Poverty and charity in the Jewish community of medieval Egypt /
: "Complemented by the author's collection of primary sources in translation, The voice of the poor in the Middle Ages : an anthology of documents from the Cairo Geniza, on which the research is based". : xi, 287 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. : Includes bibliographical references (pages [253]-269) and indexes. : 0691092729
Food and foodways of medieval Cairenes : aspects of life in an Islamic metropolis of the eastern Mediterranean /
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This is a pioneering study which analyzes the food cultures of medieval Cairenes on the basis of a large corpus of historical texts in Arabic. Individual chapters discuss what, why, and how the inhabitants of medieval Cairo ate what they did, and in which ways food shaped their everyday lives. Given the complex nature of "food" and "foodways" as areas of research, the book covers such diverse subjects as the genesis of the culinary culture of Egypt's capital and various practices related to food and eating. This monograph also considers several relevant social, political and economic circumstances in medieval Cairo, studying food culture in its broader context.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004206465 :
0929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Zar : spirit possession, music, and healing rituals in Egypt /
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"Zar is both a possessing spirit and a set of reconciliation rites between the spirits and their human hosts: living in a parallel yet invisible world, the capricious spirits manifest their anger by causing ailments for their hosts, which require ritual reconciliation, a private sacrificial rite practiced routinely by the afflicted devotees. Originally spread from Ethiopia to the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf through the nineteenth-century slave trade, in Egypt zar has incorporated elements from popular Islamic Sufi practices, including devotion to Christian and Muslim saints. The ceremonies initiate devotees-the majority of whom are Muslim women-into a community centered on a cult leader, a membership that provides them with moral orientation, social support, and a sense of belonging. Practicing zar rituals, dancing to zar songs, and experiencing trance restore their well-being, which had been compromised by gender asymmetry and globalization.This new ethnographic study of zar in Egypt is based on the author's two years of multi-sited fieldwork and firsthand knowledge as a participant, and her collection and analysis of more than three hundred zar songs, allowing her to access levels of meaning that had previously been overlooked. The result is a comprehensive and accessible exposition of the history, culture, and waning practice of zar in a modernizing world"--Front flap of book jacket.
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xi, 180 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-171) and index. :
9789774166976