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Ecstatic dance is formally linked to seven traditions in this atlas: Candomble, Haitian Vodou, Hasidic Judaism, Pentecostalism, San Religion, Sufism and Zulu Traditional Religion, each carrying its own distinct note. Several of the seven are living, and in places closed, traditions; what follows describes them at the same general level the atlas already holds, and goes no further.

A Slow, Prescribed Turning, and a Faster, Older Grammar

The Mevlevi sema, in Sufism, is the most disciplined instance here, and the one the English phrase "ecstatic dance" fits worst: the turning is slow, prescribed to the smallest gesture, and framed by music and recitation rather than improvised. Candomble and Haitian Vodou ceremonies work a different, older grammar, using dance with drumming to occasion possession by named spirits, recognised by the movements the dancer begins to make. San Religion and Zulu Traditional Religion each carry their own form of ecstatic dance again, each with its own rules about who dances and when, rules this page does not set out further than the atlas's own existing record of them. Hasidic Judaism and Pentecostalism supply two more forms again, each shaped by its own community's worship rather than by either the Sufi or the possession pattern.

Where To Read More

• Ecstatic danceEcstatic PracticesEcstatic dance, the practice this page differentiates across seven traditions
• CandombléSyncretic (Afro-Caribbean)Candomble: dance with drumming occasions possession by named spirits
• Haitian VodouSyncretic (Afro-Caribbean)Haitian Vodou: dance with drumming occasions possession by named spirits
• Hasidic JudaismJudaismHasidic Judaism: its own form of ecstatic dance, with its own rules about who dances and when
• PentecostalismChristianityPentecostalism: its own form of ecstatic dance, with its own rules about who dances and when
• San ReligionPolytheistic (Animist)San Religion: its own form of ecstatic dance, with its own rules about who dances and when
• SufismIslamSufism: the Mevlevi sema, slow and prescribed to the smallest gesture
• Zulu Traditional ReligionPolytheistic (Animist)Zulu Traditional Religion: its own form of ecstatic dance, with its own rules about who dances and when