Cairo (AFP) – The presence of musicians and an audience in the Makan theater hall for performances appears In the center of Cairo, what is going on is a traditional concert, but it is not, as the spirits mingle with In the presence, under the dim lights, Umm Sameh sings to treat the sick and rid them of what demons do to them, in what It is known as the zar.
The visitor moved to Egypt Several centuries ago from Ethiopia and Sudan, and spread throughout North Africa. The names and musical instruments used vary, but the goal is the same, which is to remove the jinn and evil spirits from the bodies of their victims. According to prevailing beliefs.
Traditionally, this ritual lasted several days and required the sacrifice of animals. But in Makan, no blood is shed. Rather, the musicians present an updated version of the zar that fascinates Egyptians passionate about heritage, and tourists who discover the exorcism ritual. Evil spirits
The audience swayed with the rhythm, enjoying Umm Sameh’s voice and taken in by the look of her kohled eyes.
“look disgusted”
Ahmed Al-Maghraby, founder of “Mazaher”, which is the last existing orchestra that specializes in presenting the zar on the stage, said that “this The very old ritual is associated with healing, it is a kind of therapy.”
In 2000 the Moroccan inaugurated the Makan Center to preserve “this heritage and create a historical record of popular music.” Egyptian”.
The gray-haired man explains that he also wanted to restore to Lazar its value as an original art in the face of criticism The clergy who reject it and the authorities who want to eradicate rural traditions and move to modernity.
Al-Mughrabi notes that “Eastern and Egyptian society looks at everything that is local with disgust.”
Therefore, the audience for “Mazaher” was almost entirely foreign when it launched 22 years ago, according to what Says the founder of the band.
He recalls that the Egyptians who were attending the show were surprised that the band’s visit was “devoid of blood.” It is the jinn.”
“We are neither charlatans nor charlatans,” says Umm Sameh, 72, who is the lead singer. His women claim that the law discriminates against men with regard to personal rights, women perform zar ceremonies This traditional art is passed down from generation to generation. Since she was eleven, Umm Sameh learned the weather from her mother and grandmother.
And still, sixty years later, she sings the same words to the same tunes, and she proudly asserts that there is no She has “no blog lyrics and no melodies”.
She adds, “We learned it (this art) from a young age and grew up to its rhythm.” The singer, who has huge gold earrings hanging from her ears and covering her arms with ringing gold bracelets, describes the zar as “ A spiritual art that expels negative energy and also includes some Sufi songs.
Abu Samra, a folkloric stringed tanbura player, regrets “because people have a very negative idea of the zar.” Because of the movies.
In the eighties of the twentieth century, The movie “Daqqa Zar” dealt with the story of musicians who manipulate a woman by intimidating her from the jinn. Abu Samra says, “It is an art like all other arts, and these inherited ideas must be forgotten.”
young blood
In a sign of changing times, Mazahir recently added a new member to its ranks, the forty-year-old Azza, the daughter of Umm Hassan, she became the youngest member of the band, all over the age of sixty. The discrepancy in performance between mother and daughter is striking. While Umm Hassan is sitting on a chair playing the tambourine in the back, Azza is dancing lively in the Theater presenter.
Azza says, “If a person feels that he is not feeling well and the doctors do not find a cure for him, We could organize a zaar party for him, but here we are offering a light folk art for people to discover and understand. and taste it.”
The formula adopted by Mazahir was successful.
The band has already participated in more than one European festival. In Cairo, it is gaining a new audience of Egyptians every day.
“They represent us and look like us,” says Maryam Essawy, after attending the party.
And the Egyptian young woman, who wears elegant clothes, adds, “The zar is part of our history and heritage. It is strange that we do not know.” that