A group of women dance to drums and tambourines. They sing incomprehensible words to cast out the jinn of the possessed victim. This is a common scenario in old Egyptian movies. This performance, known as ‘zar’, has an ancient heritage. Zar is said to be a healing ritual that has its roots in sub-Saharan Africa to treat mental illness, which is also interpreted as “possession by jinn”.
This ritual, led by a priestess (sheikha), and is also performed to appease evil spirits by offering sacrifices, incantations, preparing spirits and by dancing.
Nowadays, zar music is regarded as folklore, and it is adapted to suit the atmosphere of performances, while preserving the ritual spirit that characterises it.
Most zar performances have gone beyond the idea of folk rituals to become a type of music therapy.
The bands that perform this type of music are not traditional as their members used to organise zar sessions.
These bands use the same instruments for zar sessions and retain nature of the performance, which ranges from quiet singing to loud noises.
From the most famous Egyptian zar band is Asyad Al-Zar.
Asyad Al-Zar’ was formed by artiste Zakaria Ibrahim, who brought together masters of the art of Egyptian zar, which was on its way to extinction.
“Zar can be considered a spontaneous theatrical process in which the human soul is freed from the constraints of time and place, or it moves from one state to another,” said Ibrahim.
“Zar is as old as human civilisation. The invocation of unseen powers by means of physical movements developed into the festive rite called zar,” Ibrahim said in an interview with the Egyptian Mail.
Zar is common in rural areas and in the Cairo districts of Darb al-Ahmar, Darb al-Tabbaneh, Sayeda Zeinab, and al-Ghouriya. Aboul Gheit in Qanater al-Khairia is a whole family that is famous for performing this ritual, Ibrahim said.
Traditional zar ceremonies are led by a woman known as al-Kudia or Sheikha, who is usually dark-skinned woman. She mediates between the people who believe they are possessed by a jinn and the masters.
The possessed individual is seated on a chair in the middle of the group. Then the sheikha sings and recites.
The group and the sheikha strike tambourines and drums with different tones and rhythms, accompanied by gyrating bodies in the incense-filled place.
Zar has disappeared from areas due to suppression. Such ceremonies are only festive nowadays.
“Zar is featured in plays, but artists are only superficially unaware of its cultural and artistic dimensions,” Ibrahim said.
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