origin of the sher

[Helen Winkler <winklerh...>]

I have been reading about the origins of the sher and have found 2 
explanations
1)      It is a tailor?s dance with the figures representing the shears and the 
backstitch/removal of the stitches without breaking the thread.
2)      It is a wedding dance, representing the shearing of the bride?s hair at 
the time of marriage.

On another web site, I read that it was customary for the king/other rulers 
to have the right to have his way with any bride in the kingdom on her 
wedding night.
http://www.pinenet.com/~rooster/hasid1.html
The head was shaved to make the bride as unattractive as possible to avoid 
this fate.

In the opinion of this group, is there any truth to the last statement and 
are there other explanations for the origin of this dance and its music?

Helen

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