Sage Publications, Inc. Journal of Black Studies

Excerpts From the Dances of Haiti: Function
Author(s): Katherine Dunham

Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4, African and African-American Dance,
Music, and Theatre (Jun., 1985), pp. 357-379
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
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EXCERPTS FROM THE
DANCES OF HAITI
Function
KATHERINE DUNHAM
Illinois State Community College
To discuss adequately the function of the dance, a few words

must be said of the form. (Notes on the interrelation of form
and function have been reserved for the last section of this
paper). It is only after months of continual observation and
actual participation that the significance of emphasis on
certain parts of the body, on floor pattern, on accent, on
carriage of the head, and placement of hands and arms
becomes distinguishable as definite patterns with distinct form.
This same observation and participation is necessary if the
association of form and terminology are to reach any degree of
accuracy.
The local tendency to use descriptive terminology is an
initial aid in recognizing form. Thus certain dances are dance
grouillfr, or colle, or dos-bas, or zepaules. Others are the
hanches, others de pie, and still others du ven. Most of these
terms refer to the part of the body stressed in the dance, i.e.,
Reprinted by permission of the author and publisher from Katherine

Dunham, Dances of Haiti (Los Angeles: UCLA Center for Afro-American
Studies, 1983) pp. 41-57.
JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 15 No. 4, June 1985 357-379

o 1985 Sage Publications, Inc.
357
358 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / JUNE 1985
zepaules, of the shoulders, de pie, of the feet, des hanches, the

haunches, du ven, of the stomach. Grouillers is descriptive of
the twisting movement of the sexual dances of carnival, collk,
of the packed formation of the crowd dance, and dos-bas of the
low bending of the back in one of the religious dances, the
yanvalou.
Arrived at a working familiarity with the material that
constitutes the dances of Haiti, we may go more thoroughly
into what is perhaps of greater scientific importance for
purposes of analysis than any of the points so far discussed.
This is the function of community significance and importance
as a social factor; the role of the dance in the social structure.
This portion of the paper will attempt to analyze the nature and
function of the three general categories and their subdivisions
as outlined at the beginning of this paper, namely sacred,
secular and marginal, with sacred divided into group ritualistic
dances and those dances of individual symbolic representation,
and secular divided into seasonal crowd dances and social
small-gathering dances. In discussing the relationship of the
dance to the individual, the term psychological function will be
used; the community and social significance will be spoken of
as sociological function.
In a simple society that lacks the artificial activities of our
modern urban life, the need for recreation and play is satisfied
most completely by means of the dance. In Haiti this element of
play and recreation reaches a climax in the seasonal dances of
mardi-gras and carnival. All year the Haitian peasant dances
for his loa, or exhibits his skill in the Congo paillete or the
pignitt at the frequent bamboche. But during the year under-
current in the minds of both peasant and elite are sensations of
pleasant recollections of the past mardi-gras, and anticipations
of the coming one. The narrow conventions of the Haitian elite
are supported with less friction when they may be held loosely
during the several weeks of the year that make up the carnival
period. This recreation or play element is one of the sociolog-
ical functions of the seasonal mass dance; the people them-
Dunham / DANCES OF HAITI 359
selves think of it as a time for gaiety and humor, a time to forget

everything but fun-making and play; a vacation from all that
might be unpleasant in the social and economic structure-
escape from the daily monotony and gossip, from work, and in
the case of the upper-class Haitian, from political intrigue and
consciousness of economic pressure.
To serve as an agent of social solidarity might be said to be
another of the sociological functions of the carnival dances.
During this period, an entire population is gradually released
from moral and civil obligations, and the diverse social,
economic, and religious groupings become closely united in a
single mass activity. Heterogeneous as the wandering carnival
bands are, they bring into contact great numbers of people
who, by indulging in similar activities with thousands of other
people, become conscious of a unity, a "oneness" with the
crowd itself that might be termed "social cohesion." During
this time, the Haitian peasant experiences the widest range of
social integration that he is likely to realize during the entire
remainder of the year. Among the upper-class Haitians, age
groups are formed (these are nearly always sex groups as well)
and a class of people ordinarily hostile and recessive are
brought together and made conscious of each other for the
only time during the year. At carnival time: age and sex groups
transcend color gradation groups, a true phenomenon in
Haitian elite society. Ordinarily mulatto, griffe,1 and negro are
separated socially by barriers of varying degrees of subtlety.
This unity of mass dance activity during mardi-gras is further
intensified in the cases of more or less permanent work
societies, the combites, that as before mentioned often con-
tinue over into and form separate units of carnival bands.
Common occupation and common recreation form these
societies into a sort of brotherhood that is even more firmly
knit than the following of a nacion or one of the loa families.
The competitive element in these seasonal wandering bands
also serves as an element in social cohesion. In the country in
particular, a sort of community allegiance may be felt, and
while one has free license to break away from one band and
trail after another at will, my experience has been that in
general, the preference is to remain within a reasonable
distance of friends, and favorite leader. Loose as to social
structure and organization, the carnival bands are strong in
this element of social cohesion. In town, it is not uncommon to
remain for a day or two, or even longer, with a particular band
because of appreciation for the professional dancer who
represents it in the competitions. There may even be betting on
the "kings" during the competition, and it is of decided
advantage to become attached to the band of the most likely
contestant.
To release, to externalize energy, is the psychological
function of practically every dance that is not purely formal.
This externalization may be voluntary or involuntary, and the
energy may be of joy, grief, anger, or sexual stimulus. Closely
bound up with the externalization of energy is the function of
escape from emotional conflict through the dance, which
escape is in reality a form of externalization, usually voluntary
as opposed to dancing for joy or sexual impulse or anger,
which are in most cases involuntary. In the seasonal dance,
stronger than the satisfaction of an urge to play and social
integration and cohesion that result from common experiences
and contact, is the gratification that is derived from the
complete externalization of inhibitions, backed up, as it were,
by country-wide license.
Study of a carnival band illustrates clearly that in addition to
the sociological functions mentioned above, there are active
psychological functions that act directly upon the individual;
the real mardi-gras acts as both a stimulus and release of
excitant, chiefly sexual; this release process might be called
"sexual catharsis." Auto-intoxication and the interaction
between individual and group that multiplies and intensifies at
once individual and group sensations and behavior patterns
contribute to the breaking down of tensions and the achieve-
ment of catharsis.
In the Grande Rue, Port-au-Prince, the season of the mask

becomes virtually a season of unmasking. Masked, or part of a
masked band, which is the same thing, one is no longer oneself,
but is either the being represented in the mask, or merely a part
of the crowd substance. The imposing majordomos march
ahead giving an air of regal respectability and fantastic
unreality to the whole, and are seemingly unconscious of the
hysterical merry-makers who follow. The favorite masks are
animal representations or exaggerations of physical propen-
sities. It is common, too, for men and women to exchange
clothes, perhaps with the desire to satisfy homosexual inclina-
tions. With nightfall, all possible remaining restrictions are
automatically cast aside, and the play element becomes
decidedly orgiastic. A single ego, backed by several hundred
people and, above all, by the set of sanctions known as esprit
du carnaval, takes on the attributes of the entire group. A
peasant, who ordinarily would be forced to show extreme
respect for one of the elite class, will now quite easily curse the
same person in most expressive creole. This is a complete
shifting of values and release from inhibitions. Homosexual
activity is very common to these mass bands: It is not at all
unusual to see two women or two men in the embrace of the
grouiller dance, and the same person who in everyday life will
show no abnormal inclination will, under the increasing
momentum of the mardi-gras, seek out persons of his own sex
for the erotic dances. The crowd intoxication and esprit du
carnaval are of such force that even though one may have
entered the band in as indifferent an attitude as is possible
during the season, after short contact with the excited mob, the
single personality is lost and becomes a part of the collective
personality. Externalization, catharsis, sexual stimulus, and
sexual release seem to be the more fundamental psychological
functions of the seasonal crowd dance.
There is every indication that at one time, the idea behind the
seasonal dances was in connection with some fertility cult (the
spring season and emphasis on the sexual form of the dances),
but this significance has been submerged in the function of

sexual catharsis; that the emphasis on this function is no
exaggeration is evidenced by the increased birth rates at a
reasonable time after mardi-gras. Incidentally, too, there is an
immediate increase in deaths due to overexcitement and
exposure.
The psychological functions of the secular crowd dance are,
in summary, the fulfillments of a play need, the externalization
of energy, and the stimulus and release of sexual impulse, this
last having been further defined as "sexual catharsis"; the
sociological functions would be social cohesion and solidarity,
which make for further social integration, and from the point
of view of society as a whole (most particularly the govern-
ment), the release from tension for a people living under strong
economic, political, and, in the case of the peasant, social
pressure.
The sociological functions of the social small crowd dance
are quite different from those of the seasonal large crowd
dance. It is at the social dance most often that one selects a
mate. Here, as opposed to the frenzy of mardi-gras, there is a
certain amount of propriety and definite selection, rather than
chance contact. One does not choose at random here, but only
after careful consideration of skill and physical attributes. And
whether the gathering be of the elite at Club Port-au-Prince or
under a tonnelle in the plains of the Cul-de-Sac, both men and
women develop the technique of the dance to as high a degree
as possible in a deliberate effort at sex attraction, either directly
or indirectly. In these dances, the audience becomes import-
tant as a determinant of gratification as contrasted to the
purely subjective dancing of the carnival bands (with the
exception, of course, of the dances of the professional major-
domos). The peasants themselves think of these dances as pou'
plaisi, or for pleasure. There must be with them. However,
there is some consciousness of their importance as vehicles of
sex-attraction; the whole atmosphere of the bamboche is
emphasis on sex distinction, demonstrated by the personnel of
each dance and the obvious effort at personal attraction in

both dress and manner. This opposition of sexes is illustrated
in the pignitt, a dance grouillere sometimes dramatized by the
symbolism of the buying of the favors of a woman dancer who
is in the center of a circle of men, this dramatization at times
being realistic to the point of using real money in the dance.
This particular development of the pignitt is popular on the
outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The Martinique is a "set" dance of
several men and women facing each other in two lines, with
movement and attention directed to a partner, as are the juba,
congo paillette, and Carabinien (contre danse) of the social
dance grouping. In these dances, men and women each have a
specific role-women to attract, men to pursue. Here popular-
ity and thus sexual desirability are gauged by the approval of
the audience (at times expressed jealousy on the part of the
women). Old people, well past the age of sexual activity, will
gain a maximum of pleasure from the prestige of authority,
though I am not at all certain that appreciation by the opposite
sex is not as highly esteemed by them as by the younger people
seeking mates.
Apart from sexual selection, the social dance has another
very important function in the lives and culture of these people.
This is the development of artistic values through the exhibi-
tion of skill. Always interested in perfection of technique, the
Haitian peasant will willingly step aside to admire an excep-
tionally well executed dance or a dancer of obviously superior
training or ability. As I have indicated, there is no littlejealousy
of this capacity on the part of the audience of the same sex as
the performer, but even so, this is constructive, and even more
fundamental is the recognition of and appreciation for per-
fection that is stimulated by this uncomfortable emotion of
jealousy.
Yvonne was from Leogane, dance center of the Island. She
was undoubtedly one of the finest dancers I have ever
encountered, and one of the most difficult to induce to dance.
Part of this was perhaps simply due to the temperament of the
artist; another part of it was, by her own admission, a

sensitivity to the jealousy that her dancing aroused in the
women of this, a foreign community (the plains of the Cul-de-
Sac). She presented a direct social danger with her highly
developed technique, which aroused admiration in all men of
all ages who saw her dance. Furthermore, Yvonne recognized
this function of her skill and all of the accompanying com-
plications. She realized that a display of such perfected dancing
as hers would be interpreted as exhibitionism, and being well
placed (living with a man of the community), she was loath to
risk conflicts that might arise from her stimulation of other
males. But in spite of those jealousies and conflicts, in the time
during which I lived in this community, I was able to observe
distinct shifts in values and appreciations. The people of the
plains have never been outstanding for their skills as dancers,
whereas their reputation as drummers is known over the whole
island. Under the stimulus of Yvonne's rare dancing, they
began to concentrate on the dance and made obvious efforts at
stressing an improvement of their weaker points. It is possible
that often, the premium on skill of execution of certain dances
dies out in a community and must be revived by a single artist.
It is through these social dances more than any others that
the artist as such develops. Reasons are, as we have seen, the
premium set by the native on perfection, and the importance of
this group of dances as an instrument in sexual selection. Here
also, because of the consciousness of the presence of an
audience, individual needs for exhibitionism are gratified.
These are ample rewards for development of technique, with
resultant specialization to achieve the status of an artist. There
is also a more practical reason for the existence of the artist in
social dance-that is the necessity for a mait' la danse or
someone to lead the dance, just as the carnival band is led by
the professional dancer, and the vaudun ceremony by the
houngan or mambo. The dancing itself must be in charge of
someone or ones who are experts, and a wish for this
distinction produces the artist.
The factor of social cohesion operates more directly here

than in the crowd dances because of the more homogeneous
grouping. Being a small unit, the scope of integration is much
less at the bamboche, but a stronger community solidarity is
achieved, the bamboche may be made up of as few people as
the members of one or two habitations2 only.
As well as the sociological functions that have been elabo-
rated in the above discussion, the social dance has in common
with the seasonal crowd dance the function of group intoxica-
tion, though not carried to such an extreme; the externaliza-
tion of energy; the stimulus and release of energy (the release of
energy is subject to more restriction than in the carnival dances
and must follow normal social patterns), and the associated
function of sexual catharsis. It might be well to reiterate the
functions of the social small-crowd dance that are of a special
nature over and beyond the functions of the seasonal large
crowd dance.
The development of technique as an instrument of sexual
attraction and selection.
Gratification of exhibitionist tendencies through performer-
audience relationship.
Development of artistic values and appreciations.
Development of, and premium on the nonprofessional
artist. (The highly trained carnival king is professional.)
The religious dance has functions apart from those of the
two groups of secular dances, though as with the social small
crowd and seasonal large crowd dances, there are overlapping
functions. Special to the religious dances is their ritual
character. Each dance that is introduced is bound up with
usages that are known only to the initiated, and that have a
definitive position in relation to the cult itself and to the
fulfillment of the ceremony. As can be seen by the chart, each
loa family has a dance or dances special to its own ceremonies.
The distinction between the general danse vaudun and the
dances special to the loa families and the loa themselves is the
first step in an analysis of the sacred dances. It would seem that
the less active cults of Nago, Ibo, and some of the Congo cults
are merging into the stronger Rada-Dahomey cult to the extent
that in periodical dances that the priest or priestess may
organize to prepare a community for a real "service" or to
gratify needs for worship in the form of the dance, the word
vaudun becomes inclusive, though vaudun in its most restrict-
ed definition applies only to the cult Rada-Dahomey. There is
still to be found, however, a clear distinction in cult worship
that may be seen in both divination and ceremony in the
regions of the South, Plains, and North where either actual
ceremonies were attended or these problems were discussed
with priests.
The cult Petro and some of the Congo cults are either so
directly opposed to these other cults, or are so independently
active that they remain distinct both in the general danse
vaudun and in the specialized dances that make up the main
part of the ritual procedure of a ceremony such as the Canzo
described earlier in this paper, or of the Petro baptismal service
of Christmas Eve attended in the Plains near Croix-des-
Bouquets. Thus at a general danse vaudun, one might during
the course of the evening dance for the most part dances of the
Rada-Dahomey cult. Later may follow Nago, Ibo, Mahis,
Congo Fran (Frang, Fons) dances of other cults. It is
conceivable that Petro might be danced here, though people of
the "true" vaudun cults (Rada-Dahomey) are rather skeptical
of introducing this esquade or hierarchy because of the danger
of one of the less desirable Petro gods entering the ceremony to
take possession of one of their group, as happened in the case
of Ciseau (possessed by Petro Zandor, while attending a Rada-
Dahomey service). Only true followers of Petro know the
attributes of each of the Petro gods, but it is generally known
that many of them are violent, that some demand uncooked
blood (which is unheard of in the Rada-Dahomey cult), and it
is even whispered that some of the Petro gods, like the gods of
the esquade Congo Moundong and the god Wangol (Angola)
known as chef tout' Congo (chief of all the Congo) mange
moun (eat people or demand human flesh as sacrifices). Let me

hasten to say that I found no substantiation of these rumors of
human sacrifice and therefore can neither deny nor verify
them. For purposes of accuracy, we shall in further discussing
the function of the sacred dance refer to the dances that are a
part of the actual service where the cult distinctions are well
marked.
A danse zepaules begins the Rada-Dahomey service as a sort
of purification of the air and preparation of the bodies of the
devotees for the advent of the loa. This zepaules will in the case
of a Rada-Dahomey ceremony be sung to the god Legba,
gatekeeper and intermediary for the other gods.
After the invocation to Legba, the type of ceremony
determines which dance follows. There is a certain order for
dances accompanying each of the ceremonies whether they be
ceremonies of initiation, for services ancetres or for services
mange loa (the former in honor of ancestors, the latter to feed
or expiate certain gods). The officiating priest or priestess, in
the capacity of diviner, decides which loa are predominant at a
gathering, and which must be served by the dance. If a loa has
not entered after dances dedicated to him are danced a certain
number of times (usually three or five), the hounci in charge
will pass on to another loa. At a loosely constructed dance she
will consult other, perhaps lesser hounci as to which loa will be
summoned next, or participants, feeling a certain urge, may
request dances for their loa, which request is usually granted.
These dances to summon a loa are known as rell6 loa (appeller,
to call). For the native, their function is the calling of the god;
to the anthropologist, the psychological function in the
induction of hypnosis. The psycho-physiological effect of these
dances will be discussed in the following section of this paper.
One of the subdivisions of the religious dance must be
treated in a class apart because of its uniqueness. This is the
group of dances representative or symbolic that indicates the
presence of the loa in the individual. In other words, the loa
dances, not the individual. The person possessed has no

recollection whatsoever of his conduct or motor expression
while under possession, nevertheless both dance and behavior
are according to formula, so much so that an outsider, after
frequenting the dances, can determine almost as readily as an
official which loa has entered. The nearest approach to
analyzing the function of the loa dances from the participant's
point of view would be that they acknowledge complete unity
with the mystere, unity to such an extent that the body of the
possessed becomes a temporary abode of the god. (Possessions
spoken of here refer to the orderly possessions of the initiated.
For the uninitiated, a possession is bo salle or one in an unclean
body, and is to be recognized by its violence that may follow
one of the many courses, popular among them that of rolling
over the ground in a state resembling epilepsy often doing
oneself physical injury.)
All loa have characteristic behavior, songs, and, in some
cases, a special drum rhythm as distinct from the drum rhythm
of the cult. Each loa, however, does not have a special dance;
his (or her) dance may fall into a large general group, such as
the yanvalou that is danced for Aida Whedo, Erzelie, St.
Jacques, certain of the Gede loa, and many others. All of these
may have in addition other dances danced for them, particu-
larly the zepaules. Asaka and Agwe are, however, examples of
loa for whom there are special symbolic dances so that aside
from the context of the song, and the special behavior, one
might recognize a possession by Asaka or Agwe by means of
the dance form. Damballa too has a special dance, but this
would hardly fall with the dances of Asaka and Agwe because
it is not necessarily danced while under possession, and is a
highly stylized ritual dance to be done in honor of the snake
god with the purpose of invoking his presence and is executed
only by two of the highest priests or priestesses.
Asaka, loa of mountain and field in the Rada-Dahomey
cult, and Agwe, loa of sea and water, perform dances
representative of their domain. The devotees possessed of
Asaka will, while dancing, bend low in the movement of

planting or hoeing; sometimes they will embrace the ground,
and their movements are always awkward and crude to typify
mountain people working in the fields. As reported from the
services at Descayettes, persons possessed of Asaka are
immediately dressed in the garb of the mountain peasant-
hat, smock, and knapsack-and their behavior requires that
they be treated as "cousin" as the mountaineer calls himself.
Agwe, on the other hand, dances in flowing movements,
introducing the motions of waves into the dance; the move-
ment is at times half swimming, half representative of waves,
but always symbolic enough of water to be recognized. It is not
strange, when one realizes the role of suggestion in the
structure of all religious cults, that Asaka is the possession
most frequent to mountain people, and Agwe to people near
the sea; nor is it strange that even under possession dances as
well as behavior are formal and according to set patterns.
These dances just described might be spoken of as symbolic
and representative, and as being of psychological rather than
sociological significance, with their primary function that of
establishing a direct physical contact with the loa, and of
confirming the reality of the cult beliefs by this presence.
One very specialized cult dance serves a function quite apart
from that of any of the other dances of this category. Through
it, by shifting from religious to sexual ecstasy, a persistent
hypnosis or possession may be broken. Undoubtedly the
houngan themselves recognize the psychic danger of too long a
period of intense ecstasy, or too prolonged a state of coma. At
given points of the dance, when conflicting loa are present and
there is danger or jealousy or high point of tension, as after a
long and arduous ceremony, the signal will be given to dance
the maison, a dance characterized as grouiller. The maison acts
as an emotional cathartic to those ridden by the loa in much the
same way that the seasonal dances act as a sexual catharsis. It is
grotesquely sexual in movement and form; after its group
performance, the assembly as well as the individual is purged,
as it were. The obstinate loa will have taken his departure

during the maison, and the houngan, the situation in hand,
may continue the ceremony or relld other loa.
After having been introduced into the privacies of the
houngfor, I was able to confirm a belief that just as there are
ritual procedures that are made known to hounci who are of
the proper status to receive them, there are also other dances
that are not for the profane, but that are a part of secret rituals
and that are handed over to the hounci along with their formal
training. The houngfor is at once the preparation school and
the convent of the cult. These secret dances might well be the
subject of further study, but to reach them is no small matter.
Obviously they would be guarded from one who had not yet
learned their ritual use as jealously as would any of the ritual
secrets.
In arriving at as accurate a knowledge of the religious dances
as I have so far (which is by no means complete familiarity), the
importance of one peculiarity of local reasoning cannot be
overstressed. While it is possible to conceive of acquiring
ability and of the artist or professional dancer in secular
dances, it was impossible for officials and congregation of the
sacred dances to conceive of carry-over in ability to dance, or
an abstract technique as separated from ritual significance.
One who could dance the ritual dance well after a short period
of observation was surely no stranger, and was in possession of
one or more loa, if not acquired, then hereditary. This faith in
the external evidence of the presence of the mystdre allowed me
not only opportunity for a more accurate knowledge of the
dance, but permitted more license in investigating the social
and religious life.
Since the most common outward expression of participa-
tion in a religious state is for the Haitian peasant the sacred
dance, motivation and direction of religious experience and
thus continuance of cult worship and cult solidarity may be
termed the primary sociological function of the sacred dance.
The various forms of hypnosis, the achieving of a state of coma
or religious ecstasy, the submerging of one's personality in that

of the loa may be called psychological functions. The public
cult dance does far more to bring about the necessity for
initiation and keep alive the importance of cult worship than
would any organized form of missionary movement purport-
ing to appeal to intellect alone.
The ra-ra, already mentioned earlier as a seasonal crowd
dance in connection with mardi-gras and the dance known as
the banda, fall in a margin between sacred and secular on our
chart. The existence of other marginal cult dances was
indicated, but at the time there was no opportunity for further
exploration. The banda has already been described as a funeral
dance explained by my informants as symbolic of procreation
or more commonly as a dance to given pleasure to the spirit of
the dead so that it will depart soon and well entertained. Its
functions can be further and more specifically explained as
externalization of grief and escape from emotional conflict.
For the primitive to dance at periods of extreme grief is just as
natural and essential as to dance at moments of excessive joy.
The funeral dance serves to release the feeling of personal
injury that friends and relatives are apt to feel at the loss of a
loved one, and to furnish the mourners with a common means
of expression; a common release mechanism. True, they may
also weep, but at some time during the period of the wake,
there will be rum drinking, story telling, and erotic dancing.
Regular rhythmic activity serves the function of an immediate
emotional release, especially when accompanied by music and
song and when, as in the maison, emphasis is on that section of
the body that connotes sexual stimulus and release.
The like emotions of anger and grief seem best relieved either
by violent or by rhythmic motor activity; rather than tear his
hair, beat himself, and roll in the dirt, as is the customary
expression of grief with some people, the Haitian peasant
dances. The dance may serve as direct externalization, or it
may go the roundabout way of hypnosis and auto-intoxica-
tion. In either case the end is achieved, and the Haitian peasant
funeral wake is apt to take on many of the external attributes of

the bamboche even to the free distribution of clairin. That the
funeral dances are sexual is an aid to a quicker, more complete
externalization and redirection of energy. A reaffirmation of
community solidarity is one of the sociological functions of the
funeral dance, while often cult participation is also evidenced
in song and dance. These dual functions place the banda in its
marginal position.
As indicated earlier in this paper, the ra-ra proper, relieved
of its association with carnival and mardi-gras dances, is found
chiefly in the country, and is of a Christian religious signifi-
cance. It is as though the Haitian peasant decided that at some
time during the year, the Christ of the itinerant priests should
be formally recognized. Blowing a whistle, carrying a wand,
and dressed after the manner of the carnival majordomo, the
lalwadi, or leader of the ra-ra band, trudges the rural roads
with flag bearers and effigy bearers. Their official step is also
the chairo-pie of combite and carnival. The meetings of bands
and leaders is more salute than challenge, and though from
time to time the bands stop to dance and are joined by others,
the character of the dances is more in celebration than sexual
catharsis, and the grouiller form may have the same death-pro-
creation relationship as it does in bands. There is a strong
feeling of unity of purpose in the bearing of the effigy of Judas
through the forty days of Lent up to holy week, and the final
ritual burning on Samedi Saint.
Like the banda, the ra-ra is marginal between sacred and
secular in function, its form and group character serving many
of the cohesive functions of the carnival, its religious nature
serving the function of confirming the reality of religious
beliefs.
The following chart shows in brief outline the functions of
the dances divided under the three main headings of sacred,
secular, and marginal dances.
FUNCTIONS OF THE DANCES OF HAITI
SEASONAL
Play-recreation Social cohesion

Externalization of inhibitions Greater social integration
Externalization of energy Sexual stimulus and release
OCCASIONAL SMALL-GATHERING DANCES
Sexual selection Development of the artist

Sexual attraction Social cohesion
Development of artistic values Gratification of exhibitionist
through exhibition of skill tendencies through audience-
performer relationship.
SACRED
Cult Dances Loa "Dances" Funeral Dances
Ritual Represent or symbolize Externalization of

"loa" grief
Secret ritual function Establishes contact Escape from emotional
to induce and break between individual conflict
hypnosis and deity
Establishment of cult
solidarity by motivation
and direction of religious
ecstasy through dance
FORM AND FUNCTION
To discuss the interrelation of form and function of the

dance involves a great deal of speculation. At times this
relationship is asymmetric-in a single line direction the form
determines the function, and vice versa. Other actions between
the two are symmetric, as in the case of the banda. Here the
grouiller form causes externalization of grief, but at the same
time the function determines the form. With the large dance
coll0, the closeness and compactness of the mass engenders
social cohesion, while at the same time the gregarious-
recreation impulses and desire to externalize and share ex-
periences draws people together in mass form. For the most
part, however, the form of the dances has a determining effect
on the function, in lesser or greater degree. The Carabinin or
contre danse is a native adaptation of the European square

dance. In this, men and women face each other on four sides of
a square and partners alternate frequently. The floor pattern is
involved and the formality of the dance is stressed. The
principle of choreography as an agent of sex attraction
operates to a far lesser degree here than in the case of the Congo
paillette. The patern of the Congo paillette directs one man to
one woman, and the movements are directly symbolic of
pursuit and capture, without the formal embellishment of the
changes of partner and elaborate choreographic pattern as in
the contre danse.
The form so far discussed refers to choreography of floor
pattern form in the sense of body emphasis and function. In my
discussion of the function of the sacred dance, I point out that
the dance is an essential in motivation and direction of
religious ecstasy, and thus a continuance of cult worship. This
is achieved by expression of the ethos of the cult, in the same
way that observations as to the ethos and character of a people
may be arrived at by a general knowledge of the form of their
dance.
Priests of Petro have, in some regions (namely, environs of
Leogane) submerged the purely religious function of the cult
and emphasized the working of magic, often "black," or of a
destructive nature. In general the cult Petro is known for its
violence and as a cult of blood. Even without having investi-
gated the cult ethos, but only from a knowledge of the dance
petro, I would be inclined to include it as substantiating
evidence as to the violent character of the cult. The dance
Petro-magi may be called one of opposition. In order to shift
rapidly on half-bent knees, and to use feet and heels with force,
it is necessary that the muscles of the back be rigid. It would
seem that this produces an excitement quite apart from the
hypnotic effect of dances of other cults, and the sex stimulus of
other dances. The atmosphere of a true Petro ceremony is
hostile, negative. The possessions are apt to resemble frenzy
rather than ecstasy. At the Petro baptismal ceremony witness-

ed veille noel in the plains near Croix-de-Bouquets, the ignition
of flares of gunpowder at a given time caused such pande-
monium that the impulse of an outsider was to seek shelter
until the various Petro loa had vented their emotions and
departed.
There are fewer "possessions" by gods at a Petro ceremony;
the form of the dance apparently leads to uncontrolled motor
activity; hysteria, rather than ecstasy of hypnotism. Un-
doubtedly, somewhere in the secret rituals of this cult there are
beliefs that require force, an attitude of opposition to natural
forces. Perhaps one of these is black magic. At any rate, the
ethos of the cult is publicly expressed through this dance, and
the solidarity of the cult assured by the producing of similar
effects in all of the worshippers. This seems to be a symmetric
relationship between form and function, some of the ritual or
social functions apparently determining this particular form.
To illustrate again the effect of dance form or cult solidarity,
we may examine the dances of the Rada-Dahomey cult, chief
of them being the yanvalou. One of my Haitian friends aptly
termed the yanvalou the "prayer" of the vaudun. The dancing
of the yanvalou produces a state of ecstasy remarkably near
that which the medieval Christian saints are supposed to have
experienced through prayer and meditation. It would seem
that the fundamental purpose of prayer is release from
emotional conflict by an establishment of contact with some
superior being, or a complete externalization and loss of one's
ego in that of the essence or being with whom the communion
is desired. The movement of the yanvalou is fluid, involving
spine, base of the head, chest, solar plexus, and pelvic girdle.
The effect is complete relaxation. There has been no tenseness
or rigidity of muscles; instead a constant circular flow that has
acted as a mental narcotic, and neural catharsis. The dance is
decidedly soothing, rather than exciting, and one is left in a stat
of complete receptibility. It is in this state most often that
contact with the loa occurs.
Contrary to the Petro cult, the Rada-Dahomey cult is

known to be beneficent in nature, and has connected with it no
"bad" loa, no loa whose demands would cause difficulty, or
who would willfully do harm. Nor does the cult practice magic.
The hougan or mambo may indulge in divining, or in a little
prescribing of amulets for an improvement of health or luck,
but this is not directly associated with cult duties (in some
instances, of course, divining is necessary ceremonially) and a
worker of black magic would not be countenanced. Here we
have the ethos expressed in the positive, flowing quality of the
dance, as well as further substantiation of hypotheses as to
psychophysiological effects of body emphasis. In this prayer
dance, I cannot say whether the condition of ecstasy is achieved
more readily by the physical phenomenon of the completion of
a circuit within the body (circular flow through spine, chest,
and solar plexus) or whether in a state of acceptance, mind and
body are left freer to receive the suggestion of possible contact
with these loa. Perhaps both are equally true.
Another dance of religious ecstasy is the z&paules, which
stresses shoulder action. But here, the ecstasy is of a slightly
different quality than in the yanvalou. It seems that the regular
forward-backward jerking of the shoulders, a rapid con-
traction and expansion of the chest, ensure quick, regular
breathing and that this forced rapid breathing brings about
self-hypnotism and auto-intoxication, states bordering on
ecstasy. The action of the zepaules is less fluid than that of the
yanvalou, and the effect is more of excitement bordering on
hysteria than ecstasy.
The form of dances of sex stimulation, sex release, and sex
symbolism operates directly on these functions by emphasis on
parts of the body associated with the sex act. In the danses des
hanches such as the Congo paillette, the symbolism serves as a
stimulus as much as the body emphasis. The effect of this
symbolism was noticed after having danced the dance as an
amusement without being conscious of the symbolism and
later dancing it with an understanding of the fecundation

principle behind it. True, the agitation of the haunches is
exciting, but does not act as a sex stimulus to the same degree
as the grouiller and vent' (stomach) dances. The hip-twisting
and stomach dances, on the other hand, seem to serve as a
direct stimulus that, if participated in at length and under the
impetus of the crowd, reaches a climax and then releases this
tension. It would seem that the centering of movement and
attention on the particular muscles involved serve to stimulate
the particular sections of the nervous system involved, and that
this stimulus reacts again upon the form of the dance, causing it
to become more vigorous and extreme. Undoubtedly, as-
sociation of ideas plays a major part in these reactions, but any
further discussion of the interrelation of this particular phase
of form and function will have to be left to the psychologist.
GLOSSARY OF CREOLE TERMS

USED IN THE TEXT
Abobo-shout given during and after a dance or a ceremony.

Asson-sacred rattle made of a gourd filled with pebbles or more
commonly covered with a net of beads and snake vertebra.
Bamb6che-Any big party with plenty to eat and to drink. Dance
always takes place during it.
Banda-name of a dance and also of an African tribe.
Basse-type of drum of manifest Spanish origin.
Baton-ornated stick of the Carnaval kings.
Bossale-neophyte. During colonial times meant a sale born in
Africa.
Boula-the smallest of the three Rada set of drums. Also called
Kata or Pitite (child). Beaten with two equal-length sticks.
Bouzain-prostitute.
Canzo-Second degree of initiation between the head-washing
and prise de l'asson (see the word). Implies a fire ordeal.
Carabinien-social dance. It was in vogue at the time of the
Independence of Haiti, in 1804.

Chairo-pie-half-run dance movement.
Clairin-raw white rum.
Coll -dance movement consisting of actual face-to-face body
contact.
Combite or Coumbite-cooperative work among the Haitian
countrymen. The word comes from the Spanish convite, to invite.
Congo paillette-ritual dance of the Congo group.
Coumbite-see Combite.
Dos-bas-dance movement. Literally, back low, or down.
Granboe-bamboo section used as a trumpet.
Grouiller or Gouiller-hip movement in dancing. A gouillade is an
elaborate hip movement.
Hounci-general name for a number of initiates into the Vodou
cult. There are hounci bossale, canzo, temeraire. Dr. Herskovits
translates it as "wife of the god."
Houngfor-Vodou temple.
Hundjenicon-initiate. His role is to direct the chorus in vodou
ceremonies.
Juba-spelled also Djouba. Dance of the Petro group.
Kata-see Boula
Kob or cob-Haitian cent. Comes from the Spanish cobre,
copper.
La-lwa-di-dance groups in activity about Lent time. Half
profane, half ritual. Also called ra-ra.
Langage-ceremonial way of speaking. A mixture of creole and
real or pseudo African dialects.
Loa or mysteres-god, spirit in Haitian vodou.
Maison-dance.
Mait'la danse-literally, master of the dance. Character in charge
of directing a dance.
Mambo-Vodou priestess equal in power to the houngan.
Mange moun-to eat human flesh. Applied to certain bad loa.
Marinades-sort of wafers.
Martinique-A Petro dance.
Meringue-the most popular social dance in Haiti. Differs from
the Dominican meringue by its rhythm.
Mysteres-see loa.
Nation or Nacion-group or family of loa.

Ogan-sacred iron instrument used to mark time at the dances.
Petro-important cult of the Haitian vodou.
Pignitte-dance name.
Placer-sort of common-law marriage, much in use in Haiti.
Pou-plaisi-for fun, for pleasure.
Prise de l'asson-initiation degree in Vodou. The initiate receives
the asson, which enables him to call and send back loa.
Prise de la cloche-initiation degree. The believer receives the bell,
which is held with the asson in one hand.
Prise des yeux-highest initiation degree in vodou.
Rada-one of the three great cults of the Haitian vodou. From
Arada, a Dahomean tribe.
Service-vodou ceremony.
Tonnelle-shelter consisting of poles supporting a flat roof of
straw or palm leaves.
Vaccine-bamboo tubes used as trumpets. The vaccine set is of
three different sizes.
Ve'v-magic design drawn upon the ground ordinarily with corn
flour.
Yanvalou-group of Rada dances: yanvalou-zdpaule, yan-
valou-debouttant.
Zepaule-see preceding word.
Zombi-soulless, but able to work ... a dead person brought back
to life by magic. Famous in Haitian folklore.
NOTES
1. Color degree between mulatto and "negre" or black.

2. A "habitation" is the Haitian version of the African "compound" usually with a
similar enclosure or fence surrounding a group of white-washed wattle huts.
Katherine Dunham is Artistic Director of the Performing Arts Training Center

in East St. Louis and is a Professor at Southern Illinois University. She received
her Ph. D. from the University of Chicago. She has received many awards and
distinctions internationally for her work in the performing arts.

Sage Publications, Inc. Journal of Black Studies

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Excerpts From the Dances of Haiti: Function

Author(s): Katherine Dunham

To discuss adequately the function of the dance, a few words

Reprinted by permission of the author and publisher from Katherine

JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 15 No. 4, June 1985 357-379

zepaules, of the shoulders, de pie, of the feet, des hanches, the

selves think of it as a time for gaiety and humor, a time to forget

In the Grande Rue, Port-au-Prince, the season of the mask

but this significance has been submerged in the function of

each dance and the obvious effort at personal attraction in

artist; another part of it was, by her own admission, a

The factor of social cohesion operates more directly here

moun (eat people or demand human flesh as sacrifices). Let me

dances, not the individual. The person possessed has no

Asaka will, while dancing, bend low in the movement of

as it were. The obstinate loa will have taken his departure

or religious ecstasy, the submerging of one's personality in that

funeral wake is apt to take on many of the external attributes of

FUNCTIONS OF THE DANCES OF HAITI

Play-recreation Social cohesion

OCCASIONAL SMALL-GATHERING DANCES

Sexual selection Development of the artist

Cult Dances Loa "Dances" Funeral Dances

Ritual Represent or symbolize Externalization of

FORM AND FUNCTION

To discuss the interrelation of form and function of the

contre danse is a native adaptation of the European square

rather than ecstasy. At the Petro baptismal ceremony witness-

Contrary to the Petro cult, the Rada-Dahomey cult is

later dancing it with an understanding of the fecundation

GLOSSARY OF CREOLE TERMS

Abobo-shout given during and after a dance or a ceremony.

Independence of Haiti, in 1804.

Nation or Nacion-group or family of loa.

1. Color degree between mulatto and "negre" or black.

Katherine Dunham is Artistic Director of the Performing Arts Training Center

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