Zar music (Mazaher)

cathy · 07-19-2008, 02:43 PM

I saw this group live twice earlier this month in Cairo. They were awesome, the lead woman (shown at the beginning playing frame drum) is totally charismatic and mesmerizing. When I saw them live she sang several songs as well, and both she and the other woman did some dancing. By the way, absolutely NO hair tossing was involved. All women were wearing headscarves and there was no "head tossing" either. They are from the authentic zar tradition from Upper Egypt and Sudan.

The second time I saw them, two men were playing the manjour (dried goat hooves on leather hip belts) which involved at least twelve minutes of vigorous forward & and back hip shaking (what we sometimes oddly call "washing machine shimmy") involving stepping and accents, and one danced a bit with the second woman at the same time. And they also played metal castanets at the same time.

here is the Youtube link:

YouTube - Mazaher (zar music)

Maria_Aya · 07-21-2008, 06:52 AM

Its a great group !!! but what they are doing is not close to real zar but its normal, as they are a performance group

Maria Aya

masrawy · 08-05-2008, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maria_Aya

Its a great group !!! but what they are doing is not close to real zar but its normal, as they are a performance group

Maria Aya

Hey Maria, this group is as authentic as it could get to me and very real. What do you mean by performance group? here another clip by the same group it is what I'll call mawual. Salam~Mahmoud

Maria_Aya · 08-11-2008, 06:39 AM

Sabah el kheir !!

Yes they are authentic as it comes for the music part, but not for a Zar ceremony, that for me its something that cant be as a performance act.

Maria Aya

masrawy · 08-11-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maria_Aya

Sabah el kheir !!

Yes they are authentic as it comes for the music part, but not for a Zar ceremony, that for me its something that cant be as a performance act.

Maria Aya

Sabah el kheir bella'l since you will see this at nighttime

Thank you for clearing this point to my lettel potato head

, actually the second clip I posted it shows clearly that they are performing "mawual shaabee" rather than "Zar". I would love to see them next time I'm in a Cairo, I wonder if Cathy could tell us where in Cairo did she see them.
BTW are you familiar with Khadra Mohammed Khedr?
Salam morab3~Mahmoud

cathy · 08-12-2008, 12:51 AM

Both times I saw them at a place called Makan which is at:

1 Saad Zaghloul St, Al-Mounira, Cairo.

The venue actually had a New York City feeling to it, to me.

Wish I could go again tonight!

P.S. Of course I realize that it is a performance of music, not an actual zar ceremony....I don't think they would be selling tickets to tourists and making CDs and so forth or even have a band name. I doubt anyone on this forum enacts real zar rituals either!

Cathy

Maria_Aya · 08-12-2008, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathy

Both times I saw them at a place called Makan which is at:

1 Saad Zaghloul St, Al-Mounira, Cairo.

The venue actually had a New York City feeling to it, to me.

Wish I could go again tonight!

P.S. Of course I realize that it is a performance of music, not an actual zar ceremony....I don't think they would be selling tickets to tourists and making CDs and so forth or even have a band name. I doubt anyone on this forum enacts real zar rituals either!

Cathy

me and my english lol
what is enacts???

masrawy · 08-12-2008, 01:47 PM

Hey Maria I had to look it up in the dictionary here is the definition

"To act (something) out, as on a stage"

Cathy will be sleeping now if she went to see them ....I am jealous!!

Salam~Mahmoud

cathy · 08-12-2008, 05:50 PM

Dear Maria and Mahmoud,

What I meant was that professional dancers or hobbyist dancers might do a stage performance of Dervish, Guedra, or Zar, but this is not the same thing as doing the actual sacred rituals of same for the people from those cultural and sacred or religious traditions.

We can do them very respectfully and with a lot of feeling for the culture and ritual, but it is a kind of acting out or staging or recreating of the ritual. There is still some element of theater there.

In other words, if you or I were to put on a Zar performance, no matter how authentic it appeared, we would not be actually practicing an exorcism ritual. Whereas if done as part of the original tradition, these are NOT meant for stage performance for a paying audience but to accomplish certain goals (merging with the divine, spreading positive energy, or exorcism) for the self or community. A dancer might feel and express some of the same in her performance but it is still a show for an audience. Not a ritual.

I hope this is clearer?

Cathy

Maria_Aya · 08-12-2008, 09:38 PM

Shokran Mahmoud and Cathy !!!
Yes I do agree, enacting (heyyyyyyy I got it lol) Zar or other ritual dances is for me... how can I say... too much for a stage, and defently not authentic (naturaly).
On the other side, sometimes oriental dancing becomes something that "lift" us in a way, but this is rare to happen when performing.
Its more on being a spontainious dancer on the moment.

Have a nice day

07-19-2008, 02:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
cathy Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 373	Zar music (Mazaher) I saw this group live twice earlier this month in Cairo. They were awesome, the lead woman (shown at the beginning playing frame drum) is totally charismatic and mesmerizing. When I saw them live she sang several songs as well, and both she and the other woman did some dancing. By the way, absolutely NO hair tossing was involved. All women were wearing headscarves and there was no "head tossing" either. They are from the authentic zar tradition from Upper Egypt and Sudan. The second time I saw them, two men were playing the manjour (dried goat hooves on leather hip belts) which involved at least twelve minutes of vigorous forward & and back hip shaking (what we sometimes oddly call "washing machine shimmy") involving stepping and accents, and one danced a bit with the second woman at the same time. And they also played metal castanets at the same time. here is the Youtube link: YouTube - Mazaher (zar music)

07-21-2008, 06:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
Maria_Aya Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 2,052	Its a great group !!! but what they are doing is not close to real zar but its normal, as they are a performance group Maria Aya __________________ ... because Oriental Dance is the visual poem over the music....

08-11-2008, 06:39 AM	#4 (permalink)
Maria_Aya Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 2,052	Sabah el kheir !! Yes they are authentic as it comes for the music part, but not for a Zar ceremony, that for me its something that cant be as a performance act. Maria Aya __________________ ... because Oriental Dance is the visual poem over the music....

08-12-2008, 12:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
cathy Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 373	Both times I saw them at a place called Makan which is at: 1 Saad Zaghloul St, Al-Mounira, Cairo. The venue actually had a New York City feeling to it, to me. Wish I could go again tonight! P.S. Of course I realize that it is a performance of music, not an actual zar ceremony....I don't think they would be selling tickets to tourists and making CDs and so forth or even have a band name. I doubt anyone on this forum enacts real zar rituals either! Cathy Last edited by cathy; 08-12-2008 at 12:54 AM.

08-12-2008, 01:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
masrawy Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA/Egypt Posts: 200	I am jealous!! Hey Maria I had to look it up in the dictionary here is the definition "To act (something) out, as on a stage" Cathy will be sleeping now if she went to see them ....I am jealous!! Salam~Mahmoud __________________ "Be beautiful , the universe will turn beautiful in your eyes!"

08-12-2008, 05:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
cathy Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 373	Dear Maria and Mahmoud, What I meant was that professional dancers or hobbyist dancers might do a stage performance of Dervish, Guedra, or Zar, but this is not the same thing as doing the actual sacred rituals of same for the people from those cultural and sacred or religious traditions. We can do them very respectfully and with a lot of feeling for the culture and ritual, but it is a kind of acting out or staging or recreating of the ritual. There is still some element of theater there. In other words, if you or I were to put on a Zar performance, no matter how authentic it appeared, we would not be actually practicing an exorcism ritual. Whereas if done as part of the original tradition, these are NOT meant for stage performance for a paying audience but to accomplish certain goals (merging with the divine, spreading positive energy, or exorcism) for the self or community. A dancer might feel and express some of the same in her performance but it is still a show for an audience. Not a ritual. I hope this is clearer? Cathy

08-12-2008, 09:38 PM	#10 (permalink)
Maria_Aya Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 2,052	Shokran Mahmoud and Cathy !!! Yes I do agree, enacting (heyyyyyyy I got it lol) Zar or other ritual dances is for me... how can I say... too much for a stage, and defently not authentic (naturaly). On the other side, sometimes oriental dancing becomes something that "lift" us in a way, but this is rare to happen when performing. Its more on being a spontainious dancer on the moment. Have a nice day __________________ ... because Oriental Dance is the visual poem over the music....