Zar jewelry
A special genre in Egyptian jewelry consists of purpose-made magical jewelry, to be used in the zar-ceremony. This ceremony is carried out mainly for women, who are possessed (‘clothed’) by a demon or spirit, called Master. The zar ceremony focuses on communicating with the demon. It is therefore not an excorism but a ritual to accomodate cohabitation. In order to do this, a trance-like state is induced by the zar musicians, who play heavy drums. Each individual demon has its own music. The leader of the ceremony knows how to call for a certain Master and how to interpret his or her wishes. Many zar-demons are known by name. In addition to music, offerings, food, and the heavy smells of perfume and frankincense play an important role.
Woman in trance during a zar ceremony
Two silver zar rings from the early twentieth century
Although the silver zar-amulets are the ones best known, they form only part of the entire set of jewelry to be used during the ceremony, which also includes beaded necklaces and bracelets as well as coins.
The silver amulets generally consist of a round plaque in thick sheet silver with bells underneath it. The bells come in uneven numbers in order to ward off evil. The amulet is engraved on one side with a depiction of the demon of ‘Master’ that commands the client. The other side is engraved with the Throne Verse. In addition to the round plaques, also rectangular and pear-shaped amulets are known. In the period from the late 1800′s to circa 1950, zar-amulets were made using engraving by hand as technique only. After 1950, machine-made amulets appear. These are of much thinner sheet silver.
Read more about the zar-music in Egypt and Morocco here. An article about the zar-ceremony and jewelry can be found here (in Dutch).