by Suli Adams Zills and language have much in common. They have both been used since ancient
times as expressions of emotions, culture and of ourselves. How we use them is an
expression of our personality, of what our circumstances and emotions are at the time. In
love? In annoyance? In anger? In anxiety? How we play zills, how we dance and how
we use language will express how we feel at that moment in time.
There is a drive amongst bellydancers today to be authentic to the culture in their dance
form. Many questions arise about zills, such as do they play zills in Egypt or is it mostly
in western countries? In tribal and fusion dance forms mostly? Are zills played inTurkey,
Lebanon, Syria,Greece, Spain or Morocco? In Egypt are zills to be played mostly by
musicians? Should dancers play zills or does it interfere with the musicians? Do
musicians play zills when a dancer plays zills? How should dancers play zills, to the
rhythms or as accents? What of zills and musicality or acapella? Is playing zills an
expression of an evolution in todays dance form versus how it was played and danced to
in ancient times? Where can dancers find resources with credible information to answer
such questions?
Zills can be played loud or soft, fast or slow, have moments of silence or not. These are
ways to create moments of expression, emotion or anticipation. Much like language,
volume and speed and moments of silence can express anger, frustration, love, anxiety,
anticipation, excitement and other emotions. How do individuals with hearing
impairments translate these emotions? Can lip reading convey the intensity of emotion?
How challenging it must be for new comers trying to learn a language and filter out
cultural ways of expression versus expressing emotions. What of the LGBT2+
communities, how difficult it must be to communicate and express their desires and
needs, and what courage it must take to express their true selves and emotions.
In much the same way, new comers are challenged in trying to fit into a new culture.
They often compromise their birth language and culture, try to loose their accents and
ways to “fit in”. Often this creates tension in family relationships and all too often this
results in regret, once they realize that they can no longer speak or understand their
elders. As we age, we are drawn back to our roots and unfortunately for many new
comers, their language and culture has been compromised and devalued to “fit in” to the
new culture, and it is very difficult to bridge that gap. There is a loss of self when one
looses their culture and language and takes much effort to learn how to unsilence that
self. Parents sometimes will shelter children from cultural ways and language to save
them from doubts, anxieties and insecurities that they themselves experienced. In the
hopes, that this will allow their children to live a more secure and carefree life in their
home, but most of all to experience freedom and acceptance in their home. How can
you regain family traditions, stories and history when you cannot communicate with the
elders or when they are no longer available?
Many new zill players are very conscious of themselves, they are concerned about
playing the right rhythm, playing it correctly, with the right timing and coordinated with the
dance move. Similarly newcomers have anxieties with language. As an example some
English speakers in Quebec will not go to French speaking areas or events due to
anxiety over speaking improperly, not having proper vocabulary or pronunciation and
being judged.
Zills and Language are not only a way of communicating but also of culture, music,
song, dance, metaphors and tradition. They form an identity that must not to be lost
over time for politics or societal reasons, but should be maintained, treasured and
honoured, once lost it is very difficult to regain. An example of such a great loss is sadly
apparent in those that were uprooted from Africa, and the descendants know not the
origin of their country, their roots and therefore have lost their language, culture, music,
song, dance, metaphors and traditions, resulting in a loss of self and negotiating an
identity. It is necessary for language to evolve and adapt to current times, for example
adding new vocabulary to include our technological and digital development. Adding
new repertoire to playing zills such as acapella, is an evolution towards current times
that adds interest, builds skill and refreshes an ancient art form. However, we must not
loose sight of its history, origins and culture, but honour and maintain the ancient art
form harmoniously with the evolution of this skill over various time periods, cultures and
into the current and future times. This enables us to honour and appreciate the
evolution in the art of playing zills and communicating with language skills. In closing, let us enjoy and build zill skills by playing acapella, musicality, honor the
traditional ways and yet explore new ways to appreciate this art form. Similarly, let us be
more compassionate to those trying to “Fit In” to their new reality. If we are interested in
knowing and learning about their language, traditions and culture, perhaps maintaining
their roots and not loosing their identity will be easier.
Suli Adams lives in Pembroke, Canada and loves bellydance. She is on the Pembroke Diversity Advisory Commitee. She studies with Aziza of Montreal, writes and dances as much as she can. Most notably she has been recently published in I Will Dance 'til a Hundred and One!: Communal Wisdom on Dancing as We Age: Turner LCSW, Janine: 9781977583574: Amazon.com: