Egyptians weave brilliant stories all the time. They have a history of doing so dating back to
Ancient times and are now
being reinvented by a new generation of Egyptians to suit modern times.
The below is taken from a
UNESCO Survey on Egyptian Storyteller's Heritage and its instruments and tools, which describes the importance of preserving this heritage for future generations:
"In its expressive singing, stylized speech, motion, repertoire of narratives and mimetic gestures, it is one of the unique expressions of Egyptian’s rich performing arts tradition and folk culture. In addition to its significance as a foremost literary and musical expression, this heritage represents a repository for the rich spectrum of Egyptian folk history, customs, beliefs, symbolism and traditions not only in its intangible form but also in its instruments and movable assets.
- In its musical form, there are different storytellings performed by vocalists and poets accompanied by various musical instruments.
- In the theatrical form, another sort of storytellers’ tool has been used, It features handicraft puppets, made of wood and textile. The puppeteer hides behind a textile and wooden screen, tells or sings his story and moves the puppets in the front of the attendance.
- In its cinematic form, the storytellers, for narrating the stories accompanied by images, scenes and music, used a wooden box. People used to look at the picture inside the box through some lenses while the artist told the stories and changes the images.
The traditional Egyptian storytellers’ heritage consists in many stories including stories of popular heroes and
epic poems such as
Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyya and its characters such as Abu Zeid Al-Hilali, El-Zenaty Kalepha and Zayab Ibn Ganem....There are several other stories regarding popular resistance and fight against foreign colonialism, as well as many other political and emotional stories, such as the story of
Sayf Ibn Ze El-Yazen, the story of
Antra Ibn Shadad and
Abla and Antra’s partner Shaybob.
