There has always been much fascination about the history of belly dance, or in the community of belly dancers, it is preferred to be referred to as the Middle Eastern Dance or Raks Sharki (the Oriental Dance in Arabic). The origin is fiercely debated as there are no concrete evidences that support on the claims made. However, many believed that belly dance is one of the oldest dance-form dated back from as far as the fourteenth century BC where evidence of the dance are shown at the Egyptian tomb paintings and at the Persian miniature paintings from the 12th and 13th century that resemble partially clad dancers whose callisthenic positions appear to be similar to those used in belly dancing.
To many, belly dance is an ancient dance that was performed by women for women only. It was danced as part of celebration to celebrate fertility, birthing and temple rituals. Women in the olden day’s belly dance to goddess worship rituals to seek safe and smooth birthing since there wasn’t much proper medication available at that time. Some request for a gift of life. It is also believed that the wave-like movements of the belly called the undulation in belly dance terminology were used by women to help easing the birth delivery. The dance was meant for both family and social gatherings. It is passed down from mother to daughter in generations. A girl’s first performance for other women was considered as her rite of passage to womanhood.
