Monday
Jul262010
MENA House: Music and the Egyptian Revolution
Monday, July 26, 2010 at 9:01 
On 23 July 1952. Egypt's Mohammed Ali dynasty was replaced by a Republic. King Farouk I was overthrown, the monarchy was abolished, and the official name of the land of the Pharoahs became "The Arab Republic of Egypt".Fifty-eight years later, amidst talk of new relationships between media, politics, and change, it is useful to note one reason for the revolution's success: radio and newspapers might be essential for social interchange but they could also play leading politic roles
Dr Nahed Abdel Hamid attributes the Revolution's success to patriotic songs that brought out the emotion and passion in Egyptians for a "nation" and reached all social classes, unifying the state. As Madonna's song "Music" explains, "Music makes the people come together....Music mixes the Bourgeoisie and the Rebel...."
During the 1940s and 1950s, Egypt produced some of the greatest and most well-known music artists and actors in the Middle East and North Africa. Abdel Halim Hafez (Andaleeb) and Om Kalthoum, who respectively sang "Sawritna al Masriya" (Our Egyptian Revolution) and "Sawar-Sawar" (Revolutionary-Revolutionary), started a modern trend of patriotic expressionism practiced to the present day.
However, Abdel Hamid points out that these patriotic songs go back to the Ancient Egyptian era. "Wahawi ya Wahawi" (Greetings, Greetings), a song sung during the Revolution and to this day during Ramadan, is almost 3000 years old.
The story of the song is in drawings in the Karnak Temple.
In 1025 BC, King Mena went to fight a battle with the Hyksos, a tribe from the Gulf/Persian area. Worried and concerned for her son, his mother Princess Iyaya travelled to find King Mena. On her journey, Egyptian troops and citizens greeted Princess Iyaha with the song: "w’h.wi w’h.wi i’h" and informed her of the good news that her son King Mena had defeated the Hyksos army.
The Ancient Egyptians also sang "w’h.wi w’h.wi i’h" during festivals to welcome the new moon and the new month. In this context, the song meant "how present (or how stable) is the moon".
Although we can never replay the tune of the song, the words remain as Egypt carries some of its ancient traditions. And so I wish you all a "w’h.wi w’h.wi i’h" and a Happy July Revolution....
Reader Comments (16)
Christina,
Cool information - who knew?
RE: Abdel Halim Hafez (Andaleeb) and Om Kalthoum, who respectively sang “Sawritna al Masriya” (Our Egyptian Revolution) and “Sawar-Sawar” (Revolutionary-Revolutionary),
If you have the time, could you post links to each of these songs? I'm sure they're online somewhere.
What does the writer exactly mean with the "Gulf/Persian area"
Are you refering to two diffrent area's or is this the PERSIAN GULF Area.
Please elaborate !
Catherine,
I'll get onto it. I tried searching for it the other day but to no avail. However I am determined...
Watch this space : )
RE What does the writer exactly mean with the "Gulf/Persian area"
I have the feeling she was referring to the Persian Empire, actually :-)
RE What does the writer exactly mean with the "Gulf/Persian area"
Yes the Persian Gulf area.
interesting and very informative article away from hard core politics
On the topic of Egyptian music: Is the tune in this video game Egyptian? I played the game when I was kid and I've always wondered where it came from. I think it is Egyptian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koWxUd30hDo" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koWxUd30hDo
Dave,
No it isn't Egyptian. It's just a "stereotype"-absolutely no idea who came up with it or where it comes from.
Nice article some times i ask my self how would be Egypt if we still under the kingdom?I think more better...
All the world is 300years infront and we are here in Egypt still thinking from where became the song wahawi ya wahawi...
No comment...
Then they should call it so, calling it the GULF Area is wrong and is historically incorrect. More and more Arab states are now calling it the Gulf or even the Arabian Gulf. The name is PERSIAN GULF as it has been from the beginning of the knows history. I am very surprised and disappointed at EA for referring to it as the GULF !!!!
Afshin,
Point taken. It is indeed a controversial point as more and more Arab countries are naming this area the Persian (Arabian) Gulf.
The Persian Gulf war was otherwise referred to (by numerous sources) as the 'Gulf War'.
To be more specific, The Hyksos army were a Canaanite tribe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan
Catherine,
I'm still looking. It might be under an 'arabic' word on youtube. The video clip for the songs show scenes of the revolution as it took place and the people on the streets. I'll continue the search...
Check out these search result: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Om+Kalthoum+patriotic+songs&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=1e3950c0dc0b2ded" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Om+Kalthoum+patr...
Well thats the thing, it should not be controversial. All respected historians as well as all history books have since the known history refered to it as the Persian Gulf. It is only because of the arab lobby and the Iranian goverments unpopularity that people dare challenge the name and alter history. The Persian Gulf is the only true name as has always been. I would expect FOX NEWS or even CNN to call it the Gulf but not EA. I would have expected EA to want to be historically correct and True to the name PERSIAN Gulf. Again I am very surprised and dissapointed.
The link doesn't work. All I get is the search engine : (
The search terms are : Om Kalthoum patriotic songs.
The lsit of results looked very promising