The Haloa among the Greeks seems to have been at once a Harvest and Vintage festival; the dancing which took place during this feast must have been in honour of the god of fertility. In Greek villages at the present day the harvest festival takes place round the threshing-floor, and there is much dancing, but its old significance has now, of course, disappeared.
There is evidence that dances were performed in honour of the fertility goddess Demeter and Persephone; the dancers personated these goddesses in their character of beasts,—horses, pigs, etc.; while we have here a dance in honour of these divinities, it is possible that it also partook of the nature of imitative magic, it being a means of ensuring productivity.
An interesting case of framing a reason for the sacred dance under trees, the real reason being presumably forgotten, is that of the two daughters of Eteokles who were turned into cypresses; these were trees under which sacred dances were performed. Festival dances among the Greeks were often doubtless expressions of mirth and joy, but this did not prevent their being performed in honour of some deity; it was precisely similar among the Israelites to whom the exhortation was constantly given: “Ye shall rejoice before Jahwe your God,” in connexion with the feasts (Lev. xxiii. 40, etc.). A magic-religious purpose is at times to be discerned in these Greek festival dances.
Among the Romans a notable instance of this type of sacred dance is that performed by “the Brethren of the Ploughed Fields”; they circled round the victims for sacrifice to Mars. A similar rite was carried out by the Luperci in honour of the god Faunus (the Greek Pan); it had a purificatory purpose. The dances of the Salii were performed in honour of Mars; they also danced in honour of Saturn, the Roman god of sowing; their high leaps during the latter of these were believed to have the effect of making the corn grow high.
Among the uncultured races the Kayans of Central Borneo danced at their festivals with a purpose similar to that of the Romans; their high leaps were a magical rite to make the crops grow in height. A like result was believed by the Kai of New Guinea to be effected by swinging to and fro on reeds suspended from the branches of trees. The Malays perform imitative dances which at one time were believed to make the crops grow. Finally, the Hottentots dance in honour of the moon in belief that this will have the effect of prevailing upon their deity, the moon, to supply them and their flocks with sustenance.
We have no indications in the Old Testament that the sacred dances at the Israelite feasts had any other purpose than that of rejoicing before their God, and this was, of course, in the nature of honouring Him. But the possibility of the existence of imitative magic in connexion with them at some period of their history cannot be altogether excluded; this is suggested not only because the idea is so widespread, but also because even in much later times among the Jews we have an example of an imitative magical rite during a feast in the Temple. At the Feast of Tabernacles it was the custom for water to be drawn ceremonially by the priests from the fountain of Siloam; this was brought through the water-gate, when a long-drawn-out trumpet blast was sounded, into the Temple, where it was poured out upon the altar during the further blowing of trumpets; the rite was performed daily on the seven days of the Feast. That this was a piece of imitative magic for the purpose of ensuring a sufficient rainfall would suggest itself spontaneously; but we have the definite statement to this effect given by the Rabbis, for the object of the rite is explained by the words: “The Holy One, Blessed be He! said, Pour out water before me at the Feast, in order that the rains of the year may be blessed to you[285].” This clear evidence among the Jews for the existence of a magical rite to obtain rain is sufficient justification for believing that their forefathers may have performed dances at Harvest Festivals for the purpose of ensuring good crops.