Zar music (Mazaher) - Page 2

Tarik Sultan · 08-12-2008, 11:42 PM

Zar is not an exorcism or a dance. It is a ceremony that is part of a larger spiritual tradition. I'll explain more later, but it really is more complex than people realize.

cathy · 08-13-2008, 01:30 AM

Thanks Tarik, I look forward to more.

Here is something I found from Egypt Today, written about Mazaher, in 2005:

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In its original form, Zar is a ritual where a small circle of people gather to communicate with unseen entities or spirits. It’s one of the few healing ceremonies performed mainly by women for women in an attempt to pacify the spirits and win some measure of inner harmony.

Traditional Zar music originated in the Sudan. Poly-rhythmic, rich and complex in melody, it is distinctively different from other Egyptian musical traditions. The underground culture was not originally intended to be a performance art and is shunned by the religious establishment, the state and the orthodox cultural elite.

The result: In recent decades, practice of the ritual has died out and ancient songs have been forgotten, helped along by the popular misconception that Zar is all about exorcisms.

For participants, it is most often a cathartic experience often leading to an altered state of consciousness, or in some cases, trance.

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Cathy

Aziyade · 08-13-2008, 02:14 PM

Get this book:

Women and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic Egypt
by Gerda Sengers

It talks about the zar quite a bit and it's a really interesting book!

08-13-2008, 01:30 AM	#12 (permalink)
cathy Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 424	Trance--in some cases Thanks Tarik, I look forward to more. Here is something I found from Egypt Today, written about Mazaher, in 2005: - - - - - - - - - - In its original form, Zar is a ritual where a small circle of people gather to communicate with unseen entities or spirits. It’s one of the few healing ceremonies performed mainly by women for women in an attempt to pacify the spirits and win some measure of inner harmony. Traditional Zar music originated in the Sudan. Poly-rhythmic, rich and complex in melody, it is distinctively different from other Egyptian musical traditions. The underground culture was not originally intended to be a performance art and is shunned by the religious establishment, the state and the orthodox cultural elite. The result: In recent decades, practice of the ritual has died out and ancient songs have been forgotten, helped along by the popular misconception that Zar is all about exorcisms. For participants, it is most often a cathartic experience often leading to an altered state of consciousness, or in some cases, trance. - - - - - - - - - - Cathy

08-12-2008, 11:42 PM	#11 (permalink)
Tarik Sultan V.I.P. Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Jersey City, New Jersey Posts: 1,337	Zar is not an exorcism or a dance. It is a ceremony that is part of a larger spiritual tradition. I'll explain more later, but it really is more complex than people realize.

08-13-2008, 02:14 PM	#13 (permalink)
Aziyade V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cornfields of Evansville Indiana. Posts: 1,050	Get this book: Women and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic Egypt by Gerda Sengers It talks about the zar quite a bit and it's a really interesting book!