Style Saturday: Hagallah

The Hagallah (El-Hagalla) is a folkloric dance that is native to the Bedouin of Western Egypt, with its origins in Libya, and is usually only performed socially for special occasions such as a wedding celebration.

The focus of the dance is a single female, although the men (called the Keffafeen) support the dancer with clapping, chanting and singing. The female dancer is playful and will often single out one man, although this is not a flirtatious dance, it is simply a reflection of her reaching womanhood.  Sometimes the dancer will have a handkerchief or stick which she will give to the man, and the dance will often involve her miming or actually removing her bracelets and then putting them back on. The dance is seen as a celebration of her coming-of-age and womanhood.

There are variations on the dance depending on where it is performed – with versions from Egypt, Libya and Iraq – and the style has also been adapted by some of the folkloric dance troupes such as Mahmoud Reda’s Reda Troupe and Ousama Emam’s Kaoumeya Troupe.

I was lucky enough to take a Hagallah workshop with Ousama Emam and loved the playful, folkloric style. Movements included a strong walk, pushing into the ground with knees bent, and constant hip sways and shimmying. I don’t believe the lesson was strictly true to its Hagallah roots, as there was more story-telling than the traditional dances, but the movements were very similar. It seems that folkloric troupes have created their own version of Hagallah to make it more appealing to an audience.

The costume of the Hagallah for the woman is usually a long sleeved, long length dress with heavy fabric around the hips (at one time they would over-emphasise the hips by creating a puffed-up effect beneath the dress – almost like the old fashioned bustles)  and a full or partial veil around the face. The men typically wear a white robe across one shoulder over their normal clothing. Of course, again, the modern troupes have developed their own versions of the costumes to be more visually appealing.

I have been really disappointed by all the Hagallah videos I have found as I really wanted one that showed the traditional dance being performed, but everything I find seems to involve groups of women dancing, or men and women. None capture the true nature of the dance and far too many seem to be performed to the exact same piece of music. If you know where we can view one, please pop it in the comments section.

Until I find something better, here are two members of Mahmoud Reda’s troupe performing their version of El-Hagalla: