jota

/hoh"teuh/; Sp. /haw"tah/, n., pl. jotas /-teuhz/; Sp. /-tahs/.

1. a Spanish dance in triple meter, performed by a couple and marked by complex rhythms executed with the heels and castanets.

2. the music for this dance.

[1840-50; < Sp, prob. OSp sota dance, deriv. of sotar to dance < L saltare]

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▪ Spanish dance and folk song

 courtship dance traditional in northern Spain, particularly Aragon; also a genre of folk song that precedes and accompanies the dance or is sung only. The dancing couple hold their arms high and click castanets as they execute lively, bouncing steps to guitar music and singing. The singing consists of coplas, improvised verses of satire, love, or piety. The verse form varies but is frequently a four- or seven-line stanza of eight-syllable lines. The music is in ³/₄ or ³/₈ time.

      Closely akin to the fandango, the jota is probably a fertility dance of Aragonese origin, although legend states that it was brought north from Andalusia by the exiled Moorish poet Aben Jot. The jarana of Yucatán, danced with whirling scarves, is a Mexican derivative of the jota.

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