Ghawazee

Were the public dancing girls of the most famous tribe, singular is Ghazeeyeh.  They used to perform unveiled in the public streets, or in the court of the house, on a certain occasions like marriage or the birth of child.  Their dances had "little of elegance; its chief peculiarity being a very rapid vibrating motion of the hips, from side to side, they exhibit a spectacle exactly agreeing with the description which Martial and Juvenal have given of the performance of the female dancers of Gades, in the early Roman emperors who had three distinct styles of dancing:
A) Cheironomia, or play of hands;
B) Halma, or play of feet; and
C) Lactisma, or jumps.    

Dancing girls were in such high regard that in 527 A.D. such as a dancing girl named Theodora; who married the Emperor Justinian (483-565) and became the "Empress Theodora".  The similarity of the dance of Gades females  and the ancient Egyptian dancers in very remote time ,confirm that it was introduced into Gades from the East , perhaps the modern Ghawazee are descended from the class of the dancers who amused the Egyptians pharaohs .

  Ghawazee used to perform  in long, transparent gowns, beating drums or castanets in quick time, also wear various ornaments ; their eyes are bordered with the kohl ( black collyriuma ), and the tips of their finger , the palms of their hands, and their toes are usually stained with henna ( red dye ) .   They always accompanied by musicians (mostly from the same tribe) whose instruments are the rababآ¹ with the tar; or the darabukkahآ² with the zummarah آ³: the tar is usually in the hands of an old woman. Many of them are extremely handsome; and most of them are richly dressed.  Women, as well as men, take a delight in witnessing their performance.  Between the Ghawazee they were a very low class ones that used to perform before private party of men. Wear nothing but semi transparent gown, open nearly half – way down the front, they were supplied with brandy, and considered the most abandoned one.   Most of the Ghawazee keep themselves distinct from other classes by marriages persons from the same tribe. With the fact that most of them are Muslims ,  some of them accompanied the caravan of pilgrimages to Mecca.  They live in huts, tents; for they often move from one town to another.

Most of people persuading themselves that there is nothing improper in the dancing of the Ghawazee but the fact of its being performed by females so they hire male dancers who imitate the performance of the Ghawazee they were called " Khأ¤wals, "  their general appearance is more feminine than masculine. They grow the hair of the head long; they were kohl in their eyes and henna in the hands. They often hired, on the occasion of marriage, birth of child, or circumcision.  

In 1798 the first organized expedition to Egypt was undertaken by a European power: Napoleon landed there seeking an alternative route to India. In Cairo, his soldiers encountered the Ghawazee, otherwise known as Banat el beled. The Ghawazee (which meant "invaders of the heart"), were gypsies. They were found in settlements along the lower Nile and also in Cairo, where they quickly discovered a new source of revenue - the French soldiers. Bonaparte's Generals likened them to a pestilence and suggested that they be drowned if they were found loitering. In fact, the writer Auriant tells about four hundred of the Ghawazee who were captured and decapitated, after which their bodies were bundled into sacks and thrown into the Nile. General Billier then suggested to the government that they should try to find proper work for the Ghawazee. On a more practical level, the French later set up licensed brothels in the city. Not only could the women be checked by doctors, they could be taxed.

Rabأ،bآ¹ or rebab: a stringed folk instrument played with a bow

Darabukkeh: آ² a goblet-shaped drum played with the hands, called a doumbek, lit. Drum

zummأ،rah آ³or the zemr: (mijwiz) a double reed wind instrument, about 14 inch long having a drone, with a shrill tone.

Most of the travelers in  Egypt made a mistake by referring to the dancing girls as  "Awalim "because they have seen the  fake ones .

public dancers ( Ghawazee) 1880