Thread: History of the Zeffa

Hello ladies!

This will be more of a discussion topic than a question. Yesterday I began to read from an amazing book, Images of Enchantment. It was published by the American University in Cairo Press a few years back. I found the second in the series, Colors of Enchantment when I was in Cairo, and ordered Images off of Amazon.

Anywhoo, there is an essay that describes the history of the Zeffa. What struck me as interesting was the role of the belly dancer describes as follows: "Her [the bride] changing status from a virgin bride to the honorable wife a future mother is set in even sharper relief by the dancing female figure who immediately proceeds her in the zaffa. The contrast derives from the social values ordaining a dancer is everything a good woman should not be: free, independent, earning her own living, openly friendly to men, even flirtatious and seductive, available to men on her own terms. She is....the element of pollution in the transforming ritual of virgin to adult woman"

Now some of those characteristics in today's times are seen as positive! But the article went on to say that this negative view of the dancer has carried into the Arab-American tradition of the zeffa, saying it was both "a polluting element...but an authenticating one as well"

My initial thoughts were, wow, when we as dancers are hired to do a zeffa, are we seen as that way? I have never performed a zeffa, and my family has never hired one for a procession (I am of Jordanian descent), and neither did I see a single dancer at the hotel I stayed at in Cairo - but it was a military hotel with very strict policies.

So some questions for my fellow bhuzzers - have you ever had any experiencs from being hired for a zeffa that would fit this description of the dancer's role? Also, what do you think, from your experience and knowledge, has changed about this negative role of the dancer in the zeffa?

Thanks!

~Majda

And hello to the men of bhuz as well :)

The one time I got to take park in a Zeffa, I didn't feel any kind of negativity from the wedding guests at all, quite the opposite. It felt like, hey everybody listen up, let's get this party started! And I felt like I always do when I perform for Middle Eastern people down here in the Bible Belt, that they recognize that amount of respect I have for their culture and it makes them feel pride. This could be me being naive, but maybe because we are in a different part of the world, the Zeffa is something everybody can enjoy without feeling pressure from a conservative society to condemn it?

I don't think these are probably conscious thoughts on the part of people hiring a dancer for a zeffa. While this may be a subtext of the moment...this contrast in female roles and understandings of acceptable female behavior...I think the main reasons people would give for hiring a dancer for a zeffa are 1. "it's just what we do; it's traditional" and 2. "it's just for fun; it makes everyone feel happy and gets the party started."

I think there's such a huge difference between a clinical analysis of a thing and the actual experience of a thing.

Tossing rice (or seeds) at the bride and groom is an ancient fertility symbol. But most of us aren't thinking about reproduction when we toss the rice, we're just enjoying the festivity and the tradition. I read somewhere that shoving cake into each other's mouths is also based in fertility traditions, but most guests don't even know that.

The bellydancer in a zeffa or at a wedding is obviously a similar fertility symbol. (It's even traditional for the bride and groom to pose with their hands on her belly). So clearly she represents sex and therefore the 'pollution' of the virgin bride. But I've never had the impression that Egyptians, at least, had any negative views of sex *within* the marriage -- quite the opposite, in fact! -- so that's not a 'bad' thing, is it?

p.s. Thanks for sharing that tidbit, though. I've read 'colors of enchantment' but haven't checked out 'images' yet. Is there more in it that's relevant to dance besides the zeffa bit? I might have to read it!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I think there's such a huge difference between a clinical analysis of a thing and the actual experience of a thing.

Tossing rice (or seeds) at the bride and groom is an ancient fertility symbol. But most of us aren't thinking about reproduction when we toss the rice, we're just enjoying the festivity and the tradition. I read somewhere that shoving cake into each other's mouths is also based in fertility traditions, but most guests don't even know that.

The bellydancer in a zeffa or at a wedding is obviously a similar fertility symbol. (It's even traditional for the bride and groom to pose with their hands on her belly). So clearly she represents sex and therefore the 'pollution' of the virgin bride. But I've never had the impression that Egyptians, at least, had any negative views of sex *within* the marriage -- quite the opposite, in fact! -- so that's not a 'bad' thing, is it?

IIRC, I think a lot of things at a wedding are fertility symbols, like flowers even. I took a class in college where we learned a little bit about it. It seemed like every culture stuck a bunch of fertility symbols in their weddings.

Yes, there's an entire section! Its a great read, but then again I'm just as excited over the music essays as I am the dance essays. The only thing though is that it is out of print, but Amazon had a couple of used copies.

Yes, I've had the impression that the dancer was always overly welcomed at a wedding. I mean, if they are being hired to dance, and the client is paying you a couple of hundred dollars, they better like what they are buying! I was just intrigued by how this article explained the role of the dancer. In my mind I thought the dancer was another way to highlight the couple in the procession to the guests.

I found that in Cairo, if the families are more religious, they simply will not hire a dancer. In fact, I believe I read somewhere that they had male dancers and musicians for the procession, but not female. The hotel I stayed at for the first 2 months did not allow female dancers at all, but of course all of the main hotels on the Nile had zeffa's with dancers all the time.

The male dancers in addition to female dancers in a procession is referred to as firqat zeffa (zeffa group) according to the essay. I wish I could post the essay itself...Great read!

Just to jump in from my experiences from performing in Egypt.

At the time I was there performing regularly 1981-1990, I was hired to perform at many weddings. I was not hired as a wedding Zeppha dancer though. I did not lead the procession of dancers doing the zeppha rhythm and song.
Usually this was hired as a "group" that had set songs with the same female and male performers ( the men were usually playing the Def and/or Sagat) while the women came in a procession singing but not in 2 piece bedla costumes, but costumed, as were the men.
The procession can last up to 1/2 hour as it usually starts from the car at arrival until they are seated at their "thrown chairs".
Even the religious weddings will have this production, but now some exclude the women in the procession and it is all male. This is done as "tradition" singing praises for the happiness of the couple.

I was hired strictly as the "entertainment" and would appear at a different time than the Zeppha, with either one or two shows. I would also pose between the bride and groom at some point in my performance with a hand from each across my tummy.
I never "felt" nor was approached as anything other than entertainment. Of course having my Egyptian hubby there to deflect any "thoughts" probably helped.

None of the zeppha's I ever saw had a female in bedla lead the group, then or now, just the organized troupe. I have seen many in the old movies though.

In times past it was common when hiring the zeppha... the dancer for entertainment, who may have led the zeppha dance, also made deals on the side for her "after-dance entertainment" and that stigma has a lasting trail for many that are religious. This dancer would be considered from the "lower classes" and not a name dancer.
Prostitution was legal in Egypt until the mid 1920's.

Leyla Amir
Egypt National Tours

Leyla, thank you for sharing your experience! So what was the dress that the dancer would use? How often did you see shamadan?

Only once have done a zeffa. It was a positive thing for the bride and family - a bit of heritage, a bit of a giggle. The bride also told me she thought it made her feel important to have a belly dancer at her wedding - like a queen or something.

Like a lot of ancient traditions, over time the meaning is forgotten as times and thinking changes. I would doubt very much (at least I hope so) that that thinking applies today. And if I can back it up with sources, a few Arab American women have told me that dancers at any and all of their events are held in the utmost regard and respect.

Hey Majda...I never saw anyone use the shamadan as part of the zeppha performance. I think it was more reserved for back in the day and not a modern occurrence unless used in a tableau.

The female dancers would all have a long dress that looked the same and the men would have also the same usually with a vest. I never saw a consistency except in the fact the women wore long dresses (not everyday dress but definitely in a costume fashion)
Each zeppha group had their own special look and sound.

Leyla Amir

For anyone who wants to see some footage of zeffa -- with shamadan -- I have a playlist on youtube. It has some authentic footage from Cairo hotels, mostly shot on cel phones by tourists so deeply authentic but not great footage. Also some film scenes, and a few examples of shamadan work outside the zeffa context, or in weddings outside the Middle East.

YouTube - 6AF93CD003C66FF0

click on 'view playlist'

well, Sahra Sa'eeda doe sa whole section on Zeffa - with shamadan - in her Journeys to Egypt 1 seminar. According to her - and this does refer more to rural or less monied areas - the Zeffa dancers were basically the street lights leading the rather noisy processions from the home of the ride - where the wedding ceromony usually takes place - to the home of the groom. Because many areas of Egypt don't have street lights, this is how they were / are able to see what is going on. The light shines on the bride, making sure everyone she passes is able to see her.

Also the zeffa rhythm is very distinctive and when it is passing the houses, people know there is a wedding going on and can then open their windows to see the bride, or run and join the procession on the way to the reception.

At least, this is what I recall.

(Oh, and didn't Lauren once mention that in her research she had found that there is a zeffa for getting a husband out of jail?)

{{{HUGS}}}

we do zeffas, the family ends up standing in tears.they just do not expect to see "home" in fresberg ca !
next month, we are leading a hye bride from the church, down a major street on foot, to the reception, more persian , but should be fun!

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

(Oh, and didn't Lauren once mention that in her research she had found that there is a zeffa for getting a husband out of jail?)

{{{HUGS}}}

WOW, that wasn't me, I haven't heard that before! But interesting.

I've done tons of zeffas. Each Arabic nationality is a little bit different. Most strict Muslims don't have a dancer at all. In fact the men and women will be completely separate. I've done some Muslim weddings as a zeffa dancer where I had to be completely covered up.

Chaldean's frequently hire a belly dancer for zeffas. They use a certain rhythm I'm not sure what it is called. But it's different than what the Lebanese and Palestinians use. The women usually have decorated scarves or sticks. The Chaldeans in my area do tend to go overboard. Sometimes they'll hire more than one dancer, to make a big show.

My job has always to lead the procession and bring the bride and the groom to the head table. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. Frequently I have to rescue the bride and groom from being swallowed up by well wishers.

I've only once been asked to do the shamadan. I've been to a few Palestinian weddings were the bridemaids carried candles.

Another common occurrence is to seat the groom and bride in a chair and carry them in.

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

(Oh, and didn't Lauren once mention that in her research she had found that there is a zeffa for getting a husband out of jail?)

{{{HUGS}}}

I know Sahra Saeeda said this in our class, plus I have seen this on some Arabic movies.
I have seen many a zeffah in Egypt at the hotels, and remember that there are young gilrs representing virgins in the procession. The most interesting one I saw had these young girls dressed in white ballerina outfits.

Yes zeffah is done for many reasons, such as getting out of jail, marriage, going to MECCA, coming back from MECCA.

There is also a Zeffat al Aroosa, "zeffah of the bride" when the bride goes from her home to the streets to announce she is now married, and the zeffah finishes at her husband's home.

Sahra's Master's thesis was on the Zeffah, so she had a lot of info on it.

That's my understanding too, Tahira.

A Zeffah is just a procession with noise.

A shamadan, I believe, could be used for a wedding procession (traditionally to light the way) but is not necessary for a zeffah at all. And traditionally the wedding dancer would be a "worldly" woman, with some kids, some jiggle, and some moves to put the wedding couple in the mood. However it also used to be common to do a zeffah for every baby that was born, at 7 days old (Sabooa') and these would often be the same dancers; it was their profession as public women.

I think the husband getting out of jail zeffah was actually from a movie Sahra showed us a clip of...does that sound familiar?

Wow, didn't realize there were different kinds of zeffas! I've been schooled. :-) I have a question now, is the zeffa rhythm played for some of the marriage zeffas, all marriage zeffas, or just any kind of zeffa? I'm talking about this rhythm:

D tkt t D t t

I was thinking of doing a very stylistic zeffa some day in a show, and just wondering if a zeffa is usually connected to only marriage processionals, or it can be any kind of processional. Not that it will matter, may give me a different direction though depending on the answer. Thanks Bhuzzers!

is the zeffa part of all middle easternculture or just muslim culture? I know that in some jewish wedding traditions there is a "procession" of some sorts. I was wondering if the sephardim ( middle eastern jews) also might fall into this category or if it would be considered unheard of to have a zeffa? I know that some (most actually) hire a belly dancer but I'm not sure if there is a "zeffa" or pehaps somehting similar or if it's called something else

Originally Posted by nasila

That's my understanding too, Tahira.

A Zeffah is just a procession with noise.

A shamadan, I believe, could be used for a wedding procession (traditionally to light the way) but is not necessary for a zeffah at all. And traditionally the wedding dancer would be a "worldly" woman, with some kids, some jiggle, and some moves to put the wedding couple in the mood. However it also used to be common to do a zeffah for every baby that was born, at 7 days old (Sabooa') and these would often be the same dancers; it was their profession as public women.

I think the husband getting out of jail zeffah was actually from a movie Sahra showed us a clip of...does that sound familiar?

The jail thing is something I have in my notes, and saw it in actually 2 different movies months later at home, I don't remember her showing one in my class.

I happened to be in Egypt when my friend had her baby and we had a big party at her house on the 7th day, so no processions with loud noise but lots of dancing and eating at home to celebrate.

As far as whether it is a cultural tradition or a religious one that is a good question. I think it is more cultural, but hard to tell since most people in Egypt are Muslim. But I know here (in the US) lots of different Middle Eastern people from different countries and religions will hire a belly dancer and ask for a zeffah.

Originally Posted by 0Adara0

is the zeffa part of all middle easternculture or just muslim culture? I know that in some jewish wedding traditions there is a "procession" of some sorts. I was wondering if the sephardim ( middle eastern jews) also might fall into this category or if it would be considered unheard of to have a zeffa? I know that some (most actually) hire a belly dancer but I'm not sure if there is a "zeffa" or pehaps somehting similar or if it's called something else

It's my understanding that the word 'Zeffa' is Arabic for 'procession' and it doesn't mean anything more specific than that unless you add a word like 'bridal' etc.

So if they're having a procession, they're having a zeffa. Same word, different language.

Originally Posted by SidoniaOfNashville

is the zeffa rhythm played for some of the marriage zeffas, all marriage zeffas, or just any kind of zeffa? I'm talking about this rhythm:

D tkt t D t t

I believe the al-zeffah rhythm is specific to wedding processions, but I can't find any notes to back it up.

oops, doubled up!

Originally Posted by 0Adara0

is the zeffa part of all middle easternculture or just muslim culture? I know that in some jewish wedding traditions there is a "procession" of some sorts. I was wondering if the sephardim ( middle eastern jews) also might fall into this category or if it would be considered unheard of to have a zeffa? I know that some (most actually) hire a belly dancer but I'm not sure if there is a "zeffa" or pehaps somehting similar or if it's called something else

I know Moroccan jews that do zeffah and I have seen zeffahs in films about Rom gypsies and other Eastern European peoples. How ever many of these regions have also been inlfuenced by Islam, Ottoman empire, etc.

From an anthropological view the zeffah procession can be seen as a a marking of a persons transition, from daughter to bride, from prisoner to freeman etc. Literally moving from one place to another, from one status or phase to another.
The zeffah alerts and involves the community as to this transition of that person.

You could kind of compare the christian tradition of the father wlaking his daughter down to aisle to give away as a similar concept.
But way less fun than having musicians and dancers!!!
I would love to have that to mark my lifes transitions!

Originally Posted by SidoniaOfNashville

Wow, didn't realize there were different kinds of zeffas! I've been schooled. :-) I have a question now, is the zeffa rhythm played for some of the marriage zeffas, all marriage zeffas, or just any kind of zeffa? I'm talking about this rhythm:

D tkt t D t t

I'm with Nasila, I think the zeffa rhythm is specific to weddings, but I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully somebody else will chime in with more info on this. I'll add that I think this rhythm is specific to Egyptian weddings, because non-Egyptian Arabs have different zeffa traditions with different musical styles.

Originally Posted by 0Adara0

is the zeffa part of all middle easternculture or just muslim culture? I know that in some jewish wedding traditions there is a "procession" of some sorts. I was wondering if the sephardim ( middle eastern jews) also might fall into this category or if it would be considered unheard of to have a zeffa? I know that some (most actually) hire a belly dancer but I'm not sure if there is a "zeffa" or pehaps somehting similar or if it's called something else

Chaldeans are Christians from Iraq.