Dance played an important role in the lives of the ancient Egyptians and was a part of everyday life. From religious festivals to banquets, and even funeral processions, dance was an integral part of their culture. People from every social class were exposed to music and dancing. Let's delve into the fascinating world of ancient Egyptian dance.
Relief of dancers and musicians from the tomb of Rekhmire (TT100), 18th Dynasty, Valley of the Nobles, Luxor.
The Significance of Dance
- Religious Importance: Dance was also used by temple priests. Temple singers and dancers danced for religious purposes. Nile Flood Feast: (The New Year celebration): Dancing played a vital role in this festivity as it helped transform the dangerous Sekhmet into the mild Hathor, thereby protecting the ancient land from Sekhmet's evil and deadly demons.
- Social Events: Dance groups were accessible to perform at dinner parties, banquets, lodging houses, and even religious temples.
- Funeral Rites: After the New Kingdom changes of tomb decoration took place funerary dances were no longer depicted on tomb walls but were found in temples instead.
Types of Dances
Ancient Egyptian dancers danced either as soloists, in pairs or in groups, depending on the occasion and type of the dance performed. There were banquet dances, harem dances, combat dances, and street dances.
Individual or solo dances included performances by the king or priests designated as his representatives. In pair dancing, two people of the same gender would perform together. This form of dancing was established by the 6th Dynasty. An image from this time depicted female pair dancers with canes. 5th Dynasty female dancers are shown to hold hands while performing in unison.
There were two types of Egyptian group dances. One was performed in individual movements that confirmed a theme or idea or was carried out spontaneously as in prehistoric times. Dancers competed with one another, often in groups, substituting movement that were later established in funeral dances rites.
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A second type featured pairs or ranks of dancers who executed repetitive movements in a circle.
Specialized Dance Troupes
- The Acacia House: Old Kingdom performers included a specialized group of female dancers called "the acacia house". Dances by the acacia house followed mummification and were aimed at appeasing the goddess Sekhmet and rejuvenating and mourning the dead.
- Muu Dancers: Another specialized troupe of sacred dancers, mww or muu dancers, existed across the Kingdoms. They performed at various points in the funeral, wearing kilts and crowns of woven reed or palm fiber that signified their role as ferrymen. Through their dance, they symbolically delivered the deceased to the netherworld.
- Dwarfs and Pygmies: Dwarfs and pygmies were known from the Old Kingdom and were prized for their rarity and as dancers were hired for special occasions. The dances they performed were farewell performances associated with the departure of the sun. The dwarfs were used as they were thought to represent the sun due to their stunted growth.
Occasions for Dance
Dancing scenes portrayed in temples reflected both royal and divine ceremonies.
- Sed Festival Dances: Sed festival dances took place during jubilee ceremonies which celebrated the renewal pledge to the king.
- Valley Festival: Valley festival at Thebes celebrates the God Amun's trip from Karnak temple to visit the tombs on the West Bank passing by the sanctuary of Hathor.
- Opet Festival: Opet Festival: another event associated with God Amun's visit to his wife Goddess Mut from Karnak Temple to Luxor temple.
- Feast of Min: Feast of Min: god of fertility and regeneration: The dancers in this feast were members of his cult. Drawings representing this feast showed priests and monkeys dancing.
Ancient Egyptian Dance and Music
Musical Instruments
The ancient Egyptians used a vast array of musical instruments such as sistrums, harps, drums, flutes, cymbals, clappers, and tambourines that played a prominent role in melodic compositions of ancient Egyptians composers and musicians. The trf was a dance performed by a pair of men during the Old Kingdom.
Ancient Egyptian Musical Instruments
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Here's a look at some of the instruments used:
- Flute: Hollow reeds are common along the Nile. The flute probably started as a reed. Holes were added and was the only wind instrument in ancient Egypt.
- Guitar: The guitar was a lute-like instrument. It didn't look much like today's guitars, but it had a sound box and a long neck with strings that stretched from the neck end down and across the sound box. Strings could be tightened and held to make many different sounds.
- Harps: Harps were started as hunting bows.
- Percussion: bells, drums, rattles, chimes, tambourines, and clapping hands.
Dance Movements and Styles
The dance was based on natural movements, walking, vigorous walking, stamping, running, short hops, or leaping. All types of jumps, hops and ballet-style pirouettes. They did turns of 180 degrees.
Some movements included:
- Belt, waist and shoulder circulation.
- Bending the spine forwards or backwards.
- An interesting and distinctive step, Folkloric group calls the "tawalli" step, to the floor at hip level, and the leg bent downward at the knee.
The Ghawazee
The "Ghawazee" dances for the new folkloric tradition. Folk dance, rather than "raqs sharqi" or belly dancing, especially of arm movements, allow as much freedom of movement". Been centered in Esna, Qena, or Luxor. In Luxor, and are known are the Banat Mazin, or the Mazin family.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Social Class | All classes were exposed to music and dance |
| Types of Dances | Banquet, harem, combat, street, funeral |
| Dance Styles | Solo, pair, group |
| Musical Instruments | Harps, flutes, drums, cymbals, clappers, tambourines |
| Key Occasions | Religious festivals, banquets, funerals, royal ceremonies |
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