What is Zaffé ?
The Zaffé is a live procession of music and dance, and a traditional part of wedding celebrations. Its uniqueness adds flavor and an authentic touch to a bride a groom’s special day. We offer this service in a variety of tailor-made packages that include a saber performer, percussionists and dancers. The Canadian zaffé is Al-Arz’s specialty – we are experienced in a variety of many Middle-Eastern traditions and can adapt our zaffé to accommodate multi-faith ceremonies and weddings of mixed cultures. We’ve celebrated with Algerian, Armenian, Egyptian, Indian, Iranian, Jordanian, Moroccan, Pakistani, Palestinian, Syrian, Turkish, Yamani and many more couples in cities in Canada and the United States.
Hundredes of newlyweds have experienced the energy and liveliness of Al-Arz’s zaffé. Ask us how we can help make your zaffé a spectacular one!
Your Zaffé
From village setting to modern reception halls, today’s Lebanese zaffé exemplifies old-world traditions. After a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom will be escorted by a procession of dancers and musicians who will lead the couple to the designated area where they will make their long-awaited entrance as husband and wife.
Today the word zaffé enjoys many phonetic spelling variations: zaffeh, zaffi, zaffa. However you choose to spell it or pronounce it, you’ll find the highest quality behind our name.
For detailed packages and price quotes, we suggest you book an appointment for a personalized presentation.
info@al-arz.ca or (613) 742-6952
TESTIMONIALS
“Al-Arz Lebanese Art Group preformed our zaffe for our wedding in July 2016. They were very professional and easy to deal with. They did an amazing job at bringing the crowd to their feet and providing dance entertainment. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend them to anyone else who is looking for their type of services. Thank you Tony and the dance team for making our entrance extra special!”
~ Raouf Chehaiber
“The Al-Arz Zaffé performance at our wedding was amazing. They were a group of true professionals and put on an amazing display for us and our guests. We couldn’t be happier with how it went. Given the wide diversity of our guests, we were a bit hesitant about having a cultural performance like this at our wedding, but it certainly blew us away as the Bride and Groom. It was the main topic of discussion among our guests throughout the night, and people still talk to us about how much they enjoyed it. I would highly recommend Al-Arz for any wedding or special event. Top notch !”
~ Julio and Sienna Hashem
Performance took place at the Westin Hotel, Ottawa, September 2016
HISTORY
A Middle-Eastern trademark, the zaffé dates back to the 14th century and represents a celebratory event in which music, dance and public participation are an essential part of private and public gatherings.
While the zaffé has been used to escort important social and political figures, the most memorable zaffés are those that unite newlyweds.
The zaffé was a customary way in which the bride and groom were escorted from their respective family homes to the religious ceremony location. Streets, porches and balconies overflowed with people who would freely join in the procession, throwing rice, candy-coated almonds and flower petals on the bride and groom’s families, as a symbol of good health and prosperity. It was also common during the zaffé to hear women recite spontaneous lyrical poems called zalghouta.