mediterranean trance-dance healing

Question 1

different trance dance therapies and where they are from

Answer 1

tarantismo- puglia
argismo- Sardinia
arlia- the apennine
hamadsha- Morocco
zar- egypt, sudan, ethiopia, eritrea, Middle East

Question 2

historical roots of trance dance therapies

Answer 2

all share beliefs in possessing spirits, point to shared origins in pre-christian/pre-islamic beliefs where spirits can cause possession and humans can communicate with them through drumming and trance dance. spirits of the dead thought to appear in bodies of small animals in some regions

Question 3

what is tarantismo

Answer 3

a form of ethnomedical therapy entered around the belief that the bite of a spider or other stinging animal must be exorcised. musical therapy and dance are crucial part of the cure

Question 4

where does tarantismo come from

Answer 4

cases cluster around around the city of Taranto, southern area of Apulia is the epicentre of tarantismo. the salento is the region of tarantismo

Question 5

what is the taranta

Answer 5

European wolf spider– most often stung women agricultural workers during harvest months, either for real, or metaphorically. each taranta had its own personality

Question 6

what is a Tarante

Answer 6

someone possessed by a taranta, usually a peasant woman

Question 7

why did tarantas possess peasant women the most

Answer 7

these were the women who are working in the field as day labourers. they showed symptoms of psycho-social disrtress associated with a crisis. (miscarriage, death of husband, etc)

Question 8

how long did tarantismo last

for infected ppl

Answer 8

for life; was heavily stigmatized

Question 9

who were the healers

for tarantismo

Answer 9

a group of male musicians called to play the pizza for the Tarante. often played for hours or days, until spider was exorcised.

Question 10

what does pizzica mean

Answer 10

“pluck” or “bite”

Question 11

what is a tamburello

Answer 11

the tamburello is a frame drum with jingles. it is central to the pizzica taranta, and other circum-mediterranean trance dance therapies. however, is not just used for exorcism.

Question 12

what is remorse

Answer 12

means “re-bite.” bite would become reactivated each year

Question 13

what day does the bite reactivate and where would the infected women go

Answer 13

St. Peter and Paul festival, June 28-29th. women would go to St. Paul in Galatian to dance before the church

Question 14

who studied tarantismo and when

Answer 14

Ernesto de martino studied it in 1959-61

Question 15

what did de martino link tarantismo to

Answer 15

“crisis of presence” a socio-psychological condition emerging from poverty and strict gender roles

Question 16

what is zar?

Answer 16

zar is a kind of spirit that is believed to possess ppl and cause illness. also the name of a ritual performed to exorcise the spirit

Question 17

where does zar come from

Answer 17

North Africa and the Middle East– found in societies where women did not have a lot of agency until quite recently.

Question 18

what happens to zar possessed women

Answer 18

they are in a trance, they take on the personality of the possessing spirit and may make demands of their families on behalf of the spirit. they are possessed for life

Question 19

what is the zar ceremony like

Answer 19

the possessed woman will dance to music performed by male musicians to exorcise the spirit and heal the sickness. not a scheduled ceremony like tarantismo. the frame drum is key to this ceremony, only specific drum patterns can call forth and and appease the possessing spirits

Question 20

what is Neo-tarantismo

Answer 20

a form of reclamation, a process in which a feature of a culture previously de-valued is reclaimed for a whole new purpose. middle class youth follow pizza bands to festivals around southern Italy (eventually got famous all over Europe). people dance to achieve ecstasy

Question 21

what do people participating in Neo-tarantismo call themselves?

Answer 21

tarantolati, tarantati, attarantati

Question 22

what is the Notte della taranta music festival

Answer 22

the festival where all pizza band from Italy and other parts of Europe perform. have reclaimed the scary spider to look cute!

Question 23

who is Alessandra Belloni

Answer 23

she leads workshops to teach drumming and trance dancing. links pizzica with women’s ancient healing and mother-earth worship.

Question 24

potential problems with Belloni’s pizzica workshops

Answer 24

attract mostly upper middle class white western women because it is very expensive. no anthropological evidence to back up her workshops/claims, just her story. can harm cultural aspects and heritage

Question 25

where is zar staged in Cairo? what happens?

Answer 25

at the Egyptian centre for culture and arts. the mazaher ensemble performs traditional zar music for middle-class audiences. these reenactments are considered valuing Egyptian folk traditions

Question 26

what happened during the pizzica tarantata dance to women dancing?

Answer 26

dance lasts a long time and can include bruising, vomiting, swollen legs or temporary amnesia. the movements are frenzied, sexually charged, and emotional. meant to alter consciousness to bring purification and release emotional blockage

Question 27

four phases of pizzica taranta (according to participant at Belloni's workshop)

Answer 27

phase one: standing in one place in a circle, putting one leg in front of the other while stomping and waving red ribbon phase two: vertical movements with a partner who is at a different stage in the dance (improv) phase three: transition to horizontal, can lie with limbs outstretched or roll around phase four: the conclusion where dancer gets up and spins and picks a person to dance with. everyone goes until they are all done, at which point they spin around and lie down

Question 28

how do people who have experienced classic tarantismo remember it

Answer 28

it is remembered as a painful ritual, many female drummers dont drum now because it reminds them of the bad times