The term is a slang descriptor often used in relation to a
belly dance or wiggling, as in "Coochie Coochie dance", "
Hoochee-Coochee", and the saying "coochie coochie coo" when tickling an infant. It is also used as sexually suggestive
slang in the Southern United States, referring to the
vagina. by a dancer named
Little Egypt, who was filmed in 1896 by
Thomas Edison for the
Coochee Coochee Dance film short. The song was created by
Sol Bloom. One explanation of the
etymology attributes it to the French word
coucher, meaning to lie down. Another possible root is the Central American and Caribbean Spanish
chocha, likewise a slang term for the vulva, possibly derived from the Mexican
panocha, yet another slang term for the vulva, in metaphoric transference from the cones of brown sugar sold in Mexican markets. After the sexually provocative dance became wildly popular during and after the World's Fair, the term "hoochie coochie man" came to refer to someone who either watched the performer(s) or ran the show. Alternatively, from the directly sexual meaning of "
hoochie coochie", the term referred to someone who greatly enjoyed sexual intercourse. The erotic dancing was popular in film booths and was a precursor of the
striptease. ==In music==