Zar

[Tarik Sultan]

Hey Hey its Grand Wizard not Sikh ... I am the Grand Wizard of NJ We need You .

You can't be the Grand Wizard. The Klu Klux Klan has that title copyrighted. You might be a little on the pale side, but you're still not white enough to qualify for that post.:lol: You can still be the Big Wazzoo though.

Gets worse every lifetime not better they will always tell you they were kings and queens in their past lives I have never seen anyone that says yeah I was a garbage man before!!

No. I'm scheduled to be a king in one of my future life times. Not looking forward to it. The last person in my family to hold a royal title got kidnapped and ended up in Jamaica in 1780, and the last politician in the family got assassinated,.... which is why I'm having this conversation with you from the safety of my NJ home.

As for being as Zorba father I'll see what I can do for you you have to be nice to me :yay:

But I'm always nice to you.... I'm a complete angleray: can't you see my horns... I mean halo? anyway, thanks for the offer but its not up to you. I have an in with the big man upstairs. I got connections.

please tell your imaginary friend hello, where does he live under your carpet?! :tongue:

No. He lives a few town south of here and drives an Audi. Don't remember what his wife drives.... The unimaginary friends who introduced us live here with me. Mostly in the living room..... They said to say hi. You'd really like them. They love rum and cigars, or any fine tobacco products... and sweets. They actually help me to write most of my material that you've been enjoying so much. We're busy working on our next article: "How to dance beautifully even without boobies"!:tongue:

 

[Caroline_afifi]

WHAT MAKES ME LIKE THIS FORUM SO MUCH IS THAT WE CAN HAVE FULL OUT DISCUSSIONS AND DING DoNGS AND STILL COME BACK TO GOOD HUMOUR.

I hope I have not spoken too soon... ok not 100% of the time but most.

It is still nice to see

 

[Marya]

The supernatural is only aspects of the natural that technology hasn't caught up to yet.

Arthur C. Clarke once said: a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,

Marya

 

[Pirika Repun]

Salt

I correct myself. I searched salt that used for cleansing (or lustration?) was NOT Buddhism custom, it was Shintoism. In Buddhism, when people died they become close to place where Buddha was lived, so death is not bad thing, but good to be like in heaven or prepare for reincarnation. However, in Shintoism, death is impurities (I don’t know if this right word. I want to say not pure spiritually) and need to clean or cleansing by salt.

Like I said before, we have two religions co-exist side-by-side and they are mixed up in daily life or become custom. However, it’s good to know the real meaning or history that we did daily life without thinking or knowing.

 

[Aisha Azar]

Salt, etc.

I correct myself. I searched salt that used for cleansing (or lustration?) was NOT Buddhism custom, it was Shintoism. In Buddhism, when people died they become close to place where Buddha was lived, so death is not bad thing, but good to be like in heaven or prepare for reincarnation. However, in Shintoism, death is impurities (I don’t know if this right word. I want to say not pure spiritually) and need to clean or cleansing by salt.

Like I said before, we have two religions co-exist side-by-side and they are mixed up in daily life or become custom. However, it’s good to know the real meaning or history that we did daily life without thinking or knowing.

Dear Pirika,
Thanks for letting us know! It is amazing, though, is it not, the purifying effects of salt that are recognized all around the world? Even dentists like their patients to rinse their mouths with salt and warm water after oral surgery!! There seems to be a physical as well as metaphysical science behind salt's purifying powers.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[masrawy]

KFC will not work

:tongue:

You can't be the Grand Wizard. The Klu Klux Klan has that title copyrighted. You might be a little on the pale side, but you're still not white enough to qualify for that post.

This is a different branch it's like Sunni and Shiite kind of a thing. This division just don't like male belly dancer!!

No. I'm scheduled to be a king in one of my future life times. Not looking forward to it. The last person in my family to hold a royal title got kidnapped and ended up in Jamaica in 1780, and the last politician in the family got assassinated,.... which is why I'm having this conversation with you from the safety of my NJ home.

Lucky me ... when we will get together ??:think:

But I'm always nice to you.... I'm a complete angle can't you see my horns... I mean halo? anyway, thanks for the offer but its not up to you. I have an in with the big man upstairs. I got connections.
ashtaten ashtow ... madad .. madad ya asidna madad

ashtaten ashtow ... madad .. madad ya asidna madadray:

No. He lives a few town south of here and drives an Audi. Don't remember what his wife drives.... The unimaginary friends who introduced us live here with me. Mostly in the living room..... They said to say hi. You'd really like them. They love rum and cigars, or any fine tobacco products... and sweets. They actually help me to write most of my material that you've been enjoying so much. We're busy working on our next article: "How to dance beautifully even without boobies"!

Oh dear ... that's what I was afraid of when they venture from under the carpet it's hard to control them. It's almost impossible to get rid of them I have lost two patient in the same condition before. They brought their own chickens then .... I may be able to help you out ... but I have to get the chickens this time ... The chickens must be sibling from the father side and the mothers, one has to be orphaned at birth and the other mother has to have one wing white in one side and the other wing black. You see details is a very important and these ritual ......

 

[Tarik Sultan]

This is a different branch it's like Sunni and Shiite kind of a thing. This division just don't like male belly dancer!!

Ay Pobrecito! Here's a present for you:




Lucky me ... when we will get together ??:think:

You could drop by Isalmaniya in Journal Sq this Saturday. I go there after my gig in the city and my student Ariel is dancing that night. They have a dancer every Saturday.

ashtaten ashtow ... madad .. madad ya asidna madadray:

Again with the prayers.:doh:

Oh dear ... that's what I was afraid of when they venture from under the carpet it's hard to control them. It's almost impossible to get rid of them I have lost two patient in the same condition before. They brought their own chickens then .... I may be able to help you out ... but I have to get the chickens this time ... The chickens must be sibling from the father side and the mothers, one has to be orphaned at birth and the other mother has to have one wing white in one side and the other wing black. You see details is a very important and these ritual ......

I don't have carpets. Besides, I'm the one who brought them home. They're the perfect roommates. They don't eat too much, very rarely make any noise and they're good listeners, and they always have my back when times get tough. Life is so sweet. If you're nice to me, I could put in a good word for you and you wouldn't even need the fancy chicken dinner.

 

[masrawy]

do they have gloats??

You could drop by Isalmaniya in Journal Sq this Saturday. I go there after my gig in the city and my student Ariel is dancing that night. They have a dancer every Saturday.

where the heck is Isalmaniya try to google that my friend .... do they have gloats?? :think: ray:

 

[Tarik Sultan]

where the heck is Isalmaniya try to google that my friend .... do they have gloats?? :think: ray:

Kennedy Blvd. Its right where Kennedy turns off from Bergen. Its the building that wraps around the corner. Its down from the old Lowes movie theatre. The entrance is right beside Mac Donald's. Go up the stairs on the second floor and your in little Egypt. Should I send one of my invisible friends to show you the way?:lol:

 

[masrawy]

not leave home without them

Kennedy Blvd. Its right where Kennedy turns off from Bergen. Its the building that wraps around the corner. Its down from the old Lowes movie theatre. The entrance is right beside Mac Donald's. Go up the stairs on the second floor and your in little Egypt. Should I send one of my invisible friends to show you the way?:lol:

no thanks I have two all the time with me ... I never leave home without them :lol: :lol: ... what kind of a place is that ?? do they have Shisha?

 

[nightdancer]

where the heck is Isalmaniya try to google that my friend .... do they have gloats?? :think: ray:

I read "Do they have goats" Wow, I need some sleep.

 

[Tarik Sultan]

no thanks I have two all the time with me ... I never leave home without them :lol: :lol: ... what kind of a place is that ?? do they have Shisha?

It's a big Ahwa. Of course they have shisha. Don't you know every Egyptian is born with one!:lol: They also have food if you want to eat. Its not the Ritz, but hey, what do you expect in an ahwa? Nobody's died yet... at least not from the food, can't swear about the shisha!:lol:

I'll introduce you to my friends.... The visible ones....

 

[masrawy]

the secret word

Kennedy Blvd. Its right where Kennedy turns off from Bergen. Its the building that wraps around the corner. Its down from the old Lowes movie theatre. The entrance is right beside Mac Donald's. Go up the stairs on the second floor and your in little Egypt. Should I send one of my invisible friends to show you the way?:lol:

How many times I have to knock on the door :think:, what's the secret word for tonight to let you in??
What time approximately you will be there ...

 

[Aniseteph]

My inner e-stalker can't resist going and looking it up on Google Earth whenever anyone mentions street names.

 

[Tarik Sultan]

How many times I have to knock on the door :think:, what's the secret word for tonight to let you in??
What time approximately you will be there ...

No pass word or secret knock. You just have to let the blind guy feel your boobies. But if you get there around 12:00 you might be able to slip pass him when he goes to the bathroom

I'll be the most Egyptian looking guy in the place.

 

[Lanah]

Gorgeous for sharing the wide knowledge and clear example of Zar ... What about the sacrifice in your Zar nights experiences? Was it rooster or chicken? Which type of Jin you have and which rhythm the called you normally from your seat to join the in the liela?

 

[Lanah]

Dear Mya and Sita,
I am so sorry that it took me so long to get back to this. I have been working night and day on getting these huge Nejdi style dresses built for a performance on Saturday and it just did not leave much time for anything else..... like combing my hair for example... I hope to do that today, too!! ( Mahmoud, if you are reading this, they are FINALLY done!! Well, three of them... I will put the other dancer in a regular Hindi style thobe with 4 other dancers.)
If you can get hold of the March 2005 issue of "Egypt Today" there is an excellent article on Zarr. The author is Manal El-Jesri, the article discusses the origins of Zarr according to Zar musicians who are some of the few remaining in Egypt now. They say Zarr was originally for a small circle of people to communicate with spirits and that it is one of the "few healing ceremonies performed mainly by women and for women in an attempt to pacify the spirits and win some measure of inner harmony". The music originated in Africa and is poly-rhythmic and has a very different tradition than most Egyptian music. Participants often experience not only catharsis but often altered states of consciousness. ( I know I did!!). In 2005 there were only 24 Zar performers left in Egypt, not counting some types of Zar that are more like Sufi trance dance.

Here are some Zar related terms:
Hadra- the place where the Zar occurs, usually someone's house.
Sangaa- Male Zar leader
Leila- Night, which is what a zar performance is called.

According to the people interviewed for the article, the Mazaher group of musicians, the Zarr is requested by the family of a woman is "not feeling well", but never to cause conception,which can only happen at the will of God. "It is mostly people with psychological problems who come to us."
People also come to Zarrs to be entertained, it seems.


This is from a friend of mine who is from Alexandria and Coptic: Her uncle is a Coptic priest and when she was a child of nine years old, she witnessed him performing a Zar with a woman who was possessed and she thought the event was very creepy. The woman "talked in a man's voice", which seems to be a sign of demon possession in the Middle East, this seems to have been a different kind of Zar from he usual more communal event that is described above, and there seems to have been cause to believe that this woman was not just "married to a Djinn", but that some other kind of possession had taken place with a seriously evil entity to be driven out. In usual cases, the Djninn does not seem THAT nasty and it is with the woman always, and just acts up now and again. My friend said that this Zarr involved her uncle doing a lot of praying and the woman acting very bizarre.
About the woman talking in a man's voice thing. The same night I was talking with my Alexandrian friend about Zarr, a friend from Saudi Arabia was there and she mentioned that when her class was taking exams at university, a woman in the class room started talking in a man's voice and they made everyone else leave the room. She does not know what happened after that.

This is info from several people, but Sahra Kent contributed to it also and I want to give her credit since I remember the conversation with her very vividly. We were both very into studying Zarr at the time. This is just sort of a typical scenario and it is how I explain Zarr to my students:

Fatmeh is newly married and she lives in the countryside in Egypt. She lives with her new husband's family, including his mother, father, brother and wife and three children and two unmarried sisters. Fatmeh finds that she is at everyone's beck and call, helping with the children, the cooking, the cleaning, working in the garden, taking care of the chickens, etc. She is 17 years old and does not think much of this life of her's. She goes along for a time and resentment builds because she is tired of doing so much work with so little reward. One day she just snaps and has a huge temper tantrum and lets everyone know just how she feels. when she stalks out of the house, the family all look at each other and think, "Ooooh, Fatmeh has a djinn!" It's time for a Zarr. Other people who are having problems with their family members will also attend a Zarr and the musicians and leaders are called and arrangements made.
The event is social as well as functional and music is played and socializing is done. The people who are afflicted with an active and ornery djinn get up and start moving around in rather jerky movements, This will go on all night and in some cases, they get totally exhausted and the movements become more and more violent and eventually they fall on the floor, worn out. This is the time when someone will approach Fatmeh and her fellow sufferers in hopes of finding out what it is their djinns want. Mostly they seem to want things like new shoes or a dress, and the family will take pains to get it for them, in order to appease the djinn. Everything will go back to normal for some time after this. From a sociological point of view, this seems to be a great way to relieve pressure in the community and especially in the family. It also allows people to act out without having to take any blame or place any blame on a familial situation that has no solution.

I am afraid this may be getting too long ,so I am going to post and continue later with my own experiences with Zarr.
Regards,
A'isha

Gorgeous for sharing the wide knowledge and clear example of Zar ... What about the sacrifice in your Zar nights experiences? Was it rooster or chicken? Which type of Jin you have and which rhythm the called you normally from your seat to join the in the liela?

 

[BattyBaby]

mmm. I've known a few dancers who have been to traditional zars; a few of them had out of body experiences or passed out. A zar is a really intense experience, it's meditative and then there's the fact that at traditional zars the room in full of smoke from burning frankincense and myrh, which is hallucinogenic...
I say use the head rolls and let the traditional dance inspire you, but don't call your performance "zar". A zar is a zar. Head rolls do not a zar make. It's kind of like, a burlesque dancer can do a bellydance inspired performance, but rad though it may be, she can't call it bellydance. Bellydancers can do zar inspired performances, but we can't call them zar.