Mazaher
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2008) |
Mazaher | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Egypt |
| Genres | Zār |
| Members |
|
Mazaher is an ensemble in which women play a leading role. The musicians of Mazaher, Umm Sameh, Umm Hassan, Nour el Sabah, are among the last remaining Zār (زار) practitioners in Egypt.[1]
Zār is a community healing ritual of drumming and dancing whose tradition is carried on mainly by women (men have the secondary roles) and whose main participants are women.
A featured instrument in the Zār ritual is the tanbūra, a six-string lyre, which, like the Zār practice itself, exists in various forms in an area stretching across East Africa to the Arabian Peninsula.[2] Other instruments are the mangour, a leather belt sewn with many goat hooves, and various percussion instruments.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Egyptian ensemble channels mystic energy". Dawn. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
- ^ a b Poché, Christian (2001). "Tanbūra". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. xxv (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. pp. 62–63.
External links
[edit]- Mazaher at Egyptian Center for Culture and Art