Almah (dancer)

Almah or Almeh (Arabic: عالمة IPA: [ˈʕælmæ ] IPA: [ˈʕālma], plural ʕawæ̃lim عوالم [ʕāˈwāːlem, -lɪm], from علم ʻālima "to know, be learned") was the name of a class of courtesans or female entertainers in Egypt, women educated to sing and recite classical Arabic poetry and to discourse wittily.^[1] They were educated girls of good social standing, trained in dancing, singing and poetry, present at festivals and entertainments, and hired as mourners at funerals.^[2]

The awalim were first introduced as singers, not dancers or prostitutes, according to Edward William Lane's book, Manner and Costumes of modern Egyptians. Lane additionally wrote that the almah didn't display herself at all, but sang from behind a screen or from another room at weddings and other respectable festivities. Consequently, the awalem were not subject to exile in Upper Egypt.^[3]

In the 19th century, almah came to be used as a synonym for all the erotic local dancers who usually came from very poor backgrounds and sometimes contributed in sexual acts in return of money. As a consequence, the traditional erotic dancers of Egypt had all their performances banned in 1834, because they were considered "unclassy". As a result of the ban, all dancers in later Egypt became awalim, which was officially classified as a legal occupation.^{[citation needed]}

Transliterated into French as almée, the term came to be synonymous with belly dancer in European Orientalism of the 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

Notable awalim

From the last decades of the 19th century until the 1920s, some of the most notable and last awalim of Egypt include:^[4]

Shooq
Bamba Kashar
Chafika al-Qebtiya
Mounira al-Mahdiya
Badia Masabni
Beba Ibrahim
Nabawiya al-Masryia

References

↑ Stavros Stavrou Karayanni (2004). Dancing Fear and Desire: Race, Sexuality, and Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-88920-926-8.
↑ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alme". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 713.
↑ Debating Orientalism, Anna Bernard, David Attwell., 13 June 2013, ISBN 9781137341112
↑ Cairo cafes: A century of music and coffee – Folk Arts – Folk – Ahram Online

This page was redesigned at the edge.

A page that knows where it met you.

Almah (dancer)

Notable awalim

References

Further reading