Thread: What is "Bambootia"?

Term I've recently come across, never heard it before. Anyone?

I wisely refrain from this one but I'll be watching

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJPRMRzyZMs&feature=related]YouTube - El Tanbura - Friends of Bambouty[/ame]

A fisherman dance from Port Said Egypt.
Also called Simsimiyya

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNACnw10rWw&feature=related]YouTube - Oriental & Folkloric - Mohamed El Hosseny - Finland[/ame]

What Amira Ates said.

An article to read on the subject (same article in 2 places, in case one link moves):
Oriental Dance - Folkloric Dance By Mohamed El Hosseny
Sing, o simsimiyya

and a previous thread on the subject:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...ambutiyya.html

I love that friends of bambouty video! Thanks for the article Shems, very interesting.

Originally Posted by jamielynn

I love that friends of bambouty video! Thanks for the article Shems, very interesting.

I agree!

The dance of the traders in Port Said. Some of the footwork reminds me of sailor's hornpipe in so much as it is fast and constant. It includes mime such as rowing, casting nets, looking out to sea with the hand above the eyes, and trading my tossing stuff up and gesturing. Danced my men, boys and young women. The women are dressed as men with trousers because they are meant to be working.

Thanks! Got it. I'm ashamed. We spent a whole freaking day going over this in JtE1 and I just totally blanked. I'm such a dork. *sigh*.

I think the word bambutiyya comes from the English "bum boat." I have an article about bambutiyya that I will try to dig out of the rubble, and hopefully can tell you more then...

I saw bambootia once, the dancer was a balerine or professional stage dancer and it was great. All others were "heavy". I'll try to find a video.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c64JoqZt228]YouTube - Profi - 119 Folk[/ame]

you can find some music on emusic.com

I had never trained it before we hosted a dancer/teacher called Ibrahim Osman el Suezi.
He is a good friend and collegue of Mohammed el Hosseiny who choreographed the "Layali Simsimiyya"(great show with Tuija Rinne)

Ibrahim directs a folklore group that Camelia the solo dancer used to be a member of.
We learned some intricate footwork,kef(hand clapping+clapping rythm on our knees)+playing the spoons.
I want to learn more because it was so fun!


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obs-Qw2mx3M&feature=related]YouTube - Rhythms & Spoons Show by Mohamed El Hosseny Danceme[/ame]

Kaff (clapping with hands) belongs to the Simsimiyya of Suez only, and is not done in Port Said or Ismailiyya, the two other "home towns" of Simsimiyya. The kind of footwork in that video, and also clapping with hands on the floor or on the body, does not belong to the tradition of Simsiyya folkdance, but are Hosseny's own artistic inventions. Hosseny actually worked as a fisherman on a ship, and they used to stamp and clap on the deck of the ship to make the fish go to the net. That's the origin of the idea.
I personally wouldn't teach any of that work without all this to the students.

Hi Tuija!
I was a GREAT show and thank you for adding the info here:)

Moi moi,
Emma

I am working my way through my entire collection of Arabesque magazines and read a description of Bambootia last week. When I get home, I'll look it up and post it here. I recall a reference to Bambootia being the root dance of the Charleston, and I wonder if this has been established since the publication of this article (ca 1977).

More later. . . .


Khalida

In addition to this paragraph from Arabesque, I have additional notes from my studies with Prof. Dr. Hassan Khalil (Cairo) and Sahra Saeeda (California) which I will quote in a subsequent post.

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Next on the agenda is a charming dance from Port Said, the Bamboutiy'ya. This dance involves pantomine [sic], with stories based on fishing or sailing motifs, typical of a port. First, a gentelman [sic] and his son play the simsimayya, a five-string, harp-like instrument (looking much like an ancient harp), and sing songs of the sea. This kind of prelude to the dance constitutes what is called a "dumma" or get-together. Port Said-style, the young boy gets up to dance, pantomiming the story of a fishing voyage. We notice that his steps resembled the Charleston, and we found out that the Charleston could have originated right here in Egypt. The narrator explained that since Port Said is a port, many European ships would stop on business and would pick up local customs. This dance apparently traveled to Spain, to the Basque country, and later to New Orleans where it evolved into the American "Charleston." [sic]

Batson Glenna and Publisher. "The Festival of American Folklife." Arabesque Volume II, No. IV November December 1976.

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Khalida

Originally Posted by khalida777

In addition to this paragraph from Arabesque, I have additional notes from my studies with Prof. Dr. Hassan Khalil (Cairo) and Sahra Saeeda (California) which I will quote in a subsequent post.

-----------------------

Next on the agenda is a charming dance from Port Said, the Bamboutiy'ya. This dance involves pantomine [sic], with stories based on fishing or sailing motifs, typical of a port. First, a gentelman [sic] and his son play the simsimayya, a five-string, harp-like instrument (looking much like an ancient harp), and sing songs of the sea. This kind of prelude to the dance constitutes what is called a "dumma" or get-together. Port Said-style, the young boy gets up to dance, pantomiming the story of a fishing voyage. We notice that his steps resembled the Charleston, and we found out that the Charleston could have originated right here in Egypt. The narrator explained that since Port Said is a port, many European ships would stop on business and would pick up local customs. This dance apparently traveled to Spain, to the Basque country, and later to New Orleans where it evolved into the American "Charleston." [sic]

Batson Glenna and Publisher. "The Festival of American Folklife." Arabesque Volume II, No. IV November December 1976.

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Khalida

That's interesting - I had read the opposite, i.e. that bambutiyya was influenced by the Charleston. I've really got to find that article I read.

Originally Posted by elljay

Thanks! Got it. I'm ashamed. We spent a whole freaking day going over this in JtE1 and I just totally blanked. I'm such a dork. *sigh*.

Sahra's amazing JtE workshops are listed as "intensive", and they are! It takes a while to absorb and process all the information. Btw, we were all absolutely thrilled with Sahra and her wonderful JtE-1 and JtE-2 workshops at Oasis Dance Studio here in Kingston, Ontario, and are looking forward to having her back in the future!



Khalida