The sacred dance

by W. O. E. Oesterley

I

We are not concerned here with the history and development of the Hebrew feasts; but a few introductory words regarding them will not be out of place.

There were three agricultural festivals of first importance among the Israelites:

Mazzôth[233], or the feast of Unleavened Bread; this was a spring feast held when the sickle was first put to the standing corn and the first-fruits of the new crops were offered (Deut. xvi. 8, 9);

Shabuôth, or the feast of Weeks, celebrated seven weeks later at the conclusion of the harvest (Deut. xvi. 10); called also Ḳazir, the feast of “Harvest” (Exod. xxiii. 16);

Sukkôth, or the feast of Tabernacles, the autumn feast, called also ha-Asiph, the feast of “the ingathering,” when “thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field” (Exod. xxiii. 16).

Since prior to their entry into Canaan the Israelites were nomads, and therefore did not observe harvest festivals, it is extremely probable that, in settling down among the Canaanites, they adopted these festivals from the people of the land, and celebrated them in honour of Jahwe, their God.

These three great feasts were originally, among the Israelites, of equal importance, requiring presence at the sanctuary (Exod. xxxiv. 23); but there are indications that in quite early times the autumn feast of Tabernacles assumed pre-eminence. It is called “the feast,” or “the feast of Jahwe[234].” The other feasts were celebrated locally.

From the present point of view it is important to note that each of these feasts is called ḥag: ḥag ha-Mazzôth, ḥag ha-Ḳazir, ḥag ha-Asiph; that is to say, to each is applied the term which originally denoted what was the essence of a festival, viz. the sacred dance round the sanctuary; and the same is true of the minor festivals which were celebrated at the local sanctuaries.

In view of the fact that the feast was called ḥag because of the sacred dance characteristic of it, no surprise can be felt at the non-mention of dancing at these feasts when they are spoken of in the Old Testament; it was so obvious and customary that any reference to it, excepting incidental allusions, would have been quite superfluous[235]. Such incidental allusions occur in the Psalms, as we have seen, and a more specific mention is met with in Judg. xi. 34: “And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances”; we are not here concerned with the character of the feast referred to[236]; our point is that it was celebrated with dancing. Another and fuller illustration occurs in Judg. xxi. 19 ff., where mention is made of a feast which was held annually at Shiloh in honour of Jahwe; that it was a vintage feast is implied by the reference to the vineyards in which the Benjamites hid themselves[237]. At this feast it was the custom for the young girls to come out and dance: “When the maidens of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances”; and see verse 23. It is worth noticing how the dancing is mentioned as a recognized custom. The spot must have been a familiar one as the feast took place annually: we are reminded of Abel-meḥolah, “the field of dancing” (1 Kings xix. 16), which must clearly have got its name from the festival dancing which took place there habitually.

We know from the later history and ritual of the Jewish festivals that they were marked by dances and processional dances of a sacred character[238]; and the analogy of ritual usage among other peoples makes it certain that these religious dances at the Jewish feasts, as practised in post-biblical times, were not innovations, but rather the traditional ritual which had been handed down from time immemorial. As Krauss points out, the most primitive kind of dancing, a simple form of hopping, without rhythmic movement (for which the Talmud uses the word ṭaphaz), was in use in later times both at weddings and during regular worship[239].

We have already, in another connexion, drawn attention to the daily procession round the altar, after the sacrifices had been offered, during the feast of Sukkôth (“Tabernacles”). There was another dancing ceremony at this feast which must be mentioned, a ceremony of which it was said that whosoever had not seen it had never seen a real feast[240]. This was the wonderful Torch-dance which took place in the Court of the women in the Temple on the second day of the feast. A great multitude of men and women were always present on this occasion to witness the dance in which only the most prominent among the Israelites took part. While the dance was going on hymns and psalms were sung[241]. It was because of the dances and processions at the feast of Tabernacles, during which palms and branches of trees were carried, similar to the thyrsus carried by the Bacchanalian assemblies of maidens, that Plutarch was betrayed into the error of regarding this feast as of the same character as that celebrated in honour of Dionysos among the Greeks; and into his assertion that the cult of this god was in vogue among the Hebrews[242].

There was, to give another example, a religious dance, though of an entirely different character, carried out by Jewish maidens both on the feast-day known as the 15th of Ab, and on the Day of Atonement[243]. That the feast of the 15th of Ab was a religious one is clear from the evidence given by Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus[244] (1st century A.D.) to the effect that it was the great day of the year on which wood was offered for the burning of the sacrifices; the supply offered on this occasion was supposed to be sufficient to last for the year. The festival is referred to by Josephus, who calls it the Xulophoria[245].

To mention but one further example, at the feast of Purim there was a special kind of dance; although this ceased to be of a religious character, there can be no doubt that originally it was so[246].