Against the odds! Egyptian women troupe dance Mawlawiyya

Al-Ahram Weekly

27-03-2025

The Maq'ad of Sultan Qaitbey, a cultural centre located within this Mamluk site, hosted three women who stand out in dancing the Mawlawiyya, a Sufi dance traditionally reserved for men.
The Multicultural and Artistic Space at Qaitbey's (MASQ) has been working since the beginning of this year to develop the cross-disciplinary activities it offers.
It organized a series of cultural events for Ramadan at the foot of its beautiful building.
You first cross a bazaar where some ceramics, glassware, and other tempting desserts are exhibited, then reach a musical stage and seating. Towards the street corner, you can find an art gallery open only in the evening. When you pass the stage, you will find a dance hall.
The central piece of the evening was the Mawlawiyya dance performed by three women, Radwa Saad Eldin and her troupe, accompanied by the clear sound of a ney played by Moamen Mustafa.
Men traditionally perform this dance. However, the Mawlawiyya is so important in the customs accompanying Ramadan in Egypt that these young women dedicated themselves to it.
By choosing to dance the Mawlawiyya despite the gender barrier, these women are committed to preserving this heritage and becoming guardians of this valuable cultural asset.
Radwa's troupe seeks to perform the Mawlawiyya in a traditional manner while bringing about a feminine evolution.
Their performance began with a slow procession through the audience. All three of them had their respective places on stage, and there was also the prayer that preceded the dance.
However, they decided to evolve some figures to better reflect the lightness and liveliness of their steps. While respecting the Sufi tradition, these women's will brings a fresh and feminine air to the Mawlawiyya.
Historically, the Mawlawiyya is halfway between prayer and dance. It is a ritual developed in Turkey by the poet Jalal Al-Din Al-Rumi in the 13th century in an attempt to develop his Sufi religious school of thought.
With the Ottoman conquests, the dance settled and developed in Egypt around the 17th century.
By performing rotations, the dancers, called dervishes, attempt to abandon their earthly existence and enter into prayer. Therefore, it is a new way of dedicating themselves to the time of concentration and prayer that Ramadan represents for these women.
Pivoting on her axis
The Mawlawiyya has a strong heritage of symbols. The ritual dance with the rotations that the dervishes perform on themselves can take on several symbolic and religious meanings. The universe and its periodicity can be recognized, symbolizing the perpetual return of seasons, days, and nights.
The counter-clockwise rotation also recalls the pilgrims' walk around the Kaaba and follows the same direction as the Earth's rotation around the Sun. Thus, the dance joins the dervish's concentration in their prayer.
Beyond its historical and symbolic aspects, the dance is deeply rooted in Egyptian folklore. Since they arrived in Egypt, Sufi brotherhoods have welcomed audiences who come specifically to watch their dances.
The Takiyyat Al-Mawlawiyya theatre allowed Sufis to host crowds in a place specifically dedicated to performing mystical dances, fitting into the city's natural decor.
Watching the dervish dances has even become part of Ramadan traditions over the years.
A merchant from the small bazaar, who accompanies the event everywhere, nostalgically and emotionally recounts her memories of other evenings from her childhood. She has always admired the dervishes' silhouettes fading in their whirlwinds.
However, she is not alone, as the Mawlawiyya also enjoys a genuine international attraction. Among the audience are English or German tourists and young students from the French Institute of Egypt.
A compact crowd gathers on the steps of the dance hall, which can only accommodate about 60 people. The dancers perform five times to allow the most significant number of people to witness the ritual dance.
This is no easy task, as the traditional Mawlawiyya costume, the tanoura, weighs nearly 18 kg. Add to that the constant spinning for almost an hour and a half, which requires great skill from the dancers.
Dancing with grace
Saad Eldin performs the dance easily because she has known the steps for many years.
She began dancing the tanoura in 2007 and, under the guidance of Amer El-Touni, the Mawlawiyya in 2009.
El-Touni's troupe has existed since 1994. He has always tried to inspire a love of dance and spirituality.
The troupe initially performed in Egypt and then gained popularity around the globe, demonstrating the excellence of its training and the quality of its performances.
Saad Eldin's elegance, style, and delicate mastery of her steps stem from the richness of her journey and her determination.
The challenges of practicing the Mawlawiyya were abundant when she began learning.
The Mawlawiyya was traditionally performed only by men. Therefore, the young woman overcame this gender barrier through a love of dance and respect for its symbolism.
Moreover, she struggled against the audience during her first performances, sometimes offended by seeing a woman dance the Mawlawiyya, but she managed to win over the audience through her grace and liveliness.
Through her artistic approach, the dancer fervently promotes an Egyptian spiritual heritage.
She chose to dance within her own troupe and shared her knowledge with three other young women who are still training in her troupe.
Saad Eldin continues to dance as she learned but also allows herself to be immersed in the pleasure of prayer and contemplation.
'How much light increases within me with every word of praise spoken in love for the prophet,' she said, admitting that whenever she dances, the same thought always comes to her.
Radwa and her troupe members dance with a sincerity that cannot be separated from their grace.
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*This article was originally published in Al-Ahram Hebdo (French) on 26 March. Translation: Ati Metwaly. Additional edit: Ahram Online.
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