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m I changed it a little more as there are movements ongoing for it so while there might be a historical trend of the Ghawazi dances losing popularity, it is ongoing and could become more practiced |
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{{Short description|Female dancers for money}}
{{Life in Egypt}}
[[File:شفيقة_القبطية.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Shafiqa al-Qibtiyya|Shafiqah]] [[Copts|The Copt]], the most famous, most influential, and the richest-ever Ghazia of Old Egypt.<ref name="annahar">{{citation|url=https://www.annahar.com/arabic/say7at/12092022042605457|title=شفيقة القبطية... أبرع راقصات عصرها|access-date=16 July 2023}}</ref>]]
[[File:Egypte, Groupe de Danseuses Ghawazee.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Egypt]]ian group of Ghawazi dancers(c. 1880)]] '''Ghawazi''' (also ''ghawazee'') ({{langx|arz|الغوازي}}) are female dancers who danced in return for money in public settings, and the streets. There were male dancers as well, including men who performed movements associated with women and who were pejoratively called [[khawal]]. <ref>[https://cairoscene.com/artsandculture/the-origins-of-the-word-khawal]</ref>
==Name==
[[File:167 Egyptian types and scenes - Arab Dancing Girls.jpg|thumb|Postcard photograph of two ghawazi posing in dance costume with the name of "Egyptian types and scenes'' (c. 1900).]]▼
The Arabic {{lang|ar|غوازي}} ''ghawāzī'' (singular {{lang|ar|غازية}} ''ghāziya'') means "[[Ghazi (warrior)|conqueror]]", as the ''ghaziya'' is said to "conquer" the hearts of her audience. They were also known as ''awālim'' (singular ''alma'', transliterated almeh in French as ''almée''), but in Egypt, Awalim are the traditional Egyptian dancers and singers of the city, not rural areas, who used to perform in respectable events such as the weddings and festivities of notable people.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VP6ARP2m-D0C&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=almeh+egypt&source=bl&ots=HwUX-kRUDA&sig=ACfU3U17arsQOleaV8xHc9iMiqff4ZECIw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAyK3Gx8XhAhXyURUIHcfmCd8Q6AEwEHoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=almeh%20egypt&f=false|title=''Debating Orientalism'|quote=The Awalim were first introduced as singers not dancers-cum prostitutes, according to Edward William Lane's book, "Manner and Costumes of modern Egyptians " and its description of the profession of the Almah, the Almah didn't display herself at all but sang from behind the screen or from another room at weddings and other respectable festivities|publisher=Anna Bernard, David Attwell}}</ref>▼
▲The Arabic {{lang|ar|غوازي}} ''ghawāzī'' (singular {{lang|ar|غازية}} ''ghāziya'') means "[[Ghazi (warrior)|conqueror]]", as the ''ghaziya'' is said to "conquer" the hearts of her audience. They were also known as ''awālim'' (singular ''alma'', transliterated almeh in French as ''almée''), but in Egypt, Awalim are the traditional Egyptian dancers and singers of the city, not rural areas, who used to perform in respectable events such as the weddings and festivities of notable people.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VP6ARP2m-D0C&
Both terms are 19th-century [[euphemism]]s for "[[erotic dance]]r";<ref>{{cite book|author=Amelia E. Barr|date=1881|title=Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Volume 27|chapter=Characteristic Dances of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UMwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA334|publisher=J. B. Lippincott and Company|pages=334–335}}</ref> ''almeh'' literally means "learned woman" and came to be used as a replacement for ''ghaziya'' after the ''ghawazi'' were legally banned in 1834.▼
▲Both terms are 19th-century [[euphemism]]s for "[[erotic dance]]r";<ref>{{cite book|author=Amelia E. Barr|date=1881|title=Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Volume 27|chapter=Characteristic Dances of the World|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UMwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA334|publisher=J. B. Lippincott and Company|pages=334–335}}</ref> ''almeh'' literally means "learned woman" and came to be used as a replacement for ''ghaziya'' after the ''ghawazi'' were legally banned in 1834.
An [[almeh]] originally was a [[courtesan]] in [[Egyptian culture]], a woman educated to sing and recite classical poetry and to discourse. After the ''ghawazi'' were banned, they were forced to pretend that they were in fact ''awalim''. The term ''almeh'' was introduced in French [[Orientalism]] as ''almée'' and used synonymously with "belly dancer".<ref>{{cite book|author=Stavros Stavrou Karayanni|date=2006|title=Dancing Fear and Desire: Race, Sexuality, and Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=InjIw3lWQTUC&pg=PA29|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|pages=28–29|isbn=0-88920-454-3}}</ref>
==History==
In 1834, the ghawazi were banished from [[Cairo]] to [[Upper Egypt]] by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]]. Initially, the Ghawazi were a very small group
▲In 1834, the ghawazi were banished from [[Cairo]] to [[Upper Egypt]] by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]]. Initially, the Ghawazi were small group represented of [[Romani people|Gypsies]], with a particular attention to their music and dance styles. Then the term included all folk dances of Rural and Upper Egyptians, mainly featuring [[Mizmar (instrument)|mizmar]]s and heavy bass lines and other traditional [[Egyptian music]] in the background.<ref>[http://williamhpeck.org/the_dancer_of_esna William H. Peck, ''The Dancer of Esna'' (2003)]</ref>
Beginning in the first half of the 19th century, descriptions and depictions of ghawazi dancers became famous in European Orientalism, and the style was described as ''danse de ventre'' or belly-dance from the 1860s.
[[File:Dancer in front of a divan.jpg|thumb|A [[khawal]] (dancing boy) dressed in ghaziya dancing costume (c. 1870).]]▼
The first Ghawazis performed unveiled in the streets. Rapid hip movement and use of brass finger cymbals/hand [[castanets]] characterized their dance. Musicians of their tribe usually accompanied them in their dance. They usually wore [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]] around their eyes and [[henna]] on their fingers, palms, toes and feet. According to Lane these women were "the most abandoned of the courtesans of Egypt".<ref name="Lane"/> He describes them as being very beautiful and richly dressed.▼
▲The first Ghawazis performed unveiled in the streets. Rapid hip movement and use of brass finger cymbals/hand [[castanets]] characterized their dance. Musicians of their tribe usually accompanied them in their dance. They usually wore [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]] around their eyes and [[henna]] on their fingers, palms, toes and feet.
The Ghawazi performed in the court of a house, or in the street, before the door, on certain occasions of festivity in the [[harem]]. They were never admitted into a respectable harem, but were frequently hired to entertain a party of men in the house of some rake. Both women and men enjoyed their entertainment. However, many people who were more religious, or of the higher classes, disapproved of them.<ref name="Lane">{{citation|title=An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians|first=Edward William|last=Lane|authorlink=Edward William Lane|publisher=[[American University in Cairo]] Press|year=1836}}</ref>▼
▲The Ghawazi performed in the court of a house, or in the street, before the door, on certain occasions of festivity in the [[harem]]. They were never admitted into a respectable harem, but were frequently hired to entertain a party of men in the house of some rake. Both women and men enjoyed their entertainment. However, many people who were more religious, or of the higher classes, disapproved of them.
Many people liked the dancing of the Ghawazi, but felt it was improper because of its being danced by women who should not expose themselves in this manner. Because of this, there was a small number of young male performers called [[Khawal]]s. The Khawals were Egyptian male tradiitonal dancers who impersonated the women of the Ghawazi and their dance. They were known to impersonate every aspect of the women including their dance and use of castanets.<ref name="Lane"/>▼
▲Many people liked the dancing of the Ghawazi, but felt it was improper because of its being danced by women who should not expose themselves in this manner. Because of this, there was a small number of young male performers called [[Khawal]]s. The Khawals were Egyptian male
The word ''khawal'' in Egypt is modern derogatory slang for a man participating in passive [[gay]] intercourse.
==Contemporary practitioners==
Representing diverse historical backgrounds, most of the Ghawazi of the [[Qena]] region belong to ethnic minorities such as the Nawar (or Nawara), Halab and Bahlawen.
Particularly well known are the Banat Maazin family, Nawar people
==Influence on Western belly-dance==
{{further|Belly dance#Outside the Middle East}}
The style of dance and costuming of the Ghawazi has been especially influential in crafting the look of [[American Tribal Style Belly Dance]]. The Gypsy Ghawazi dress consists of an [[Ottoman clothing|Ottoman coat]] with slits, known as a [[Jelick|Yelek]] or entari. The abdomen is covered by these coats. Turkish [[harem pants]] are worn under these coats. The coats are typically ankle-length, though some modern
The [[Egyptians|Egyptian]] Ghawazi costumes worn by rural and upper Egyptians are more
In the [[Upper Egypt|Upper Egyptian]] style, the dancers wear the popular Saidi Telli dress, a black and glittery traditional Egyptian dress. The main dancers are accompanied by Saidi music, mainly the Egyptian flute and traditional Saidi songs narrating stories about the beauty of [[Qena]], [[Assuit]], [[Minya, Egypt|Minya]] and their traditions.
==Gallery==
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==References==
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