M
azaher
In its original form, the Zar is a healing ritual, one of the few, ancient healing ceremonies performed mainly by women for women. Zar is meant to pacify spirits and to harmonize the inner lives of the participants. A small circle of women gather with the aim of communicating with unseen entities or spirits. As well as drawing women who are seriously ill, the Zar is a space in which women can work out the tensions and frustrations of social constraints which limit their dress, their movements, their voices and even their dreams. Researchers have argued that, for women in socially subordinate positions, Zar offers a therapeutic "escape valve", an accepted means for the release pent-up emotions and frustrations.
Communication with unseen spirits is generated and driven by the insistent and varied drum rhythms of the musicians and the energetic movements of the participants. For participants, it is most often a cathartic experience, a form of communication with different spirits in an intense rhythmic interaction leading to an altered state of consciousness or possibly a trance. The result is a physical and spiritual purification that leaves the participant calm and ready to face the world again.
Zar has clear references to African music and practice. Some scholars argue that the name "Zar" is a distortion of the name of an African god "Jar", a god of heaven, while others believe that the word "Zar" is derived from the Arabic term of visitation, ziyara. The practice of Zar extends across East Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. In Egypt three styles of Zar are practiced: Egyptian or Upper Egyptian Zar, Abu al-Gheit Zar, and Sudanese or African Zar.
Two musical instruments featured in the Zar are the tamboura (a six-string lyre) and the manjour (a leather belt sewn with many goat hooves). Other percussion instruments may also be used. Like the Zar, the tamboura is also found in the Arab Peninsula, the Arab Gulf states, Iraq, and Iran, as well as in Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Although this sacred instrument is pictured on the walls of tombs and temples of Pharaonic Egypt, the practice of Zar in ancient Egypt is still a matter of conjecture. We do know that the ancient Egyptians used music and rhythms to treat and heal people and that Zar-like rituals have been traced back to ancient Ethiopian religions.
The practice of Zar is generally considered suspect in Egypt. Its marginal status can be attributed to a complex dynamic of magic, mystery, the presence of suspiciously un-Islamic spirits and its function as an alternative to mainstream social, healing and religious practices. A widespread misunderstanding that Zar is about the exorcism of spirits has further contributed to the decline of this musical tradition. In fact, the ritual is generally not held with the aim of driving away spirits, rather, spirits are accommodated and placated.
Shunned by the religious establishment, the state and the official cultural elite, Zar is a part of the underground culture. As such, it has survived in its original form without any major interference. However, the practiced ritual has became limited in content and many of the poly-rhythmic songs and chants, distinctively different from other Egyptian music traditions, have been forgotten. The practice of Zar in Egypt has nearly vanished. Few musicians now make or play the tamboura and not more than a dozen persons within greater Cairo still have knowledge of the musical legacy of the Zar. In the whole of Egypt only around 25 people continue to practice this knowledge and this tradition.
The ECCA is not interested in the ritualistic aspect of the Zar, but in documenting and preserving of the instruments and practice of this unique musical legacy. It has brought together some Zar performers and motivated them to engage in lengthy sessions of rehearsals, remembering and recording. As a result, the group, Mazaher, was formed.
The music presented by these performers (who do not consider themselves musicians, rather, Zar practitioners) is inspired by the three different styles of the Zar, Mazaher performs regularly at weekly musical evenings hosted by Makan. The audience is diverse, ranging from the young, hip generation to people off the street to older fans, a mix of foreigners and Egyptians. In the end, everyone is up and dancing to these irresistible rhythms.
ECCA promotes Mazaher's participation in Festivals, most recently, the Belgian "Voix de Femmes". In October 2006 Mazaher will perform in France, Belgium, St. Petersburg and Moscow . ECCA's work with Mazaher aims to provide an example for musical troupes, encouraging the formation of core groups dedicated to guiding new generations of youth to develop an awareness of the value of their heritage, the need for its survival and the development of practical steps, such as recovering and developing the repertoire, building audiences and income generation that can promote its viability in today's world.
