• Home
  • About
    • Franco Santoro
    • Astroshamanism
    • Dance
    • Pahai Interdimensional®
    • Multidimensional Astrology
    • Holism
    • Touch
    • Institutum Provisorium
  • Calendar of Events
  • Consultations
  • Programmes
    • Core Workshops
    • Trainings
    • Organizing Events
    • Calendar of Events
      • astroshamanism
    • Retreats
    • Programmes by category
  • Services
    • Consultations
    • Library
    • Mentoring
    • Associates
    • Code of Ethics
    • Testimonials
  • Store
    • Books
    • MP3s & CDs
    • Tools
  • Contact
  • Italiano

Provisional Institute of Astroshamanism

Experiential holistic education and spiritual healing community network and site founded by Franco Santoro.

  • Institutum Provisorium
  • Library
    • Almanac
    • Sun/Moon Binaries
    • Handorian
    • Training Literature
    • Territorial Units
    • Bibliography
    • Filmography
  • Articles
  • Franco Santoro
  • Inspiration
    • Daily Guidance
    • Daily Quote
    • Monthly Theme

Tarantella

The term “Tarantella” identifies a wide range of traditional dances, developed in Southern Italy, especially in Salento (Apulia), and Spain, originally employed for healing or trance purposes.

Various spellings have been employed to define this practice, yet they all incorporate the term tarant, which is also an anagram of tartan, the distinctive crossed and web-like design of Scottish kilts.

The dance was apparently used to cure the bite of the tarantula (Lycosa tarentula), a large hairy spider named after the Apulian city of Taranto. The spider was presumed to cause hallucinations and a series of physical disorders which were officially defined as tarantism. Extensive serious medical literature, written from the 15th to the 19th century, describes in detail symptoms and cases of this ailment, which could only be cured through a specific music based on fast rhythmic beats.

Specialised musicians were hired to play while the afflicted person (tarantolato) would dance for hours or even days until healing was accomplished. The recipient experienced deep trance and shape-shifting, behaving like kings or soldiers, simulating duels with swords, experiencing the prey’s fight in the entanglement of the spider web, becoming the spider itself, also shape-shifting into other animals like the serpent or scorpion, and covering a wide range of movements especially of a sexual nature.

The musical instruments employed in this context are mainly the violin, the tambourine, the castanets and also the bagpipe, the accordion and flute. The primary strance effect is generally caused by the tambourine (tamburello or tamburieddhu), whose alternation of double and triple beats reproduces a climax both in the painful separation of polarities and in their ecstatic unity.

This practice ritually opens up to the cathartic expression of the Sun and Moon polarities, with the aim of accessing the mysteries that exist beyond the realm of conflict and duality.

Tarantella is a significant example of cultural and religious shape-shifting of traditions dating back to most ancient times. Magna Grecia incorporated Southern Italy, which constituted a major site for the mystery practices related both to Dionysus and Apollo. These practices were the result of further adaptations and incorporated elements from ancient Egypt and pre-Celtic northern Europe.

Similar dancing practices have managed to survive in most parts of the planet, mainly thanks to the capacity to hide their original motivation and compromise with incompatible local and contemporary belief-systems.

There are currently three major types of tarantella dance: pizzica taranta, pizzica de core, pizzica scherma.

The pizzica taranta is the original individual or group therapeutic music and dance used to cure the bite of the taranta and its energetic implications.

The pizzica de core is a playful courting dance for couples.

The pizzica scherma (knives’ dance) is a duel dance between two males, in which the index and the middle finger of one hand represent the knife aimed at hitting the chest of the opponent.

The following is the traditional chant that accompanies the pizzica taranta.

O Santu Paulu meu delle tarante
che pizzichi le caruse tutte quante
O Santu Paulu meu delle tarante
che pizzichi le caruse ‘nmezz’all’anche
e le fai sante
O Santu Paulu meu de li scorpioni
che pizzichi li carusi int’a i balloni

(Oh my Saint Paul of the tarantulas
that stings all the girls
Oh my Saint Paul of the tarantulas
that stings the girls in the midst of the hips
and make them holy
Oh my Saint Paul of the scorpions
that stings the boys in the testicles)

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Upcoming Workshops

7-10 April 2023, Easter Interspiritual Retreat

Restoring the Fragmented God: A Course in Multidimensional Interspirituality

Online course in spiritual healing, shamanic & multidimensional awareness

A Course in Soul Retrieval

Calendar of Events
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Provisional Institute of Astroshamanism by Email


Disclaimer

Please support our Institute with a donation.

Donations of any amount are most appreciated.


Copyright 2014-2015 Provisional Institute of Astroshamanism

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By using this website you agree with our Cookie Policy.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT