ceremonial dance
1
4.2
- noun
:
danza ceremonial
- During the festival, the villagers performed a ceremonial dance to honor their ancestors.
Examples
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Female participants chosen for this ceremonial dance are selected for their dance proficiency, while males—the eagles—are represented by medicine men.
Academic text (1994) -
Drawing upon Pueblo ceremonials for their power as well as their mnemonic potential, Pena accurately brought to life the primacy of ceremonial dances in the Pueblos.
Academic text (1994) -
Now, it is traditional for the king and queen... -...to share a ceremonial dance.
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Let's just go set up for your ceremonial dance.
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I can only say that they circled before me as if performing a kind of ceremonial dance.
Academic text (1995) -
Each of these ceremonial dances constituted an essential aspect of the ongoing traditions that produced balance and assured success for the Pueblo.
Academic text (1994) -
You'll see bark and mat-covered dwellings, a garden, and a ceremonial dance circle.
Academic text (1995) -
The association performs ceremonial dances that celebrate the skills and talents of exceptional farmers as well as the benevolent giver of agriculture.
Academic text (2002) -
Ceremonial dance performances also express American Indian reactions to sociopolitical and historical forces, particularly since some Indian dances were formerly outlawed by the federal government.
Academic text (1994) -
Yet on another level, they emerged as a site of resistance against government efforts at assimilation, reaffirming the importance of ceremonial dances as crucial for Puebloan cultural survival.
Academic text (1994)
Synonyms
1
5.8
A dance performed during a religious or traditional ceremony
A dance done during religious or ceremonial events like weddings and funerals
Antonyms
1
3.2
Moving your body to music at parties or events for people to enjoy and meet others
How Ritualized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a dance performed as part of a religious or ritual ceremony' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'ceremonial' (relating to a ceremony) with 'dance' (a sequence of dance movements). This adjectival + noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Ceremonial dance The noun ceremonial dance comes from the image of a formal dance done during a ceremonial event, where people move together to honor someone or something important. So, it means 'a dance performed as part of a religious or ritual ceremony'.