{"product_id":"9789774166976","title":"Zar: Spirit Possession, Music, and Healing Rituals in Egypt","description":"\u003cp\u003eZar is both a possessing spirit and a set of reconciliation rites between the spirits and their human hosts: living in a parallel yet invisible world, the capricious spirits manifest their anger by causing ailments for their hosts, which require ritual reconciliation, a private sacrificial rite practiced routinely by the afflicted devotees. Originally spread from Ethiopia to the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf through the nineteenth-century slave trade, in Egypt zar has incorporated elements from popular Islamic Sufi practices, including devotion to Christian and Muslim saints. The ceremonies initiate devotees-the majority of whom are Muslim women-into a community centered on a cult leader, a membership that provides them with moral orientation, social support, and a sense of belonging. Practicing zar rituals, dancing to zar songs, and experiencing trance restore their well-being, which had been compromised by gender asymmetry and globalization.\u003cbr\u003eThis new ethnographic study of zar in Egypt is based on the author's two years of multi-sited fieldwork and firsthand knowledge as a participant, and her collection and analysis of more than three hundred zar songs, allowing her to access levels of meaning that had previously been overlooked. The result is a comprehensive and accessible exposition of the history, culture, and waning practice of zar in a modernizing world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"American University in Cairo Press, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47065378193648,"sku":"9789774166976","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9789774166976_p0.jpg?v=1763689353","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9789774166976","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}