The history of Belly Dance costumes

Aisha Azar

New member
Rep

Dear Dipali,
I may have accidentally deducted from your REP when I meant to add, adD ADD!!!
I am not sure how I can fix it, but I will give you REP twice as soon as I can, or ask someone else to do it on my behalf if it is not fixable.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
India and the ME are always being confused in British Media.
The song Kiss Kiss was performed last week on a comedy and everyone was wearing Sari's and it looked totally Bollywood.
The same goes for Music, you often here and Indian Sitar on a part where they are supposed to be in the Middle East.

I have to be honest and confess that I do not see any Likeness to this Indian design (in the picture).

The trading along the Silk route of course,eant that fabrics, gold threads and jewells become part of the norm. A Yemeni wedding here in the Uk could easily be mistaken for an Indian one but the stle and culture is very different to that in Egypt. Egypt still imports fabrics and haberdashary from India but they make things to their own desgn.

The Bedlah I am reffering to appears too me to look like Soiree or cocktail fashions of that Era.

I will of course keep an open mind and I am interested in this theory, but I have to admit I am not terribly convinced as yet.
 

masrawy

New member
ancient Egypt

Dear friends,
I don't know what to say here or how to break it to you since I don't have time to go through my library of image of ancient Egypt. I am sure I'll be able to find numerous examples and similarities of the modern Badlah in ancient Egypt, I believe this predate Hollywood .:shok:
 

Tarik Sultan

New member
Sorry to brake it to you but.....

Dear friends,
I don't know what to say here or how to break it to you since I don't have time to go through my library of image of ancient Egypt. I am sure I'll be able to find numerous examples and similarities of the modern Badlah in ancient Egypt, I believe this predate Hollywood .:shok:

No, you won't. Totally different lines. The basic dress of Ancient Egyptian women was the kalasaris, which was basically a tight fitting tunic. There was no flared skirt worn low on the hips, nor any type of bra top. The pictures we do have of dancers shows them performing nude with a girdle around the hips, because they were servants and all servants were either nude or wore very little. Other than that, there are reliefs showing dancers wearing kilts, (topless), or long transparent robes.
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Bedlah

Dear friends,
I don't know what to say here or how to break it to you since I don't have time to go through my library of image of ancient Egypt. I am sure I'll be able to find numerous examples and similarities of the modern Badlah in ancient Egypt, I believe this predate Hollywood .:shok:



Dear Mahmoud,
I don't know about ancient Egypt, but I see similarities in the Egyptian adaptation of the Ottoman style clothing that street dancers and Almehs used to wear in the mid to late 1800s. The style was also adopted by many other Egyptian city women, but with less showy and sheer fabrics, according to Edward Lane. Graham-Brown has photos in her collection, showing Egyptian city women who are dressed in melaya over big gelebiya style dress, with face veils, and also a lovely photo of Oum Kulthoum dressed in a European style dress, among other entertainer photos.
I think that the costumes of the belly dancers from the Masabni era could have been influenced from any number of sources. I have not seen any truly solid conclusions and would not mind a bit if it was ancient Egypt that influenced the two piece costume! It certainly is another theory to add to the surmises here.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Tarik Sultan

New member
India and the ME are always being confused in British Media.
The song Kiss Kiss was performed last week on a comedy and everyone was wearing Sari's and it looked totally Bollywood.
The same goes for Music, you often here and Indian Sitar on a part where they are supposed to be in the Middle East.

I have to be honest and confess that I do not see any Likeness to this Indian design (in the picture).

The trading along the Silk route of course,eant that fabrics, gold threads and jewells become part of the norm. A Yemeni wedding here in the Uk could easily be mistaken for an Indian one but the stle and culture is very different to that in Egypt. Egypt still imports fabrics and haberdashary from India but they make things to their own desgn.

The Bedlah I am reffering to appears too me to look like Soiree or cocktail fashions of that Era.

I will of course keep an open mind and I am interested in this theory, but I have to admit I am not terribly convinced as yet.

The outfits I'm talking about are not the Saris, but these type of outfits. You can find them easily in any Indian boutique. I don't know what they are called though.

The deva Dasis use to wear this type of outfit when they danced and this is what stuck in the minds of the West. There is a very famous picture of Ruth St. Denis wearing one of these outfits in one of her "Eastern Dances".

 

Aniseteph

New member
Yes the bedlah was invented by the Europeans, but the inspiration for it in the first place was the choli and circle skirt of the Indian women. The British were in India far longer and earlier than they were in Egypt and so for them, the quintessential image of the East WAS India. So to them, the outfits of the Egyptians were not "Eastern enough", so Indian inspired outfits in their minds were representative of "THE EAST".

I agree with the earlier bit about the 2 piece costume being what the well(?)-dressed dancer was wearing in any chic cosmopolitan nitespot of the 20's, but IMO this angle is a bit simplistic. I only buy it if we are now talking about the ME pandering to midriff-starved Brits much further back than Badia Masabni, into the mid 19th century or earlier, and I would be fascinated to see any evidence for this.

I think the European image of the ME dancer pre-1920's is far more French influenced. and again I would be very interested to see evidence that THEY were mixing their sources and confusing ME and India. (oh yeah, how British, let's blame the French! :lol:) No, seriously, the French had the Danse du Ventre craze (we Brits had Queen Victoria), Egyptian exhibits at the 1867 and 1889 World's Fairs:

1889 - not bare middles, but the bra tops are there, maybe real ME? unless they are already tailoring their costumes to cater to decadent Western tastes... (this is what I mean about any British "not Eastern enough" influence having to be waay back). And the Orientalist art of the mid/late 19th century,
(French, about 1893).

Shortly after this in the early 1900's you get the 2 piece (or less) as worn by Mata Hari, Maud Allen and everyone doing the Salome bit - all very European (not Brit)-centric. (Mata Hari definitely has Indian costume influences but she'd be Dutch colonialist!). IMO this is the image of the Eastern harem temptress that gets exported to Hollywood, or direct to Cairo in the mindsets of the punters at the nightclubs.

so put Indian clothing into Middle Eastern inspired movies and it took off from there. Oscar wilde was a British person so probably even he mixed it up ! Dont know sounds a bit dramatic.
:shok: oooh, NOOO! :naghty: He was Irish. And unless Wilde has any costuming directions in his play (enter Salome wearing a Bella to die for...:confused:) I don't think it is fair to accuse him of mixing up Egypt and India. The original illustration of Salome doing the "Stomach Dance"... well, that's not quite bedlah. Your harems are too short dear, and the BDPD fashion squad will want a word if they are see through...)


Sorry about long post but at least it had pics :D. All this talk about India....:think: where's my British-influenced Friday night curry?
 

Tarik Sultan

New member
Ruth St. Denis

Here are two pictures of Ruth St. Denis. both of these are in the late teens. As you can see in the first picture, she's wearing a bedlah type outfit. The second picture I think is older, its her version of an Indian dance. She was very fascinated with the East and often did dances with "Eastern" themes. She wore many bedlah like outfits in her dances and this was way before anything like this was being worn in Egypt.

PICTURES - RUTH ST. DENIS

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St. Denis, Ruth (1-29) 129

Jamd

No reason to reinvent the wheel. The evidence is clear and abundant, photographed dated and documented as to who created this style of costume and where the inspiration came from.

Orientalism was the rage in theatre and fashion back then and there were hundreds of such fantasy performers all across America and Europe. Some such as St Denis and Matahari became the toast of hight society in Europe and America, others were less known and performed everywhere from theatre stages to circus sideshow stages all wearing their versions of "Eastern style bedlahs.

When we consider that Egypt, especially Alexandria, had for a long time been a meeting ground of East and west, and you add into that mix, the coming of the British and the radical changes that followed and opened up the region to outside influences and ideas, you realize that they were very much aware of the trends that were happening in the outside world in entertainment. Far from being under a rock, they had ring side seats and soon would take center stage in their own way. When we consider Egypt at this time, we have to consider it in the cultural and historical context of the time. It was not culturally isolated, ancient and unchanging as most westerners then or now would like to believe.
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Costumes, etc.

Dear Aniseteph,
I agree with the earlier bit about the 2 piece costume being what the well(?)-dressed dancer was wearing in any chic cosmopolitan nitespot of the 20's, but IMO this angle is a bit simplistic. I only buy it if we are now talking about the ME pandering to midriff-starved Brits much further back than Badia Masabni, into the mid 19th century or earlier, and I would be fascinated to see any evidence for this.

To me, this kind of costuming looks very definitely Ottoman influenced, and is the kind of thing that made me wonder if the whole Hollywood influenced theory might be slightly inaccurate....I also clearly see the forerunners to the bra/belt costuming here but can not say whether or not this is what influenced Masabni for sure. I can certainly say that I can see how it MIGHT!!!! Again, this was just a conjecture on my part, not anything based in any fact I have ever read.... I can not confirm or deny, only say what I thought about.

I think the European image of the ME dancer pre-1920's is far more French influenced. and again I would be very interested to see evidence that THEY were mixing their sources and confusing ME and India. (oh yeah, how British, let's blame the French! :lol:) No, seriously, the French had the Danse du Ventre craze (we Brits had Queen Victoria), Egyptian exhibits at the 1867 and 1889 World's Fairs:

1889 - not bare middles, but the bra tops are there, maybe real ME? unless they are already tailoring their costumes to cater to decadent Western tastes... (this is what I mean about any British "not Eastern enough" influence having to be waay back). And the Orientalist art of the mid/late 19th century,
(French, about 1893).

Yes, I mentioned Muller earlier as one Orientalist art source who seemed to accurately depict a dancer and what she was wearing, based on other sources as well.




Sorry about long post but at least it had pics :D. All this talk about India....:think: where's my British-influenced Friday night curry?

I thought that you added value to the conversation with the photos and your points of view.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Tarik Sultan

New member
You have to teach me how you embed those photos.

Okay, you're right, Wilde was Irish, but he settled in London and that is where he made his name. Maude Allen was the one who designed her belah, not Wilde. She was inspired when she saw his play Salome and created her own costume and show Vision of Salome. Later she did star in Oscar's play about Salome, so things came full circle.

Now the first picture is authentic. Its exactly what I describe in my earlier post. A shirt over which was worn a tight fitting bodice. I can't make out if they are wearing pants or a skirt.

The second picture is an Orientalist painting. It isn't an authentic representation of what they wore at the time, but "inspired". No Egyptian dancers were showing bare skin at that time.

Now you can look at these pictures and see that these are definitely bedlahs all pre 20th century. The first picture is of Egyptian Ghawazee dancers.

Mythology
 

Pirika Repun

New member
You have to teach me how you embed those photos.

Just click "Insert Image" icon between insert e-mail link and quote. Then insert URL link in there. If you can't find URL link for the phots, just put mouse on the photo, right click for "properties" (all way in the bottom) then show all info about the image. So, you can find the URL for the photo.
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
I guess what we are talking about is due to a combination of factors and influences from all over the world.

Some pictures/photos may strike a stark resemberlance to Indian dress and another to a 'Paris' fashion etc.

Egypt imports alot of its fancy embroidered fabrics and organza's etc. and most of them come from India like I said.

Perhaps the dancers at this time used an eclectic tastes and used various world to create their costumes.
Certainly one of Samia's looked 'hula' and another Brazillian etc.
I think there was perhaps much in the way of experimentation and some designs just stuck!
 

Tarik Sultan

New member
I guess what we are talking about is due to a combination of factors and influences from all over the world.

Some pictures/photos may strike a stark resemberlance to Indian dress and another to a 'Paris' fashion etc.

Egypt imports alot of its fancy embroidered fabrics and organza's etc. and most of them come from India like I said.

Perhaps the dancers at this time used an eclectic tastes and used various world to create their costumes.
Certainly one of Samia's looked 'hula' and another Brazillian etc.
I think there was perhaps much in the way of experimentation and some designs just stuck!

Its not a matter of where they get fabric, but what was constructed. The basic idea and design of the garment, short top, bare midriff, wide skirt is of Indian origin. There is nothing like it in Europe, or anywhere in the Middle east. Not in Egypt, not in Turkey, not anywhere in North Africa, no where but India do we find this type of design being worn and still worn to this day.

Yes, this basic design went through many revisions. It was imitated and embellished in music halls and theaters across America and Europe. We see these creations in the designs of Erte, the Ziegfield Folies and the Folies Berger. The two piece concept is even applied to non oriental themes. We find it in nightclub acts because it is flattering to the female form, so we see Carmen Miranda wearing such outfits as well as entertainers like Josephine Baker. This was the Jazz age which was celebrating a new sense of freedom, liberation, sexuality and the adoration of the female form. So yes, there were a lot of things happening at this time at the same time.

As for the Egyptian films you mention, keep in mind that what you see is not always a reflection of Oriental dance persay, even when done by an Oriental Dancer. Samia did many fusion numbers in movie musicals. One number might have a Hawaiian or South Pacific theme. Another might have a Latin American theme. The costumes reflect that. Both of these themes were very popular in the musicals of America and Europe at the time and Egypt being a part of the modern World at that time, followed the same fashions and trends that the rest of the world did.
Notice in the second clip she's wearing a pointed bra which was the fashion in the early 50's.




You have to understand these scenes in the context of the movie and not think that this was a reflection of what actually happened in an Oriental dance. No one was doing Oriental routines in Hula skirts or Samba dresses. A dancer might do several routines in her show, Oriental, Ballroom, Latin, Jazz, fusion, or even songs and monologues. But it was understood that she was doing different dances and they were not confused with being Raks sharki. Also realize that unlike today, dancers of the Golden Age were multi facited. The danced, sang, acted, did comedy. The Oriental solo may have been the major part of their show, but it was not the only thing they knew how to do.
 
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Farasha Hanem

New member
Just a heads up. Any book that starts of by stating the dance started at X time for X purpose is way of base. There is very little out there by way of books that is factual. The best book out there so far is "A Trade like any other" about female entertainers in Egypt. All we can say about the history of the dance is that there is no reason to indicate that it ever was anything other than what it is now, primarily a social dance. We can see by looking at it that the movement vocabulary reflects the geographical area where Egypt is located, East Africa, because we see similar movements in the dances of its East and Central African neighbors. We also see movement elements that are similar with Central Asian countries. Egypt is a cross roads and its population has always been influenced by a combination of indigenous Africans and Near Eastern peoples, which is also reflected in many of its cultural practices both in Pharaonic and post Pharaonic times. Exactly when and how these elements came together to create Raks Baladi, we will never know. All we can be certain of is that it evolved over a period of time, but how far back that is..... And honestly, does it even matter? Even if the dance did start as some sort of ritual way back when, that is not what it is now and the people there have no recollection of it. Its is primarily a social dance and that is all we really need to know.

We do know that the performance form we now call Sharki eveolved out of the social dance of Raks Baladi in the early 20th century because that is documented. So any time we see a book or a movie depicting ancient dancers wearing bedlah we know its false because the bedlah was invented in the late 19th century.




We just brought it back. Regardless of why it was invented or where it was invented, the bedlah was invented in the late 19th century. There had never been a specific costume for female performers before the late 19th century. Before that time female performers wore their best house clothes as is testified by such eyewitnesses as Lane. It consisted of a long sleeve shirt, over which was worn a tight fitting bodice and harem pants. Over that they sometimes also wore a kaftan with some sort of belt or shawl around the hips. This was what all women wore at the time. Its just that in public dancers didn't wear the veil. Towards the end of the century, for the first time, we see the Ghawazee wearing skirts and European shoes. Exactly why this change? One explanation I read is that when they came to the US. Americans thought the sight of women in any type of pants was shocking, so they wore skirts. Truth is we will probably never know.

According to the informants in the book A trade like any other, at the turn of the century female dancers wore long tunics with elaborate embroidery on them and a scarf around the hips. When Badia and her colleagues opened their clubs, this was the first time dancers were seen in Bedlah. The dancers on Mohamed Ali Street who worked local weddings and Saint day celebrations didn't start wearing the Bedlah until some time in the 1960's.

So once again, if you see a picture of a dancer before the 1930 in Bedlah, most likely FAKE, IMPOSTOR, PRETENDER

Thank you so much for all this, Tarik. I would love to e-mail this page to my bellydance teacher, but I'll have to do it in a way that won't seem insulting. I'll continue this thought in the "What to do if your teacher..." thread.

I've heard almost the same information on a DVD I have. It's called "American Bellydancer." A male dancer, who, strangely enough, also calls himself "Tarik" (but the "Sultan" name was spelled "Soltan"--do you have a twin out there somewhere? oO ), was being interviewed, and he was saying that many movements, which he called "dance vocabulary," is the same in many countries, and that Middle Eastern dance has always been a folk dance, performed by both men and women. They showed a very short clip of him dancing, and he was amazing! :D
 

Kashmir

New member
Dear Aisha,
IS it posible going by what everybody is saying that probably its a hollywood inspired and hollywood got it from India and could not work out the difference between the Indian and Egyptian , so put Indian clothing into Middle Eastern inspired movies and it took off from there. Oscar wilde was a British person so probably even he mixed it up ! Dont know sounds a bit dramatic.
Both Oscar Wilde and the Ballet Russe pre-dated Hollywood by decades. Hollywood was hooking into a look that was already in the European consciousness.
 

Kashmir

New member
Now as far as where would Egyptians see these sort of films? They were watching European made movies at the turn of the century. < snip> As I said before, we have to look beyond the dance itself and consider the larger context of Egyptian society and its place and relationship with the rest of the world at that time. The Western influence was ubiquitous in architecture, clothing, music, education, infrastructure, especially among the elite ruling class.
And remember the clients of salas like the Casino Opera were Europeans and Europhiles - not "ordinary" Egyptians. The acts were tailored to a European aesthetic. Many of the "cream" would have been to Europe - especially France. It was the East through those eyes that they wanted created.
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
Tarik Sultan;90381[QUOTE said:
]Its not a matter of where they get fabric, but what was constructed.

The fabrics that are available do influence how a garment is contructed.
The types of fabrics, jewels etc. will have an influence for sure.


The basic idea and design of the garment, short top, bare midriff, wide skirt is of Indian origin.

Ok, but it still does not explian why india? Indonisian costumes were also split into where they not?




There is nothing like it in Europe, or anywhere in the Middle east. Not in Egypt, not in Turkey, not anywhere in North Africa, no where but India do we find this type of design being worn and still worn to this day.

Nothing like this perhaps but the coktail dresses etc were and I am talking about those too.


Yes, this basic design went through many revisions. It was imitated and embellished in music halls and theaters across America and Europe. We see these creations in the designs of Erte, the Ziegfield Folies and the Folies Berger. The two piece concept is even applied to non oriental themes. We find it in nightclub acts because it is flattering to the female form, so we see Carmen Miranda wearing such outfits as well as entertainers like Josephine Baker. This was the Jazz age which was celebrating a new sense of freedom, liberation, sexuality and the adoration of the female form. So yes, there were a lot of things happening at this time at the same time.

For sure

As for the Egyptian films you mention, keep in mind that what you see is not always a reflection of Oriental dance persay, even when done by an Oriental Dancer. Samia did many fusion numbers in movie musicals. One number might have a Hawaiian or South Pacific theme. Another might have a Latin American theme. The costumes reflect that. Both of these themes were very popular in the musicals of America and Europe at the time and Egypt being a part of the modern World at that time, followed the same fashions and trends that the rest of the world did.

Yes, this was my point which is why I feel the styles which developed the 'bedlah' was perhaps influenced by many sources.
It is difficult to know what the eraliest ones may have looked like and what exactly was in the minds of the people whom made them.



You have to understand these scenes in the context of the movie and not think that this was a reflection of what actually happened in an Oriental dance.

I do understand them. I alkso believe that what was happenning in oriental dance was shaped by these dancers whom also performed other dance styles and brought them together. I feel the same was done with costume to some extent.


No one was doing Oriental routines in Hula skirts or Samba dresses.

No but ruffles on Oriental dance costumes came from somehwere and it was not Egypt or India.
A dancer might do several routines in her show, Oriental, Ballroom, Latin, Jazz, fusion, or even songs and monologues. But it was understood that she was doing different dances and they were not confused with being Raks sharki. Also realize that unlike today, dancers of the Golden Age were multi facited. The danced, sang, acted, did comedy. The Oriental solo may have been the major part of their show, but it was not the only thing they knew how to do.[/QUOTE]

Exactly and the result is what we have today.
 

Aniseteph

New member
Excuse language, but to quote Ned Flanders, "Aw h*ll diddly ding dong CRAP!" - some stupid site just crashed my browser and lost my post. :mad:

The basic idea and design of the garment, short top, bare midriff, wide skirt is of Indian origin. There is nothing like it in Europe, or anywhere in the Middle east. Not in Egypt, not in Turkey, not anywhere in North Africa, no where but India do we find this type of design being worn and still worn to this day.

I'm not so sure (but open to persuasion!). Here's why...

I posted the French painting not because I believed it illustrated what the real dancers would have worn, but because it represents the mindset of the painter and/or patrons... and it's something very bedlah-ish already.

Now looking closely at the little tops those authentic dancers of the late 19th century are wearing (over long sleeved close fitting tops), I see similar in some more of those old paintings - tops like that or like those "Turkish vests" (do these vests have Ottoman influence? :think:). Covering the upper back but cut low or even under the bust, and cropped to right under the bust line, NOT like the slightly longer choli style. To me the Indian tops are very different - far more coverage over the front than the Turkish vest or bra type top, longer line and typically sleeved.

The difference in the pre-20th century proto-bedlah images is what is underneath - a fitted long sleeve top, a decent amount of linen blouse, something gauzy, or nothing. So you can go from the those authentic dancer photos to jewelled bras over body stockings to nothing without any Indian choli/gaghra input whatsoever - just need the painters and the punters and the fashionable Western set to like seeing ladies get nekkid - a bit of a driving force in the Orientalist art of the late 19th century IMHO. ;)

I'm not arguing that an Indian influence is not lumped in with it later on in the twenties/thirties/forties, and I will give you Mata Hari and Indian in 1905 (I believe her inspiration was a jewelled Indian belt). But you don't need the Indian choli to get from the ME tops to the style of Maud Allen and the 1910 period Salomes, it looks more like a direct evolution to me.

AND the late 19th century "belly dancer" skirts/pants are completely different too - from voluminous and baggy and more ethnic at the more authentic end, becoming leaner and more draped with Western influence into the 20th century. Indian skirts are more A-line or bell shaped (tho this might have changed too - I dunno!). Certainly Ruth St Denis's Peacock costume (I want it, BTW) has the lean draped/fitted shape typical of the fashionable silhouette of the time. As Kashmir said, ".. a look that was already in the European consciousness".

Ooh I love costume history! :D
 

Dev

New member
I think the European image of the ME dancer pre-1920's is far more French influenced. and again I would be very interested to see evidence that THEY were mixing their sources and confusing ME and India. (oh yeah, how British, let's blame the French! ) No, seriously, the French had the Danse du Ventre craze (we Brits had Queen Victoria), Egyptian exhibits at the 1867 and 1889 World's Fairs.
Dear Aniseteph, you have over looked the fact that the French ruled some parts of India until 1954 and the Portuguese until 1961. But people often don’t mention them as they were not as prominent as the British and the Jewel in the crown thing. Goa, Pondicherry, Daman, Diu , Mumbai , Surat (Gujarat ) are some of the areas that were colonised by the French , Dutch or the Portuguese. And they had trade posts all over the place from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka. Also I believe, in them days the Orient meant not only Egypt but the whole of Persia and the Indian sub continent.

oooh, NOOO! He was Irish. And unless Wilde has any costuming directions in his play (enter Salome wearing a Bella to die for...) I don't think it is fair to accuse him of mixing up Egypt and India. The original illustration of Salome doing the "Stomach Dance"... well, that's not quite bedlah. Your harems are too short dear, and the BDPD fashion squad will want a word if they are see through...)
See how easy it is.;) Do you think in Asia and Africa people can distinguish between an Irish and a Brit. For them anybody who comes from the British Isles and speak English should be British. and that’s not all, in some parts of India where there is no TV or Newspapers (They still exist) if you are a European then you must be British. Because that’s all they know.

I just had a look at some of Matahari’s pictures, Her style of clothing look as though she was hugely influenced by Javanese and Balinese costuming ? People in Bali follow Hindu Mythology as their culture (Ramayana or Mahabharata, one of them ) and their costuming are very mythical with a touch of Far East, but the influence comes from India.

Both Oscar Wilde and the Ballet Russe pre-dated Hollywood by decades. Hollywood was hooking into a look that was already in the European consciousness.
But where did the European get the consciousness from. Lets presume it was their artistic imagination of what in their thoughts the East should be, but it was not unique and already existed.
 
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Dev

New member
Dear Dipali,
I may have accidentally deducted from your REP when I meant to add, adD ADD!!!
I am not sure how I can fix it, but I will give you REP twice as soon as I can, or ask someone else to do it on my behalf if it is not fixable.
Regards,
A'isha

Dear Aisha,
Never mind the reputations, I am enjoying my history lessons here, and I have to thank everybody for bringing up your thoughts and resources , Without you guys my Belly Dance lessons will be very one sided and limited.
To Aisha again, what about white chocolate as compensation.


Dear Tarik

Do you mean Lehenga Choli ?

Another thing I wanted to mention, In India sex is a part of religion and sex god and goddeses always have been worshipped (All the Indian girls and women worship Shiva lingam, ask an Indian what that is,;)) I don’t know what was the sex and society situations in Egypt during colonial times or before. So it is possible to bring up the sexiness they included some of the Indian elements and made up the whole Haremy thing., I do not know . I am just guessing
 
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