The Meadows of Gold Manuscript Oriental Dance article
Translated and commented by Amani
 |
| Amani |
One of the rare ancient dance descriptions
that disproves and refutes the misconceptions about Oriental dance, is back to the Abbasid time.
This text extracted from
The Meadows of Gold Manuscript, of one of the most famous historian al-Mas3oudi
(d. 957) is describing the what was on at the Caliph al-Mu3tamid (d. 892) royal “majless”
or royal divan.
The Caliph is the second
generation grandson of Haroun Al Rachid.
He asked the responsible to describe the skills and qualifications of a
good dancer. According to his answer, the responsible seems to be a
choreographer or a dance supervisor and/ or responsible due to his accurate explanation about the
qualifications and the qualities of a good dancer and her merits as coming
below.
Start of the translation
 |
| Al Masoudi |
He said: A Dancer needs specific
qualities in her natural disposition and innate talent, in her physical
constitution and appearance and in her dance skills and techniques.
1 - Natural Disposition and innate talent: What she needs is to be
Charismatic, to have the innate ability to perceive rhythm (sense of
rhythm) and the innate ability to take certain measures in her dance
when it is needed (a certain versatility in her dance improvisation.)
2 - Physical qualifications and
appearance: She needs to have a long neck and long side Burns, a graceful
beauty with serenity and dignity (poise or veneration), sway over curved hips, narrow waist,
a proportional body, a falling belt (dropping), circular shape of the clothes
at the bottom, to maintain breath control and rest (while dancing), to have
patience over a long process of training to reach the goal.
Elegant and refined feet (measurements
), suppleness of fingers of the hands and to maintain over fingers suppleness while
hands are in motion and transition in the various dances such as the Ayla/Camel
and Ball dances and others, lithesome joints, speed of transition/traveling
while turning, lithesome hips and shoulders (curves) .
3 – Dance skills and
techniques: What she needs is to memorize a wide
repertoire of dance vocabulary of the common dances and various styles. Each
step should be clean and clear when it starts and it ends, beautiful
turns while feet periphery and mainstream are in control during the
rotation, left foot and right foot motion must be working coordinately. The
setting of the feet on the ground and the raising of the feet off the ground is
done in two opposite way: one follows the rhythm and the other one slows down /
standstill deliberately, the leg that matches the rhythm, is what it shows up,
aesthetically, to the audience; as for the one that lags behind it, is the one
who is controlling the body in motion
END
of the translation.
I have referred to many copies in Arabic
for the information like “ Mohye El Din Abed El Hamid -Dar al Marifa - Beirut ,
Ghattas Abed El Malak – Egypt, etc. and for Charles Pellat and Barbier de
Meynard online copy archive.org
EXPLANATIONS
A. The text importance is not only
due to its early date but also because the questionnaire was to be answered by
a man of specification and specialization, the one who is responsible or in
charge of the dancers as mentioned in the text. He could be also an expert in dance
like a choreographer or a director or a trainer or a dance teacher due to his
technical answer on different scales (Natural Disposition, her nature and temperament
-- Physical qualifications and appearance - Dance skills and techniques).
B. Here we can notice that dancers same as singers were all of a high
professional level since the dance is taken place at the royal court. It means
that best skilled dancers are to be selected and also most beautiful
ones.
C. At that time, Oriental Dance at
the Royal courts, was not a chaotic or a free style as it is mostly happening
today in such locations. Nowadays, we can find a group of dancers occupied the
dance court (in a palace at a private party) without any specific discipline,
each offering a free style dance, more often similar to the gypsies who dance
in the social parks during the festivals and occasions. Of course, this is not
the case of the dance scene at the theaters.
D. The first part of the Natural Disposition paragraph started with a main
element:
a.
“The
Charisma” is the innate sympathy of the soul that touches other souls at the
gallery (spectators). An artist without charisma is like a rose without smell.
b.
The
improvisation (dancing without a prior preparation or choreography): it tells
about the innate talent of versatility and the potential of instantly taking
measures in dance that come naturally, to have the correct sentimental and
technical interpretation of the music when a sentimental expression (cheerless,
sadness, romantic, joy, etc) is required.
E. the Physical qualifications and appearance reveal that dancers are very well
selected according to a specific qualifications:
1. The term ”long side Burns” in Arabic has 2
meanings about the physical constituencies. The first meaning is the part of
the face from the lower jaw up to the cheekbones. The second that the
writer is referring to is the long strand of hair (mèche) that lays down above
the ear to the lower jaw.
2. The term “A graceful beauty “ (that distinguish her)
means to have an elegant physical beauty and appearance along with her dance
and charisma.
3. The term “Serenity and dignity “that comes after
“graceful beauty” is to emphasizes the respected aspect due of a dancer on stage.
So no decadence in dance. It is an art form and a discipline.
I really feel sorry for those who claim to be dancers or teachers and who have
turned this great art form into a mockery.
4. The term “sway over curved hips, narrow waist” emphasizes the
body curves الأعطاف, which are particular
details of a female figure shape. This documented text proves that oriental
dance is a female dance in origin
5. The term “falling belt”
came after describing her body shape. The writer moved to the Dance
Costume and accessories.
In the old Arabic text, the term
“areas” in plural ( manatik in Arabic ) and area ( Mintaka) in singular, is
used to point on the part of the body where men use to put their belt and hang
their daggers. It's the area over the hips, the waist. As he is pointing on the
fundamental details of a dance costume, he let down the upper body costume to
focus on the belt of the dancer that enhanced her body sways and grooves while
dancing. So after pointing on the narrow waist, then on the curves, then the
belt which is resting on the hips, held on the curves of the hips (not on the
waist, that's why he used the term dropped واقع
). He ended describing the shape of her skirt.
6. The term "Circular
shape of the clothes at the bottom <skirt >” reveals clearly that
a dancer costume is normally composed of a skirt a big skirt similar to
whirling skirt and not a "Sherwal" as some claimed.
7. The “patience over a long
process of training to reach the goal” term reveals the long training
due to a serious dance discipline to be achieved by a dancer to be
professional.
8. The term "speed of
transition/traveling while turning " reveals the high technique
and dance skills requested of a dancer.
9. The ” lithesome
hips and shoulders ". The Arabic text literally tells
about the flexibility of the curves at the hips, the waist. It reveals the main
and basic steps of oriental dance. The aim is to greatly master over sinuous
moves and to create new grooves in dance (between the hips and the shoulders) .
** The various dances mentioned
in this part are to be detailed in a different article to avoid getting this
article longer.
F: Dance skills and techniques:
10. The text tells about "a
wide repertoire", hence many styles of dance. Referring to the
folkloric dances we have inherited, some are based on the same rhythm, some
have different rhythms and each has its specifications. For example, the Ball
dance mentioned that in the paragraph 2 - Physical qualifications and
appearance, is a dance composition based on the circle patterns and lines
formed by the dancers.
11. In addition to the
specifications of the clause E.8. , the term “feet periphery and
mainstream are in control during the rotating
...etc” describes the “Arabesque” turn used in modern dance and ballet.
This technique is a 100% of Arabic dance, not to mention that the name was
enough to tell about its origin, while also refuting the idea put by unaware
people who had accused dancers using Arabesque turns as “ jazzy or balletic“
A. The text importance is not only
due to its early date but also because the questionnaire was to be answered by
a man of specification and specialization, the one who is responsible or in
charge of the dancers as mentioned in the text. He could be also an expert in dance
like a choreographer or a director or a trainer or a dance teacher due to his
technical answer on different scales (Natural Disposition, her nature and temperament
-- Physical qualifications and appearance - Dance skills and techniques).
B. Here we can notice that dancers same as singers were all of a high professional level since the dance is taken place at the royal court. It means that best skilled dancers are to be selected and also most beautiful ones.
C. At that time, Oriental Dance at
the Royal courts, was not a chaotic or a free style as it is mostly happening
today in such locations. Nowadays, we can find a group of dancers occupied the
dance court (in a palace at a private party) without any specific discipline,
each offering a free style dance, more often similar to the gypsies who dance
in the social parks during the festivals and occasions. Of course, this is not
the case of the dance scene at the theaters.
D. The first part of the Natural Disposition paragraph started with a main element:
a.
“The
Charisma” is the innate sympathy of the soul that touches other souls at the
gallery (spectators). An artist without charisma is like a rose without smell.
b.
The
improvisation (dancing without a prior preparation or choreography): it tells
about the innate talent of versatility and the potential of instantly taking
measures in dance that come naturally, to have the correct sentimental and
technical interpretation of the music when a sentimental expression (cheerless,
sadness, romantic, joy, etc) is required.
E. the Physical qualifications and appearance reveal that dancers are very well selected according to a specific qualifications:
1. The term ”long side Burns” in Arabic has 2
meanings about the physical constituencies. The first meaning is the part of
the face from the lower jaw up to the cheekbones. The second that the
writer is referring to is the long strand of hair (mèche) that lays down above
the ear to the lower jaw.
2. The term “A graceful beauty “ (that distinguish her)
means to have an elegant physical beauty and appearance along with her dance
and charisma.
3. The term “Serenity and dignity “that comes after
“graceful beauty” is to emphasizes the respected aspect due of a dancer on stage.
So no decadence in dance. It is an art form and a discipline.
I really feel sorry for those who claim to be dancers or teachers and who have turned this great art form into a mockery.
I really feel sorry for those who claim to be dancers or teachers and who have turned this great art form into a mockery.
4. The term “sway over curved hips, narrow waist” emphasizes the
body curves الأعطاف, which are particular
details of a female figure shape. This documented text proves that oriental
dance is a female dance in origin
5. The term “falling belt”
came after describing her body shape. The writer moved to the Dance
Costume and accessories.
In the old Arabic text, the term
“areas” in plural ( manatik in Arabic ) and area ( Mintaka) in singular, is
used to point on the part of the body where men use to put their belt and hang
their daggers. It's the area over the hips, the waist. As he is pointing on the
fundamental details of a dance costume, he let down the upper body costume to
focus on the belt of the dancer that enhanced her body sways and grooves while
dancing. So after pointing on the narrow waist, then on the curves, then the
belt which is resting on the hips, held on the curves of the hips (not on the
waist, that's why he used the term dropped واقع
). He ended describing the shape of her skirt.
6. The term "Circular
shape of the clothes at the bottom <skirt >” reveals clearly that
a dancer costume is normally composed of a skirt a big skirt similar to
whirling skirt and not a "Sherwal" as some claimed.
7. The “patience over a long
process of training to reach the goal” term reveals the long training
due to a serious dance discipline to be achieved by a dancer to be
professional.
8. The term "speed of
transition/traveling while turning " reveals the high technique
and dance skills requested of a dancer.
9. The ” lithesome
hips and shoulders ". The Arabic text literally tells
about the flexibility of the curves at the hips, the waist. It reveals the main
and basic steps of oriental dance. The aim is to greatly master over sinuous
moves and to create new grooves in dance (between the hips and the shoulders) .
** The various dances mentioned
in this part are to be detailed in a different article to avoid getting this
article longer.
F: Dance skills and techniques:
F: Dance skills and techniques:
10. The text tells about "a
wide repertoire", hence many styles of dance. Referring to the
folkloric dances we have inherited, some are based on the same rhythm, some
have different rhythms and each has its specifications. For example, the Ball
dance mentioned that in the paragraph 2 - Physical qualifications and
appearance, is a dance composition based on the circle patterns and lines
formed by the dancers.
11. In addition to the
specifications of the clause E.8. , the term “feet periphery and
mainstream are in control during the rotating
...etc” describes the “Arabesque” turn used in modern dance and ballet.
This technique is a 100% of Arabic dance, not to mention that the name was
enough to tell about its origin, while also refuting the idea put by unaware
people who had accused dancers using Arabesque turns as “ jazzy or balletic“
 |
| Abbasid dancers from Samura2, Iraq , we can see the long burns, the long wide skirt and the floating belt |
CONCLUSIONS:
Serenity and Dignity are opposite to
prostitution and decadence. A statement witnessing the guiltlessness from the
imputations the oriental dance has-been accused of. Some dancers’ bad manners and behaviors on stage have
desecrated this art form, have humiliate this dance form.
The curves in the body, the curves of the hips and the tiny waist are
to emphasize the sinuous moves and grooves in the body, the body
shape of a woman. Moreover, each part of the text reveals that oriental dance
is an Arabic dance. Those steps and descriptions have never been seen or read
in any other dance style but in the Arab dance which is actually back to
thousands of years back in the history.
After all what we read above, we figure out as we are in front of a disciplined professional organized dance troupe of modern time. Right?
Do not copy without giving credit (mention the name) to writer and translator of this text for the respect of the art, for yourself and for the copyright
Serenity and Dignity are opposite to
prostitution and decadence. A statement witnessing the guiltlessness from the
imputations the oriental dance has-been accused of. Some dancers’ bad manners and behaviors on stage have
desecrated this art form, have humiliate this dance form.
The curves in the body, the curves of the hips and the tiny waist are to emphasize the sinuous moves and grooves in the body, the body shape of a woman. Moreover, each part of the text reveals that oriental dance is an Arabic dance. Those steps and descriptions have never been seen or read in any other dance style but in the Arab dance which is actually back to thousands of years back in the history.
After all what we read above, we figure out as we are in front of a disciplined professional organized dance troupe of modern time. Right?
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Following my “Oldest Oriental Dance Description from Abbaside time” article, a man who’s seeking for old Arabic history, asked me a question pointing out that the Arabic text mentions clearly a male dancer (raqqas).
BELOW is my reply:
Along the debate that opens new realms for the scholars seeking the genuine Arabic language manuscripts, I am always happy to answer to your questions.
I agree with you that the writer used the Word “ raqqas “ but it doesn’t mean to be a male dancer only but also a woman. I will explain.
In general, Arabic language grammar obliges adding a small ” t ” at the end of an adjective, or a noun when switching from male to female like “ jamile” ( means pretty for male ) and “ Jamila “ (means pretty for female). The addition of a small” t” for female, that pronounces/sounds like an “a” at the end of the word like “ jamila” is a general rule.
Exceptions always exist.. Follow me.
Some words that exist only in male form, like “ Najjar” a carpenter . In Arabic, we cannot say for a woman “ najjara” but we literally say “ working in the carpentry “ .
Also for more example “Na2ib “a male delegate in English cannot be “na2iba” for female. It remains “ Na2ib “ ( by the way “Na2iba” means a disaster in Arabic :D) .. It is not because those professions were only for men.. no this is a part of the Arabic language grammar for the professions.
“ Khabbaz”, a baker, cannot turned into “khabbaza” for woman, although in the past, baking was one of the main woman’s responsibilities , and still, in some rural areas. Same for the word cooking.
The word “ raqqas “ makes part of this exception and the word .
معنى رقص في الصحاح في اللغة رَقَصَ رَقْصاً، فهو رَقَّاصٌ
معنى رقص في الصحاح في اللغة رَقَصَ رَقْصاً، فهو رَقَّاصٌ
Why the Caliph used the word “raqqas” ?
RAQQAS is same as najjar, khabbaz, dahhan (the one who paints the walls) , etc a noun of a PROFESSION and an adjective .
For so, the caliph was precisely asking about the good qualities that are must of a professional dancer to be successful as a package. Professionalism needs certain qualifications and potentials while Success needs different certain qualifications and qualities.
For so, the caliph was precisely asking about the good qualities that are must of a professional dancer to be successful as a package. Professionalism needs certain qualifications and potentials while Success needs different certain qualifications and qualities.
Let’s check the text of the manuscript. Is it a general describing or a specific one for female dancer?
We fall on:
- Curved body, narrowness of waist, long side burns (not a mustache or a goatee or a barb) and in your translation text there is “coquetry and flirtation”
- Curved body, narrowness of waist, long side burns (not a mustache or a goatee or a barb) and in your translation text there is “coquetry and flirtation”
- If it was meant to be a general about both gender dancers male and female and not specific about female dancers, therefore, a neutral physical/natural disposition description is required while it isn’t.
- Arabs poets use to praise the narrowness of waist and the curves of a woman (fertility) vs the virility and wideness of shoulders of a man, the dance skills of a woman vs archery and fighting skills of a man.
- Have you ever read about a professional male dancer at the royal court? Only one called As3ad , he was so called As3ad el Khelli3 ( As3ad the lewd) , he was almost a clown , used to wear a monkey skin and behave in a funny way to make people laugh ..
- At the end and as we both know that oriental dance is a female dance of origin and as we both know that only women were dominating the dance scene of Oriental dance all over the state at that time, especially the royal courts .
With all my respect
Amani
Amani
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