War Dance

A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare. Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. It could also be for celebration of valor and conquest. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms. Examples of such war dances include:

Outline of War
Eras
  • Prehistoric
  • Ancient
  • Medieval
  • Gunpowder
  • Industrial
  • Modern
Generations of warfare
  • First
  • Second
  • Third
  • Fourth
Battlespace
  • Air
  • Information
  • Land
  • Sea
  • Space
Weapons
  • Armor
  • Artillery
  • Biological
  • Cavalry
  • Conventional
  • Chemical
  • Cyber
  • Electronic
  • Infantry
  • Nuclear
  • Psychological
  • Unconventional
Tactics
  • Aerial
  • Battle
  • Cavalry
  • Charge
  • Cover
  • Counter-insurgency
  • Foxhole
  • Guerrilla warfare
  • Morale
  • Siege
  • Tactical objective
Operational
  • Blitzkrieg
  • Deep battle
  • Maneuver warfare
  • Operational manoeuvre group
Strategy
  • Attrition
  • Deception
  • Defensive
  • Offensive
  • Goal
  • Naval
Grand strategy
  • Containment
  • Economic warfare
  • Military science
  • Philosophy of war
  • Strategic studies
  • Total war
Organization
  • Command and control
  • Doctrine
  • Education and training
  • Engineers
  • Intelligence
  • Ranks
  • Staff
  • Technology and equipment
Logistics
  • Materiel
  • Supply chain management
Other
  • Asymmetric warfare
  • Cold war
  • Mercenary
  • Military operation
  • Operations research
  • Principles of War
  • Proxy war
  • Trench warfare
  • War crimes
Lists
  • Battles
  • Commanders
  • Operations
  • Sieges
  • Wars
  • War crimes
  • Weapons
  • Writers
  • Al-Arda al-Barriya - In Kuwait.
  • it-Taḥṭīb in Egypt
  • Buza - From Russia.
  • Panther Dance - Burmese Bando with swords (dha)
  • Gymnopaedia - ancient Sparta
  • European Sword dance or Weapon dance of various kinds
  • Haka - Māori people of New Zealand
  • Indlamu - Zulu people
  • Khorumi (ხორუმი) - Georgia
  • Sabre Dance - depicted in Khachaturian's ballet Gayane
  • Maasai moran (warrior age-set) dances
  • Aduk-Aduk - Brunei
  • Ayyalah - Qatar
  • Khattak - Afghanistan and Pakistan
  • Brazil's Capoeira, as well as some similar Afro-Caribbean arts
  • Dirk dance and Scottish sword dances - Scotland
  • Hula & Kapu Kuialua -- Native Hawaiians
  • Combat Hopak - From Ukraine
  • Al-Yolah rifle performance - Oman and the United Arab Emirates
  • Cibi - Fiji
  • Kailao - Wallis, adopted by Tonga
  • Bende War Dance Ogbuebulle
  • Pentozali - Crete

Read more about War Dance:  See Also

Famous quotes containing the words war and/or dance:

    “When they are not at war they do a little hunting, but spend most of their time in idleness, sleeping and eating. The strongest and most warlike do nothing. They vegetate, while the care of hearth and home and fields is left to the women, the old and the weak. Strange inconsistency of temperament, which makes the same men lovers of sloth and haters of tranquility.”
    —Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)

    “Not fat but the greatest possible suppleness and strength is what a good dancer wants from his nourishment—and I could not even guess what the spirit of a philosopher might wish to be more than a good dancer. For dance is his ideal, and also his art, and finally also his only piety, his “service to God.””
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)