Hagallah

What is Hagallah

The Hagallah is a dance of celebration, usually performed by the Beduin in Western Egypt. Hagallah is also known in areas of neighbouring Libya and is related to kaf (clapping) dances in other regions of the Middle East.  

The word "hagallah" is believed to derive from an Arabic word hag'l, meaning to skip or jump.  Hagallah is performed at weddings (leading the zeffa or wedding procession), for honoured visitors and at engagement celebrations.

 'Hagallah' refers to the dancer, the music and dance itself.  It is often performed during the date harvest, which also happens to be the wedding season.

The men of the community clap to show unity and the central figure in the dance is female.

The dresses are a glitzy stage version of a classic female Beledi dress, and the head scarf is called a mandil, the traditional pom-pom headscarf worn in Egypt to attract attention to the face.

The Hagallah is about women representing power and showing their beauty as individuals. It is a custom that is playful and not about husband hunting -- that is a far more complex subject.

Music
Hagallah music has three parts: 1) the Shettaywa or main theme, which is sung by the whole group 2) the Ghennaywa which is sung by a soloist or poet and is responded to by the group 3) the Magruda which is sung by the soloist and the group together.   The dance is performed during the Shettaywa section.

In the Dahiya or samir version of eastern Arabs, the three sections of the music are called samir, daheeya and reeda/beda.

"Dahiya" is the piece of music most identified with the Reda Troupe's Hagallah performances.