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Dance speaks no language

Posted on Sunday, June 9, 2013

8 June 2013
The Incas are a vital part of Peruvian history. So far, we have been to three separate museums that highly revere the Incas. Their history is vast and detailed, and is extremely important for understanding the way Peru is today. I have personally observed (several times) one piece of the Incan history that has not died: dance.
Dance was used for celebration. It was also used for expression among the peoples in Peru. The dances had begun in the 1900s and brought to town by artisans and craftsmen from the countryside. Different groups of people danced different dances and more dance styles were being created throughout the times of celebration and times spent together as a community. Although women could participate in dancing, most dances were performed solely by men. Dances were used to express community among urban barrios and also used to divide among rivalries and express tensions. For instance, Dr. Kolak told us the story about a war between the Spanish and the Incas. The Spanish arrived at the front steps of the Incan power house. When the Spanish arrived on their horses, they declared war on the Incas. As a response, the Incan nobles began a fabulous dance meant to intimidate the Spanish and their horses away from war. The opposite occurred and the Incas fell to the Spanish in that war. In 1920, the dances began to die as a result of trade guilds. Trade guilds prevented an “organizational base for the performance of the dances” (Wilson, 2006). Between the 20s and 30s, Inca history slowly disappeared in response to while rule. The white rule limited urban popular culture and replaced this with new cultural activities with “hybrid identities under formation” (Wilson, 2006).
At El Museo Larco, there are statues of Incan emperors with traditional jewelery. Variations in hats, earrings, nose rings, and necklaces told others their status in the empire and where they originated from.

Throughout my short week in Lima, I have experienced three different instances that show the Peruvian tradition of dance is still alive and well. On Wednesday night, we had the opportunity to attend  Brisas del Titicaca, which is a tourist attraction showing the cultural dances founded at Titicaca. Here, performers dressed in exuberant garb and flashed their arms and legs around to a beautiful beat. They acted out certain events that included the King, commoners, and a joker, as explained by Wilson (Indians and Mestizos). The following day, we attended El Museo Rafael Larco Herrera, which had an expansive collection of Incan artifacts. One section was dedicated to the jewelry of dance. Earrings, necklaces, and nose rings were worn to explicitly state what region you were from and your position in the Empire. Friday night, we attended Del Carajo and enjoyed a more modernized form of dance for ourselves. The most important things about all of these experiences are as follows: i) history will always be, ii) history helps us explain the way we are or how something functions in today’s society, and iii) dance speaks no language. Regardless of when something occurred, we may still have the opportunity to study history and see it throughout the culture today. Although we did not live throughout the time of the Incas, we can still see their effect on Peruvian history today. Lastly, despite the language barrier, we were all able to understand the dance and its meaning in conjunction with Peruvian and Incan history. We were even able to dance with locals and enjoy ourselves dancing in a modernized way. Dance speaks no language.

Dancers perform Waka Waka at Barisas del Titicaca
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul."
-Martha Graham


Buenas Noches Mundo,
Lauren

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