provided either by membersof these New Kingdom tomb scenes are usually women and the the celebrant'sfamily or by hiringprofessional performers. musicians are also often women, though men can be found In addition to scenes of funeraryand temple cult dances, the playingto accompanyfemale dancers.The Egyptiansseem not Egyptiansalso showed dance as it occured in secularsituations, to have had any form of musical notation so we cannot know particularly in the New Kingdom, essentially at private what ancient Egyptianmusic sounded like, any more than we entertainments, and it is from these depictions, less rigid in can reconstructdance movements with any degree of accuracy, style and convention than those in formalreligious or funerary but percussiveinstruments certainly played a majorrole. In the scenes, that we can learn most of the context of dance in the earlier periods, most dancers were accompanied only by lives of ordinarypeople in ancient Egypt, and can attempt to percussiveinstruments or by clapping.The introductionin the reconstruct the situations in which dance occurred and the New Kingdom of a greater variety of stringed instruments, nature of the dance itself. It must, however,always be borne in such as the and the , would have increased the range mind that even these "domestic" scenes served a funerary of music available and may in turn have influenced the purposesince most of them are found on the decoratedwalls of movements of dancers. tombs and depict an idealised view of the next world-a world Although in earlier periods dancers were usually shown in which good living and entertainmentwas to be anticipated. wearing skirts or dresses, by the New Kingdom they are more Dance in a domestic context is shown in scenes from the scantilly dressed, often with just a scarf or band around their Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom. Its absence hips, though sometimes with what would seem to be a from later tomb decoration is a reflection of the different diaphonous robe on top-their bodies are clearly visible nature of funerarydecoration after the New Kingdom, when through the transparentcloth. Their hair, or a wig, is usually the "daily life" scenes that previously had been regarded as long and loose and the dancer's head could be topped by the essential,were replacedby more religiousthemes. cone of scented beeswax, which the Egyptians liked to have Dancers in tomb scenes at privatebanquets are often shown melt over their heads during entertainment. Dancers are also with accompanying musicians clapping hands or playing usuallybejeweled, with heavy floral collars, bracelets, anklets instruments. The most elaborate of these scenes is that from and long dangling earrings. Their eyes are always heavily the tomb of Nebamun at Thebes, now in the BritishMuseum. outlined with . The impression is certainly given that Both dancersshown are virtuallynaked wearingonly a narrow these are professional performers, dressed for their part. belt around their hips, and jewelry. In the register above the Nubians (from the very south of Egypt or from what is now northern Sudan) were .t (_ > r 5 often shown dancing A- / \,- _ with other Egyptian dancers or musicians, the difference in skin tones being accurately depicted. These Nu- bians probably per- formed a different, perhapsmore African, dance which may have seemed more exotic to Egyptian

Musiciansand a Nubian dancer as shown in the tombof Djeser- karesoneb.The little *t -odancer, who seems totally absorbed by her r is naked ;,.,,+ilii S \ performance, apart from her jewelry and floralcollar. Courtesyof the Egypt ExplorationSociety.

118 NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) eyes. A famous scene (now nearbyhouse, fell to his death destroyed)from the tomb of The Depiction of Darnci1CI ers in Tomb Scenes (p xy 475; 182 CE). Djeserkaresoneb at Thebes Itinerant performers are shows a small Nubian girl Dancers were often delpict ted, accordingto Egyptian found in many cultures and dancing with a group of artistic conventions, i n (one register while their are known to have existed female Egyptian musicians. audience was shoun in c)th er The audience in ancient Egypt.A story The scene was a of one registers. about the divine births of copy en and women,but the kings of the Fifth in the nearby tomb of could be made up both o,fn they Amenhotep-Siese (Davies were seated and grouped sep,arately, with the exception Dynasty describeshow some 1923: pl. V), illustrating the of prominentmarried cot upl es. This should, of course, goddesses and a god way in which Egyptian as with the celebratec is cene from the tomb of disguised themselves as a artists often worked from Nebamun (page 113), beinterpreted as a scene of group of traveling musicians "patterns" with little dancersand musiciansin themidst of a party,probably and dancers. They carried freedom of choice as to 7 with them clappers and ree sidestheth dby s subject matter and style. dierssistra.by Although the group Interestingly the copy in the did not actually perform in tomb of Djeserkaresoneb is the story, they did assist at more skillfully executed than the original. the birth of the triplets who would become the first three Dancers would also have performedout of doors (as indeed kings of the Fifth Dynasty and were rewarded by the they frequently do in modern Egypt) where there was more grateful father with a bag of grain, which they asked to be space. A less-rigidoutdoor scene is shown in the Theban tomb kept safely for them until they returned from their travels. of Huy (reign of Tutankhamun) where a group of women is Since there was no currency in ancient Egypt, itinerant shown dancing to welcome Huy home from his travels. performers, like everyone else in the country, would have Performingout of doors could however lead to problems.In been paid "in kind." Even by the Graeco-Roman period, the narrow streets of an Egyptianvillage, spectators (again as after money had been introduced into Egypt, payments to can be seen today) would have crowded into any vantage dancers were still made partly in kind. point, often watching from the windows of upper stories or Can we say anything of the social status of professional roof-tops. This led to a tragedy at the village of Senepta, near entertainers, including dancers, in ancient Egypt? Today, Oxyrhynchus,when an eight-yearold slave leaning out from a professional dancers, though they may be admired for their roof to watch the "castanetdancers" who were performingat a skills, are not accorded high status in Egyptianvillage society. They travel around, often in the r /L?CIC?I'I?C I*?l----IC*?IICC .^ .. of men to whom ,Yiila c :~-% ....company they ,o, ?^: Si are not related and may stay away d IJ *\t rr c rr rr rr rrr rr rr IIII1LI.-Il*- - - I - ...?- ...... from home at night-behavior on i which society frowns. The fact i Ix?c`??r 1 /S J r^-? .i that performersin ancient tomb- $C dt in C ^ Ir5;-s""I, a\ h 1~\ r~Xscenes are sometimes identified the accompanying texts as ;\/e-:_.7 I< AS {fmembers of the tomb-owner's family might suggest that to be a musician or a dancer was socially (it ' - ++>>acceptable, but in such cases, are to be /ll\ S these unlikely A-.t,\ : professional performers.They are relations of the deceased dancing for him in private in both his

Aii\\\j |D I Dancers welcoming Huy home. Scene '/ |V \ i \ \ in the tomb of Huy at Thebes. At this | \ \ time, at the end of the Period, artistic conventions were more relaxed and the artist took advantage of this to -*ii try and give more of an impression of 3ii> the movements of the dancers. After Nina de Garis Davies (1926: p. XV).

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) 119 ProfessionalDancers of AncientEgypt artabasof barleyand 24 pairsof breadloaves, and on condition furtherthat, if garmentsor gold ornaments are brought down, we The best evidence for the lifestyle of professional willguard these safely, and thatwe willfurnish you with two dancerscomes from late in ancient Egyptianhistory. donkeyswhen you comedown to us and a likenumber when A papyrus found at the Graeco-Roman city of yougo backto thecity. (Westerman 1924: 134-44) Arsinoe describes how a "castanet dancer" (krotalistria) named Isidora was engaged by a A similarpapyrus, written some thirty years earlier also woman called Artemisia to performin her village, describesthe engagement of entertainers(this time called togetherwith anotherdancer: orchestriai) from Arsinoe to performin the city of Bacchias, interestinglyfor the same rate of pay (36 ToIsidora, castanet dancer, from Artemisia of thevillage of drachmasa day) as thatoffered to Isidoraa generation Philadelphia.I requestthat you, assistedby anothercastanet later.It shouldbe noted, however, that this daily rate seems dancer-total two-undertaketo performat thefestival at my generouscompared with the daily average rate (less than 3 housefor sixdays beginning with the 24th of themonth of Payni drachmas)that laborers received at thetime. The higher accordingto the old calendar,you (two) to receiveas pay 36 rateof payfor dancersand singers probably reflected the drachmasfor each day, and we to furnishyou in addition4 parttimeand uncertain nature of theiremployment. earthly and his eternal home and they should not be equated with public performers, just as modern Egyptian women will dance in the privacy of their own homes for their family but would never performfor strangersin public. We must also remember that these tomb scenes were not intended ever to be seen, except by family membersbringing offerings to the tomb chapel. Templeperformers-dancers, musiciansand singers-would have been accordedhigh status in line with their dedication to the service of the gods but it is possible that professional performersmight not have been so highly regardedin ancient Egyptiansociety. HasAncient Egyptian Dance Survived intoModern Times? Egypt, as noted above, is a very "conservative" country and many similaritieswith ancient activities can still be seen in Egypt, even today. Dancing, with or without engaging professionalentertainers, was certainly important as a means of celebration in ancient Egypt as it is in modern Egypt. Only a drum is needed or, if no instrument is available, a flat surface, for someone to mark the beat and people will start dancing. Can we make any attempt to interpret the movements and steps of ancient Egyptian dance, and if so, can they be compared with those that can be seen today? In 1935 Irena Lexova, the daughter of a Czech Egyptologist, attempted this exercise and her interesting little book on the subject has recently been reprinted. She makes an important point that must always be borne in mind when trying to A professionaldancer with the bride'sfather at a village wedding in assess Egyptian dancing scenes in that the draughtsmen the Delta in 1993. Anyone who has seen Egyptiansdancing for must often have selected for portrayalthose movements and sheer pleasure at village weddings or at street festivals will know steps that were the simplest to draw or the most easily that, even if the music is differentand the movements have changed, represented in accordance with the conventions of Egyptian the Egyptianjoy of the dance, whichfirst developed over five art. As in the case of the Theban tombs of Amenhotep Si- thousand years ago, is stillthere for all to see. Photo by PennyWilson.

120 NEAR EASTERNARCHAEOLOGY 66:3 (2003) ese and Djeserkaresoneb,they also would have worked from References "patterns"of typical scenes so that there was a limit to the Anderson,R. sponteneity possible for the Egyptianartist. Lexova had little 1995 Music and Dance in Pharaonic Egypt. Pp. 2555-68 in admiration for or sympathy with the dances of "modern" Civilizationsof theAncient Near East, Vol. IV,edited by Jack (1930s) Egypt as witnessed by her and her father, and M. Sasson.New York:Scribner's. dismissed any similarity between the dances she had Dasen,V 1993 in Ancient andGreece. Oxford: Clarendon. reconstructed from ancient depictions and what she Dwarfs Egypt de GarisDavies, Nina described as the 'angular movements in bending of limbs, 1926 TheTomb of Huy,Viceroy of Nubiain theReign of Tutankhamun witnessing to jerky movements" and "those tasteless (No. 40). London:Egypt Exploration Society. movements and of dance as in in postures" practiced Egypt de GarisDavies, Norman the twentieth in century. Certainly its most obvious and 1920 TheTomb of AntefokerVizier of SesostrisI andof His WifeSenet commercial form, usually known as "belly-dancing," dance (No. 60). London:Egypt Exploration Society. in Egypt today can seem far-removedfrom the graceful lines 1923 TheTombs of TwoOfficials of Tuthmosisthe Fourth (Nos. 75 and of New Kingdomdancers. 90). London:Egypt Exploratioin Society. Could anything have survived in Egypt today of the Griffith,E LI. dance depicted on the walls of ancient temples and tombs? 1898 HieraticPapyri from Kahun and Gurob. London: Quaritch. This is really impossible to say, though some of the ancient Junker,H. 1951 X. Vienna:Rudolf M. Rohrer. dancers have similarities to performers of "modern" Giza Lexova,I. Egyptian or oriental dancing (raqssharqi). The emphasis on 1935 Ancient Egyptian Dances. Prague: Oriental Institute. hip-movements, as shown by the many in depictions (Reprinted:Mineola, New York:Dover Publications 2000). of dancers with scarves or belts around their antiquity hips, Nord, D. for example, is one of the essential similarities between 1981 The Termhnr: "Harem" or "MusicalPerformers"? Pp. 29-38 ancient and modern Egyptian dancing. However the in Studiesin AncientEgypt, the Aegean and the Sudan: Essays in relationship between the hieroglyphic script and Honorof Dows Dunham,edited by W. K. Simpsonand E. S. accompanying scenes must always be borne in mind. Meltzer.Boston: Museum of FineArts. Figures in Egyptian wall scenes often served as a kind of Petrie,W. M. F pictographic determinative to the accompanying text. The 1909 Qumeh.London: School of Archaeologyin Egypt. intention of the artist would, therefore, have been to show Spiegelberg,W. 1929 Das Grabeines GroBenunde seines aus der Zeit des a figure that was recognizably "dancing" rather than to Zwerges movements as made Nektanebes.Zeitschrift fur AltdgyptischenSprache 64: 76-83. depict accurately specific by genuine W. L. Thus dancers were shown in distinctive Westerman, performers. 1924 The Castanet Dancers of Arsinoe. TheJournal of Egyptian with their arms raised and often with one "dancing"poses, Archaeology10: 134-44. leg bent, or one foot resting on its toes as if the dancer was about to move. The actual steps and movements of ancient dance in Egypt might have been quite different from those depicted in tomb or temple scenes. a^^^^^ Since the time of the ,Egypt has been subject to a great deal of outside influence and modern raqs sharqi has developed over several centuries. In its present form, it Patricia Spencer is Secretary reflects the merging of the ancient traditions with those of General of the London-based the Arab world, introduced after the coming of Islam to Egypt Exploration Society and Egypt (641 CE). In recent centuries dance in Egypt, and Editor of the Society's magazine throughout the near east, has also been influenced by contact EgyptianArchaeology. She is the with "western"music and movement. authorof The : Ancient Egyptian art was possibly the least effective A Lexicographical Study and medium for showing the spontaneity of dance and the Amara West I and II. Since 1982, enjoyment of its participants. Dance just for the pleasure of she has been a member of the it was hardly ever depicted, but ancient Egypt would have BritishMuseum's excavation team been a strange and unusual country if dancing for pleasure in Egypt, at el-Ashmunein, Tell Patricia Spencer had not existed and despite the conventions of Egyptian Belim and (currently) at Tell el- art, this love of dancing does sometimes show through. Balamun. It was while attendingvillage weddingsin Egypt Even the Egyptian artist, governed by his formal that Dr. Spencerbecame interested in Egyptiandance (both conventions and rigid grids, could not totally obscure the ancient and modern) and she participates regularly in spirit of the dance. amateurRaqs Sharqiperformances in the Londonarea.

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