jota, Jota from “Aragón,” oil painting by Joaquín Sorolla y
Bastida; in the collection of the Hispanic Society of America,
New York CityCourtesy of the Hispanic Society of America, New
York City 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.