Analysis of Strange Sumerian Dance Performed in the Louvre Museum

Warning: This video contains adult content. Viewer discretion is advised. 

Last year, the Louvre Museum in Paris featured this performance at one of its special evening events. The performance repeated continuously into the wee hours of the night. This dance was performed by les étudiants du conservatoire d'Anvers (students from the ARTESIS Royal Dance Conservatory of Belgium in Antwerp). It was designed by French choreographer Damien Jalet. With the help of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jalet created this strange dance repertoire of short performances, each of about fifteen minutes.

A few of the pieces really stuck out to me, like the first sequence called “Above head.” It was performed amid decapitated sculptures the Sumerian ruler Gudea. During the dance, someone brings back the spirit of a king who lost his head. He does this by having a Sumerian face drawn on his bald head. The intent was to make us feel that we were watching the decapitated head dance before our eyes.

Another was ,"The Evocation.” This dance was said to be inspired by a Sufi ritual based on the repetition of the word challah and the rhythm of the breath. It is a quite fitting title, as the very definition of evocation is the act of calling or summoning a spirit, demon, god or other supernatural agent. More often a term used in the Western mystery tradition, although not exclusive.

These strange scenes left some of the audience perplexed, one member saying that a particular sequence called, “Venus in Furs,” left her confused. Venus in Furs featured an intense mysterious veiled woman and the animal hybrid from which it originated.

In "Sin,” we see a somewhat erotic dance inspired by the myth of the primordial couple, or rebis; very esoteric.

"Venari,"was an interesting sort of primitive piece that seemed to imply hunting or sympathetic magic, perhaps a reference to Artemis, as well.

Yet another sequence, called "Daedalus,” was likened to the labyrinth created by Daedalus to enclose the Minotaur. This combination eluded to the loss of self in the other and suggests the inseparability of man from his animal side, which guides or dominates.

In addition to the video, here are some interesting stills, courtesy of the Louvre. What are your thoughts? Is this beautiful, intriguing, or just downright creepy?

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It’s May Day!

May 1, or "May Day", has been celebrated around the world for a very long time. Early observances were likely derived from the spring festivals of ancient Babylon, Egypt and India, which is often the case. However, today its celebrations more closely resemble those of its pagan European origins.

The month of May is named after the Greek fertility goddess Maia, considered the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades. She was the mother of Hermes, god of magic. Like many old world festivals, it celebrated fertility and developed into a type of “agrarian magic” to bless the first spring planting. The ancient Celts and Saxons celebrated May 1st as Beltane, a fire festival. The word 'Beltane' originates from the Celtic God 'Bel', meaning 'the bright one' and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire.

During a time where societies were hunter-gatherer, evening celebrations on the night before May Day included people chanting and singing, blowing hunting horns, and lighting bonfires. This was sometimes led by a person dressed as Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, with someone else dressed as the horned god, Herne.

As time passed and society turned more agrarian, Diana and Herne came to be seen as fertility deities of the crops and fields. Diana became the Queen of the May, believed to be the origin of the modern tradition of pageant and festival queens. Herne became Robin Goodfellow, seen as a predecessor of Robin Hood, also known as the Green Man. The Green Man was a protective woodland spirit. He can be seen on many pieces of folk art as well as church decoration, even today.

An iconic symbol of May Day has been the Maypole, an important part of the festivities, though scholars debate about its origin and meaning. Some say it represents an Axis Mundi, the world's center or a connection between Heaven and Earth. Others say its roots are in traditional Germanic reverence of sacred trees. Some believe it could have originated from the Roman’s worship of the god Priapu and is a phallic symbol. According to some anthropologists, the explanation for the Maypole is that of simply symbolizing the growth of new vegetation.

Regardless of its origin, the Maypole tradition still takes place in many areas around the world, as do a number of diverse celebrations to usher in springtime.

Best wishes to all on this first day of May!

Unveiling the Cover of My New Book, Anthrotheology

Here is a sneak peek at the cover of my new book, available this fall. I will be posting free sample chapters in the weeks to come. Stay tuned...

Valentine's Day Origin and Lupercalia

♥ Happy Lupercalia! ♥

As with many modern holidays, it is widely theorized by scholars that the true origins of Valentine’s Day is actually steeped in a very ancient Roman pastoral fertility festival, observed on February 13 through 15. The festival was called Lupercalia.

The belief was that the goddess Juno Februata (where the name February comes from) inflicted her "love fever" on the youth. Lupercalia “festivities” involved an orgy and sexual excesses, the sacrifice of goats and dogs, and the burning of salt meal-cakes prepared by the Vestal Virgins. Young men would randomly pick love notes of eligible young women from a container, after which they would try to guess who wrote the notes. Another practice was to smear the foreheads of youths with the blood of a sacrificed dog and goat and send them off with a priest around the perimeter of the city, whipping women along the way with strips of the goat’s skin. This act was to protect the women from infertility.

For years the Christian church tried to suppress the festival of Lupercalia. Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia from the 15th to the 14th and renamed it after the legendary St. Valentine in an attempt to redefine the pagan celebration. Even after the church replaced Lupercus with St. Valentine, the Lupercalia festival continued relatively unchanged except for the sexual excesses.

Though much has changed since the days of Lupercalia, in elementary schools across the country, children still put concealed notes in a box much as the ancient Romans did. Some traditions are well worth keeping!