The Dancing Goddesses: Folklore, Archaeology, and the Origins of European Dance Illustrated Edition, Kindle Edition

This book is an archeologist's ode to her passion for Eastern European folk dance. Parts are erudite, and full of fascinating facts about the region's culture and history. She explains, for instance, why the colors of white, red and black are so popular. Why embroidery goes around the neck and sleeves (to protect the wearer from evil spirits), why some dances go clockwise and others the reverse, why dances from some regions have "regular" beats, such as 3/4 or 4/4, and other regions have odder ones like 7/8, 9/8, etc. Why Western Europe does partner dances, and Eastern Europe does line dances.My favorite parts of the book, however, and the ones that will stick most in my mind, are about Balkan dances themselves. As an avid folk dancer in my teens, I had an intuitive understanding of the sacredness of these dances. Barber explains where this comes from, namely the ritual nature of the dances themselves, which were used to ensure fertility and connect with earth and water goddesses.She had two quotes in the book from William McNeill, author of Keeping Together in Time, about the psychological effects of soldiers marching together. I absolutely loved these, because it was the first time I had ever seen anybody describe the magic of moving in unison with a group of people -- in the case of dancing, to timeless tunes and rhythms:"Marching aimlessly about on the drill field, swaggering in conformity with prescribed military postures, conscious only of keeping in step so as to make the next move correctly and in time somehow felt good... A sense of pervasive well-being is what I recall; more specifically, a strange sense of personal enlargement; a sort of swelling out, becoming bigger than life, thanks to participation in collective ritual... It was something felt, not talked about ... Moving briskly and keeping in time was enough to make us feel good about ourselves, satisfied to be moving together, and vaguely pleased with the world at large.""the emotion it arouses constitutes an indefinitely expansible basis for social cohesion among any and every group that keeps together in time,moving big muscles together and chanting, singing, or shouting rhythmically. 'Muscular bonding' is the most economical label I could find for this phenomenon, and I hope the phrase will be understood to mean the euphoric fellow feeling that prolonged and rhythmic muscular movement arouses in nearly all participants in such exercises."Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that exactly what a person feels in something like folk dance?I will keep this book as a reference for a long time.

Dr Barber continues to amaze me with the amount of accessible, easily-readable material she includes in her writing. I have read three of her books and there is very little duplication between any; in fact at some point, it becomes virtually necessary to have read other works to better understand what she is conveying in the current work! Highly recommend; and note: Her titles do not limit the scope of what you will find inside! Looking forward to her next volume.

Focusing mostly on folk dance of Greece, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe this book is full of insights into the meaning and symbology of ‘western’ Folk Dance. Tying together folk dance and it’s relationship to village life, marriage, fertility, death . . . Full of great visual depictions of the subject matter as well.

Wow, she ties together so many of the strands I've been exploring in the last several years in a very readable style. It makes a much more coherent whole now. This covers a lot about folk dances, early neolithic culture, traditional life in the balkans in closer to modern times, mythic understandings, women's lives and work, folk tales, seasonal customs, and textiles in a way that gently uncovers connections between them all.Recommended for people who are interested in folk dancing, balkan traditional culture, the culture of the earliest agriculturalists, the history of women's lives and work, and / or mythic understandings of the world.

A treasure trove of insight, woven into a mystery to be solved. Good for those who like detail, but those folks are likely to get lost in the woods. This reveals the origins and meanings of customs we don't even know are rooted in ancient times.

Barber, Professor Emerita of Archeology and Linguistics at Occidental College, sets out to document the origins of dance in the region ranging from Crete through the Balkans to the Baltic. In the effort, however, she spans not only her native disciplines but also women's herstory, the social sciences, ethnology, and folkloristics to systematically explore the gestalt of agrarian culture, from folktales and ballads, herbalism and textile arts, to courtship and marriage rituals, as well as dance, and proves that "'perishable' customs and beliefs can survive for millennia."Part I examines the functional origins of dance in the region of interest. Most important among these is the appeasement of the spirits, especially ancestors and the volatile spirits of maidens who had died before giving birth, as their fertility remained latent and transferable to the earth if placated, but their power could be destructive if not. Dance served as part of the rituals that marked time, often as sympathetic magic, inducing the earth to perform in various ways mimicking or responding to the actions of the dancers. It also established and affirmed the bonds of community that are so important to survival particularly in agrarian societies.Part II uses the folktale The Frog Princess to reveal the role of dance and women's arts to prove the bride's fitness for marriage and likely fertility. In agrarian cultures, fecundity was paramount to provide extra hands for labor and marriage often took place only after the bride proved fertile by pregnancy. (Christianity was largely an urban phenomenon and its valuation of virginal brides was limited in its influence).In Part III, extensive archaeological evidence traces the rituals and beliefs discussed in the previous sections back to the Age of Rome, Greece, and the Bronze Age. Part IV, the shortest chapter, draws upon social and cognitive sciences to answer the question of "Why dance?" Why? Because we are hardwired for rhythm, because we feel solidarity moving together, because "our brains go into ecstatic hyperdrive when several cognitive systems [muscular, emotional, etc.] get fully synchronized, all firing in unison."This is an eminently readable, though primarily scholarly treatment. It is extensively researched, and the detail and various versions of the practices and folktales can be either tedious or engrossing, depending on one's disposition. This is an essential addition to Dance Studies and Women's Studies collections and belongs beside the work of Marija Gimbutas and Mary B. Kelly's Goddess Embroideries series.

Wonderful book. Written in a clear easy-reading style, there is something fascinating on every page. Ever wondered why Artemis, the greek goddess of childbirth was a woodland hunter VIRGIN? She has the answer. Baba Yaga's chicken legged hut? Here's the reasons you have to know the questions to enter it, also why Baba is both a helper and destroyer. Page after page, you will be reading bits to your spouse and quoting it to friends.

Well written book, interesting historic exploration of culture of dance, great illustrations, - I would definitely recommend it for curious minds.

So much fun reading through the myths, folklore, and dance steps. Enjoyed this.