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The Zar
Dance or
Cermonies
Dance or
Cermonies
Trance Music for Women
Listen to Zar
Music by
clicking button
of Siritual Music
Music by
clicking button
of Siritual Music
Researched by Kamira
The Zar is an ancient "trance dance" which most scholars agree
originated in the Sudan. From there its practice spread to many
regions including ancient Egypt. Over time, each group of people
practicing the Zar added their own interpretations and methods. This
may account for the various and sometimes conflicting information
available on the Zar.
In ancient Sudan, girls were married at a very young age and taken
to the villages of their husbands. Because these girls were young and
suddenly in a strange village, away from their own families, it is
thought that they often became depressed and despondent. The
theory is that when this occured, the husband's village would invite
the whole village and the bride's family or village and the bride's
family or village to a "Zar".
During the Zar ritual the "demons" possessing the young girl making
her sad or ill would be exorsized. The Zar dancer would coax the
demons out of the host and into her body and then expel them
through vigorous swinging and swaying motions of the torso. As the
ritual mounted in intensity the Zar dancer would toss her head
violently due to the belief that the last thing that the demons cling to
is the hair.
Drum and rattles of variuos types were very ceremonial and crucial to
the success of the Zar ritual. The rhythm would begin slowly and
hypnotically to calm the affected person and to hypnotize and coax the
demon out of her body and into the trance dancer. The rhythm then
intensified until the trance dancer collapsed from her efforts. The
drums and rattles were then used as protection for the dancer and the
affected person.
A feast accompanied the ritual and if the bride seemed happy the Zar
was considered a success. Was the Zar a true exorcism or did the
brided feel uplifted due to seeing her friends and family again?
The above scenario is just one theory about the origins and practice of
the Zar ritual. Other research reveals many different and sometimes
opposing ideas about the Zar, its practice and its purpose. It is still
practiced today and in some parts of the world. its is outlawed in some
areas, but the practice is carried on in secrecy.
Once you experience the Zar, either by witnessing or participation, we
think you will agree that it is a powerful experience that will leave
you feeling somehow changed. There are some performances of the
Zar available on video. Our feeling is that it should be danced with an
attitude or reverance as a spititual dance of cleansing. In our
experience the Zar is spiritually empowering and emotionally moving.
The Zar is an ancient "trance dance" which most scholars agree
originated in the Sudan. From there its practice spread to many
regions including ancient Egypt. Over time, each group of people
practicing the Zar added their own interpretations and methods. This
may account for the various and sometimes conflicting information
available on the Zar.
In ancient Sudan, girls were married at a very young age and taken
to the villages of their husbands. Because these girls were young and
suddenly in a strange village, away from their own families, it is
thought that they often became depressed and despondent. The
theory is that when this occured, the husband's village would invite
the whole village and the bride's family or village and the bride's
family or village to a "Zar".
During the Zar ritual the "demons" possessing the young girl making
her sad or ill would be exorsized. The Zar dancer would coax the
demons out of the host and into her body and then expel them
through vigorous swinging and swaying motions of the torso. As the
ritual mounted in intensity the Zar dancer would toss her head
violently due to the belief that the last thing that the demons cling to
is the hair.
Drum and rattles of variuos types were very ceremonial and crucial to
the success of the Zar ritual. The rhythm would begin slowly and
hypnotically to calm the affected person and to hypnotize and coax the
demon out of her body and into the trance dancer. The rhythm then
intensified until the trance dancer collapsed from her efforts. The
drums and rattles were then used as protection for the dancer and the
affected person.
A feast accompanied the ritual and if the bride seemed happy the Zar
was considered a success. Was the Zar a true exorcism or did the
brided feel uplifted due to seeing her friends and family again?
The above scenario is just one theory about the origins and practice of
the Zar ritual. Other research reveals many different and sometimes
opposing ideas about the Zar, its practice and its purpose. It is still
practiced today and in some parts of the world. its is outlawed in some
areas, but the practice is carried on in secrecy.
Once you experience the Zar, either by witnessing or participation, we
think you will agree that it is a powerful experience that will leave
you feeling somehow changed. There are some performances of the
Zar available on video. Our feeling is that it should be danced with an
attitude or reverance as a spititual dance of cleansing. In our
experience the Zar is spiritually empowering and emotionally moving.
Awlad Abou al-Gheit, Egypt
The Women:
Lead singer
Haga Karima Shabaan
Tabla, chorus
Haga Karima Mohammed
Duff, chorus
Fatima Farag
Duff, chorus
Leyla Fares
Lead singer
Haga Karima Shabaan
Tabla, chorus
Haga Karima Mohammed
Duff, chorus
Fatima Farag
Duff, chorus
Leyla Fares
The Zar -
Trance Music for Women
For centuries women in Africa and the Middle East have used this music to cure pain in
times of stress or illness, sicknesses they believe are caused by "red spirits" - the Zar -
who are using their bodies as hosts.
Awlad Abou al -Gheit is Egypt's most well-known Zar group. The leader, has been a
practising Zar musician for over forty years. The group is made up of 4 men and 4
women, all dedicated to this traditional art of healing the sick through music and dance.
Trance Music for Women
For centuries women in Africa and the Middle East have used this music to cure pain in
times of stress or illness, sicknesses they believe are caused by "red spirits" - the Zar -
who are using their bodies as hosts.
Awlad Abou al -Gheit is Egypt's most well-known Zar group. The leader, has been a
practising Zar musician for over forty years. The group is made up of 4 men and 4
women, all dedicated to this traditional art of healing the sick through music and dance.
There are many reasons why women are attracted to the Zar in the Middle East. Lower class women who live in poverty
are under a great deal of stress in their daily lives. Yet there are few if any outlets for them. Proper Islamic behavior
dictates that women stay home and act with dignity. They should cook, clean and take care of their husbands and
children. To go out dancing is not an option for them to blow off steam. Neither is seeing a psychiatrist if they feel
depressed or suicidal. Mental illness as a curable disease is not accepted for the most part in rural areas. But the belief in
spirits is wide spread in Egypt and Africa and dates back thousands of years. Even the Quran mentions The Jinn and
other beings as God's creations, in addition to humans.
Through a belief in spirit possession, women forge a social network that acts as a safety net for them. Their undiagnosable
physical ailments allow them to dance and occasionally smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. The ceremonies allow the
adepts to forget their everyday lives and travel to the spirit world for a much needed break.
Zar music is raw and unpolished. It speaks of the desert and the region's long history. It is also disappearing, as Islamic
fundamentalists crack down on what they believe to be animistic beliefs. That is why I wanted to preserve this music and
present it to the world community - so that it is not lost or forgotten.
No one knows exactly where the zar comes from. Some believe it originated either in Ethiopia, Sudan, Iran or Pharaonic
Egypt. We do know that today thousands of women in Africa and the Middle East use this music to cure all kinds of
illnesses. They literally dance until they drop. In some African countries the ceremonies can go on for a week. That would
be seven days of intense drumming and dancing throughout the nights, until the light of dawn and exhaustion overcome
them.
The belief is that if modern medicine can not find a reason for an illness, pain or state of mind then supernatural forces
must be at work. The patient, who is normally a woman, will consult a spiritual healer (also a woman) to find out if she is
indeed possessed - “clothed” or “covered” in Egyptian vernacular. If she is diagnosed as being with spirit, or as is often
the case with several spirits, then she is expected to try to communicate with her possessors to find out what they want.
Only when the zar spirits are placated and their demands met will the woman’s illness or pain dissipate.
A Zar ceremony is organized to see which of the multitude of rhythms entices her up to dance. Each spirit has a beat and
a song. Once it is established which spirit is calling her, the possessed woman will dance herself into a trance so that she
can speak to the being inhabiting her body.
Are the spirits real, are the women possessed? The women believe they are. These patients turn to the Zar after modern
medicine has failed them. Depression and other psychological diseases, while acknowledged in Egypt and Africa, are
hardly accepted in the mainstream. Faith becomes their healer - along with a little exercise and a healthy dose of seratonin.
This is an exerpt from the 32 page color booklet that accompanies the CD. Included in it are translations of all the songs
and a detailed explanation of the Zar ceremony and spirits.
Awlad Aboul al-Gheit
This group is one of the few Zar groups remaining in Egypt, and the most famous. They perpetuate the ancient music and
rhythms passed down to them from their ancestors. Unfortunately, because of Islamic fundamentalism, zar ceremonies are
highly discouraged now in the Middle East, and there is a fear that the tradition will soon die out.
Trance dancing, as it is known in the West, requires just the right blend of driving rhythms and monotonous repetition, to
help the brain reach an ecstatic state. Without the right music, altered consciousness is difficult to achieve. This music has
been tested through the ages to help dancers reach that other plane of existence.
are under a great deal of stress in their daily lives. Yet there are few if any outlets for them. Proper Islamic behavior
dictates that women stay home and act with dignity. They should cook, clean and take care of their husbands and
children. To go out dancing is not an option for them to blow off steam. Neither is seeing a psychiatrist if they feel
depressed or suicidal. Mental illness as a curable disease is not accepted for the most part in rural areas. But the belief in
spirits is wide spread in Egypt and Africa and dates back thousands of years. Even the Quran mentions The Jinn and
other beings as God's creations, in addition to humans.
Through a belief in spirit possession, women forge a social network that acts as a safety net for them. Their undiagnosable
physical ailments allow them to dance and occasionally smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. The ceremonies allow the
adepts to forget their everyday lives and travel to the spirit world for a much needed break.
Zar music is raw and unpolished. It speaks of the desert and the region's long history. It is also disappearing, as Islamic
fundamentalists crack down on what they believe to be animistic beliefs. That is why I wanted to preserve this music and
present it to the world community - so that it is not lost or forgotten.
No one knows exactly where the zar comes from. Some believe it originated either in Ethiopia, Sudan, Iran or Pharaonic
Egypt. We do know that today thousands of women in Africa and the Middle East use this music to cure all kinds of
illnesses. They literally dance until they drop. In some African countries the ceremonies can go on for a week. That would
be seven days of intense drumming and dancing throughout the nights, until the light of dawn and exhaustion overcome
them.
The belief is that if modern medicine can not find a reason for an illness, pain or state of mind then supernatural forces
must be at work. The patient, who is normally a woman, will consult a spiritual healer (also a woman) to find out if she is
indeed possessed - “clothed” or “covered” in Egyptian vernacular. If she is diagnosed as being with spirit, or as is often
the case with several spirits, then she is expected to try to communicate with her possessors to find out what they want.
Only when the zar spirits are placated and their demands met will the woman’s illness or pain dissipate.
A Zar ceremony is organized to see which of the multitude of rhythms entices her up to dance. Each spirit has a beat and
a song. Once it is established which spirit is calling her, the possessed woman will dance herself into a trance so that she
can speak to the being inhabiting her body.
Are the spirits real, are the women possessed? The women believe they are. These patients turn to the Zar after modern
medicine has failed them. Depression and other psychological diseases, while acknowledged in Egypt and Africa, are
hardly accepted in the mainstream. Faith becomes their healer - along with a little exercise and a healthy dose of seratonin.
This is an exerpt from the 32 page color booklet that accompanies the CD. Included in it are translations of all the songs
and a detailed explanation of the Zar ceremony and spirits.
Awlad Aboul al-Gheit
This group is one of the few Zar groups remaining in Egypt, and the most famous. They perpetuate the ancient music and
rhythms passed down to them from their ancestors. Unfortunately, because of Islamic fundamentalism, zar ceremonies are
highly discouraged now in the Middle East, and there is a fear that the tradition will soon die out.
Trance dancing, as it is known in the West, requires just the right blend of driving rhythms and monotonous repetition, to
help the brain reach an ecstatic state. Without the right music, altered consciousness is difficult to achieve. This music has
been tested through the ages to help dancers reach that other plane of existence.
Spirtual Music of The
Orient & Mystics
Orient & Mystics
