Zar
A spirit possession rite found from Ethiopia and Sudan to Egypt and the Gulf, mostly of women, held to settle a troubling spirit.
Also: zār, zaar, sitt, possession cult
Zar is the name of a spirit, of the illness thought to come from it, and of the ceremony held in response, in Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Somalia and around the Gulf. Spirits are of different kinds, some linked to foreign figures, and a woman whose symptoms are blamed on one is treated, not by expelling it, but by a ritual in which she dances to drums and incense until the spirit speaks and states its wishes, often for a gift or a feast. A kodia or sheikha, who has been through zar herself, leads the rite. Religious authorities have often condemned it, and it was long hidden. In Cairo a performing troupe keeps it as a heritage. Health professionals note the link with distress.