| The Egyptian Zar by Cheri Berens |
COPYRIGHT 2003
At an Egyptian Zar, women dance to the sound of intense and extremely loud drumming until they dance themselves into a frenzy
and collapse to the floor. This frenzy of dancing helps the women release their emotions. It is similar to a form of group therapy.
But the cornerstone of the Zar is the belief in genies, or spirits. And without this belief, the Zar is meaningless.
Background
People who believe in the Zar believe that a genie has invaded a human’s body and that there is a battle going on between this
genie and the human. Once this happens you need the help of a ‘Sheika’, an Egyptian woman who leads the Zar and has the
ability to understand and influence genies. The people who believe in the Zar also believe in magic and talismans, potions and
spells. They use this magic to try to increase libido, influence marriages, and cure psychological illnesses.
The Zar started in Ethiopia and spread north to Sudan and other neighboring countries. It spread to Egypt during the opening of
Sudan in the 1820’s. It came with the Sudanese immigrants. In Ethiopia, it began as part of their religious system, so it was well
accepted and it is still widely used today. Ethiopians have even reached a stage where they believe they can cure life-threatening
diseases by holding a Zar.
The holy Koran is the basic background for the belief in the Egyptian Zar. The Koran mentions genies, souls and spirits. The
belief in genies is very ancient for both Arabs and Egyptians, even before the Koran, but after the Koran, which is believed to be
issued by God, the existence of this invisible world was emphasized. The Koran gave the belief in genies holy credibility.
People who believe in the Zar believe genies live just like we do, but in an invisible world. They eat, drink, and have children, but
they live longer than us and they have the ability to hurt or help us. According to the belief, genies get inside the body of a human
being, and when that happens, the human is not responsible for what he says or does.
The Sheika
The Sheika supervises every aspect of the Zar. Sheikas of today are proud when they talk about being from a ‘strong house’. A
strong house is one with a history of Sheikas whose talents were passed down from one generation to the next. Incense is a
strong part of the ritual of the Zar. Sheikas of today talk about being the ‘girls of incense’. This means that for generations,
incense has never stopped burning in their house.
Magic is mentioned in the holy Koran and it, too, is an important belief for the Zar to work. When people go to the Sheika, she
makes a talisman and puts holy Koran phrases inside it. Great power is given to the Sheika, especially when she has a history of
curing patients by holding a Zar. And since most Sheikas have made the holy pilgrimage to Mecca, they are very well respected.
Being “Touched by a Genie”
When a woman feels that a genie is affecting her life, she goes to a Sheika who specializes in the medicine of ‘touch’ (‘touched’ by
a genie). The woman becomes a ‘patient’ of the Sheika. There are many psychological reasons that cause a woman to feel she
has been touched by a genie, but usually it is because she is suffering from depression or a psychosomatic illness caused by
difficulties in her personal life.
The Sheika talks to the patient and because of her many experiences with genies, she can tell what is wrong with the patient. The
Sheika usually asks for a piece of the patient’s clothing and she puts this clothing under her pillow. This enables the Sheika to
connect with the genies through her dreams.
There are different kinds of contract between Sheikas and genies. Some Sheikas can hear the words of genies. Some can feel
them in their own bodies. Others see genies only in dreams. The strongest Sheikas see the genies in daily life. These strong
Sheikas who see them in daily life are usually the extremely religious Sheikas. After the Sheika contacts the genie, she tells the
patient what to do according to the instructions of the genie. That is when the Zar is held.
The Zar Party
The Zar starts with the music of the wedding march (el zeffa). The patient is now considered to be a ‘bride’. The Sheika waves
incense over the head of the bride while saying holy words. She waves the smoke of the incense over the right hand of the bride,
then the left, then her two feet, then between her legs. Then the Sheika puts the incense pot on the floor and the bride walks over it
three times. The Saiidi (southern Egyptian) band starts playing and they sing a special song for the bride and then a song for the
genie who has touched the bride.
There are forty-four genies who can enter people’s bodies. Each of these forty-four genies has a specific character and
personality and even wears particular clothing. These characteristics are incorporated into the Zar to symbolize the genie. At
some point during the Zar, the bride will usually wear the clothing and carry the props that symbolize the specific genie who has
touched her.
After the band has sung the opening songs for the bride and genie, there is a slaughter of an animal. The type of animal depends
on which genie is touching the bride. If the genie is Yowrah, who is fond of women and one of the most common genies to invade
a woman’s body, they must slaughter a pair of red pigeons (it is believed that eating pigeons makes a man sexually powerful).
After some holy words are spoken and the incense pot waved around, the bride takes the pigeons and dances with them while the
band plays the drum rhythm designated for the genie. Each genie has a specific drum rhythm which is played for them during the
Zar.
Next comes the Sudanese band. They play different songs and music than the Saiidi band. The Sudanese band consists of both
men and women, whereas the Saiidi band consisted of women only. This is because the southern Egyptians are a more
segregated society. The Sudanese band also starts with el zeffa, but this time the bride marches while the attendees of the Zar
stand by holding candles. Two Sudanese men wearing belts of sheep’s hooves lead the wedding march. They carry rattle-like
instruments. Three men wearing feathered belts and two Sudanese girls wearing very little clothing follow behind them. The girls
wear lots of necklaces to cover their breasts. The bride is next, followed by the primary drum player and the close friends of the
bride. The friends do the zagareet (a shrill yodel) and then sing the song of el zeffa. The attendees at the Zar throw salt at the
bride. The leader of the Sudanese band then slaughters a rooster at the doorstep. He puts a drop of blood on his finger and puts
it on the bride’s forehead.
The bride then kneels on a white sheet and is covered with a black sheet. A Sudanese band member says, “the devil has gone, the
merciful has come by the right of the Prophet”. The bride raises herself and shakes her shoulders strongly. The drumbeat speeds
up in tempo and gets louder. The black sheet is then off the bride’s head.
Now the Abu Ghreit band enters, an all male band. The band members wear white clothes and green tarbooshes (hats that are
sometimes called a fez). All of the band members have long hair to their shoulders, a trademark of the Abu Ghreit. Again they start
with el zeffa. The bride follows the band members and a male dancer. The male dancer wears the big multi-colored, multi-layered
skirts that Abu Ghreit dancers are so famous for. The dancer plays the finger cymbals and then dances as he removes his top
skirts one by one until only the bottom skirt remains.
The most common Zar is held weekly and it usually lasts all night. After the beginning el zeffa ceremonies and rituals have taken
place, there will be a dialogue between the genie and the Sheika. The genie lets the Sheika know exactly what’s wrong with the
bride and what his requests are. Suddenly the Sheika gives the bride a long, dramatic look and she waves the incense pot over
the bride’s head. The drumbeats become very fast and the attendees stand, swinging their heads and shoulders. The drums
continue to become louder and louder and faster and faster. This is when the bride dances for a very long time until she works
herself into a frenzy and finally collapses and falls to the floor. The Sheika walks around her waving the incense pot. As the bride
slowly regains herself, she will sometimes confess some things about her personal life that she has been keeping secret. These
confessions are kept secret between the Sheika and the bride. This is one of the benefits of the Zar. It is like psychotherapy.
Psychological Factors of the Zar
A girl in her 30’s wanted a Zar. She said a genie was preventing her from marriage. The real reason for her inability to get married
was that she was considered too old and she was also not very good looking. She did not want to face this painful truth and so
psychologically she justified her situation by believing that a genie was the cause. This not only made her feel better about her
situation, but she could satisfy her needs through the Zar. She could enjoy the wedding march and feel like a bride, something she
may never be able to do in her actual life. The attendees at the Zar would pay attention to her and would be supportive and
encouraging. If she ended up getting married after the Zar, she could say the genie got out of her and allowed her to get married. If
she doesn’t get married, she can say the genie is in love with her and is stubborn. Psychologically, it is a defense trick and it
makes her life more bearable.
The attendees of a Zar are mostly the same women every week. At some point in their life they have most likely been a bride at a
Zar. Throughout the night of a Zar, as different drum rhythms are played representing the different genies, the attendees at the Zar
dance and release their tensions and problems related to them when they were the brides.
The Zar is not the habit of the majority of Egyptians, only a small minority. The upper class and educated do not attend the Zar.
But a large number of Egyptian girls come from poor urban villages and they are the most common attendees of the Zar. They are
like a servant to their husbands. They have no hobbies or social activities. A lot of them have sexual problems due to the age gap
between them and their husband. Some do not even like their husband and psychologically become ‘touched by a genie’ to keep
him away for awhile. Many are just neglected and depressed and the Zar is a way of getting out of the house and out of their
humdrum routine and existence.
For the patient at the Zar, it’s partly the belief in the Zar that cures them, but also the release of emotions through the dancing and
the group therapy type of camaraderie at the party. The Zar serves a purpose both emotionally and physically for many of the
poorer women of Egypt who otherwise have very little physical activity or social life. It’s a way to meet with other women and
exchange experiences. The dancing not only helps them vent emotions, but the exercise of dancing also invigorates them and
makes them feel better physically. Whether a ‘patient’ or an attendee, they leave the Zar emotionally and physically satisfied.
and collapse to the floor. This frenzy of dancing helps the women release their emotions. It is similar to a form of group therapy.
But the cornerstone of the Zar is the belief in genies, or spirits. And without this belief, the Zar is meaningless.
Background
People who believe in the Zar believe that a genie has invaded a human’s body and that there is a battle going on between this
genie and the human. Once this happens you need the help of a ‘Sheika’, an Egyptian woman who leads the Zar and has the
ability to understand and influence genies. The people who believe in the Zar also believe in magic and talismans, potions and
spells. They use this magic to try to increase libido, influence marriages, and cure psychological illnesses.
The Zar started in Ethiopia and spread north to Sudan and other neighboring countries. It spread to Egypt during the opening of
Sudan in the 1820’s. It came with the Sudanese immigrants. In Ethiopia, it began as part of their religious system, so it was well
accepted and it is still widely used today. Ethiopians have even reached a stage where they believe they can cure life-threatening
diseases by holding a Zar.
The holy Koran is the basic background for the belief in the Egyptian Zar. The Koran mentions genies, souls and spirits. The
belief in genies is very ancient for both Arabs and Egyptians, even before the Koran, but after the Koran, which is believed to be
issued by God, the existence of this invisible world was emphasized. The Koran gave the belief in genies holy credibility.
People who believe in the Zar believe genies live just like we do, but in an invisible world. They eat, drink, and have children, but
they live longer than us and they have the ability to hurt or help us. According to the belief, genies get inside the body of a human
being, and when that happens, the human is not responsible for what he says or does.
The Sheika
The Sheika supervises every aspect of the Zar. Sheikas of today are proud when they talk about being from a ‘strong house’. A
strong house is one with a history of Sheikas whose talents were passed down from one generation to the next. Incense is a
strong part of the ritual of the Zar. Sheikas of today talk about being the ‘girls of incense’. This means that for generations,
incense has never stopped burning in their house.
Magic is mentioned in the holy Koran and it, too, is an important belief for the Zar to work. When people go to the Sheika, she
makes a talisman and puts holy Koran phrases inside it. Great power is given to the Sheika, especially when she has a history of
curing patients by holding a Zar. And since most Sheikas have made the holy pilgrimage to Mecca, they are very well respected.
Being “Touched by a Genie”
When a woman feels that a genie is affecting her life, she goes to a Sheika who specializes in the medicine of ‘touch’ (‘touched’ by
a genie). The woman becomes a ‘patient’ of the Sheika. There are many psychological reasons that cause a woman to feel she
has been touched by a genie, but usually it is because she is suffering from depression or a psychosomatic illness caused by
difficulties in her personal life.
The Sheika talks to the patient and because of her many experiences with genies, she can tell what is wrong with the patient. The
Sheika usually asks for a piece of the patient’s clothing and she puts this clothing under her pillow. This enables the Sheika to
connect with the genies through her dreams.
There are different kinds of contract between Sheikas and genies. Some Sheikas can hear the words of genies. Some can feel
them in their own bodies. Others see genies only in dreams. The strongest Sheikas see the genies in daily life. These strong
Sheikas who see them in daily life are usually the extremely religious Sheikas. After the Sheika contacts the genie, she tells the
patient what to do according to the instructions of the genie. That is when the Zar is held.
The Zar Party
The Zar starts with the music of the wedding march (el zeffa). The patient is now considered to be a ‘bride’. The Sheika waves
incense over the head of the bride while saying holy words. She waves the smoke of the incense over the right hand of the bride,
then the left, then her two feet, then between her legs. Then the Sheika puts the incense pot on the floor and the bride walks over it
three times. The Saiidi (southern Egyptian) band starts playing and they sing a special song for the bride and then a song for the
genie who has touched the bride.
There are forty-four genies who can enter people’s bodies. Each of these forty-four genies has a specific character and
personality and even wears particular clothing. These characteristics are incorporated into the Zar to symbolize the genie. At
some point during the Zar, the bride will usually wear the clothing and carry the props that symbolize the specific genie who has
touched her.
After the band has sung the opening songs for the bride and genie, there is a slaughter of an animal. The type of animal depends
on which genie is touching the bride. If the genie is Yowrah, who is fond of women and one of the most common genies to invade
a woman’s body, they must slaughter a pair of red pigeons (it is believed that eating pigeons makes a man sexually powerful).
After some holy words are spoken and the incense pot waved around, the bride takes the pigeons and dances with them while the
band plays the drum rhythm designated for the genie. Each genie has a specific drum rhythm which is played for them during the
Zar.
Next comes the Sudanese band. They play different songs and music than the Saiidi band. The Sudanese band consists of both
men and women, whereas the Saiidi band consisted of women only. This is because the southern Egyptians are a more
segregated society. The Sudanese band also starts with el zeffa, but this time the bride marches while the attendees of the Zar
stand by holding candles. Two Sudanese men wearing belts of sheep’s hooves lead the wedding march. They carry rattle-like
instruments. Three men wearing feathered belts and two Sudanese girls wearing very little clothing follow behind them. The girls
wear lots of necklaces to cover their breasts. The bride is next, followed by the primary drum player and the close friends of the
bride. The friends do the zagareet (a shrill yodel) and then sing the song of el zeffa. The attendees at the Zar throw salt at the
bride. The leader of the Sudanese band then slaughters a rooster at the doorstep. He puts a drop of blood on his finger and puts
it on the bride’s forehead.
The bride then kneels on a white sheet and is covered with a black sheet. A Sudanese band member says, “the devil has gone, the
merciful has come by the right of the Prophet”. The bride raises herself and shakes her shoulders strongly. The drumbeat speeds
up in tempo and gets louder. The black sheet is then off the bride’s head.
Now the Abu Ghreit band enters, an all male band. The band members wear white clothes and green tarbooshes (hats that are
sometimes called a fez). All of the band members have long hair to their shoulders, a trademark of the Abu Ghreit. Again they start
with el zeffa. The bride follows the band members and a male dancer. The male dancer wears the big multi-colored, multi-layered
skirts that Abu Ghreit dancers are so famous for. The dancer plays the finger cymbals and then dances as he removes his top
skirts one by one until only the bottom skirt remains.
The most common Zar is held weekly and it usually lasts all night. After the beginning el zeffa ceremonies and rituals have taken
place, there will be a dialogue between the genie and the Sheika. The genie lets the Sheika know exactly what’s wrong with the
bride and what his requests are. Suddenly the Sheika gives the bride a long, dramatic look and she waves the incense pot over
the bride’s head. The drumbeats become very fast and the attendees stand, swinging their heads and shoulders. The drums
continue to become louder and louder and faster and faster. This is when the bride dances for a very long time until she works
herself into a frenzy and finally collapses and falls to the floor. The Sheika walks around her waving the incense pot. As the bride
slowly regains herself, she will sometimes confess some things about her personal life that she has been keeping secret. These
confessions are kept secret between the Sheika and the bride. This is one of the benefits of the Zar. It is like psychotherapy.
Psychological Factors of the Zar
A girl in her 30’s wanted a Zar. She said a genie was preventing her from marriage. The real reason for her inability to get married
was that she was considered too old and she was also not very good looking. She did not want to face this painful truth and so
psychologically she justified her situation by believing that a genie was the cause. This not only made her feel better about her
situation, but she could satisfy her needs through the Zar. She could enjoy the wedding march and feel like a bride, something she
may never be able to do in her actual life. The attendees at the Zar would pay attention to her and would be supportive and
encouraging. If she ended up getting married after the Zar, she could say the genie got out of her and allowed her to get married. If
she doesn’t get married, she can say the genie is in love with her and is stubborn. Psychologically, it is a defense trick and it
makes her life more bearable.
The attendees of a Zar are mostly the same women every week. At some point in their life they have most likely been a bride at a
Zar. Throughout the night of a Zar, as different drum rhythms are played representing the different genies, the attendees at the Zar
dance and release their tensions and problems related to them when they were the brides.
The Zar is not the habit of the majority of Egyptians, only a small minority. The upper class and educated do not attend the Zar.
But a large number of Egyptian girls come from poor urban villages and they are the most common attendees of the Zar. They are
like a servant to their husbands. They have no hobbies or social activities. A lot of them have sexual problems due to the age gap
between them and their husband. Some do not even like their husband and psychologically become ‘touched by a genie’ to keep
him away for awhile. Many are just neglected and depressed and the Zar is a way of getting out of the house and out of their
humdrum routine and existence.
For the patient at the Zar, it’s partly the belief in the Zar that cures them, but also the release of emotions through the dancing and
the group therapy type of camaraderie at the party. The Zar serves a purpose both emotionally and physically for many of the
poorer women of Egypt who otherwise have very little physical activity or social life. It’s a way to meet with other women and
exchange experiences. The dancing not only helps them vent emotions, but the exercise of dancing also invigorates them and
makes them feel better physically. Whether a ‘patient’ or an attendee, they leave the Zar emotionally and physically satisfied.