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112 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. [PART II.
Many of the people of Cairo, affecting, or persuading themselves, to consider that there is nothing
improper in the dancing of the Ghawazee but the
fact of its being performed by females, who ought
not thus to expose themselves, employ men to dance
in the same manner; but the number of these male
performers, who are mostly young men, and who
are called "Khawals"*, is very small. They are
Muslims, and natives of Egypt. As they personate
women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the Ghawazee; and are, in like
manner, accompanied by the sounds of castanets: but,
as if to prevent their being thought to be really
females, their dress is suited to their unnatural profession ; being partly male, and partly female: it
chiefly consists of a tight vest, a girdle, and a kind of
petticoat. Their general appearance, however, is more
feminine than masculine : they suffer the hair of
tbe head to grow long, and generally braid it, in
as being worn by the Ghawazee, or differs from that of respectable
women in being a little more gay, and less disguising. Some women of
the venal class in Cairo not only wear the burko' (or face-veil), but
dress, in every respect, like modest women ; from whom they cannot be
distinguished, excepting by those to whom they choose to discover
themselves. Such women are found in almost every quarter of the
metropolis. Many of them are divorced women, or widows; and many
are the wives of men whom business obliges to be often abroad. All
the known prostitutes in Egypt pay a kind of income-tax (" firdeh").
The tax paid by those of the metropolis amounts to eight hundred
purses (equivalent to four thousand pounds sterling, which is not less
than one-tenth of the firdeh of all the inhabitants. This will convey
some idea of their number in comparison with that of the persons who
practise honest means of obtaining their livelihood.
* The term " Ghaish " (plural, " Gheeyash) is also applied to a person of this class.
| Title | An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians - 2 |
| Creator | Lane, Edward William |
| Publisher | C. Knight and Co. |
| Place of Publication | London |
| Date | 1842 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000124 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 112 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. [PART II. Many of the people of Cairo, affecting, or persuading themselves, to consider that there is nothing improper in the dancing of the Ghawazee but the fact of its being performed by females, who ought not thus to expose themselves, employ men to dance in the same manner; but the number of these male performers, who are mostly young men, and who are called "Khawals"*, is very small. They are Muslims, and natives of Egypt. As they personate women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the Ghawazee; and are, in like manner, accompanied by the sounds of castanets: but, as if to prevent their being thought to be really females, their dress is suited to their unnatural profession ; being partly male, and partly female: it chiefly consists of a tight vest, a girdle, and a kind of petticoat. Their general appearance, however, is more feminine than masculine : they suffer the hair of tbe head to grow long, and generally braid it, in as being worn by the Ghawazee, or differs from that of respectable women in being a little more gay, and less disguising. Some women of the venal class in Cairo not only wear the burko' (or face-veil), but dress, in every respect, like modest women ; from whom they cannot be distinguished, excepting by those to whom they choose to discover themselves. Such women are found in almost every quarter of the metropolis. Many of them are divorced women, or widows; and many are the wives of men whom business obliges to be often abroad. All the known prostitutes in Egypt pay a kind of income-tax (" firdeh"). The tax paid by those of the metropolis amounts to eight hundred purses (equivalent to four thousand pounds sterling, which is not less than one-tenth of the firdeh of all the inhabitants. This will convey some idea of their number in comparison with that of the persons who practise honest means of obtaining their livelihood. * The term " Ghaish " (plural, " Gheeyash) is also applied to a person of this class. |
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