The Mythologies Of Bellydance

The Name "Belly Dance"

This dance form has been called by so many different names, that it is almost impossible to know where and when the names all came from. Throughout most of the world, what we do is called Oriental Dance. This seems to be the most elegant name for the dance form as well. The common name "belly dance" was coined by the American event promoter Sol Bloom, when he was trying to stir up public interest in the Streets Of Cairo exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Bloom is very unlikely to have known or cared what the dance was called in its native home--he just wanted to attract a large number of curiosity-seekers to his exhibit to ogle the exotic dancers.


These dancers, on the right, are Egyptian and traveled to America for the Chicago Worlds Fair. As you can see, they are in no way exotic according to our modern interpretation of the word, but to the tightly corseted Victorian ladies, these women were the most scandalous creatures ever seen in America. Yet for some unknown reason these prim and proper Victorian folks returned to the exhibit time and time again. Most of us have heard the term "hoochy koochy", but what most don't know is that that particular nicname arose for "belly dancing" sometime early in the twentieth century, and it a term that we are still struggling to get rid of. It reminds most people of the early burlesque dancers of the twenties.

In the Middle East, the term for the solo women´s Oriental Dance is "Raqs Sharqi" (Arabic), and "Oryantal Tansi" in Turkish. In France, you may hear the term "Danse Du´ Ventre´ " , which translates into Dance Of The Stomach, and is not just a lengthy version of bellydance, but a separate term and dance style that is not condescending to women at all.



What Is A Harem, Really?
French stereoview taken by Underwood & Underwood in 1901

With the advent of Islam, families in the Middle East did not all live together in a single household. The men lived together in one section of the house, while the women and children lived in another section. The two sides rarely met in the larger households. Festivals and family celebrations were one time where the two sides mingled, although the part of the celebrations where the dancing and singing went on was still segregated. The word "harem" does not signify some bejeweled chamber filled with naked women lolling on pillows awaiting their turn to seduce the Sultan. Instead, it simply refers to the section of the home where women carried about their everyday business of cooking, sewing, gossiping with friends, and minding the children. The literal translation of the word harem is "Haram" and means unlawful or forbidden. It was forbidden for men not of the family to enter the portion of the house where the women lived.

There were though, and still are, the places that we traditionally think of as harems, the large opulent palace wings devoted to the sultan´ s wives and concubines, although these are never seen by westerners. The most beautiful by far, that is open to the public, is the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. At any given time, the sultan would have up to five hundred women in his harem. That did not mean that all were concubines or wives. Some were servants to the wives, gardeners, medical personnel, or teachers to the children, but they were all counted in the final tally.



Belly Jewels

Canadian Beauty Maud Allen

The practice of wearing a jewel in the navel was invented by Hollywood, under a censorship guideline known as the Hayes Code. The code was devised during the backlash of the "Fatty Arbuckle" scandal. It was a long list of rules and guidelines for the assurance of morality in the movies. As well, censors were on hand during all movie shoots to assure that these guidelines were being met. Costuming guidelines for women became quite strict during the onslaught of popular B grade "Sheik and Harem" movies. Actresses were not allowed to show their navel, or wear two piece costumes. During the filming of the 1903 movie, "The Vision Of Salome" a censor stopped filming until the costume the actress Maud Allen was wearing was altered. Maud was sent to the prop master who quickly and mischievously fixed the problem. He ripped apart a very elaborate Victorian costume necklace and added a length of the jewelry chain from the center section of the top of the costume to center of the bottom part. That got them around the one piece rule, but there was also the problem of the exposed navel. This was fixed when the prop master ripped a fake jewel out and glued it into the navel of the actress. To finish the effect, he took the remaining section of the demolished necklace and draped it over the upper abdomen.



The Dance Of The Seven Veils

It is often thought that the Dance Of The Seven Veils is a traditional dance from the Middle East, based on a story about Ishtar leaving a veil behind at each of seven gates as she descended to the underworld. This is simply not true. A playwright from England by the name of Oscar Wilde is actually responsible for the whole seven veils thing. In 1896 he wrote quite a popular play about Salome and her lovers. Richard Strauss then took the idea and ran with it. It was Strauss's operatic creation that had Salome stripping her veils for King Herod. Hollywood and Broadway made Salome and the dance of the seven veils a household term as early as 1903 when Maud Allen, (A Canadian beauty) played the part of Salome. In New York, a modern dancer named Isadora Duncan was experimenting with flowing scarves and large pieces of fabric around the same time. All these instances together helped to create the "Seven Veils" myth. The name of the dancer in the photo, and photographer are unknown, the only certainty is the date of 1914. There have been many rumors that this photo is actually Oscar Wilde . There have been other pictures of him in drag, so it is not inconceivable that this is actually the playwright himself.



Myth: Harem Girls Used Bellydance To Seduce The Sultan And Become The Favorite

Truth: This dance form was done in the Harems, by the women of the harem, mostly for the entertainment of themselves and the other women, occasionally though, the Sultan would show up and hang out for a while. In the more modest homes of the east, this dance was, and is done by women, whether they be family or friends, to celebrate a birth or wedding, or just to pass the time of day, while the men of the family were out working in the fields or factories. Little girls learn this dance almost as soon as they can walk just as little boys learn to play the drums as toddlers, sitting by their father's side. In a great many eastern homes, music and dance is just a part of everyday life. As we in the west get up and dance with friends and family at weddings, everyone in the east jump up and shimmy to their favorite songs. Mothers in the Middle East would never teach their daughters something so vulgar as a "dance of seduction".


Who was Little Egypt?

Little Egypt Photographed by Benjamin Falk in 1893 - New York

This is one of the biggest mysteries... not so much 'who was she' but who was the first 'Little Egypt'? There are records as early as the 1870's of a traveling bellydancer by that name making the rounds out west. She danced in saloons as far west as Pheonix. The woman in this photo is the "Little Egypt" that made the name famous in the late 19th. century when she was at the Chicago Worlds Fair, but she was not the first to use the name.


Salome's Dance

There is a longstanding rumor that Salome danced for King Herod and recieved the head of John the Baptist in return. In truth, the Bible does not name the dancer in any of the versions that are currently read throughout the world. No one knows exactly how it came to be said that it was Salome that danced for the King. The first truly modern mention of Salome as the dancer was in the opera by Richard Strauss. Maud Allen played the part of Salome on Broadway in 1903.