Page 125 - Encyclopedia Of World History

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Origins they danced; and Kalahari hunters reported to another
When rhythmic dancing and music-making first arose observer:“being at a dance makes our hearts happy.” Such
among humankind is unknown, but must have been very feelings made conflict like that which ravaged Goodall’s
early, perhaps before Homo sapiens emerged and before chimpanzees far less likely,and allowed larger numbers of
language developed among our ancestors to make us persons to live together peacefully year after year. Al-
fully human. Whenever the habit established itself, the though important emotional cohesion and cooperation,
advantage of greater cooperation among larger numbers induced by dance, may have been among our ancestors,
arising from dancing together must have been enor- nothing like a history of community dancing can be writ-
mous, since only dancers survived. Recent observations ten. Such behavior was simply taken for granted, and be-
of our closest animal relatives, the chimpanzees of Africa, fore anthropologists started work, about a hundred and
suggests why this was so. In 1969, the band of fifteen fifty years ago, evidence for dancing among hunters, pas-
adult males that Jane Goodall and her helpers were toralists, and farmers remained exceedingly sparse.
studying split into two rival groups, and in the next two
years each of the seven seceding males was hunted down Spiritual and Religious
and killed by their rivals, who thus regained the whole of Importance of Dance
their original territory and the females who had seceded. Records are more substantial for a more specialized,
Very slightly superior numbers (and perhaps stronger eventually professionalized, kind of dancing intended to
cohesion) among the core members of the old band thus consult and/or please powerful spirits and gods.Around
prevailed. Obviously, if dancing together allowed our such rituals,organized religions eventually emerged.Later
ancestors to overcome the sort of individual frictions that on, in urban settings, expert exhibitions of dancing (and
split that chimpanzee band apart, it is easy to imagine song) honoring a god also became public entertainment
how larger numbers of more cooperative individuals for spectators, as surviving texts of Greek dramas attest.
could expand their territory against neighbors who had Simultaneously, excited, participatory dancing among
not yet learned to dance—thus making that form of be- believers remained a growing point for religions,as is clear
havior universal within a few generations. from biblical references to how Saul and David danced
Thereafter different human groups elaborated the pos- before the Lord and founded the Hebrew kingdom,
sibilities of rhythmic movement in innumerable different largely on the strength of enthusiastic bands of young men
ways. Until very recently, the principal historical impor- who danced with them, honoring Yahweh. Early Chris-
tance of dancing was to knit local communities together. tianity also was hospitable to dancing,though the practice
Participants were well aware of its emotional effect. In the soon fell under suspicion when bishops and priests set out
twentieth century, for example, Greek villageers told an to restrain and ritualize public worship. Enthusiasts and
anthropologist that they felt“light,calm,and joyful” when heretics who often (but not always) danced, continued to

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