Tame bear
A dancing bear is a brown bear, which was trained to perform on command, dance-like movements. Demonstrations with trained bears in public places and for private parties were common in Europe from the Middle Ages to the early decades of the 20th century. The almost everywhere banned as animal cruelty practice, there are still sporadic, particularly in India, South-East and Eastern Europe.
History
Since the Stone Age bears have been worshiped in hunting rituals. Your magical significance comes in many North European and North Asian myths expressed. In Finland, there was the idea that the bear only reason attacks, because in him the soul of a wicked man is gone. In Siberia, the wisdom of the bear was explained that a man had turned into him. Yakuts and other Siberian hunter peoples considered the bear as a forest spirit. Thundering shamans prepared to hunt before him. Only men were allowed to eat his flesh, with his bones had to be carefully collected and placed high on a tree or on a wooden frame covered with forest. There were North American Indians, who performed a bear dance. In medieval Christian art bears were considered associated with the devil beasts. The in Europe since the Middle Ages, supported by written references and illustrations display of trained bears that survived from the idea of the danger of the wild animal that how music is defeated by something as gentle and join in a transformation from a magical animal to a cultural nature. In fact, the alleged dance of the bear to the music based on a deception of the audience to which it applies equally to the Indian snake charmer, who plays a deaf cobra on the instrument pungi.
A drawing by Hans Burgkmair of 1493 shows an upright dancing bears, the bears with his left paw on a stick, to which it is chained with his muzzle, while the right paw hanging down limply. The coat of arms of the painter graced two bear heads. His work is typical of the former preference for genre scenes. Burgkmair motif repeated the graphic artist Hans Weiditz include the letter K from the 1521 illustrated children's alphabet from Augsburg with a dancing bear. This based on a stick dancing bear still looms in 1650 to an anonymous engraving, which is included in John Ionstonus, Naturalis Historia de Quadrupedibus. Here conducts a dancing bear leader in a Roman gown two bears on chains: one standing with a stick and a seated, holding a hat between his bent front paws.
The medieval dancing bears holders were traveling showmen who made a barely respected motley crew with dishonorable trick players, acrobats and clowns and appeared for a few days in a city. Trained dogs, monkeys or rabbits were presented in the same way. In addition to the common people Unterhaltungsbettelei before performances were held at the court and in town halls and in front of nobles. This is evident from the Old French, formed in the late 11th century Song of Roland, as from the Old Swedish Thidrekssaga from the 13th century. In the latter story the minstrel Isung sews the heroes Vildiver who has killed a bear and now bears his coat with him, in this very coat. So they act as dancing bears team so that they are unrecognized admitted to the Wilzenkönig Osantrix and can kill him.
In Russia, the Skomorochen appeared as jugglers and bear-leaders on since the 11th century. More details about it is to learn from the 16th century of experience reports Western European travelers who were staying in Moscow. The Austrian Minister Siegmund Freiherr von Herber Stone (1486-1566) saw in 1526 on one of his journeys were as if frozen in a cold winter bear-leaders with their animals and remained lying on the roadside. At the court of the Russian Grand Duke, he was invited with other ambassadors to a house in which several bears were locked, which were individually let out and demonstrated. Adam OLEARIUS (1599-1671) wrote in his 1656 published Increased Newe Description The Muscowitischen and Persian Reyse about " Bärendäntzer " who were traveling with " Comedianten " and " Bierfidlern ". In the 16th century traveled to Germany especially around Poland as dancing bears holder. In the Ratserlässen several cities, including Nuremberg, is reported. Is clearly noted that the remuneration Poland in the drinking bars of Leipzig (1585 ) and Rothenburg ob der Tauber (1597 ) and the Imperial Castle in Linz (1732, 1735) were given. A competitor to the roving Poland and Hungary introduced since the beginning of the 15th century represents the coming of the Balkan Roma
The usual accompanying instruments of the bear dance drums were like the frame drum Daira in Romania and whistles. In addition, blew the musicians bent " trumeten " ( trumpet ) and the Platerspiel, a simple form of bagpipe without Bordunrohr, but with a shrill sound. The guided by a string to a nose ring bear had to be driven to with a whip. According to a pamphlet from the 16th century, there were at that time quite a few contemporaries who criticized one of such pre- led Bear Dance as foreclosed.
The Dressage
The bear is dressed after the behavioral pattern of psychological conditioning: During the bear music is performed, it is with a heated iron plate, engravings and other tortures compelled to follow a given movement pattern. After completion of training ( " acquisition phase "), the music serves as the "conditioned stimulus" of classical conditioning and triggers the schmerzvermeidende movement pattern, has been conditioned by the positive and negative reinforcement with the iron plate. In addition, captive bears orbiting in level frequently their own body axis with the head and shoulders.
Cruelty to Animals and Animal Welfare
Among the popular compare with animal: " He gets a beating like a dancing bear. " Dressage is considered torture because of the use of intense pain stimuli and the risk of injury. Since dancing bears in addition to wear a painful for her nose ring and not housed art and behave fairly, to be fed and cared for, the offense of cruelty to animals is often met. Animal rights activists therefore campaign for a ban on the Tanzbärhaltung and dressage and try to redeem the often ill or extremely maladjusted animals.
In Bulgaria, the dressage method has been prohibited since 1998, they are but still. Especially with the Roma families, the dancing bears attitude there is a long tradition. The animal welfare organization Four Paws established a reserve in Beliza in which 23 former dancing bears live on wooded hills. A reintroduction is no longer possible because of animal rights activists, according to close habituation to humans and malnutrition of animals.
Dissemination
About Brown Bears in German circuses is only rarely reported as no more attitude permits are issued for bears in circuses. After several accidents with bears, most recently in 2009, the Circus Universal Renz further animal protection law license was denied.
Dancing bears can be found, including in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. There they serve as a circus attraction or be demonstrated by itinerant showmen on the road to collect money. Some organizers of package tours and cruises in these countries had demonstrations as a tourist attraction in 2005 still on offer.
On 21 June 2007 reported n-tv that the last three dancing bears in Bulgaria were saved. The three bears were brought from the Bulgarian Gezowo in the 500 km distant Dancing Bears Park in Beliza, which is led by four paws.
In Romania, a similar reserve as in Beliza was built for dancing bears and bears from non- animal welfare in the city of Braşov from the animal protection organization World Society for the Protection of Animals ( WSPA ). In Romania, the dancing bears attitude and demonstration is prohibited by law.
In Greece, the end of the 1990s, was set up by an NGO called " Arcturos " a bear sanctuary in Nimphaeo, there all dancing bears in the country were using the government accommodated.
In Croatia and Macedonia, the dancing bears performance disappeared after the collapse of Yugoslavia. In Serbia, it has declined, is in the east of the country but still practiced by Roma. According to information from Four Paws currently runs the rescue of the last dancing bears of Serbia. In Albania it should still be dancing bears, as well quite a few in the former states of the Soviet Union.
1998 was banned in India, the demonstration of dancing bears. However, it is difficult social group of Kalandars or Madari, who is employed in India with the dressage and demonstration of sloth bears to provide an alternative livelihood. They make small Sanduhrtrommeln attention to themselves and sing or tell stories.
Dancing bears in art and popular culture
The Dancing Bear is the title of poems and parables of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Christoph von Schmid, Christian Fürchtegott Gellert ( 1746 ) and Gottlieb Konrad Pfeffel (1789 ).
A man dressed as a dancing bear plays a role in Smetana 's comic opera The Bartered Bride.
In the children's book dancing bear tale of Ulrich Mihr and based on this four-part puppet of the Augsburg Puppet Theatre (1984 ) play two dancing bears the main role.
Dancing Bear was the original name of the company Haribo Gold Bears.