. The women sometimes danced naked, to show off the
grace of their poses and the suppleness of their muscles; sometimes they
were decked with ribbons only; and sometimes they wore transparent
dresses made of linen of the finest texture. It was not unusual for
them to carry tambourines and castanets with which to beat time to their
dances. On the other hand, there were delicate and sober performances,
unaccompanied by music. The paintings show some of the poses to have
been exceedingly graceful, and there were character dances enacted in
which the figures must have been highly dramatic and artistic. For
example, the tableau which occurs in one dance, and is called "The
Wind," shows two of the dancing-girls bent back like reeds when the wind
blows upon them, while a third figure stands over them in protection, as
though symbolising the immovable rocks.

But more usually the merry mood of the Egyptians asserted itself, as it
so often does at the present day, in a demand for something approaching
nearer to buffoonery. The dancers whirled one another about in the
wildest manner, often tumbling head over heels on the floor. A trick,
attended generally with success, consisted in the attempt by the dancers
to balance the body upon the head without the support of the arms. This
buffoonery was highly appreciated by the audience which witnessed it;
and the banqueting-room must have been full of the noise of riotous
mirth. One cannot, indeed, regard a feast as pompous or solemn at which
the banging of the tambourines and the click of castanets vied with the
clatter of the dishes and the laughter of the guests in creating a
general hullabaloo. Let those state who will that the Egyptian was a
gloomy individual, but first let them not fail to observe that same
Egyptian standing upon his head amidst the roars of laughter of his
friends.

Dancing as a religious ceremony is to be found in many primitive
countries, and in Egypt it exists at the present day in more than one
form. In the days of the Pharaohs it was customary to institute dances
in honour of some of the gods, more especially those deities whose
concerns were earthy--that is to say, those connected with love, joy,
birth, death, fertility, reproduction, and so on. It will be remembered
how David danced before the Ark of the Lord, and how his ancestors
danced in honour of the golden calf. In Egypt the king was wont to dance
before the great god Min of the crops, and at harvest