Sagat (Finger Cymbals)
Traditionally used in several Middle Eastern countries, sagat, also known as zills are small metal cymbals worn on the fingers of the dancer. She plays these to add a lively and fun accompaniment to her own dancing. Larger sagat are also played by musicians.

In Egypt, the Ghawazee dancer would wear and play the sagat throughout their dance routines.

Several of the dancers from the golden era, the first half of the 20th century, were famous for their skilled use of the sagat in their performances, like Badia Masabni and Naima Akef to name two.

Up into the mid to late 20th century, sagat remained an indispensable tool for the Oriental dancer in Egypt. Souhair Zaki and Fifi Abdo would often put them on for their balady routines, and Nadia Hamdi would play them when she performed her famous shamadan (candelabrum balancing) routines. Sagat were also used similarly used in Lebanon.

Called zills in Turkey, finger cymbals in the Oriental dancer’s routine were also considered indispensable. Tulay Karaca was particularly famous for her considerable speed and skill on the zills. A Turkish dancer would often wear her cymbals throughout her routine.

Vintage Oriental style dancers in the US would often wear their finger cymbals throughout their entire dance set also and the zills are a popular prop with American Tribal Style belly dancers as well.

In the late 20th century and moving into the early 21st century, sagat playing by the dancer in Egypt fell out of fashion somewhat. Certain famous dancer opted to hire a musician to play sagat in their orchestra instead of playing themselves while they danced. This also lessened their popularity of sagat or zill playing in the US as modern Egyptian styles of performance swept across the country. Many dancers found playing sagat while dancing too difficult, while others claimed their hands looked more beautiful without the sagat.

However, they are still an incredible musical addition to a performance when a dancer has the skill to play them well.

There are several different approaches, technique for playing sagat or zills. Two dancers who have recently put a lot of effort into developing really well researched teaching methods are Artemis and Yasmin. I highly recommend their workshops and purchasing their CDs and instructional booklets. They are full of in depth information on the sagat and the zills, and really advanced performance techniques for the Oriental dancer/ musician. Serpentine.org

Other related articles on my site you might find useful:

Swords and Finger Cymbals – buying advice
Finger Cymbals homework

Shems’s Sagat YouTube Playlist