Ritual Trance Music

Hello, I`mMazaher Ensemble

Mazaher is one of the rare ensembles in which women play a leading role and are connected to a most ancient tradition practiced in several countries, and they’re the last zãr practitioners left in the world. The music presented by Mazaher is inspired by three different styles of Zar music in Egypt: the Egyptian or Upper Egyptian Zar, Abul Gheit Zar, and the Tamboura or African Zar.

Country:

Russia

Performance

The Zar :here

Zār represents an art form in itself, even though it shares many original elements constituting all
Egyptian artistic sha‘bī music and songs. It came to us from the South of the Nile valley from the
peoples of East Africa from where it took its course and spread to the North and East. It extended
even to the Arabian Peninsula and reached as far as Iran. To the West, it spread to the Maghreb
countries and West Africa where we find its influence in the Gnawa music.
Zār is sometimes classified as a form of spiritual music because it is connected with a kind of ritual
which aims at creating a state of reconciliation between a person. It’s self as well as between the
person and the spirits (jinn) in order to alleviate the dilemmas in that person’s life which may develop
into psychosomatic disorders or psychogenic disease symptoms…