By David Magallanes /Guest contributor
We Westerners have a funny way of looking at things sometimes. The Eastern world must stare at us in disbelief sometimes, wondering, with mouths agape, how we could ever arrive at our conclusions. Of course, we do the same at times as we contemplate their world.
Last week I attended a “Belly Dance Performance” presented by the dancers of NEMA, an organization dedicated to teaching and promoting Middle Eastern dance, started by Jan Straka for the local community colleges in Ventura County. The closest that a man came to being visibly involved was the male master of ceremonies, Jan’s “other half,” Dan Reyna, who did a wonderful job of presenting the dancers, telling us about their history, as well as the history of the organization that displayed this rich, exotic talent.
The ladies were entirely professional in their presentation. Their costumes and makeup were appropriate for the occasion. They appeared to love what they do as Middle East dance ambassadors of the colleges they represent. All of them were beautiful and expressive of the ancient culture they were displaying for our delight and education. One young lady in particular, who had been dancing since she was a child, seemed to fall into a trance-like reverie as she danced to the hauntingly majestic Arabic rhythms.
When men in our culture observe belly dancing, we, in our ignorance, tend to think in terms of “hotness” and sexuality — and not necessarily in that order. I believe women are fascinated by “belly dancing” for entirely different reasons.
I understand men’s “fascination” with belly dancing, but then why are women enthralled by it? Not for the same reasons men are. Obviously. I found a web site*, established by an obviously successful and accomplished belly dance star whose name is Daleela, that explains female fascination with belly dancing:
Belly dance celebrates life and the feminine experience. There is strong consensus that belly dance began as an ancient, sacred fertility rite celebrating the power of Mother Earth and women to create life. Indeed, it may have been the earliest form of childbirth preparation. The movements of belly dance serve to strengthen and prepare the very muscles a woman needs for a healthy, natural labor and delivery.
Now I see it. Women have a subconscious affinity for that which recognizes their very nature as givers of life. Sensuality is what powers the life-giving forces of the universe. Without it, our species grinds to a halt and disappears. The chromosomes will not hear of that. And so the ancients in their wisdom celebrated the very sensuousness that our American culture in particular tends to repress. We’ll never read about a group of Puritans, the spiritual precursors of our country’s religiosity, celebrating a woman’s sensual powers, nor her physical attributes that allow for new life to be created on this plane. To suggest that women had ANY power in that early American community was risky.
But “belly dancing,” more accurately described as “Middle Eastern dance,” gives women a chance to express their very nature in the generally acceptable medium of dance in a man’s world. I say “generally acceptable” because in conservative circles it’s not always welcome. Ironically, in Egypt — in the very bosom (so to speak) of the Middle East where this dance form once flourished, belly dancing is harshly condemned by the Islamists, who consider it OK for the woman to dance — as long as it’s in front of her husband. Only. Allah forbid she dance publicly like that.
The term “belly dance” likely found its way into our lexicon by the French, though indirectly. They called it “danse du ventre,” which literally means “belly dance.” However, although the French “ventre” could be translated as “belly,” my knowledge of Spanish hints at a far more profound meaning. In the traditional Spanish “Ave María,” the Hail Mary prayer to the biblical mother of Jesus includes the words: “…y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.” The Spanish version of the French “ventre” is “vientre” (see why French is not that difficult for us Spanish speakers?) which is used in the prayer not to refer to Mary’s “belly,” but rather to something far more ethereal and deeply spiritual: “…and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”
Whereas the more clinical Spanish term for womb is “matriz,” the word “vientre” might more accurately be translated to English as “that sanctuary within which life begins.” And this, I propose, is what the ancients had in mind and celebrated as “belly dance” evolved over the eons.
What we know as “belly dance” has roots in the ancient Arab tribal religions as a dance to the goddess of fertility, according to Wikipedia. Hence, considering the history and the true meaning of the dance, the French phrase could likely be translated more accurately as “the dance of the womb,” though this wouldn’t have the same cachet as “belly dance” in our sex-infused culture.
I think that it is difficult for men to think on the same plane as women do in their universe. Whereas we see eroticism, women see sensual freedom to express their deepest nature. As Daleela continues to explain on her web site*:
Through this dance form, a woman gives herself the opportunity to become more sensual, spontaneous, creative and to experience greater control over her often devalued body. This latter phenomenon, to gain control over one’s body, is particularly appealing to women who live within the larger patriarchal social system.
In other words, in our “man’s world,” we men simply haven’t understood women. How can we? We don’t have their psyches, their bodies, their hormones. But they understand themselves. And despite our collective male repression of them, they learn ways around that repression and teach us what it means, truly, to be a woman.
— David Magallanes is the creator of his own enterprise, Real World Projects, a speaking, writing and Internet marketing business dedicated to the advancement of the American Dream. An emerging branch of Real World Projects is Edifiquemos, a Spanish language enterprise dedicated to teaching the Spanish-speaking how to create a profitable international (U.S./Mexico) enterprise with low investment and high earning potential. David may be available for speaking opportunities. To contact him and for more information, you are invited to visit and explore his web sites at www.realworldprojects.info and at www.edifiquemos.com His e-mail is dmagallanes@RealWorldProjects.info