The Gypsies of Egypt are the well-known Ghawazi. There is no record of them until the
1600's when European foreigners s began to travel in the Middle East and write about the
scandalous and exotic dancers of Egypt. The reason for the lack of information is likely to be
the same that there is no written record of the dancing boys and girls of Istanbul; it simply was
not respectable or important enough for anyone to write about in a society where only the most
elite and most respectable knew how to write. From the previous history of Egyptian culture, it
is readily apparent that indeed, there were professional dancers from earliest times, and that
dance was a part of everyday life. What these early itinerant dancers might have worn, or have
been called, we have no record of. So we will continue the story as seen by outsiders.

In 1798 the first organized expedition to Egypt was undertaken by a European power:
Napoleon landed there seeking an alternative route to India. In Cairo, his soldiers encountered the
Ghawazi, otherwise known as "banat el beled", or daughters of the country. The Ghawazi, which
meant "invaders of the heart," were gypsies. They were found in settlements along the lower
Nile and also in Cairo, where they quickly discovered a new source of revenue - the French
soldiers. Bonaparte's Generals likened them to a pestilence and suggested that they be drowned
if they were found loitering. In fact, the writer Auriant tells about 400 of the Ghawazee who
were captured and decapitated, after which their bodies were bundled into sacks and thrown into
the Nile like so much vermin. General Billier then suggested to the government that perhaps they
should try to find proper work for the Ghawazi. On a more practical level, the French later set up
licensed brothels in the city. Not only could the women be checked by doctors, they could be
taxed. This chilling story is an example of the colonial attitudes of the times which Western
culture had towards any Eastern culture or tribal society. The Westerners cultivated a fantasy of
the exotic Oriental woman, dangerous Oriental men, and uncivilized, barbarian ideas. This
stereotype, unfortunately, persists to this day.

Although these early foreigners found the Ghawazi quite obscene, their pictures show
women wearing fitted tunics with a low cut bodice, large full skirts, and bulky scarfs around their
hips. The tunic, cut low around the bodice appears to have derived from the
Persian/Turkish tunics as seen on the ladies of the Ottoman Court. Another distinctive feature
associated with the Ghawazee are the elbow-length sleeves with a decorative piece of material
off the elbow; these are quite logically derived from the Persian coat, which had detachable
sleeves, and sleeves which were so long as to be impractical and purely decorative. They are also
shown wearing fitted jackets which go halfway down over their hips. Yet another version is the
sheer blouse, with small fitted vest, and long full skirt starting at the hips. A very full pair of
Turkish "hareem" pants might also have been seen instead of the skirt. Note the similarity of the
Ghawazi costume to the pants worn by the female Balkan Gypsies in Fig. 15.

The attitude of the Egyptians themselves toward the dancers was much different. They
were horrified at the idea of the Egyptian women consorting with the foreign infidels. There
were several levels of skill and respectability amongst dancers. During the reign of Haroun Al
Rashid in Egypt in the ninth century, dancers outnumbered singers to such an extent that it was
decided to train some of them more fully in the musical arts. These became known as Almeh
(from Alemah, Arabic for learned women). The Almeh were not seen by Napoleon's army
because they were so disgusted with the foreigners that they withdrew from the city and did not
return until Napoleon left. Except for special occasions it was considered improper to have
Ghawazi inside the house, which was the province of the more respectable Almeh. The Almeh
were often part of private harems, and taught the arts of love through their sensuous dances.

Today in Egypt, the Mazin family claims to be the true descendants of the "Ghawazi."
They were generally said to have been centered in Esna, Qena, or Luxor. The modern-day
descendants live in Luxor, and are known are the Banat Mazin,. The Egyptian National Folkloric
group used research done with this family to choreograph "Ghawazi" dances for the new folkloric
tradition. Interestingly, the Mazin dancers speak of their dance as "raqs sha'abi," or folk dance,
rather than "raqs sharqi" or belly dancing. "They said that oriental dancers moved around more,
and had a more varied repertoire, especially of arm movements. Oriental dancers performed to
"oriental" music with the classic middle eastern instruments, a taqsiym (slow/arrhythmic)
section; while the proper music of the Ghawazi was folk music on the mizmar and tabla baladi,
or perhaps the rebabi (a type of string instrument). Oriental dancers wore revealing costumes of
delicate, gauzy materials; Ghawazi wore heavier, more complicated outfits which, they said, did
not allow as much freedom of movement" (fig. 12) Morocco reports that the Banat Mazin have
not been allowed to dance in public for the last several years due to the protests of Islamic
fundamentalists.

As to the dance style of 19th century Ghawazi, Quamar notes that Edward Lane, the
19th century engraver, noted that their dances had "little of elegance; it's chief peculiarity being a
very rapid vibrating motion of the hips, from side to side". However those who see Lane's time-
stopped, very elegantly engraved dancing ladies forget that he intended nothing of the kind!
Qamar noted that the chief movement of the Ghawazee dance was a side-to-side shimmy
performed extensively to a very fast 4/4 beat, and was the basic movement to which the dancers
returned again and again. The dancers not only dance, they also sing, tell jokes, and generally
interact with the audience. This aspect of their performance would have been lost to foreigners,
who did not understand the language.