[Tango-L] Tango quote from the 13th Century

[Shahrukh Merchant]

People outside Argentine (or perhaps outside the Rio de la Plata area) 
who "get into" Tango generally start learning and liking the dance, then 
start to recognize and like the music (which earlier sounded dated and 
old-fashioned).

Then another slower transition, or rather evolution, occurs, where the 
preference starts to change from instrumental to vocal music. A very 
small percentage learn and listen to the words, a task understandably 
complicated by cultural references, and more so if one is not a native 
Spanish speaker.

I saw a quote recently, written in the 13th century, that captured this 
phenomenon, and could well have been written for Tango, had it not 
predated Tango by about 700 years:

"Dance is subordinate to the instrument and the instrument to song, 
therefore singing is considered fundamental by the knowledgeable."

It is actually from the Sangeet Ratnakar (a treatise on Indian music 
written in the 13th century), as quoted by S. Kalidas in "India: 
Timeless Splendour."

We dancers, it seems, have been put in our place: a distant third in a 
pecking order, behind the musicians, and way behind the poets.

Shahrukh