Almaya

The owner and his guests usually listened to the performance of Almea from another room (or even from the courtyard of the house). The Almees had a relatively decent social status, attended ceremonies and entertainment, and also hired as mourners at a funeral ^[3] . Some XIX century historians saw in them the successors of the ancient dancers of Egypt and Persia ^[4] , and sometimes the descendants of the priestesses of Isis . They knew a wide range of historical and heroic tales. Teaching each other, they transmitted the ancient and classical forms of Arabic poetry, music and traditional Arabic singing. To become Almeia, the girl had to have a beautiful voice, speak literary Arabic, master the game on various instruments and be able to improvise in songs adapted to the situation in which she found herself ^[5] .

The Almays also studied good manners, the art of using and making cosmetics, weaving and embroidery. Many Almays mastered the professions of the healer and midwife. They knew how to prepare ointments, poultices, and a potion, and because of this they often used the reputation of a witch.

The British traveler and orientalist Edward William Lane wrote about the Almeanas in the first third of the nineteenth century:

“... [Almey, at Lane - avalim] is often invited to the holidays in harems of wealthy people. In many harems for them are specially arranged small rooms, called tukase or magan. Typically, such rooms are adjacent to the main room of the harem and are separated from it not by a wall, but by a carved wooden lattice. The floor is somewhat elevated above the general level. It could be some other room in the house where the singers would remain invisible to the host, if you want to listen to music with women. Male guests listen to avalim singing from the courtyard or from the lower rooms. The avalim themselves in such cases are arranged at the harem window, behind a carved lattice. Some avalim singers play musical instruments. In Cairo, I happened to hear the most famous avalim, and I must say that with their art they completely conquered me. Their performance seemed to me not only many times better than that of alatiya ^[6] , but also the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Singers are paid a lot. I was told that once, guests in a merchant's house, and among them there were middle-income people, collected about fifty guineas for one singer with our money. The skill of the skillful singer is so great, the audience is so impressive that people are ready to give her the last money. ”

- Edward William Lane. The morals and customs of modern Egyptians. Chapter XVIII. Music. ^[7]

In the 19th century, the word “almeya” began to be used as a synonym for “gavazi” ( Arabic زوازي , ghawāzī), erotic dancers, who were mostly roving gypsy women , and they performed dances designed to incite sensuality in big cities. Their performances were banned in 1834 by Muhammad Ali of Egypt ^[5] . As a result of the ban on hawazi, such dancers were forced to pretend that they were allegedly Almeia.

The word transliterated into French as almée , this term later in the French version turned out to be associated with “belly dancing” in the 19th century European orientalism among the peoples of North Africa ^[8] .

These Egyptian dancers became a source of inspiration for many European artists and musicians, who, as is commonly believed, heard more about them than they saw them live; in fact, the almeys did not speak either on the streets or in front of strangers. Most of those dancers who were immortalized by them were actually street dancers, women of low status or erotic dancers (gavazi).

• The French artist Jean-Leon Zheromu owned a large number of images of hawazi as almey ^[9] . The most famous among them is the Almey playing chess (1870).
• The ironic name of the painting is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec , representing the variety dancers "La Goulue Dansant, la Danse Mauresque (Les Almées)" .
• Almaya as a character is present in Georges Bizet 's opera “Jamila” ^[10] . He also has the piano piece “The Dance of Almea” (1875).
• Arthur Rambo composed the poem “Is she Almeia? ..” ^[11] . It was first published posthumously in Rambo’s book, A Collection of Poems (1895).
• Alice Guy staged the film “Danse du pas des foulards par des almées” in 1900 .

• Kayna - slave singer in the Arab East.