This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.
A sacred dance entry records a specific, named dance tradition performed as part of religious ritual, devotion or commemoration, its documented origin, the community that performs it and its stated religious purpose, distinct from a performance work in typically being one dance form rather than a full staged dramatic tradition. I. M. Lewis's study of shamanism and spirit possession treats ecstatic and possession dance across many cultures as a documented, recurring religious phenomenon with its own real social structure, trained practitioners, recognized states and a community that interprets what is happening.
An entry records a dance's documented origin and the community or lineage that performs it, its stated religious purpose, invoking possession, marking a rite of passage, honoring an ancestor or deity, and its own actual physical form where that has been documented by observers or practitioners.
Where a sacred dance has drawn documented controversy, over appropriation, over changed performance context, or over its continued practice, an entry records that history honestly as part of the dance's own documented record, alongside and distinct from its stated devotional purpose.