Characteristic features of oriental dance as performed in Tunisia include the rhythmic movements of the pelvis, movement highlighted by the elevation of the arms to horizontal, and feet moving in rhythm and transferring weight onto the right or left leg. The dance reflects a social phenomenon born in the working classes of Tunisian cities. The male dance is typically accompanied by love songs which evoke libertine seduction, attraction and the carnal pleasures of life; it has long been performed in cafes backed by music, typically the darbuka and mezoued. Since the 1970s, however, the dance has declined in cafes and is more often displayed at festivals, circumcision ceremonies, and weddings in big cities. The Nuba, more rooted in popular practice, is linked to the dancers, and to a lesser extent the Kerkennah Djerba. Some experts say that the associated dress is of Greek origin. The dance, which is structured into several scenes, is often accompanied by acrobatic games involving jars of water. The most common religious dance is probably the Stambali, which originated as a ritual dance to glorify Sidi Saad, a devout Sudanese Muslim who arrived in Tunisia with his followers in the sixteenth century. Today his shrine is located in the Mornag region. However, in the aftermath of independence, the authorities have banned the ritual and closed many of the sanctuaries. While followers still continue their rituals at home, the dance has subsequently been adopted by the Jews and lost its connection to its Islamic origins. The National Troupe Folk Art Center and the National Dance of Ariana continue practice the traditional Tunisian dances. The national archives notably suffer from a lack of documents related to these dances, as well as to folk arts more broadly. Because of the Muslim prohibition on reproducing the human image, the ruling dynasties of Tunisia stifled pictorial art for centuries; painters therefore often turned to calligraphy. Painting as a Tunisian art form was not reborn until the French protectorate. Although at the beginning of the twentieth century galleries were reserved for European painters, native Tunisian artists such as Moses Levy and Yahia Turki were able to obtain permission to present their work. The birth of a Tunisian contemporary style of painting is strongly linked to the School of Tunis. Established in 1949 by a group of Tunisian artists headed by Pierre Boucherle and including Yahia Turki, Abdelaziz Gorgi, Moses Levy, Ammar Farhat and Jules Lellouche, it aimed to incorporate native themes and reject the influence of Orientalist colonial painting, bringing together French and Tunisian Muslims, Christians and Jews.