Weapon dance
A very early reference to a weapon dance of the hunt comes in the form of a rock carving at Çatal Höyük, the large neolithic settlement in south-central Anatolia.
Other references to such traditions include that in "Constantine VII Porphrogenitus’ Book of Ceremonies" (from c. 953) which describes the Varangian Guard (a group made up of Norse and later English and Anglo-Danish warriors) dancing in two circles, with some wearing skins or masks, along with chants of “Toúl!” and clashing staves on shields.
Iberian stick dances (paulitos, paloteos, ball de bastons) display two opposite rows of dancers.
Sabre dancing exists in the Balkans; the most famous of these is from Albania, where two male rivals simulate a duel over a woman.
In this kind of dance, the swords interlock to form a “rose,” or “lock,” that is placed around the neck of a participant to simulate decapitation.
In Tolosa, on Midsummer Day, the Bordon-Dantza ("walking stick dance") is performed with the figures of the ezpatadantza; some[9] point its origins to the border fights in the Middle Ages, when the Castilian troops from Gipuzkoa won an important victory over the troops from Navarre at the Battle of Beotibar.
[10] Baris is a traditional dance of Bali, in which a solo dancer depicts the feelings of a young warrior prior to battle.
Large-scale performances of the dance involved the brandishing of various weapons to the accompaniment of drums and songs in the Ba language.
[12] The development of art dance, in general, in China reached its peak during the Tang dynasty and then was largely integrated into Chinese Opera practice.
[13] The Shaolin martial arts employ weapons in ways that are sometimes enjoyed for aesthetic reasons, however, similar to a dance.
The Dayak people of Borneo are renowned for their solo sword dances, which show the skill of a young man using a sharp mandau.
Young lads clad in colourful silk dhotis dance around with a sword or spear in one hand and a plume in the other.
[14] A popular dance in Mizoram in the north-east corner of India is Sawlakin, a word that "means spirit of the slain."
A sub-type of the Khattak Wal Atanrh known as the Braghoni involves the use of up to three swords and requires great skill to successfully execute.
Two rows of men face one another, clapping, singing, and dancing in a lively manner, accompanied by large frame drums.
Generally speaking, a number of dances (known as razfah or yowlah) of Bedouin origin use weapons and have achieved modern popularity in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and are associated with festive occasions among the non-Bedouin sedentary population.
Also, the military influence of the warrior King Shaka is reflected in demonstrations of stick fighting (umshiza) with which the male teenagers and men settle their personal differences in a public duel.
The dance is a re-creation of a battle strategy developed by the Zezuru in the 19th century against incursions of other tribes in the wake of colonialist expansion of the Boers.
Ethiopia has a long, historical reputation as a place where the weapon dance plays an important cultural role.
The haka could also be considered as a weapon dance, as it includes elements of warlike challenge to chanting and musical (sung) accompaniment.
The performers dance in a fierce manner to emulate combat, all to the accompaniment of a slit drum or a tin box.
Additional idiophonic percussion is provided by strung rattles worn on the anklets of the dancers, and the clashing together of the wooden implements of war, which today are either sticks or mock weapons.
[28] Similar to the Moor-Christian confrontation of the morisca—whether in Spain or in transplanted versions in Central America—there are also elaborate ritual dances in Mexico such as the Danza de la Pluma that exploit the trauma of the Spanish conquest of indigenous America.
For example, during the 15th month of the Aztec calendar, Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war was honored by real duels between slave victims and mimed battles among masked boy votaries.
[30] The landscape of all dance in a large country such as Brazil is rich and complex due to the mixing of three separate traditions—Indian native, Black African, and Portuguese.
In the 19th century, Capoeira was played mostly by African slaves who had been brought from West Central Africa, making them the original capoeiristas and making the art a complex form of social interaction, expressing the participants' physical skills and spiritual essence, involving the gods and the spirits of the ancestral fathers.
The participants played during festivals and holidays, jumping and leaping in front of musical bands, military troops, and religious processions.
[32] Today, capoeira has staged somewhat of a comeback and is even studied in dance academies as part of a general movement to rejuvenate folk traditions.
[34] Additionally, there is overlap between weapon dance and stylized forms of stage combat, i.e., choreographed enactments of “real fights,” from bar-room brawls to sword-fighting to large-scale battle scenes.
[37] Interesting, perhaps, in the use of weapons in these recent “revolutionary” works is that they are, generally speaking, not reenactments of traditional folk dances.
