War dance
Encyclopedia
A war dance is a dance involving mock combat
, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual
connected with endemic warfare
.
Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms. Examples of such war dances include:
Mock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
connected with endemic warfare
Endemic warfare
Endemic warfare is the state of continual, low-threshold warfare in a tribal warrior society. Endemic warfare is often highly ritualized and plays an important function in assisting the formation of a social structure among the tribes' men by proving themselves in battle.Ritual fighting permits...
.
Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms. Examples of such war dances include:
- A'rda - In KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. - El-Tahteeb in upper EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
- Buza - From RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. - Panther Dance - Burmese BandoBandoBando is a defensive style of thaing focusing on animal-based techniques. The earliest meanings of the word were self-discipline, self-development and self-improvement. Later, it came to mean self-protection or self-defense...
with swords (dhaDha (sword)Dha is the Burmese word for "knife." The term dha is conventionally used refer to a wide variety of knives and swords used by many people across Indochina, especially present-day Myanmar , Thailand, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.-Origins:The broad use and diffusion of the dha across Southeast...
) - Gymnopaidiai - ancient SpartaSpartaSparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
- European Sword danceSword danceSword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...
or Weapon danceWeapon danceThe weapon dance employs weapons—or stylized versions of weapons—traditionally used in combat in order to simulate, recall, or reenact combat or the moves of combat in the form of dance, usually for some ceremonial purpose. Such dancing is quite common to folk ritual in many parts of the world...
of various kinds - HakaHakaHaka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
- New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... - IndlamuIndlamuIndlamu is a traditional Zulu dance from South Africa where the dancer lifts one foot over his head and brings it down hard, landing squarely on the downbeat. Typically, two dancers in warrior's pelts perform indlamu routines together, shadowing each other's moves perfectly...
(Zulu) - KhorumiKhorumiThe Khorumi is a war dance that originated in the region of Adjara, which is located in the southwestern region of Georgia. The dance was originally performed by only a few men. However, over time it has grown in scale. In today’s version of the Khorumi, thirty or forty dancers can...
- GeorgiaGeorgia (country)Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of... - Sabre DanceSabre Dance"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
- depicted in KhachaturianAram KhachaturianAram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's ballet Gayane - Maasai moran (warrior age-setAge setIn anthropology, an age set is a social category or corporate social group, consisting of people of similar age, who have a common identity, maintain close ties over a prolonged period, and together pass through a series of age-related statuses...
) dances - Aduk-Aduk - BruneiBruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
- Ayyalah - QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
- Khattak DanceKhattak DanceKhattak is a swift martial sword-dance performed by the tribesmen from the egile Khattak tribe of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.It was performed by Khattak warriors before going to war with enemy tribes in the time of Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak and then Khushal Khan Khattak.It was called a...
- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - Brazil's CapoeiraCapoeiraCapoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
, as well as some similar Afro-Caribbean arts - Dannsa BiodagDirk danceA dirk dance is a Scottish dance performed while brandishing a dirk . It is a solo dance but can be performed by two or more people dancing in unison. The dance is quite different in style from the better known Highland dances and in many ways imitates the use of a dirk in fighting...
- ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Scottish sword dancesScottish sword dancesPerformance of sword dances in the folklore of Scotland is recorded from as early as the 15th century.Related customs are found in the Welsh and English Morris dance, in Austria, Germany, Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Romania... - HulaHulaHula is a dance form accompanied by chant or song . It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form....
& Lua - from the traditions of indigenous Hawaiian - Combat HopakCombat HopakCombat Hopak is a martial art, based on the Ukrainian traditional dance Hopak. It was revived by Volodymyr Pylat in the 1980s.Pylat analyzed both the fighting and dancing tradition of Ukraine...
- From UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... - Yolah - From OmanOmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
/UAE - CibiCibiThe Cibi is a Fijian meke of Bauan origin and is a war dance, generally performed before battle or after battle, it came to prominence when it was performed by the Fiji national rugby union team before each match.-Origins:...
- FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island... - KailaoKailaoThe Kailao is a Wallisian war dance imported to Tonga from nearby 'Uvea .-History:It is usually performed at public and private ceremonies. The men, bearing stylized clubs , dance in a fierce manner that emulates fighting, all to the accompaniment of a beaten slit drum or a tin box, which sets the...
- Wallis IslandWallis IslandWallis is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna....
, adopted by TongaTongaTonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...