Love you with all my... liver???

They say the heart is fickle.  If you really love someone, you will feel it in your gut.  In the West, we often think of the heart as the body’s center of romance.  In several Middle Eastern countries, it is the liver that is believed to be passion’s organ.  The Roman physician Galen developed the notion that the heart and the liver are sources of love over 1,000 years ago.   One of the first great Arab-Muslim scientists, Al Razi, perpetuated Galen’s theory about the liver, and it spread across the Middle East into Egypt.

The Arabic word for liver is pronounced “kabed”.  It is frequently used in Egyptian poetry and song lyrics to express love.  The classic song “Eina Ellayali” shares a good example of how the liver embodies emotion.  Translated into English, the lyrics say, “An eye’s glance sent a spear to my liver and created pain.” 

Often you will see a performing Egyptian dancer gesture her hands as if she were holding onto her liver. She is expressing that she feels the song or the lyrics from this organ of passion.  It’s just as if an American dancer were to hold onto her heart.

In this month of love, why not dance from your liver ladies?  Share your deepest passions on the dance floor and feel it from you gut.  Tap in, and be moved.  What is your “kabed” telling you today?

Ziva holds Arabic Dance in her liver and can’t wait to share her passion for the art form with you!  Join her on the dance floor in Shimmy Pop, Shimmy Pop Toning, and Arabic Dance II.  You can find out more about Ziva and Arabic Dance at www.zivadancer.com 

Resources:  http://suite101.com/article/valentines-could-easily-have-been-livers-instead-of-hearts-a330899

---