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Background on Romani Dance
Romano Kheliben translates to Romani Dance, more commonly, but not necessarily correctly referred to as "Gypsy" Dance. Although the Romani people are often referred to as "Gypsies", not all "gypsies" or nomadic peoples are Roma. The Roma are descendants of the ancient warrior classes of Northern India, particularly the Punjab, and they are identifiable by their language, religion, and customs, which can be directly linked to those of the Punjabi in northern India.
Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi summarized the state of the Romani people very nicely at her opening speech at the International Romani Festival in Chandigarh, India on October 28, 1983 (paraphrased by Milena Hubschmannova & Jaroslav Jurasek):
"There are some 15 million Roms dispersed across the world. Their history is one of suffering and misery, but it is also one of the victories of human spirit over the blows of fate. Today the Roms revive their culture and are looking for their identity. On the other hand, they integrate into the societies in which they live. If they are understood by their fellow citizens in their new homelands, their culture will enrich the society's atmosphere with the color and charm of spontaneity."
Romani dance not only represents the Romani people, their culture and history, but is also a very individualistic form of expression. The emotional power comes from within the performer who abandons him/her self to his/her art and breathes life into it. Romani dance and music are a way of life, instruments through which the very essence of existence can be expressed. The dances also represent freedom - freedom of personal and spiritual expression, the only type of freedom possible for an oppressed people.
Because the Romani people have been so widely misunderstood, ostracized, oppressed, discriminated against, and were subject to attempted extermination by Hitler, they keep their culture closely guarded within their own family/social structure, passing it from generation to generation over a millennium until today. Other than Romani musicians who are widely acclaimed and sought after , very few have stepped forward and shared their vibrant art forms with the rest of the world, save perhaps for the Gypsy Flamenco artists of Andalucia. It is therefore way overdue for Romano Kheliben to be part of the rest of the dance world, and speak its story and history and perhaps dance its way to the future. It is a dance art form definitely worth preserving!
For further reading, please see Nadia's article, The Story of the Roma is in the Dance which appeared in Roma Nos. 48-49, 1998, Chandigarh, India.
Romani Dance - "Romano Kheliben" Links Roma to India
Romani Dance - "Romano Kheliben" Links Roma to India
Nadia Hava-Robbins, MA
California, USA
September, 1999
Note: This is the article as it appeared in Attendance
It has been established by many scholars (Rishi, Hancock, Kochanowski, et al)1,2,3 that the Roma left India (our Baro Than, ie our homeland) nearly a thousand years ago. Early in the 11th century, Muslim invasions into northern India were lead by Mahmed of Ghazni. The warriors assembled to fight these Muslim invasions and their camps gave rise to the modern Roma. They fled north through mountain passes in the upper Indus valley and traveled west along the "silk road", ultimately reaching eastern Europe early in the 14th century. Most unfortunate is the term "Gypsy" which derives from the mistaken belief that the Roma had come from Egypt (or "little Egypt", the middle east), and the subsequent application of this term to many nomadic groups bearing no relation to the Roma. Thus, not all "Gypsies" are Roma, and not all Roma are nomadic!!
There are many ways of communicating, without which there would be no history, literature, science, music, dance, nor art. Many linguists and scholars (Rishi, Hancock, Kochanovsky, et al)1,2,3 have already shown, largely through analysis of language and religion, that our roots come from northern India, the Punjab in particular. Dance and music are also means of communication, examination of which will reveal its origins, story, mood, and purpose. When one listens to Romani music or voice one hears the tonalities, the keys, scales, beats, and rhythms of Indian music. When one looks at Romani dance closely, there is no question that the steps that made it around the world came from India. Romani dances include: Flamenco, typical of the Kalo's - the Roma of Spain, particularly in the region of Andalusia; Czardas and Botolo Tanc, danced by the Roma of Hungary and eastern Europe; Chochek (Beledi/belly dance) of the Balkans and Middle East; and various folk dances resembling those of the Punjab and Rajasthan.
We shall now examine Romani dances in a little more detail in light of their Indian origins. It is the major thesis of this article that the similarities of Romani dances to those of northern India constitutes evidence of the origin of the Roma as strong as that provided by analysis of linguistic, religious, musical and other cultural data. The notions presented here are not intended to discount the vast contributions of Indian culture to the western world, rather to demonstrate and elucidate the connection of the Roma to India. Like their language and music, their dance has preserved elements they have brought with them from India as well as incorporated elements from the cultures of the regions in which they reside. And, as Indira Ghandi said on October 29, 1983, while inaugurating the second International Romani Festival in Chandigarh, India,4
The Roma of today retain their identity and indeed have revived it. But they have also integrated themselves into the societies where they now live and are assets to the countries to which they now belong, adding color, spontaneity and zest for life.
Flamenco appears to be relatively better known (and unfortunately over-popularized!), researched, and referenced than the other Romani dances. Flamenco - "musica flamenca" originates with Romany ("Gypsy") music. It was not until after 1782, when the persecution of the Roma "ended" (ended is in quotes because it has not ended to this day!!), that the music started to expand beyond the closed traditional family circle, although the Roma immigrated into Spain during the 15th century5. Molina6,7 traces the historical development of the various forms of Flamenco. He classifies them into Cantes (singing), and Bailes (dancing). He also differentiates between Flamenco which was developed by the Roma in the 15th century when the arrived, and Andalusian folk music and dance, also danced by Roma, but which was picked up and adapted by them much later, in the 19th century. Gobin8 has made a direct link to four major Indian cult dances, Kathak, Kathakali, Manipuri, and Bharata Natyam. He also mentions the influence of Indian music and dance especially in Cadiz even before the arrival of the Roma. It was not uncommon to hire Hindu dancers on a regular basis to entertain at large festivals. A closer examination of Baile Flamenco and traditional Indian dances show remarkable similarities. The hand work is very similar to the Kathak. The fingers, like the circular motion of a fan opening, spreading one after the other, closing and then opening again, and so on - the use of castanets in classical Spanish dancing, and traditional Andalusian folk dancing is customary, but not in Flamenco. The hands and fingers in Flamenco have an important role to play in expression of the dance, and therefore need to be free. This hand position can be seen on many Indian sculptures as well. Unfortunately most or all formation of the sacred mudras has been left behind. The footwork called "zapateado", a drumming sound, is made with the ball of the foot (or toe with shoes) and the heel interchangeably, also similar to the Kathak. The zapateado was first danced barefooted and rarely still is before shoes were put on. Also, zapateado was at first performed publically only by male dancers. Baile, the female dancer, concentrates on movements of the upper body, arms, hands, and hips, as well as her footwork. In general, the male dancers are more robust and virile in their dancing. The male dancer keeps his hands closed for the most part, but both male and female use hands for clapping (palmero-palmas claras) or finger snapping (pitos). The female also uses her hands in a shimmering motion around her body. There are also similarities of leg positions and movements between Flamenco and the Kathak. Another important similarity is in baile jondo (the serious introspective form of Flamenco dancing as opposed to baile chico, a light dance), which possesses somewhat of a secular right about it: its God is Dionysis, the god who joins pain and pleasure in a state of intoxication. 5,9
Czardas and Botolo Tanc appear to show a stronger relation to northern Indian folk dancing. In Czardas, the female steps are simiar to Flamenco and Kathak again, in using the ball of the foot and the heel. However, unlike Flamenco in which the sound produced is an integral part of the music, the sounds produced by the feet here are incidental. This dance is very fast paced. The hands are used for clapping, but mainly finger snapping by both males and females. The female dancers also use their hands in shimmering motion around their bodies like in Flamenco. They wear full, wide skirts for twirling and turning. The male dancer, on the other hand, works with his heels to produce a stamping sound, similar to Flamenco, but in addition, he also makes a stamping sound by hitting his heels together, called "sharkazni". It is also common for men to jump, squat, bend their legs from the knees down in various directions, hitting their heels and knees with their palms, very similar to northern Punjabi folk dancers. Now we shall discuss the Botolo Tanc of southern Hungary and Transylvania. Botolo Tanc means dance with stick or mock fight with sticks and has its origin in the Indian folk fight named Gatka, still performed today in the Punjab during festivals or processions on the eve of religious or national festivals.10
Like northern Indian folk dances, Romani dances are for the most part spontaneous, prompted by special occasion such as birth, courtship, wedding, death, harvest, the coming of spring after the cold winter, or spiritual celebrations like that of St. Sarah - Sati Sara (the Indian goddess, Durga/Kali, the goddess of fortune for the Roma), which takes place in late May of each year. Romani dances are charged with emotional expression and passion, like joy, love, despair, grief, etc. They carry themes and symbols from everyday life as well as spiritual life, for example great devotion to family, strong connectedness with nature, the tension between freedom and oppression, hopelessness at one end and passion and love of life at the other. In other Romani dances of eastern Europe the female dancers can be compared to Ghoomar dancers of Rajasthan, adorned with jewels and with their full skirts, flowing extended in the air, as they spin and turn, and with their arms curved above their heads. The Kikli, usually introduced at the end of the Gidha11 dance in the Punjab, can often be seen in Romani dances. The Kikli is a pair of dancers going around and around with their feet planted in one particular spot, holding hands with the arms crossed and extended. 
In Romani dance, the hands, the arms, and the shoulders each have their own special role. The most common to be found is that of clapping of the hands or snapping of the fingers in rhythm with the music, like that of the Gidha11. The arms are also very graceful in their movement along with the upper body, reaching up towards the sky as if wanting to take off and fly, touch the stars, while the feet are joined with the earth - tied to the earth, indeed stamping as if to become part of the earth, exemplified in the Romani Czardas and Flamenco. Flamenco dancing especially is concentrated downward toward the ground. For the solo dancer, very little space is required. The explanation of this is that contrary to classical ballet or modern dance (which are "extroverted" dances, needing a lot of space to move, to express, to leap across the stage, to be as light as possible, almost weightless in its movements), the Flamenco and other Romani dances are more "introverted" dances, the major theme being the ultimate achievement of connectedness with the earth.5
There are also ritual dances found amongst the Roma of eastern Europe originating in India. One very old and sacred, and not well known, entails women dancing around a fire with their arms and upper body extended over it, as if to keep it going forever to sustain warmth and life. Although it is beyond the scope of this short article to describe in detail, it should be mentioned here that there are also many variations of scarf dances / veil dances danced in Europe, as well as the Balkans, Middle East, and Africa.
Chochek (Beledi/belly dance) is found predominantly in the Balkans and the Middle East, although its popularization has spread it throughout the western world. It holds its origins in ancient fertility cults and it is believed to have been danced in ancient temples of India. In the Chochek, cymbals (manjira) attached to fingers are used like in Tera Tali of Rajasthan11. Interestingly, the hand movements are again very similar to those of the Flamenco and Khathak. Belly dance can also use sword and various pots that are balanced on the head. The dancer(s) may sit on the ground, balancing these objects using the cymbals for rhythm, shifting and sliding their body(ies) while their arms are moving in a complex motion. These are evidently elements of the fertility ritual of the Kamara tribe of India.
There are many misconceptions about Romani Dance (and also other indigenous dances). The main one concerns eroticism or sexuality. This kind of eroticism, like in Flamenco or Chochek has nothing to do with the vulgar, frivolous ideation about sexuality of the Gadjo (non-Roma) world. It can not be compared to the "exotic" dancers of nighttime bar life. These dances carry no marked sexual overtones as such, even if they are danced to a love song. But unfortunately, their tall, proud, energy-filled posture and their direct look into the eyes of their partner or of the audience is often interpreted as such by many Gadjo audiences and dancers alike.
Romani dance not only represents the Romani people, their culture and history, that links them to northern India, but is also a very individualistic form of expression. The emotional power comes from within the dancer who abandons him/her self to his/her art and breathes life into it. Romani dance and music are a way of life, instruments through which the very essence of existence can be expressed. They also represent freedom - freedom of personal and spiritual expression, the only type of freedom possible for an oppressed people.
The art of Romani Dance lies in its ability to communicate with the music/musicians and the audience and to improvise at any given moment, without losing the connection between the Now, as well as the history of great suffering of the Roma people, and the hope for the future.
The author of the present article, herself originally from eastern Europe, had the honor and unique opportunity to receive the then-Indian-ambassador to the United States, Mr. & Mrs. S.S. Ray and members of Indian uniformed services in her home, at which time she had occasion to present to them Romani dances from eastern Europe. The Tribune, on January 22, 1996 in Chandigarh reported of this event:
There were striking similarities noted by [the] Indian guests between Romano Kheliben (dancing) and the dances from the Punjab. The general mood and motion of the dance and the hand movements and steps in particular as well as the music an singing reminded [the Indian] company of musical, lyrical, and dance expression of the Punjab.
Mr. Ray succinctly summarized the dance event in one sentence,
It's in the blood.
Because the Romani people have been so widely misunderstood, ostracized, oppressed, discriminated against, and were subject to attempted extermination by Hitler, they keep their culture closely guarded within their own family/social structure, passing it from generation to generation over a millennium until today. Other than Romani musicians who are widely acclaimed and sought after, very few have stepped forward and shared their vibrant art forms with the rest of the world, save perhaps for the Romani Flamenco artists of Andalusia. It is therefore way overdue for Romano Kheliben to be part of the rest of the dance world, and speak its story and history and dance its way to the future.
We pass like the wind on the lake of the world without leaving a mark.
And yet,without us nothing would be the same.
Always thrown out, always hunted.
Despised and envied. And always unknown...12 |
