The Dancing Goddesses – Folklore, Archaeology, and the Origins of European Dance - Hardcover

Barber, Elizabeth W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393065367 ISBN 13: 9780393065367

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013

Synopsis

From southern Greece to northern Russia, people have long believed in female spirits, bringers of fertility, who spend their nights and days dancing in the fields and forests. So appealing were these spirit-maidens that they also took up residence in nineteenth-century Romantic literature. Archaeologist and linguist by profession, folk dancer by avocation, Elizabeth Wayland Barber has sleuthed through ethnographic lore and archaeological reports of east and southeast Europe, translating enchanting folktales about these "dancing goddesses" as well as eyewitness accounts of traditional rituals-texts that offer new perspectives on dance in agrarian society. She then traces these goddesses and their dances back through the Romans and Greeks to the first farmers of Europe. Along the way, she locates the origins of many customs, including coloring Easter eggs and throwing rice at the bride. The result is a detective story like no other and a joyful reminder of the human need to dance.

About this title

Review:

Rich with anecdotes and compelling explanations of the origin of many modern customs (such as throwing rice at a bride), Barber's is an informative and amusing read, often bringing together many diverse sources--traditional stories, illustrations of artifacts, and aspects of popular culture--into an illuminating whole that will serve as a nice introduction for those unfamiliar with the topic, and a valuable reference for scholars of European dance and folklore.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Wayland Barber is the author of Women's Work, The Dancing Goddesses, and The Mummies of UErumchi. Professor emerita of archaeology and linguistics at Occidental College, she lives in California.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0393065367
• ISBN 13: 9780393065367
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448