Khawal: Difference between revisions
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{{For|the village in Afghanistan|Dahan-e Khawal}} |
{{For|the village in Afghanistan|Dahan-e Khawal}} |
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[[File:Egypte – Haywal. (Danseur excentrique habillé en danseuse).jpg|thumb|200px|Postcard depicting a khawal ( |
[[File:Egypte – Haywal. (Danseur excentrique habillé en danseuse).jpg|thumb|200px|Postcard depicting a khawal (pre-1907)]] |
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The '''''khawal''''' |
The '''''khawal''''' ({{lang-ar|خوال}}) was a traditional native [[Egypt]]ian male dancer [[cross-dressing|cross-dressed]] in feminine attire and was popular up until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-17 |title=Another Camp or The Second Testament on Camp |url=https://kohljournal.press/another-camp |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=kohljournal.press |language=en}}</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Following prohibitions on women dancing in public, cross-dressing boys and men took their place |
Following prohibitions on women dancing in some public places, cross-dressing boys and men took their place to continue the local tradition publicly, these dancers were known as ''khawal'', an Egyptian slang for queer, and were mainly dressed in feminine clothes and outfits.<ref name="Hanna 1988"/> The khawal imitated female [[ghawazi]] by dancing with [[castanets|castanet]] self accompaniment, painting their hands with [[henna]], braiding their long hair, plucking their facial hair, wearing make-up, and adopting the manners of women.<ref name="Hanna 1988"/> |
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<blockquote>As they impersonate women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the Ghawazee [female dancers] ... Their general appearance ... is more feminine than masculine: they suffer the hair of the head to grow long, and generally braid it, in the manner of women ... they imitate the women also in applying [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]] and henna to their eyes and hands like women. In the streets, when not engaged in dancing, they often veil their faces; not from shame, but merely to affect the manners of women.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph A. Boone|date=2014|title=The Homoerotics of Orientalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3QRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA188|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231521826|page=188}}</ref></blockquote> |
<blockquote>As they impersonate women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the Ghawazee [female dancers] ... Their general appearance ... is more feminine than masculine: they suffer the hair of the head to grow long, and generally braid it, in the manner of women ... they imitate the women also in applying [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]] and henna to their eyes and hands like women. In the streets, when not engaged in dancing, they often veil their faces; not from shame, but merely to affect the manners of women.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph A. Boone|date=2014|title=The Homoerotics of Orientalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3QRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA188|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231521826|page=188}}</ref></blockquote> |
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Khawal distinguished themselves from women by wearing a mix of men's and women's clothing.<ref name="Hanna 1988">{{cite book|author=Judith Lynne Hanna|date=1988|title=Dance, Sex, and Gender: Signs of Identity, Dominance, Defiance, and Desire|url=https://archive.org/details/dancesexgendersi0000hann|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Chicago Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dancesexgendersi0000hann/page/57 57]–58|isbn=9780226315515}}</ref> The khawal performed at various functions such as weddings,<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward William Lane|date=1842|title=An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSlDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA260|volume=1|publisher=London: Charles Knight & Co.|page=260}}</ref> births, [[circumcision]]s, and festivals.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Mona L. Russell |date=2013|title=Middle East in Focus: Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=159884234X|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598842340|page=335}}</ref> |
Khawal distinguished themselves from women by wearing a mix of men's and women's clothing.<ref name="Hanna 1988">{{cite book|author=Judith Lynne Hanna|date=1988|title=Dance, Sex, and Gender: Signs of Identity, Dominance, Defiance, and Desire|url=https://archive.org/details/dancesexgendersi0000hann|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Chicago Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dancesexgendersi0000hann/page/57 57]–58|isbn=9780226315515}}</ref> The khawal performed at various functions such as weddings,<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward William Lane|date=1842|title=An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HSlDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA260|volume=1|publisher=London: Charles Knight & Co.|page=260}}</ref> births, [[circumcision]]s, and festivals.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Mona L. Russell |date=2013|title=Middle East in Focus: Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=159884234X|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598842340|page=335}}</ref> |
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In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, they also commonly performed for foreign visitors, variously shocking or delighting them.<ref>{{cite book|author=Karin van Nieuwkerk|date=2010|title=A Trade like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEure7RawoAC&pg=PA33|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=9780292786806|page=33}}</ref><ref>George Haggerty, Bonnie Zimmerman, ''Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures'' (2003, {{ISBN|1135578710}}), page 952.</ref> The khawal were perceived as sexually available; their male audiences found their ambiguity seductive.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anthony Shay|date=2014|title=The Dangerous Lives of Public Performers: Dancing, Sex, and Entertainment in the Islamic World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BO1CBAAAQBAJ |
In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, they also commonly performed for foreign visitors, variously shocking or delighting them.<ref>{{cite book|author=Karin van Nieuwkerk|date=2010|title=A Trade like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEure7RawoAC&pg=PA33|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=9780292786806|page=33}}</ref><ref>George Haggerty, Bonnie Zimmerman, ''Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures'' (2003, {{ISBN|1135578710}}), page 952.</ref> The khawal were perceived as sexually available; their male audiences found their ambiguity seductive.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anthony Shay|date=2014|title=The Dangerous Lives of Public Performers: Dancing, Sex, and Entertainment in the Islamic World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BO1CBAAAQBAJ|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781137432384|page=160}}</ref> |
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In modern Egyptian slang, the term is derogatory and refers to a [[Top, bottom and versatile#Bottom|passive gay man]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Human Rights Watch|date=2004|title=In a Time of Torture: The Assault on Justice in Egypt's Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-lEfP5F6B0C&pg=PA6 |
In modern Egyptian slang, the term is derogatory and refers to a [[Top, bottom and versatile#Bottom|passive gay man]], and is considered offensive.<ref>{{cite book|author=Human Rights Watch|date=2004|title=In a Time of Torture: The Assault on Justice in Egypt's Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-lEfP5F6B0C&pg=PA6|isbn=1564322963|page=6}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[ |
* [[Ghilman]] |
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* [[Köçek]], Ottoman male cross-dresser dancers |
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* [[Bacha bazi]] |
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* [[LGBT topics and Islam]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{crossdressing footer}} |
{{crossdressing footer}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Culture of Egypt]] |
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[[Category:Egyptian male dancers|*]] |
[[Category:Egyptian male dancers|*]] |
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[[Category:Transgender in the Middle East]] |
[[Category:Transgender in the Middle East]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Culture of the Middle East]] |
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[[Category:Arab culture]] |
[[Category:Arab culture]] |
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[[Category:Belly dance]] |
[[Category:Belly dance]] |
Revision as of 22:12, 6 April 2024
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Egypte_%E2%80%93_Haywal._%28Danseur_excentrique_habill%C3%A9_en_danseuse%29.jpg/200px-Egypte_%E2%80%93_Haywal._%28Danseur_excentrique_habill%C3%A9_en_danseuse%29.jpg)
The khawal (Arabic: خوال) was a traditional native Egyptian male dancer cross-dressed in feminine attire and was popular up until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.[1]
History
Following prohibitions on women dancing in some public places, cross-dressing boys and men took their place to continue the local tradition publicly, these dancers were known as khawal, an Egyptian slang for queer, and were mainly dressed in feminine clothes and outfits.[2] The khawal imitated female ghawazi by dancing with castanet self accompaniment, painting their hands with henna, braiding their long hair, plucking their facial hair, wearing make-up, and adopting the manners of women.[2]
As they impersonate women, their dances are exactly of the same description as those of the Ghawazee [female dancers] ... Their general appearance ... is more feminine than masculine: they suffer the hair of the head to grow long, and generally braid it, in the manner of women ... they imitate the women also in applying kohl and henna to their eyes and hands like women. In the streets, when not engaged in dancing, they often veil their faces; not from shame, but merely to affect the manners of women.[3]
Khawal distinguished themselves from women by wearing a mix of men's and women's clothing.[2] The khawal performed at various functions such as weddings,[4] births, circumcisions, and festivals.[5]
In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, they also commonly performed for foreign visitors, variously shocking or delighting them.[6][7] The khawal were perceived as sexually available; their male audiences found their ambiguity seductive.[8]
In modern Egyptian slang, the term is derogatory and refers to a passive gay man, and is considered offensive.[9]
See also
- Ghilman
- Köçek, Ottoman male cross-dresser dancers
- LGBT topics and Islam
References
- ^ "Another Camp or The Second Testament on Camp". kohljournal.press. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ a b c Judith Lynne Hanna (1988). Dance, Sex, and Gender: Signs of Identity, Dominance, Defiance, and Desire. University of Chicago Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 9780226315515.
- ^ Joseph A. Boone (2014). The Homoerotics of Orientalism. Columbia University Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780231521826.
- ^ Edward William Lane (1842). An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. Vol. 1. London: Charles Knight & Co. p. 260.
- ^ Mona L. Russell, ed. (2013). Middle East in Focus: Egypt. ABC-CLIO. p. 335. ISBN 9781598842340.
- ^ Karin van Nieuwkerk (2010). A Trade like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt. University of Texas Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780292786806.
- ^ George Haggerty, Bonnie Zimmerman, Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures (2003, ISBN 1135578710), page 952.
- ^ Anthony Shay (2014). The Dangerous Lives of Public Performers: Dancing, Sex, and Entertainment in the Islamic World. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 160. ISBN 9781137432384.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (2004). In a Time of Torture: The Assault on Justice in Egypt's Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct. p. 6. ISBN 1564322963.