Zar and Hadra in Port Said (Egypt), March 2003. Thanks to Zakaria Ibrahim and all these present families.
“The zar is a popular ritual undertaken to help a person suffering from possession appease the spirit inhabiting him or her (usually a woman). Perhaps the secret lies in the art of staging the zar, with its music, rhythms, and singing. The raucous atmosphere of the event and the violent dances that the sick girl (aroosa) performs release her from the burden of her psychological stress ans set her on the road to recovery. Hadra is another name for zar.”