Iran's Çûb-Bâzî or 'stick dance' likely re-enacts combat, and Zimbabwe's Zezuru people perform the Jerusema, whose music and movement once formed part of actual battlefield preparation. What broader dance category unites these two traditions?

Question

Accepted Answer

Weapon dance. In Iran, the weapon dance called Cub-Bazi, or 'stick game', is a dance form that likely began as a reenactment of combat with wooden sticks. In Zimbabwe, the Jerusema dance of the Zezuru people is another weapon dance, one that grew directly out of real battlefield preparations.