Gypsies in contemporary Egypt : on the peripheries of society / Alexandra Parrs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parrs, Alexandra, author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Romanies--Egypt.

Romanies.

Romanies--Egypt--Social conditions--21st century.

Romanies--Egypt--Social life and customs--21st century.

Social conditions.

Egypt.

Manners and customs.

Physical Description:

vii, 228 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cairo ; New York : The American University in Cairo Press, 2017.

Contents:

Introduction 1

The Paradigm of Diasporic Identity 2

Essentialization 11

Literature on Middle Eastern Gypsies 14

Official Invisibility 17

Rural and Urban Dom 19

Methodology 21

Naming of the Group 27

Outline of the Book 28

1 The Eternal Quest for Roots 33

Language and Roots 33

Orientalists' Perceptions of Gypsies in the 'Orient' 39

Impact of Orientalists in the Construction of Eastern Gypsies 51

Alternative Narratives and Myths of Origin 55

Ethnogenesis by Outsiders 63

2 From Belly Dancers to Thieves 65

Ghawazi and Orientalists 66

Current Views 71

Cinematic Depiction 74

Toward the Impossible Union 78

Muhammad Ali, the Baladi, and the Construction of Modernity 81

Homogenization, the National, and the Foreigner 85

Female Representations 87

Depicting the Other 91

3 Uncrossable Boundaries? 93

Religious Boundaries 99

Cultural Boundaries 105

'Racial' Boundaries 109

Linguistic Boundaries 111

Spatial Boundaries 114

Occupational Boundaries 118

Building Rigid Boundaries 124

4 Identity Negotiation: Ignoring, Passing, Changing, and Exchanging 127

Gypsies and Their 'Origins' 128

Denial of Identity 132

Group Divisions and Occupations 137

Overemphasis and Under emphasis of Identity 140

Identity Management in Social Interactions 146

Fluidity 152

5 Underground World: Crime in the Blood and Secret Language 155

Media Discourse 157

Conflictual Opposites, Sensationalism, and Blaming the Victim 161

They Can Only Be Criminal: Rigid Boundaries and Confrontation of Perceptions 164

Fluid Boundaries: The 'Saved' Ghagar 166

Begging Skills 169

The Language of Crime 172

Sensuality in Crime? 177

6 Matriarchy and Bride Price: Ghagar Traditions? 181

"What Are Your Traditions?" 181

Endogamy 184

Divorce and Separation 187

Bride Price, Polygyny, and Early Marriage 189

Female Circumcision and Sexuality 192

Matriarchal Features and 'Kin Contract' 195

7 Conclusions: The Fragmented Construction of Egyptian Gypsies 201

Beyond Western Mimicry 201

Cultural Performance and Social Failure 202

What Will Happen Next? 205

National Identity and Gypsies 207

Umm Khalas: Where Are You? 208.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

9789774168307

9774168305

OCLC:

962242325

Publisher Number:

99976155732