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Khawal

by NAXÖ

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NAXÖ
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Louis Paulhus
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Ash Peterson
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saifaf
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Katherine Wood
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about

The khawal (Arabic: خول‎) was a traditional native Egyptian male dancer cross-dressed in feminine attire and was popular up until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Following religious-based prohibitions on women dancing in public, cross-dressing men took their place throughout the Middle East; in some Arab countries, these transvestite dancers were known as gawwal, and in Egypt, they were known by the related term khawal. The khawal were perceived as sexually available; their male audiences found their ambiguity seductive. Unfortunately in modern Egyptian slang, the term is derogatory and refers to queer and trans people. This song is about reclaiming and honoring our ancestral powers through revitalizing the original narratives, and dismantling the monstrosities of queerphobia and misogyny.

lyrics

*Translated from Arabic

في البيت يقولوا لي عورة
At home they tell me shame
في الشارع يقولوا خول
On the street they call me names, Khawal
في البيت يقولوا لي عورة
At home they call my nakedness, shame
أنا؟
Am I?

انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا عرفتش أخول عورتي
I do not know how to hide my libido, and I do not know that I have to authorize my nakedness
انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا عرفتش أخول عورتي
I did not know how to hide my libido, and I did not know that I have to authorize my nakedness

مجتمع خايف من نفسه
A society that is afraid of itself
راجل مات من ورا عقده
The man died from his perplexions
الناس الناس الناس تتقدم وتبني جسور
People people people should be advancing and building bridges
وهو حوش يغطي طبق مكسور
He is a monster covering a broken plate

انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا ولا ولا ولا أخول عورتي
I do not know how to hide myself, nor, nor, nor, nor do I have to authorize my nakedness
انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا ولا ولا ولا أخول عورتي
I did not know how to hide myself, nor, nor, nor, nor did I have to authorize my nakedness

الخول عورة على تفصيل
The khawal is ashamed to detail
راحة المجتمع ودماغه المغسول
Society comfort and its washed brain
بس العورة دي عقدة مجتمع
But the shame is the society convolutions
ولصقة ترقيع لفراغ مشاويل
And a patchwork of empty over carried

انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا ولا ولا ولا أخول عورتي
I do not know how to hide myself, nor, nor, nor, nor do I have to authorize my nakedness
انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا ولا ولا ولا أخول عورتي
I did not know how to hide myself, nor, nor, nor, nor did I have to authorize my nakedness

انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا عرفتش أخول عورتي
I do not know how to hide my libido, and I do not know that I have to authorize my nakedness
انا ماعرفتش اخبي خولي ولا عرفتش أخول عورتي
I did not know how to hide my libido, and I did not know that I have to authorize my nakedness
انا ماعرفتش و مش هعرف
I did not know and I will not

credits

released October 22, 2020
Music and song writing: NAXÖ
Co-songwriting: Layle Omran
Co-production: Lylantz

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all rights reserved

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about

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NAXÖ Chicago, Illinois

NAXÖ is fusion of Middle-Eastern folklore and groovy electronic psychedelic music with songs that consider queer culture/migration, postcolonialism and re-imagining a better world with grand Arabic vocals, ecstatic synths, and the kind of percussion that finds its way to your core. Based in Chicago & their works have been featured in Chicago Reader, Windy City Times, Philly Weekly, and others. ... more

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