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Weapon Dance
A weapon dance employs weapons—or stylized versions of weapons—traditionally used in combat in order to simulate, recall, or reenact combat or the moves of combat in the form of dance, usually for some ceremony, ceremonial purpose. Such dancing is quite common to folk ritual on many parts of the world. Weapon dancing is certainly ancient; among the earliest historical references we have are those that refer to the pyrrhichios, a weapon dance in ancient Sparta, in which the dance was used as a kind of ritual training for battle. Related to weapon dances and war dances is the dance of the hunt. A very early reference to a weapon dance of the hunt comes in the form of a Petroglyph, rock carving at Çatalhöyük, Çatal Höyük, the large neolithic settlement in south-central Anatolia. It depicts a hunting ritual involving dancers holding their bows; one figure has a bow in each hand, two perform artistic leaps and another holds a horn-shaped stick and is striking a frame drum. Exa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law enforcement, self-defense, warfare, or suicide. In a broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a tactical, strategic, material, or mental advantage over an adversary or enemy target. While ordinary objects such as rocks and bottles can be used as weapons, many objects are expressly designed for the purpose; these range from simple implements such as clubs and swords to complicated modern firearms, tanks, missiles and biological weapons. Something that has been repurposed, converted, or enhanced to become a weapon of war is termed ''weaponized'', such as a weaponized virus or weaponized laser. History The use of weapons has been a major driver of cultural evolution and human history up to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albanian Sword Dances
Albanian war dances ( or ) are war dances performed by the Albanian people. They have been historically performed before Albanians' departure for the battle front, but in recent times they have been traditionally performed during particular events and feasts. The war dances differ in both form and content according to the Albanian ethnographic area. War dance in circle around fire Early descriptions of the Albanian war dance in circle around fire was provided in the early 19th century by western travellers who visited southern Albania. The dance is practiced for several hours with very short intervals, acquiring new vigour from the words of the accompanying song that starts with a battle cry invoking war drums, and which is of a piece with the movement and usually changed only once or twice during the whole performance. The ritual purifying fire ( Zjarri) is traditionally used by Albanians, in particular singing and dancing around it, to gain protection and energizing from its su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the north. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical Macedonia (region), region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's population of over 1.83 million. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonians, a South Slavs, South Slavic people. Albanians in North Macedonia, Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks in North Macedonia, Turks, Romani people in North Macedonia, Roma, Serbs in North Macedonia, Serbs, Bosniaks in North Macedonia, Bosniaks, Aromanians in North Macedonia, Aromanians and a few other minorities. The region's history begins with the Paeonia (kingdom), kingdom of Paeonia. In the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris Dance
Morris dancing is a form of English folklore, English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A band or single musician, also costumed, will accompany them. Sticks, swords, handkerchiefs, and a variety of other implements may be wielded by the dancers. Morris dancing first appeared in England in the Middle Ages, England in the 15th century. Its earliest surviving mention dates to 1448 and records the payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London. The term ''Morris'' derives from the Spanish language, Spanish term , although Morris dancing has no known historical connection to the Moors. Three prominent groups organise and support Morris in England: Morris Ring, Morris Federation and Open Morris; all three organisations have members from other countries as well. There are around 150 Morris sides (or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moros Y Cristianos
''Moros y Cristianos'' () or ''Moros i Cristians'' (), literally in English Moors and Christians, is a set of festival activities which are celebrated in many towns and cities of Spain, mainly in the southern Valencian Community. According to popular tradition the festivals commemorate the battles, combats and fights between Moors (i.e. Muslims) and Christians during the period known as ''Reconquista'' (from the 8th century through the 15th century). There are also festivals of ''Moros y Cristianos'' in Spanish America. The festivals represent the capture of the city by the Muslims and the subsequent Christian reconquering fight. The people who take part in the festival are usually enlisted in local associations called (singular ) or ''comparsas'' (companies that represent the Christian or Moor legions). Each side consists of various companies that carry out activities throughout the year, organizing spectacular parades during the days of the festival and spending a lot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investigate the act of music-making through various immersive, observational, and analytical approaches. This discipline emerged from comparative musicology, initially focusing on non-Western music, but later expanded to embrace the study of all different music. The practice of ethnomusicology relies on direct engagement and performance, as well as academic work. Fieldwork takes place among those who make the music, engaging local languages and culture as well as music. Ethnomusicologists can become participant observers, learning to perform the music they are studying. Fieldworkers also collect recordings and contextual data. Definition Ethnomusicology combines perspectives from folklore, psychology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, compara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reconquista
The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged against the al-Andalus, Muslim kingdoms following the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Umayyad Caliphate, culminating in the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. The beginning of the ''Reconquista'' is traditionally dated to the Battle of Covadonga ( or 722), in which an Kingdom of Asturias, Asturian army achieved the first Christian victory over the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the military invasion. The ''Reconquista'' ended in 1492 with the Granada War#Last stand at Granada, fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs. In the late 10th century, the Umayyad vizier Almanzor waged a series of military campaigns for 30 years in order to subjugate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moresca
Moresca (Italian), morisca (Spanish), mourisca (Portuguese) or moresque, mauresque (French), also known in French as the danse des bouffons, is a dance of exotic character encountered in Europe in the Renaissance period. This dance usually took form of medieval wars in Spain between Moors and Christians and is related to the Spanish Moros y cristianos, Moors and Christians festivals. Elements of moresca include blackening of the face, bells attached to the costumes and, in occasions, men disguised as women to portray fools. An example of the moresca can be seen in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of ''Romeo and Juliet (1968 film), Romeo and Juliet'', which has a scene with both Juliet and Romeo dancing the moresca in a circle. In the 15th century, the moresca is the most-often mentioned dance type in literature. On the rare occasions other dances (such as the basse danse, saltarello, or piva (dance), piva) are mentioned, the moresca is almost invariably described as well. In its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ball De Bastons
''Ball de bastons'' (, ''stick dance'') is the name of a ritual weapon dance spread throughout Europe and the rest of the Iberian area (''cossiers'' in Majorca, Portuguese ''pauliteiros'', Aragonese ''palotiau'', Basque ''ezpatadantza'' and Spanish ''paloteo'' or ''troqueado'') but mostly in Catalonia, Valencia, Aragón and Castilla y León where it is UNESCO heritage. English and Welsh Morris dances are well-known relatives to these traditions. The origins of dance are difficult to reference; first recorded mention dates to 1150, in a banquet of Count Berenguer IV) Most melodies are based on easy 2/4 rhythms. Instrumentarium includes tabor pipe, shawm or bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N .... Some of these tunes as ''Villano de Zamora'' were strikingly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sword Dance
Weapon dances incorporating swords or similar weapons are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of Solo dance, solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic dance, Pyrrhic) sword dances in Africa, Asia and Europe. Some traditions use sticks or clubs in place of bladed weapons, while most modern performers employ dulled sword replica, replications to avoid injury. Forms General types of sword dance include: *solo dancers around swords – such as the traditional Scottish sword dances. This general form also encompasses non-sword dances such as the bacca pipes jig in Cotswold morris dance, *mock-battle dances, including many stick dances from non-sword traditions, and such common continental dances as Bouffons or Mattachins as described by Thoinot Arbeau in 1588. *hilt-and-point sword dances – where the dancers are linked together by their swords in a chain. These form the basis for rapper sword and Long Sword dance, long sword forms. China and Vietnam Sword ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard () was an elite unit of the Byzantine army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from Northern Europe, including mainly Norsemen from Scandinavia but also Anglo-Saxons from England. The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions. The Rus' people, Rus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard. They were in Byzantine service from as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under Emperor Basil II in 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' by Vladimir I of Kiev. Vladimir, who had recently taken control of Kiev with an army of Varangian warriors, sent 6,000 men to Basil as part of a military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo is the site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Archaeology, Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when an undisturbed ship burial containing a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artifacts was discovered. The site is important in establishing the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia as well as illuminating the Anglo-Saxons during a period which lacks historical documentation. The site was first excavated by Basil Brown, a self-taught archaeologist, under the auspices of the landowner Edith Pretty, but when its importance became apparent, national scholars took over. The artefacts the archaeologists found in the burial chamber include: a suite of metalwork dress fittings in gold and gems, a ceremonial helmet, a shield and sword, a Anglo-Saxon lyre, lyre, and silver plate from the Eastern Roman Empire. The ship burial has prompted comparisons with the world of ''Beowulf''. The Old Engl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
