Omm Sety's research was her way of life. In the following excerpt from the chapter on demonic possession, she compares an ancient magic ritual to one she attended herself.

A stela found at Karnak, now in Paris, relates how in year 33 of his reign Ramesses II sent a physician to the land of Bakhtan in order to heal his young sister-in-law, Princess Bentresh. But the learned man found that the girl was possessed by an evil spirit, over which he was unable to prevail, so he returned again to Egypt. Ramesses then sent a statue of the God Khonsu to Bakhtan, accompanied by one of his priests. This time the mission was effective. The demon came forth from the girl's body, but before finally departing stipulated that each year the King of Bakhtan should make a feast in its honor, and present it with bountiful offerings. This request was granted and the demon departed, causing no further trouble.

The belief in demonic possession is firmly believed in by the modern Egyptians, especially the peasants and the working classes. Every obscure illness, acute or chronic, as well as temporary or periodic bouts of abnormal behavior and mild forms of insanity, is attributed to demonic agency.

There are several methods of dealing with such a calamity. The most elaborate is the ceremony of the Zar, or Modam, as it is called in Upper Egypt. The presiding genius of this ceremony is a man or woman (more often the latter) of Sudanese origin, known as the Shaykh of the Zar. On being summoned to the house of a person believed to be suffering from demonic possession, the shaykh examines the patient, and finally asks for some personal article worn by the sufferer, such as a cap, head veil, handkerchief, etc., which she takes away with her. The purpose of this is supposed to get in psychic touch with the possessing demon, learn its identity, and the kind of offering it requires before it will consent to leave its unwilling host. This reminds us of the bargain-driving demon who possessed the little sister-in-law of Rameses II. For convenience sake we refer to this entity as a demon, but actually it is said to be an afreet, a term loosely applied to a demon, ghost or impure and restless soul of an erstwhile human being.

After a very few days have passed the shaykh of the zar returns to the patient's house, and hands back the article of clothing she had borrowed, stating what she has learned of the demon's identity and desires.

In a typical case, personally witnessed by me, the patient was a married woman, about 40 years old, and apparently suffering from a mild nervous breakdown, but the shaykh of the zar said that she was possessed by the spirit of an unfrocked Coptic priest who had died about 200 years ago! This demon demanded that a large copper tray laden with cakes, sweets and a bottle of araki (date-spirits) decorated with flowers should be placed in the mandara, or guest room. The patient was to be clad in a new dress of green satin, and wear new golden earrings. She was to enter the room riding upon a large ram, which was then to be slaughtered in her presence and the presence of her assembled friends. A date was fixed for the ceremony, which was to take place at 8:00 P.M, and everything was prepared as the demon had demanded.

At the appointed time, about 20 woman friends of the patient were assembled in the guest room, all being modestly veiled (except brazen-faced me!). Then the shaykh of the zar entered, accompanied by an old man (her husband) and a young girl (her granddaughter and disciple). The shaykh of the zar, first lighting a brazier or incense, commenced to beat out a rhythm on a small earthenware drum. The old man joined in, playing a wavering tune on a simple pipe (Nay), while the girl sang a tuneless song in a high nasal voice. Then the patient made her spectacular entry into the room, clad in her new finery, and riding astride an enormous ram, which was led, or rather dragged, by her husband. After the ram and its rider had circled the table on which the tray of prescribed offerings were laid out, the man and his son seized the animal, cut its throat, and leaving the bleeding carcass on the floor, took their own departure.

At once the music increased in volume and tempo, the insistent beat of the drum having a queer, exhilarating effect on the hearers. The patient began waving her arms and jerking her body in time with the music, and soon broke into a wild dance. She dabbed her hands in the blood of the ram, smeared her face with it, and even scooped some up in her hand and drank it! The music became more frenzied and some of the women sprang up and throwing off their veils, began dancing and leaping around the room like the patient, a sign that they also were possessed by demons!

The patient, who was a pious Muslim and would not normally dream of drinking anything alcoholic, now broke off the neck of the bottle of araki and commenced to down the strong date spirit neat!

After about half an hour of this performance, the music stopped, everyone concerned took a rest, and refreshed themselves with the cakes and sweets on the offering table. But soon the music started up again and the patient and her friends began again their wild dancing. This continued, with short intervals of rest, until after 3:00 A.M., when overcome by sheer fatigue, dancers, musicians, and guests fell asleep on the floor of the room.

The following morning the patient was found to be very tired (and probably suffering from a prize hangover!) but otherwise quite normal in her appearance and behavior. The shaykh of the zar and her two companions were paid for their services, tipped by the guests, and also given the carcass of the slaughtered ram. The green satin dress, now torn and bloodstained, and the golden earrings worn by the patient were packed up in a box and put away, never to be worn again.

All zars are fundamentally the same, but the demands of the possessing demon may vary in accordance with its supposed character. In other words, the shaykh of the zar is shrewd enough to limit the demon's demands to the financial ability of the patient. Too heavy demands on poor persons would drive away potential customers and kill the goose that laid the golden eggs!

Nowadays the zar is officially forbidden by law, on the grounds that the shaykhs defraud the ignorant people and oblige them to incur expenses that they can ill afford. But the practice still continues in the villages, and unless neighbors complain about the noise (which very seldom happens) the police never interfere. Actually the zar often has a very good psychological effect on the patients and at least brings a little harmless excitement into the rather humdrum lives of the village women.

Want to read more of Omm Sety's work? Enrollees in our upcoming Egyptian Folklore course will get a sneak peek at the entire manuscript.