Self Expression through the Ancient Art of Belly Dancing

The iconic representation of belly dancing as a form of artistic expression and its increasing recognition exemplifies the expanding ideas of society in regards to self expression. Belly dancing has historically received a negative reaction in the way women have displayed their emotions through an exotic form of dance. The assumed sexuality that is associated with belly dancing lowers the status and perceptions of this form of artistic expression. Belly dancing is used as a way to convey emotions, creativity, and display the female body as an art form. Belly dancing also serves the latent function of finding one's own femininity, beauty, and confidence by displaying it through dance.

Female Belly Dancer

The practice of belly dancing is said to have originated in and culturally spread through a "vast region extending from the Atlantic Ocean in North Africa and the Balkans in the west to the eastern areas of China, Central Asia, and the western portions of the Indian subcontinent in the east" (Shay). The timeline of when the dance formed is unknown but can be traced back to dancing styles from the Middle East. Some myths state that the belly dance may date back to a tribal ritual performed by Pagan women to the goddess of fertility in order to ensure a safe birth. The dance is characterized by improvised motions of the torso, hands, arms, and the head. In different cultures some women incorporate musical instruments, sing music, and act out scenes. Many dancers are often seen performing together but rarely have "group choreography" in which they move in unison. This usually only occurs when dancers perform at social events. As variations of the dance emerge in separate cultures the central idea of self expression and displaying the female form in an expressive manner are consistent.

The negative connotations that are associated with belly dancing are present in both the Middle East and Western societies. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the tradition of belly dancing increased in popularity and following in the United States. At the time social norms and ideals were beginning to expand as the topic of sexuality and the representation of the female body became less of a taboo. During the time period when belly dancing became popular the feminist movement was also on the rise. The two coincided to help diminish the conservative ideas of self expression. Feminists helped to argue that the body was not negative and belly dancers displayed a form of artistic expression while celebrating the female form.

In the Middle East some view the performance of the dance as low class and a misrepresentation for their culture. "This disrepute stems not from prudishness, but rather from Islamic mores that dictate that women must not appear uncovered in front of males who do not stand in proper kinship relation to them" (Shay). Belly dancing contradicts the morals of Islamic followers who are the majority of the population in the Middle East, yet this form of dancing originated in surrounding areas. Belly dancers are under frequent condemnation by Muslim because of the sinful acts they believe come from dancing. In Iraq and Afghanistan the performance is banned yet is still practiced in private. Belly dancing and the display of the female body challenges the patriarchal nature of the Middle East and although some view it as negative, it is slowly expanding the ideals and normalities of society. Belly dancing and acts of self expression that go against typical norms will continue to be under scrutiny yet they will continue to develop artistic diversity in multiple cultures.



Works Cited
Belly Dance: Orientalism: Exoticism: Self-Exoticism
Anthony Shay and Barbara Sellers-Young

• Dance Research Journal

• Vol. 35, No. 1 (Summer, 2003), pp. 13-37Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of Congress on Research in Dance

Ancient Egyptian Make-up: a form of Self Expression

      The ancient Egyptian culture has been a subject of fascination for as long as anyone can remember. Tourists flock by the thousands every year to gaze at the ancient monuments that were built thousands of years ago. However, it is not just the ancient architecture that holds infinite archaeological value. In more recent times, archaeologists have done research dissecting the use of makeup in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians left behind countless artifacts depicting pharaohs and other important figures wearing and/or applying make-up. These discoveries have led archaeologists to wonder about the art of self expression through make-up.

An ancient Egyptian painting illustrating the important of appearance. The figures in this painting are shown wearing traditional eye make-up and it can be interpreted that they are helping one another apply it.

      In the 1963 film Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor donned the elaborate, dark kohl make-up which she immortalized as a fashion statement of her time. The desire to look a particular way by using make-up is nothing new. The idea is thousands of years old and the ancient Egyptians used make-up and its techniques to highlight their features and to look good just like many of us do today. In today's society we use make-up, lotions and topicals to help improve upon our "natural beauty". Medicines and remedies are tools used to help eliminate blemishes and make-ups are helpful in enhancing the eyes and perfecting the complexion. All of those techniques things have been used by the Egyptians as well. Old papyrus scripts have been found to have recipes for lotions to help prevent signs of aging, such as wrinkles. It remains unknown whether or not these remedies were successful or were even use, but it is the idea that is most important.

Pictured is Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra (1963). Her make-up is an interpretation of the traditional look that royalty wore.

      In a recent 2007 London article from The Times called The Eyes Have It, curator David P. Silverman understands that paintings and artifacts illustrate the use of make-up but he is unsure as to how much was truly used in everyday life. Silverman also states that “it is hard to know precisely what ancient Egyptian maquillage [make-up] looked like” (Betts). While this is true, there is also enough evidence to support the fact that pharaohs and those associated with them wore make-up. Lisa Manniche, a professor of Egyptology with a vast knowledge on ancient beautification, believes that make-up was quite an important component of ancient Egyptian civilization. She notes that the prominence of applied make-up is a valuable characteristic that should not be ignored. Manniche states, "[A]mong the earliest known artifacts are palettes used to grind the substances made to enhance the appeal of gods, royalty and ordinary mortals" (Bett). Egyptians were putting on powders and applying eyeliner to appeal to others. It was a sign of stature and royalty wore make-up to express their social standing. This was clear to archaeologists when tombs of pharaohs were excavated. King Tut's burial mask is an example of this. His mask is adorned with beautiful painting, but what stands out is the mask's outlined eyes. The eyes depict the use of make-up and the elaborate illustration tells us that King Tut was of royal descent. It also becomes clear that not only women wore make-up, but men did as well. For men it was a sign of status and just like in today's society a man might buy a nice car to show he has a high socio-economic standing.
      The ancient Egyptians truly believed in beautification and the importance of physical appearance. It was a pharaoh's way of expressing who he was to others and those of royal descent also used make-up to show their social standing. While other cultures used jewels to show their status, the Egyptian culture used make-up. Their concept of beautification is similar to ours today. While we do not necessarily use make-up as a way to show off our status, we do use it to enhance our features. The use of make-up is different in every culture and will continue to be, but it is important to know that it has been a part of culture and self expression of thousands of years.

Written by Estee Ward

Cited:
Betts, Hannah. "The Eyes Have It." The Times (London) 17 Nov. 2007: 59. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

Neanderthals and Jewelry

Neanderthals are commonly portrayed as idiotic thinkers. For instance, I remember a comic strip that illustrated a Neanderthal, or cave man as I knew them then, constructing a piano only to play it with his head when finished. Through studying the evolution of artistic expression, we are able to recognize that our Stone Age ancestors do not receive proper credit for their industrious and innovative mentalities. A recent article written by Charles Choi of Scientific American explains the discovery of intellectual Neanderthal art—in this case, painted shells. In addition to Neanderthal inventions such as fire and hunting tools, they also used artwork to express their evolutionary traits.

Charles Choi writes from Spain to share newly discovered painted scallops and cockleshells that provide the first evidence of Neanderthals ability to make jewelry. These findings confirmed that Neanderthals were capable of symbolism—a superior mental state that was believed to be missing during the Stone Age and reason to why modern humans replaced Neanderthals in the evolutionary chain. Researchers assumed Neanderthals lacked symbolism due to missing evidence that was being found in other areas that modern humans originated, such as body ornaments found in Africa and the Near East up to 120,000 years ago. In fact, previously found Neanderthal art and jewelry including grooved animal-tooth pendants and decorated limestone was assumed to be that of modern humans. Fortunately, archaeologist Joao Zilhao and his colleagues have found 50,000-year-old jewelry at two caves in Spain, years before modern humans entered Europe.
Apparently, they also found inventions such as paint cups made from oyster shells that held the charcoal used to paint jewelry.

In concluding his research, Zilhao claims that: “Neanderthals had the same capabilities for symbolism, imagination, and creativity as modern humans.” Many archaeologists hope that findings such as these shells will help to erase the outdated stereotype of Neanderthals being “stupid.” Focusing on subject areas such as artistic expression is crucial to helping date evolutionary changes and learning about each species culture.

Art as a Product of Cognitive Advancement

Between 30,000 and 60,000 years ago, a cultural spark occurred in human civilizations around the world — a spark that signaled the very beginnings of artistic and religious expression. Although art appeared at different times and manifested itself in different forms across geographically disparate locations, physical anthropology finds that before this time, humans were incapable of producing works of representational or symbolic value. 

So how did humans evolve? Archaeologist Steven Mithen posits that artistic and cultural evolution was first induced by a cognitive evolution within the earliest humans. Before the emergence of art, the human mind had developed into four “chapels:” knowledge of technical functions, natural history, and social and linguistic intelligence. But in order for complex social structures to be formed and artistic expression to flourish, a communication between these chapels of the mind must occur. In order to develop the capacity to create art, Mithen says in his book The Prehistory of the Mind: The Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion and Science, a “final major re-design of the mind” took place. Before the emergence of art, these four domains of thought had remained independent from one another; it was only after information could flow freely between these domains that art emerged.

Ivory lion-man statuette, Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany,

considered one of the first examples of human art.

The trouble with pinpointing the very first instances of human artistic expression is partially due to our loose interpretations of the word “art.” Art, of course, is culturally explicit. Some look to bone etchings found in Bilzingsleben in Germany as an artistic artifact; others, like Mithen, define art as works that are representational of something else or illustrate participation in a “symbolic code” (i.e. motif repetition). Mithen finds an excellent example of these criteria in an ivory statuette found in Hohlenstein-Stadel (southern Germany) dated 30,000-33,000 years old.  This figure of a man with a lion’s head combines technical skill and creativity never seen before in other Upper Paleolithic artifacts. The ivory figure is also an example of the communication occurring between the brain domains  — though the early humans who crafted the statuette had never seen a lion-man, their newly-evolved capacity for information flow allowed for them to creatively fathom one.