The labyrinth of the identity: Chechen lezginka in the light of the anthropology of dance

Abstract

The paper constitutes an anthropological analysis of a selected form of traditional Chechen dance – the Lezginka. The author formulates a hypothesis on the essential role of this cultural phenomenon in the intergenerational transmission of culture in the Chechen (sometimes referred to as Nakh/Vainakh) community, and on the observable universal traits present in the dance, characteristic for the Chechen collective identity. The author refers to works of American and Polish anthropologists, employing such notions as „embodied knowledge”, „context” and „cultural universals”. The author analyses various elements of the dance, including the spiral as a form organizing the dancers’ movement, as well as the relationship between the male and female dancers, and also between the dancer and the audience, providing a cultural commentary for each element. The category of the labyrinth is mentioned as well as an important point of reference; the author cites research validating the connection between the Lezginka and the ancient Greek myth of Theseus as well as with the motif of labyrinth as a semantically rich interpretative perspective on Chechen chelchar dance. The final part of the paper presents conclusions on the limitations to which an anthropological analysis of dance forms is subjected.