Ghawazi

The Ghawazi (also ghawazee) dancers of Egypt were a group of female traveling dancers of the Dom people (also known as Nawar).

The ghawazi style gave rise to the Egyptian raqs sharqi by the first half of the 20th century.

While the performative raqs sharqi in urban Egypt was heavily influenced by Western styles such as classical ballet or Latin American dance, the term ghawazi in Egypt refers to the dancers in rural Egypt who have preserved the traditional 18th- to 19th-century style.

The Arabic غوازي ghawāzī (singular غازية ghāziya) means "conqueror", as the ghaziya is said to "conquer" the hearts of her audience. They were also known as awālim (singular alma, transliterated almeh in French as almée).

Both terms are 19th-century euphemisms for "erotic dancer";almeh literally means "learned woman" and came to be used as a replacement for ghaziya after the ghawazi were legally banned in 1834.

The term "ghawazi" is inherited from the Northern Indian term "Gowaar" meaning singer. The term "Gaon" is equal to the verb "sing" and the term "Gana" means song. This explains the inheritance of Nawari or Dom people from the group of performing artists known as "Bazigar" in Punjab.

An almeh in origin was a courtesan in Arab tradition, a woman educated to sing and recite classical poetry and to discourse. After the ghawazi were banned, they were forced to pretend that they were in fact awalim. The term almeh was introduced in French Orientalism as almée and used synonymously with "belly dancer".

In 1834, the ghawazi were banished from Cairo to Upper Egypt by Muhammad Ali. Typically, the Ghawazi are represented as Dom or Gypsies, with a particular attention to their music and dance styles, featuring mizmars and heavy bass lines.

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