Mary, the mother of Jesus, did belly dance. How do we know this? Because all women of her time did belly dance!
That's simply what women did when they got together.
When Mary, Jesus, and others went to the wedding feast at Cana, they went to a party that lasted for days.
The men partied in one side of the house, and the women partied in a different section. They were in the
"women's quarters," where they could talk, laugh, tell stories, and have a good time - without their
husbands or brothers! There was plenty of wine. (Remember? The guests partied hard, and went through the
wine faster the host expected.)
And what else did they do, besides eating, drinking, and telling stories? They made music and they danced!
That is, the women made music for the women in the women's quarters, and the men made music for the men
in the men's quarters. And each group, on their own, danced. The men danced for and among themselves,
and the women danced for and among themselves. For an example, watch The Fiddler on the Roof. When the
Jewish men went to the tavern to celebrate the engagement of Teyve's eldest daughter, they danced!
In fact, one recognition that a young woman-child was "becoming of age" was not just the onset of menses; it was
a more social recognition of her as a person in the community. This happened when the mothers and aunties put a
hip sash on the young one, and brought her into the center of the room to dance for all the other women.
As they cheered the young one on, they gave her direct appreciation for practicing a women's art; they
were treating her - in that moment - as a woman, not as a child.
Mary cared about the people around her. She was no spoilsport; when the host ran out of wine, this was
important to her! She used her mother's influence to cause her son to perform a miracle, even though he
tried to put her off, saying, "Woman, it is not yet my time." But did she listen? No! She told the
headwaiter, "Do whatever he tells you to do." This is maternal pressure of a strong kind.
After leaving the miracle-making in her son's hands, do you imagine that she went back to the
women's quarters and worried? Did she go back with a tense frown on her forehead? We read so much
of the sorrows that Mary endured that we forget how much she cared about all the people around her.
So very likely, she went back to her sisters, aunts, nieces, and girlfriends with a little laugh and a smile.
She told them a funny story to distract them. She got the girls to pull out their tambourines and drums,
and made everyone join hands and do a fun, high-spirited circle dance. Then, after the new batch of
wine was served, she probably taught everyone a few of the "special" moves that she learned when she
lived in Egypt for those years when Jesus was very, very young. Mary knew how to party, and her love and
laughter inspired her children and her community. And at the same time, she was deeply spiritual, and
both humble and wise.
Isn't Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus, a woman who inspires us all?
