ABSTRACT KAFR BL-ELOW: AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE IN TRANSITION By Hani I. Fakhouri This dissertation is based on an ethnographic study of Kafr el- Blow, a peasant community located at the southern end of the Governorate of Cairo in the United.Arab Republic, just eighteen miles south of Cairo. The village of Kafr el-Elow was chosen by the writer because of its position in the midst of Egypt's largest industrial complex, making it possible for him to study the impact of the industrialization and urbanization processes on the traditional way of life. The study began early in 1965 and continued through.Narch, 1966, under the auspices of the Social Research Center at the American Univer- sity in Cairo, which provided the writer with three trained field re- searchers--one male and two female Egyptians, the latter collecting val- uable information about the women of Kafr el-El w which, in this cul- ture, only female investigators could secure. Intense participant ob- servation was the method whereby the bulk of the data was gathered. The writer attended various ceremonies in the village, such as zars, mulids, weddings and funerals, and made daily contacts with key informants in their own homes, at mandarahs (guest houses), at gurzahs (coffee houses), at mouzaien (barber shOps), at tarzi (tailor shops), and in the culti- vated fields. Additional information was secured from structured 2 questionnaires and case histories. Government documents were relied upon fer statistical data. From the time when Kafr el-Elow came into existence in the mid- eighteenth century to the time when this study came to an end in 1966, the village community passed through three distinct stages. During the first stage, which lasted nearly a hundred.years--up to the early 1900's, the village was a small, stable, homogenous community whose economy was based on subsistence farming. The slowness of change during this period.not only reflected the community's physical isolation from urban areas, due to the lack of communication facilities and the absence of paved roads, but also the prevalence of illiteracy among the inhabi- tants of the village. The second stage of Kafr el-Elow history began in the early 1920's, with the introduction by the central government of a water pump fer irrigation and the establishment of the village cement and textile factories, and came to an end in the early 1950's. During this period, a gravel road was constructed between Kafr el-Elow and Helwan, daily bus service between these two points was begun, and secu- lar education was introduced into Kafr el-Elow. The Revolution of 1952, which initiated a new political, social, and economic order in Egypt, marked the beginning of the third stage of Kafr el-Elow's history. Egypt's largest industrial complex started rising in the Helwan area, where the village is located, during the late 1950's, producing marked changes in the social and economic life of the community. The writer discovered, however, that Kafr el-Elow's ailahs. (joint families), while adapting to an industrial economy by such mod- ernizing processes as compartmentalization and vicarious ritualization, have not lost their essential character. Despite the fact that some Hani I . Fakhouri 3 villagers have left their joint-family households to establish their own nuclear families in.separate residential units, their families continue to subscribe to the norms of the joint-family system and do not abandon their joint-family obligations. On the other hand, the relatively un- stratified population of Kafr el-Elow is gradually being replaced by a class-structured one in whiCh status and social mobility are based on personal achievement, as reflected by the marked increase in the number of professional and skilled workers in the village, most of whom belong to the younger generation. The writer thinks, however, that the major- ity of Kafr el-Elow's pOpulation will eventually become an urban pro- letariat when agricultural employment will have disappeared due to the complete transfer of land use from farming to residential purposes to accommodate the ever-increasing flow of workers migrating to the village in seardh of industrial employment. And as per capita income continues to rise, competition among the villagers will undoubtedly become more intense, pretending a truly dynamic community. The village of Kafr el- Elow, therefore, constitutes an excellent prototype of a community evolving from a relatively classless, agricultural, folk society to a stratified, industrial, modern society--a prototype which may not only be predictive of future trends in Egyptian society as a whole, but of what will happen to traditional communities under the influence of in- dustrialization. KAFR EL-ELOW AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE IN TRANSITION By Hani I. Fakhouri A THESIS Submitted to hfichigan State university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of AnthrOpology 1969 Claw“) 5-20-70 Copyright by HANI I. FAKHOURI 1969 ACMOMEDGMENTS This study was made possible by a research assistantship from the Social ResearCh Center at the American university in Cairo, Egypt, extending from 1964 to 1966. Therefore, to Doctors Laila Shukry el- Hammsy and Saad Gadalla, Director and Assistant Director, respectively, of the Social Research Center, I wish to express Special gratitude. Others at the Social Research Center to whom I owe special thanks are Mr. Mohammad Fikri, Miss Fadwa el Guindi, and Miss Zeinab Gamal Hassan, my field assistants, who contributed in.no small measure to the comple- tion of this study, and to the entire staff of the Center for their kind assistance. Tb Doctors John USeem and John Donoghue, under whose direction I conceived this study at MiChigan State University, I wish to express my sincere appreciation. The following three members of my Graduate Com- mittee from the Anthropology Department at Michigan State University also deserve special commendation for their friendly guidance and help- ful criticism; Dr. Iwao Ishino, Chairman of the committee, Dr. Elizabeth Bacon, and Dr. Leonard Kasdan. Acknowledgment of indebtedness is likewise due my generous and kind colleague, Dr. Nhry Jo Huth, Chairman of the Sociology-Anthropology Department at the University of Dayton, who read the entire manuscript and offered extremely helpful suggestions in regard to literary style. Last, but not least, I wish to acknowledge the pe0ple of Kafr el-Elow, with whom I shared fifteen months of my life and for whose boundless courtesy, hOSpitality, goodwill, and generous assistance I will always be grateful. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ......................... List of Figures ......................... List of Tables ......................... CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION . . . ..................... Subject Matter and Significance of the Study -- 1 Mbthodology -- 4 Organization of the Data -- 8 II THE COMMUNITY . . . . . . ................. Geographical Setting -- 9 Physical Description of Kafr el-Elow -- 14 Historical Setting -- 20 Papulation -- 24 Health -- 30 Heusing -- 33 Clothing -- 38 Diet -- 41 Recent.Trends in Food Consumption Patterns -- 44 PUblic Utilities and Services -- 46 fSummary -- 50 III THE VILLAGE ECONOMY ............... . . . Introduction -- 54 Agriculture -- 55 Industry -- 72 Commerce and Other Sources of Income -- 87 Summary -- 99 IV FAMILY.AND KINSHIP ORGANIZATION .............. Family Structure in Kafr el-Elow -- 103 Kinship Terminology -- 106 Kinship Roles -- 111 The Mate Selection Process -- 116 Pre-Nuptial Rituals -- 119 The Wedding Day (Youm Addukhlah) -- 122 Polygyny -- 130 Widowhood -- 132 Divorce -- 133 Social Class -- 137 iii ii vi PAGE 54 W P_A§§ V RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ............ . . 139 The Basic Tenets of Islam -- 139 Islam's Impact on the Villagers -- 151 Universal Islamic Practices -- 155 Practices Associated with Islam in Kafr el-Elo -- 167 VI EDUCATION: FORMAL AND INFORMAL ...... . ....... 177 Traditional Education -- 177 Modern Education -- 179 The Impact of Formal Education on the Villagers -- 185 The Mass Media -- 189 VIIVIILAGEGOVERerIENI‘..........._. ........ . 192 The Traditional Government -- 192 The Modern Government -- 194 The New Political Horizon -- 196 The Settlement of Disputes -- 198 VIII ”my ANI) mNCIJUSIONS O O O O O O O 0 O 0 O O O O O O O O 212 TRANSLITERATIONANDPRONUNCIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 CIDSSARY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O, O O O O O O O O O O O O 235 BIBLImWI-ly 0 O 0 O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 240 PIATE O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 244 iv LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE TITLE 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. T Opography of Egypt The Location of Kafr el-Elow Climatic Zones The Six Residential Clusters of Kafr el-Elow's Six Hamulahs General View of the Village Showing the Various Services Offered Land Cultivated by Villagers in 1966 Areas Served by Irrigation Canal System Fed by the Ni 1e River Comparative Intergenerational Mobility: Grandfather- Father-Son Comparative Intergenerational Mobility: Father-Son Career Mobility Connercial Outlets in the Village Family Unit Terminology Genealogy of a Hamulah Kinship Terminology Affinal Terminology fig; 11 12 13 15 19 60 65 79 80 81 97 102 103 107 108 LIST OF TABLES TABLE TITLE 1. 2. 3. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Papulation Growth and Projection in Egypt, 1800-2000 Population Density Trends in Kafr el-Elow, 1917-1960 Age Distribution of Population in Kafr el-Elow and in Egypt as a Whole in 1960 Sex Composition of P0pulation in Kafr el-Elow and in.Egypt as a Whole in 1960 Sex Composition of Kafr el-Elow's Population by Age in 1960 Marital Status of Kafr el-Elow‘s Mbrriageable P0pulation in 1960 Estimates of'Major Occupations, 1960 Distribution of Acreage among Kafr el-Elow's Farmers, 1965 Distribution of Acreage among Kafr el-Elow's Landowners, 1965 4 Income From.the Agricultural and Industrial Sectors of the Egyptian Economy, 1945-1952 and 1952-1963 Business Units Established in Kafr el-Elow, 1920-1966 Widowed Persons in Kafr el-Elow in Selected Years .Married and Divorced Persons in Kafr el-Elow: 1937, 1947, and 1960 Total.Attendance at the Public Elementary School in Kafr el-Elow: 1957-1966 Illiteracy and Literacy in Kafr el-Elow: 1937, 1947, and 1960 -- Males Illiteracy and Literacy in.R‘ln-el-Elow: 1937, 1947, and 1960 -- Females Higher Education in Kafr el-Elow, 1960 vi PAGE 25 26 26 27- 28 29 55 S8 58 73 88 132 135 186 186 187 188 ' It: CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Subject Matter and Significance of the Study This dissertation is based on an ethnographic study of Kafr e1- Elow, a peasant commity located at the southern end of the Governor- ate of Cairo in the United Arab Republic, just eighteen miles south of Cairo, the capital of the nation. The writer's first glimpse of Kafr el-Elow came one day in October, 1964, as he was traveling with a group of researchers from the Social Research Center at the American Univer- sity in Cairo to tour the iron and steel factory near Helwan. His at- tention was attracted by the smoke rising from the chimneys of various factories around the village. Several days later, the writer and a colleague from the Social Research Center went to Kafr el-Elow to de- termine the feasibility and possibility of undertaking a research proj- ect in the village. Upon visiting Kafr el-Elow, the writer was immediately im- pressed by the stark contrast between the traditional and modern ways of life in the village. On one side of the village the fellaheen were tilling their plots of land with the same type of implements used by their ancestors hundreds of years earlier, while, on the other side, a modern industrial complex was emerging. Similarly, some villagers were riding donkeys and leading water buffaloes (gamousah) to their fields, while others were riding bicycles to their factory jobs or were waiting for the bus to take them to work. Moreover, there was an obvious 2 difference between the western-style dress of the younger generation and the traditional garb (jalabiyah) of the elderly villagers. The feasibil- ity_of studying Kafr el-Elow as a prime example of the impact of indus- trialization and urbanization on traditional village life in Egypt, therefore, seemed clear almost at once. unfortunately, the possibility of studying the village was not so readily determined. The writer was forced to wait from October, 1964, to January, 1965, before receiving permission from the government to begin his research in Kafr el-Elow. hfithout the intervention of the Social Research Center at the American university in Cairo, the writer would very probably have been further delayed, because the Egyptian government has been extremely reluctant in recent years to grant such permission to foreigners. Adjacent to the village of Kafr el-Elow has recently developed Egypt's largest industrial complex. .A decade ago, Kafr el-Elow was an average Egyptian village in.p0pu1ation size. Since that time, however, the papulation has almost doubled to about 8,000 peOple, due mainly to the influx of migrant workers seeking employment in the surrounding factories. Despite the presence of many newcomers in Kafr el-Elow, however, a strong feeling of community identification and solidarity prevails in the village, although no visible boundaries separate it from surrounding villages. This social cohesiveness is most strikingly reflected in the villagers' staunch SUpport of one another in disputes with persons from.neighboring villages. .MOreover, most internal con- flicts are settled infermally by a council of elders rather than by a civil court. The effective Operation of the village irrigation system also demonstrates the strong spirit of neighborliness in Kafr el-Elow, as it is frequently necessary for a farmer's water supply to cross 3 several other farmers' plots before reaching his field. Community-wide participation in religious rituals and strong kinship ties are still other examples of the high degree of community solidarity in Kafr el- Elow. Nevertheless, since the advent of industrialization, many new patterns of behavior have entered the community directly and indirectly from.urban areas. TherefOre, in.subsequent chapters the writer will describe the present-day life of the pe0p1e in Kafr e1-Elow--their so- cial organization, work, and community activities as they reflect both the influence of tradition and recent industrialization and urbaniza- tion--based on information secured.by talking to the villagers and ob- serving them. Consequently, a substantial portion of this ethnographic study will deal with the forces of social change in the village. The writer does not claim that this dissertation will depict all the varied aspects of Egyptian culture, even in the rural areas, for Kafr el-Elow is only one of more than four thousand villages in Egypt-where over 80 percent of the societyls population.now resides. This comprehensive study of life in Kafr el-Elow should, however, con- tribute significantly to a better understanding of the Egyptian "na- tional character" when combined with data from studies of other Egyp- tian villages, past and future. Moreover, the study should benefit the host country--Egypt--as well as advance the knowledge of American Mid- dle East scholars. The writer intends to share the results of his re- search with native scholars (a c0py of this dissertation will be filed Math the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo) and Math other interested persons and institutions in Egypt, not only as a small token of appreciation for the hospitality extended to him between 1964-66 while he was conducting his research in Kafr el-Elow, but in 4 the hape that his findings may in some way help the Egyptian government solve some of the practical problems of its rural areas. Other impor- tant ramifications of such sharing include greater receptivity to vis- iting research scholars, the strengthening of Middle Eastern education- al institutions, and the promotion of more harmonious international re- lations between the United States and the Middle East. Methodology This study began early in 1965 and continued through March, 1966, under the auspices of the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo, which provided the writer with three trained field researchers--one male and two female Egyptians, the latter collecting valuable infermation about the women of Kafr el-Elow which, in this cul- ture, only female investigators could secure. Intense participant ob- servation was the method.whereby the bulk of the data was gathered. The writer attended various ceremonies in the village, such as zars, mulids, weddings and funerals, and made daily contacts with key informants in their own.homes, at mandarahs (guest houses), at ggrzahs (coffee houses), at mouzaien (barber shOps), at targi (tailor shops), and in the cultivated fields. Additional information.was secured from structured questionnaires and case histories. Government documents were relied upon fer statistical data. To make a valid study of the community life of an alien culture is a difficult task confronting sociologists and anthrOpologists. Not only must the researcher possess a thorough knowledge of the language, but a relatively high degree of intimacy with, and sensitivity to, his informants. It is primarily for the purpose of achieving the latter Cifiective that the writer combined qualitative research techniques-- 5 /participant observation and case histories--with quantitative ones-- structured interviews and government documents. This two-fold approach not only gave the writer insight into the villagers' emotional and in- tellectual responses to his formal questions, but provided him with quotations to enhance the reader's interest in, and understanding of, Kafr el-Elow. In addition, the writer possessed a personal advantage fer relating to, and empathizing with, his informants, because although he had never lived in Egypt prior to undertaking the researdh project on Which this study is based, he had visited the country on several oc- casions and.was reared.in.Jordan, a neighboring Middle Eastern society, and.was thoroughly conversant with the Arabic language and culture. .At the same time, having received his training in scientific research.meth- ads in the United States, where he resided for twelve years prior to re- turning to the Middle East in 1964, he was able to approach his study ‘with.the Objectivity essential to any valid research.project. Despite the writer's eduCational qualifications and position as a senior staff researCher with the American.University in Cairo, it was necessary for him to comply with the Egyptian law requiring all for- eigners to secure a "letter of clearance" before conducting any re- search in the country. The writer's "letter of clearance," obtained from the Governor of Cairo, served the double purpose of permitting him to study the village of Kafr el-Elow and of introducing him.to the vil- lage officials. Hfis first point of contact in Kafr el-Elow was the po- lice station, where an officer welcomed him cordially and inquired if he were a press representative who had come to the village to "cover" a nurder conmitted there that same day. After the writer introduced him- self and stated his purpose--to conduct an ethnographic study of the 6 village--the officer very graciously complied with his request for the names of Kafr el-Elow's leading citizens, at the same time advising him to secure further authorization for his research from Cairo's sub- administrative headquarters in nearby Helwan. Before going to Helwan, however, the writer visited the home of an elementary school teacher whose name appeared on the list supplied him by the police officer, be- cause teachers, in Middle Eastern societies, are among the most well- known, highly-respected, and enlightened citizens of any commmity, and this particular person was also the son of a prominent citizen. Having arrived at the teacher' 5 home, the writer introduced himself and his three assistants, whereUpon the teacher, wearing a white jalabiyah and jacket, welcomed us into his home and led us to the formal reception room on the second floor which was furnished in a modern man- ner, unlike the mandarah or guest room on the first floor. Although the writer informed the teacher that he had a "letter of clearance" from the govemment, the teacher did not demand to see it. Instead, he insisted on serving the writer and his assistants fruit and tea, and when we de- murred, he was visibly insulted and refused to c00perate until we ac- cepted his hOSpitality. After we had eaten with the teacher, he volun- teered to introduce us the following day to other leading villagers in Kafr el-Elow who would later introduce us to still others. The writer's positive eXperience with the teacher was typical of his encounters with all the villagers while he was conducting research in Kafr el-Elow. Although he had anticipated acceptance by the villag- ers after a period of two to three months, much to his surprise he was able to establish rapport with most of them from the very first week. Not only did the villagers identify with him strongly as a fellow Arab, - 7 but they were proud that a researcher had come to learn from.them about the impact of the surrounding industries on their lives. This kind of pride has developed among Egyptian villagers in recent years due to the constant government-sponsored prepaganda in the mass media about Egypt's leading role in the Arab nationalist movement. That the writer estab- lished excellent rapport with the villagers was demonstrated in many ways. They insisted that he smoke their cigarettes rather than his own whenever he was their guest; prepared coffee for him to drink, recog- nizing that as a.Jordanian and an urbanite he preferred coffee to their favorite drink, tea; on some occasions, bought him.cokes which they tried their best to cool by immersing the bottles in the crocks of cold ‘water reserved for drinking purposes in their homes; gave him vege- tables and even carried them to his car whenever he came out to visit them as they worked in the fields; inquired of the field research as- sistants about his welfare whenever he did not accompany them to the village; and told him personally that they missed him when he stayed in Cairo several days to record and analyze the data-he had collected over a.period of several days or when he visited.his home in Jordan. In- tense competition develOped among the villagers to have the writer as a visitor or guest in their homes because of his prestige as a college professor. Ybuths as well as adults solicited his company, inviting him to participate in.their table tennis and soccer games and in their discussions about village problems. Only two of the writer's researdh procedures seemed to arouse suspicion among some of the villagers-- usually newcomers and persons to whom.he had not been introduced. First, he was occasionally stOpped while taking pictures of the village and of the industrial complex surrounding Kafr el-Elow. Secondly, when as the writer attempted to conduct structured interviews with the villag- ers, some were reluctant to Speak as frankly and Openly as on those oc- casions when he conversed with them.informally, in which cases they frequently encouraged him.to record.what they were telling him. Organization of the Data This study is divided into seven chapters, exclusive of Chap- ter I, the Introduction. Chapter 11 deals briefly with the geography and history of Egypt to establish a frame of reference for the physical description and history of the village, Kafr el-Elow, where the writer conducted his research. The demographic characteristics of Kafr e1- Elow, its health and housing conditions, the villagers' clothing and diet, and the public utilities serving the community are also discussed in.Chapter II. Three major sectors of the village economy-~agriculture, indus- try, and commerce--are treated in Chapter III, while four other social institutions in Kafr e1-Elow--the family, religion, education, and _ government--are discussed in Chapters IV through VII. Chapter VIII, entitled Summary and Conclusions, contains an integrated recapituation of the material discussed in the preceding chapters, as well as the writer's predictions regarding social change in the village. CHAPTER II THE COMMUNITY Geoggaphical Setting_ Geographically, fOur regions comprise Egypt: the Western and Southern Deserts, the Eastern Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Nile valley and Delta. 1. The western and Southern Deserts - Its inhabitants are concentrated in the oases (Siwa, Bahariya, Farfara, Dakla, and Kharga) and in small villages along the Mediterranean where the water supply is sufficient to ensure their survival. This vast area consists main- ly of sandy plains and barren deserts. The Eastern Desert - Less inhabited than the western Desert, al- though water resources are more plentiful in this region. The area is inhabited largely by nomadic Bedouins. .The Sinai Peninsula - Separated from Egypt by the Suez Canal and Gulf, this area is sparsely populated, eSpecially in the southern section which is very hotanddry. The Nile valley and the Delta - Although comprising roughly 4 per- cent Of Egypt's total land area (400,000 square miles), this region contains about 65-70 percent of the country's pOpulation. It is in this region where almost all major cities, towns, villages, and the bulk of the country's industry and cultivated fields are located. Along the bank of the 550 mile-long narrow valley of the Nile River, from Aswan in the south to Cairo in the north, some of the most densely settled agricultural land in the world (1,500-2,000 persons 9 10 per square mile) exists (see Figure 1). Near Cairo, where the Nile valley ends and.the Nile Delta branches north toward the Mediter- ranean, the village of Kafr el-Elow is located (see Figure 2). Climatically, Egypt is divided into two zones: the Mediterra- nean, including the Nile Delta, and the Saharan, covering UpperEgypt (see Figure 3). The village of Kafr el-Elow is located in the south- ern.part of the former zone. There are, in effect, only two seasons: ‘Winter, the cool period fromrNovember to March, and summer, a period of intense heat from.June to September which is marked by the total ab- sence of rain in the country. In the Mediterranean zone, however, the prevailing winds blowing from the north temper the summer heat. Con- sequently, while daytime temperatures in the extreme northern section Of this zone average 87° Fahrenheit during August, its hottest month, in the southern.part Of this zone, where Cairo and Kafr el-Elow are located, the daytime temperatures average 96° Fahrenheit during July, its hottest month. Winter temperatures average 66° Fahrenheit during the day along the Mediterranean coast and as far inland as Cairo and Kafr el-Elow. Rainfall is almost limdted to the months from OctOber through May and is nowhere very great. The annual average for Alexandria is 8 inches, and, for Cairo and Kafr el-Elow, 1.2 inches. The humidity is highest along the Mediterranean coast in midsummer. In the Saharan zone, temperatures gradually increase as one pro- ceeds south from Cairo toward Aswan, averaging 108° Fahrenheit during JUne, and 75° Fahrenheit during January, the hottest and coldest months, re5pectively, in Aswan. Rain is almost unknown in this zone and the humidity is very low all year. 11 MEDITERRHNEW/V SEA “w ,aéfifiigééizzgigiar' \ '0‘ - ‘ .“'-'=-“"-""”"T" ‘2 9 x ,' g: ‘02 \\ «use; 62': " ‘23. .\ ,_ Kara d-Efoii gr" E e. P In 1:“ O U‘ __ 6‘ a": ‘9 =- - IN5\NUQA’ FIGURE 1 TOPOGRAPHY OF EGYPT Key 1 - Nile valley Agricultural Area 2 - Main Agricultural Area in Cases 3 - Sand Desert 12 ng [TERRRNEFIV :EA U'TRJR' FIGURE 2 THE LOCATION OF KAFR EL-ELOW IN THE GOVERNORATE OF CAIRO, U.A.R. 13 I“ J MED fTERRIH/EAN 33 “BIHBRWA "“ ..____ OASIS ‘“ FIGURE 3 CLIMATIC ZONES IJJ—TJ'J] Mediterranean Zone Saharan Zone 14 Weatherwise, March to mid-June are the worst months in the Medi- terranean zone where Kafr el-Elow is located, because the Khamasin “finds, originating over the western desert, blow over the area carry- ing hot, dry air and dust which almost obscure the sun on some occa- sions. Physical Description of Kafr el-Elow The village of Kafr el-Elow, located eighteen miles south of Cairo and five miles northwest of Helwan, is about three miles long and two miles wide. On the north, Kafr el-Elow is bordered by a citrus grove and by agricultural fields belonging to the neighboring village of Helwan el-Balad; on the south, just beyond some narrow fields, by the village of el-Tabeen located in the Governorate of Geiza; on the east, by a railroad track which leads to the Portland Cement Factory in the northeastern section of the village; and, on the west, by the Nile -River. Four distinct settlements constitute the village of Kafr el- Blow: Ezbit Enan el-Bahria, Ezbit Enan el-Kiblieh, the nuclear settle- ment, and the Arab settlement (see Figure 4). .As one travels south on the main.road between Cairo and Kafr el-Elow, the first settlement one Observes is Ezbit Enan el-Bahria, located at the northern end of the village. Several hundred yards further south is the settlement Ezbit Ehan.el-Kiblieh, separated from the first settlement by a road.which leads from the main.highway between Cairo and Kafr el-Elow. The nu- clear and largest of the four settlements, referred to as Kafr el-Elow, is located south of Ezbit Enan el-Kiblieh beyond a narrow strip of agricultural land and a football field. This settlement has two main sections. The northern section is inhabited by the descendants of 1S W.‘ IL, L‘ +1 _._. ,1:- E 7 13' 4" , ,1 M25 «mm ? ft in: THE SIX RESIDENTIAL CLUSTERS OF KAFR EL-EI.()W'S SIX HAMULAHS FIGURE 4 16 Kafr el-Elow's first settlers belonging to six different clans, each oc- cupying a separate residential area within the section. The southern section, inhabited until 1918 by Bedouin Arabs, is now occupied largely by migrant workers who started coming to this area during the decade 1955-1965. TWO small bridges lead from the main road across the canal bor- dering the nuclear settlement. The northern bridge leads to a road which.passes through its northern section, while the southern bridge leads to a road which passes through the center of the settlement, fOrmdng the dividing line between its northern and southern sections. Another road crosses the settlement from north to south. All these roads are narrow and unpaved. The canal separating this settlement from the main road is approximately five feet deep and fifteen feet wide. ‘Water is pumped into the canal from.the Nile River by a station located at the foot of the northern bridge leading from the main road to the northern section of the settlement. Small irrigation canals branch from this main canal into the agricultural fields behind the settlement. There are two public fountains in the settlement, one each on the east- ern and western sides of its northern section, built by the government to supply the villagers with fresh water. The Arab settlement of Kafr el-Elow, located at the extreme southeast side of the village adjacent to a sandy hill, is separated from the nuclear settlement by a jawafia grove (tropical fruit). This settlement, along with the settlements Ezbit Enan el-Bahria and Ezbit Enan el-Kiblieh, consist entirely of dwelling compounds. Only the nu- clear settlement Of Kafr el-Elow has bdth dwellings and public facili- ties. 17 The houses in all four settlements are irregularly Spaced, and many are Situated close to the drainage and irrigation canals which cut through the village from north to south and from east to west. Addi- tions have been made to many old residential structures, and new homes are being constructed on land which was formerly used for cultivation. The former measure is viewed not only as a means of accommodating an expanding household and Of maintaining family ties, but as a status symbol, because such home alterations signify modernization. The four settlements described above are treated as one commu- nity, designated by the name Kafr el-Elow, for the following reasons: 1. Officially, fromman administrative point Of view, they are regarded as a unit, as indicated.by their Sharing one police station, one school, one mosque, and one OOOperative society. The police station and SChOOl are located in.the extreme northeastern section of the village, while the COOperative society is located at the center of the nuclear settlement. There is daily, intensive interaction between the residents from the nuclear settlement--Kafr el-Elow--and thOse from.the three sur- rounding settlements. The village and its fOur constituent settlements comprise a Single economic unit in that they Share one cultivated area, one water canal system, and one market square. The latter, located in the center of the nuclear settlement of Kafr el-Elow, is the Site Of the entire community's ShOpping and economic transactions. .All major religious activities are carried out at the community mosque located in the center of the nuclear settlement. The four settlements also Share the same burial ground. l8 Kafr el-Blow's agricultural fields are divided into two major sectionsseparated by the main road between Cairo and the village (see Figure 5). The fields lying east of the highway fOrm.a horseshoe around the nuclear settlement, Kafr el-Elow, while those on.the western side of the highway-~referred to as the Gezira--form.a semicircle be- tween the road and the surrounding Nile River. The former are sandy and infertile because they are located at the fOOthills Of the Eastern ZDesert, while the latter have black, rich soil brought annually by the Nile River during the inundation season. The new industrial deveIOpment around Kafr el-Elow has Signifi- cantly altered the ecological pattern of the village. Much land for- lnerly devoted to agriculture has been allocated to factories and to DBW’ Ihousing fOr persons who have migrated to the area for industrial em- ;ployment. Only the cement and textile factories, however, are located ‘within.the boundaries of the village. At the northern end of the 'Gezira, where the Nile meets the main highway, there is a small port connected to Kafr el-Elow's cement factory by'avsingle railway track on 'which cement is transported in small cars to the port for shipment by riverboat to Upper Egypt. Geographically speaking, Kafr el-Elow occupies a very strategic position, Situated only a few miles from Cairo where the Nile River branches out to fOrm the Nile Delta, which forms a triangle, the base of which borders on the Mediterranean Sea. From a high point in Kafr el-Elow one has a clear view of the Giza Pyramids beyond the western bank of the Nile River, where one of mankind's oldest civilizations flourished over 5,000 years ago. Mbreover, Kafr el-Elow is linked to both the northern and southern parts of the country by the Nile River, 19 9 -Dock ” / / K B ’ ’ // i ,, 4 > / 7 / /. ¢ 6 P / M; // / m / / / X/j; ““"71 r / / / / / / ll / ///3 R R R R R /¢ / I ' N / / / /’ /' T // / / ' / J\ / / / v / / K // / / / / I . , // /. "" / /" / l r / ’I’ / / (F I. 0"/////4 «“1 ~ " ....~. / // / /_// Rwse 4‘... NILE Ru/ER é... FIGURE 5 GENERAL VIEW OF THE VILLAGE, SFDWING THE VARIOUS SERVICES OFFERED SYMBOLS F - Factory X _ Mosque S - School 9 _ Postal Service P - Police III _. Railways A - Athletic Club _ __ Main Road C - Cemetery 2 _ Secondary Road R - Residential Area _______ _ Path 26 and to Cairo, the capital and largest city in Egypt, by a paved road. This accesSibility of transportation facilities has not only facilitated the marketing of cash crOps by Kafr el-Elow's farmers, but has acceler- ated the process of urbanization in the village. It is Kafr el-Elow's geographical advantage, therefore, which accounts for those social and cultural conditions which distinguish this village from thousands of other Egyptian villages . Historical Setting The village of Kafr el-Elow is located in a region popularly re- ferred to as Ma__s_r;, the same term which has also been used traditionally to designate both the country of Egypt and Cairo, its capital. This im- plies that, tO the Egyptian masses, Cairo is Egypt and Egypt is Cairo. Historically Speaking, the region has not only been considered the po- litical and cultural center of Egypt, but of the entire Arab and Islamic world. Traditionally, and more Specifically, Arabs view Cairo as a haven for both political refugees and scholars, and Moslems point with pride to the city as the seat of the famed Al-Azhar University, estab- lished during the tenth century, A.D. , which became the academic center for Moslem theologians. The Egyptian peOple made a continuous and high- ly Significant contribution to world history from ancient to modern times, covering a period of well over five thousand years. When compared to its region and the city of Cairo, the village of Kafr el-Elow is a "late arrival," having been established only about two hundred years ago. Yet, the people of Kafr el-Elow identify strong- ly with the rich cultural heritage of their region, part of which is evident in the physical environment. The magnificent Giza Pyramids 21 which can be viewed from the village are constant reminders of the area's cultural antiquity and historical significance. The name Kafr el-Elow is derived from the Arabic word 13313:, meaning "a clustering of peOple," and 91511, meaning "height." Hence, the complete name may be translated as "the high village." According to the village elders, the original inhabitants of Kafr el-Elow were numbers of Six families who moved from a settlement approximately one mile south, called Nazlet Abou Darwish, which they had founded under the leadership a Ali Abou Darwish after it had become inundated by the Nile River. Upon moving to Kafr el-Elow, Ali Abou Darwish not only continued to serve as the leader and spokesman of the Six families, but became the village head (de__a_h_) , assuming responsibility for such Official matters as taking the village census , solving disputes , and providing for the security of the commity. Ivany Of the present-day inhabitants of Kafr el-Elow trace their ancestry to the villages from which the original six families migrated, and some still maintain contact with relatives in these villages, visit- ing them on holidays and other Special occasions. The Dawudeya family, for example, .came from.Camaleh village, Markaz Al-Ayat; the Boras and the Khalil families, from Sakkarra village, Markaz Al-Shubbak; the Salloum family, from Moussa village, Markaz Al-Ayat; and the Ellahouni family, from Lahoun village, Markaz El-Fayoum. Until recently, Kafr el- Elow was popularly referred to as Nazlet Abou Darwish, in memory of its founder, although the official name of the village has always been Kafr el-Elow. Shortly after the pOpulation of Nazlet Abou Darwish moved to Kafr el-Elow in the mid-eighteenth century, the village head (omdah) 22 distributed the unclaimed land around the village among the eighteen households. into which the founding families were divided and ordered it cleared for cultivation, as it was sandy and covered with bushes and bamboo (tarfaiha) trees. Even the most fertile land in the village was not cleared for cultivation, however, until the late 1930's, for the Egyptian fellaheen (peasants), traditionally, have not been keen about land ownership. In some cases, fellaheen who could not pay their land taxes refused to admit their land claims due to the severe penalties imposed on those who failed to pay their taxes. Such unclaimed land, which became the prOperty of the Royal Family, constituted half of the cultivated area within the village of Kafr el-Elow prior to the Revolu- tion of 1952 and was planted mainly in citrus fruits. Following the Revolution, when the Ministry of Agrarian Reform took over the prOperty of the Royal Family, several families in the village petitioned to re- claim the land which had been taken from their ancestors, but such claims were never recognized. Instead, the land was cleared Of its citrus trees, divided into small plots, and rented to the fellaheen'in the village. Miile the agricultural Situation in Kafr el-Elow has always pre- sented a bleak picture, the wheels Of industrialization started moving there as early as 1918 when a small» gypsum factory owned and operated by Salah Ennan was Opened. Thereafter, a few villagers began to supplement 1 their farm incomes by cutting gypsum from the nearby mountain for sale to the factory. In 1928, with the help of a Belgian company, Salah Ennan built the factory knOwn today as the Helwan Portland Cement Com- pany. Production started early in 1930, but it did not provide a sig- nificant source of SUpplementary income for the villagers, because total 23 ‘ factory employment never exceeded 150 peOple and laborers were recruited not only from Kafr el-Elow, but from neighboring villages. A small dye- ing ShOp was Opened several years prior to the establishment of the ce- ment factory, but it only employed fifteen to twenty peOple for a rela- tively short period each year during the cotton season. After this business was in Operation for about ten years, however, it went bankrupt and closed down. When it reSLnned Operations in the late 1930's, it did so under the name of the Helwan Silk and Textile Conpany. With the start of World War II in the early 1940's and the es- tablishment of large British camps around Kafr el-Elow, an abundance of new employment Opportunities was provided for peOple residing in the area. Nany young men left agricultural work to take jobs in British camps as servants and laborers. During the mid-1940's, the Stilco Com- pany was established to build river boats on a small scale, but most of the company's employees were Skilled workers imported from nearby Cairo. Most ‘Of these sources of income came to an end, of course, at the ter- mination of World War II. Industrialization's impact upon the lives of Kafr el-Elow's vil- lagers was not Significant until the late 1950's and early 1960's, when, as a result Of the government's nationalization process, all private in- dustries underwent tremendous expansion. The Helwan Silk and Textile Factory, for example, now Operates on a three-shift basis and employs . approximately 16,000 persons, and the Helwan Portland Cement Factory, which also Operates on a three-shift basis, has over 1200 employees. In addition, many new industries have develOped in the Helwan area Since the Revolution of 1952, so that the entire industrial complex now em- ploys over 100,000 peOple, about 1200 of whom are residents of Z4 Kafr el-Elow. As a result, agriculture, commerce, education, communica- tions--indeed, all phases of life in Kafr el-Elow--have undergone con- siderable modification. This, in turn, has affected the life orienta- tion--the values and attitudes--Of the peOple, to the extent that the fellaheen residing in the village today could be said to have one foot in the traditional social order and, the other, in the modern social order. The homogeneity which once characterized Kafr el-Elow is dimin- ishing as innovations increase, but the transformation is a gradual one. In.1966, Kafr el-Elow was incorporated into the city of Helwan, the administrative center for the southern part of the Cairo Governor- ate, and was thereby rezoned as an urban area. It is within and against this physical setting and historical background that the economic, so- cial, and political life of Kafr el-Elow can be most advantageously perceived. Population The village of Kafr el-Elow covers approximately fOur square kilometers of land stretching eastward along the bank of the Nile River, and.has a total population of 6,608 persons. The pOpulation of Kafr el- Blow has been increasing steadily during the past three decades, from 2,656 persons in 1937, to 4,018 in 1947, and to 6,608 persons in 1960. (U.A.R. Census Book, 1937:20, 1947:15, and l960:23).1 Moreover, accord- .ing to many village informants, the population of Kafr el-Elow increased by at least 40 percent between 1960 and 1966, due largely to the influx 1The census is taken once every ten years in the U.A.R. The last census was supposed to have been taken in 1957, but was deferred until 1960 due to the Suez Canal crisis of 1956-57. The writer relied on secondary sources, such as the U.A.R. Census Book, because the rela- tively large size of the village meae it impractical to conduct his own survey. 25 of laborers from various parts of Egypt who settled in the village be- cause of its proximity to the nation's largest industrial complex and because of the low rents prevailing there. The annual rate of pOpulation growth in Kafr el-Elow, however, is only Slightly greater than that in the nation as a.whole--3.0 percent versus 2.8 percent. Table 1 indicates the pOpulation growth trend in Egypt Since the year 1800, as well as the projected figures for the year 2000. The relatively high annual rate of pOpulation growth in both Kafr el-Elow and in Egypt generally can be attributed to high fertility rates, as the average life expectancy level is only 51.6 years for males and 53.8 years for females. TABLE 1 POPULATION GROWTH AND PROJECTION IN EGYPT, 1800-2000 Year POpulation Annual Growth Rate 1800 3,000,000 ---- 1900 10,000,000 1.2% 1937 16,000,000 1.9% 1960 26,000,000 2.6% 1963 30,000,000 2.8% 2000 70,000,000 3.0% Source: Third National Conference on Family Planning, May 5-8, 1965, Cairo, U.A.R. POpulation density in Kafr el-Elow, as demonstrated in Table 2, is about 2,006 persons per square kilometer, compared to a density of 724.3 persons per square kilometer in Egypt generally, and a density Of 15,633.9 persons per square kilometer in the Governorate of Cairo. (U.A.R. Census Book, 1960:23) 26 TABLE 2 POPULATION DENSITY TRENDS IN KAFR EL-ELOW, 1917-1960 Year Population NO. of HOusehOldS Density per Square Kilometer 1917 908 . 307 419 1937 2656 557 664 1947 4018 857 1148 1960 6608 1482 2006 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1917:18, 1937:20, 1947:15 and 1960:23, respectively. .As Table 3 demonstrates, persons under 25 years of age consti- tute about 60 percent of the population--58.8 percent in Kafr el-Elow TABLE 3 AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION IN KAFR EL-ELOW AND IN EGYPT AS A WHOLE IN 1960 Age Group In Kafr el-Elow In Egypt as a Whole -Number Percent lNumber Percent under 5 1,230 18.7 4,132,121 15.0 5 to 9 940 14.3 3,799,003 14.7 10 to 14 665 '10.0 3,178,624 12.3 15 to 19 564 8.5 2,154,435 8.3 20 to 24 481 7.3 1,795,348 7.0 25 to 29 623 9.4 1,914,075 7.5 30 to 34 442 6.7 1,650,968 6.5 35 to 39 440 6.5 1,726,625 6.7 ~40 to 44 329 5.0 1,274,877 5.0 45 to 49 248 3.8 1,144,308 4.5 50 to 54 218 3.3 997,373 3.9 55 to 59 113 1.7 638,311 2.5 60 to 64 128 2.0 674,661 2.6 65 to 69 56 0.9 333,361 1.3 70 and over 131 1.9 569,310 2.2 Tbtals 6,608 100.00 25,983,400 100.00 E Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1960:28. 27 and 57.3 percent in Egypt as a whole--in both cases, while persons over 50 constitute only 9.8 percent of the pOpulation in Kafr el-Elow and 12.5 percent of the pOpulation in Egypt generally. As Table 4 indicates, the population Of Kafr el-Elow and of Egypt generally is almost equally divided between.males and females, although this tendency is obviously somewhat stronger in the latter case. This mdght be explained by the fact that Kafr el-Elow is primar- ily an agricultural and industrial community, attractive to males more than to females, while the sex ratio of Egypt generally reflects the influence of the country's large urban centers, such as Cairo and Alexandria, where commerCial, government, service, and professional oc- cupations appealing to women are more prevalent, producing a more fa- vorable balance between the male and female pOpulation. TABLE 4 SEX COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION IN KAFR EL-EDOW AND 'IN EGYPT AS A WHOLE 'IN 1960 en el-Elow Egypt Sex Nomber Percent Number Percent Males 3,528 53.39 13,068,012 50.29 Females 3,080 46.61 12,916,089 49.71 Tbtals 6,608 100.00 25,984,101 100.00 Source: U;A.R. Census Book, 1960:23. 28 Table 5 indicates that the distribution of males and females by age is also very similar, at least in Kafr el-Elow where 57.7 percent of the female pOpulation and 59.7 percent Of the male population is under 25 years of age; Similarly 11.0 percent of the female population and 8.6 percent of the male population is over 50 years of age. There is an average difference of only 2.2 percent in both cases. TABLE 5 SEX CCMPOSITION OF KAFR EL-ELOW'S POPULATION BY AGE IN 1960 Bales Females Number Percent Number Percent Less than 1 year 129 3.7 141 4.6 1 to 4 506 14.3 454 14.7 5 to 9 550 15.6 390 12.7 10 to 14 378 10.7 287 9.3 15 to 19 314 8.9 250 8.1 20 to 24 229 6.5 254 8.3 25 to 29 300 8.5 323 10.5 30 to 34 247 7.0 195 6.3 '35 to 39 ‘233 6:6 “207 6.7 40 to 44 184 5.3 145 4.7 45 to 49 152 4.3 96 3.1 50 to 54 109 3.1 109 3.5 55 to 59 58 1.6 55 1.8 60 to 64 65 1.8 63 2.1 65 to 69 30 .9 26 .8 70 to 74 26 .7 34 1.1 75 and over 18 .5 53 1.7 -TOtals 3528 100.0 3080 100.0 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1960:50. Table 6 reveals the marital status of Kafr el-Elow's villagers of marriageable age in 1960. It is interesting to note that about the same percentage of males as females were married-~7S.84 percent and 29 ‘ TABLE 6 MARITAL STATUS OF KAFR EL-ELOW'S MARRIAGEABLE POPULATION IN 1960 Never Married Married Divorced Widowed Sex No. Percent No. Percent NO. Percent No. Percent Totals Males 390 22.28 1328 75.84 17 .97 16 .91 1751 Females 126 7.20 1320 75.38 25 1.43 280 15.99 1751 Totals 516 14.7 2648 75.6 42 1.2 296 8.5 3502 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1960:210. 75.38 percent, respectively; the greatest discrepancies prevailed with respect to the "never married" and "widowed" categories. Whereas three times as many males as females--22.28 percent versus 7.20 percent--were bachelors, about sixteen times as many women as me --15.99 percent ver- sus .91 percent-~had been widowed. Many men's difficulty in gathering an adequate dowry accounts to some extent for the higher percentage of males than females who have "never mrried," but the fact that females -areencouraged to marry at anearlier .age than are males also tends to reduce the percentage of females relative to males in the "never mar- ried" category. Widows, on the other hand, far exceed widowers, be- cause it is not as socially acceptable for women as for men to remarry after the death of a spouse. Women's greater life expectancy and dif- ficulty in securing a mate after reaching an advanced age are other major explanations. Widowhood will be discussed further in Chapter IV. 30 Beam. As the writer indicated in the previous section, the life ex- pectancy level in Kafr el-Elow and in Egypt generally is low when com- pared to western standards . According to information provided by some elderly villagers and the medical staff at the village clinic, more than 25 percent of the children die before the age of one year, and the writer Observed that those persons who survived to maturity were gener- ally much older appearing than their ages would seem to warrant. Although the writer lacked the scientific training to make a detailed assessment of the villagers' health, familiarity with the vil- lage, based on two years ' careful observation, led him to conclude that the physical conditions essential to good health are generally lacking. The unpaved streets are dusty during the summer and muddy during the winter, making it difficult to maintain clean homes. Absence of a sew- age system encourages the villagers to dump their dirty water in the streets; children as well as animals defecate in the streets; and the village canal, where the peOple wash their clothes and eating utensils, is used to diSpose of all nanner of waste material. Because the vil- lagers —have no screens on their. homes, water and food are. readily sub- ject to contamination by the flies, mosquitos, and other insects which abound, eSpecially during the hot summer months. Moreover, lack of re- frigeration causes food to deteriorate rapidly; therefore, food poison- ing is an ever-present threat to the villagers. It is not surprising, therefore, that tuberculosis, dysentery, typhoid fever, bilharsiasis, nalaria, and other contagious and infectious diseases are common mala- dies among the villagers. Eye infections are especially prevalent 31 among the children; in 1966, thirty-four cases of blindness were re- ported in Kafr el-Elow. (U.A.R. Census Book, 1966:240) Until recently, the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow relied almost ex- clusively upon folk medicine to remedy various diseases. Besides the village barber, who played the traditional health official role, admin- istering first aid as the need arose, a few elderly women prescribed folk "cures" (wasfat baladieh) for the sick upon request. For example, they treated persons with a severe headache by cutting their Skin at the point of greatest pain with a razor blade to relieve the blood pressure. In tonsilitis cases, they rubbed the patient's tonsils with coffee and lemon juice, and if this treatment failed, they attempted to sever the tonsils with their fingers. Persons with fever were rubbed with vinegar and salt and fed sour milk. Victims of burning were first rubbed with kerosene; then coffee powder was applied to the burned areas of their bodies. Toothaches were "cured" by putting fertilizer on the source of the pain. Most of the villagers of Kafr el-Elow still tend to prefer these home remedies to the scientific treatment of illnesses and injuries. This is especially true of females who are frequently too Shy to expose themselves to a doctor for a physical examination. Moreover, according to some informants, nany men object to having their wives examined by 'the village doctor because he is a male. There is no female physician in Kafr el-Elow. Father Ayrout, founder and General Director Of the free schools in the villages of Upper Egypt, who has been called the Albert Schweitzer of the Nile, further explains this tendency as fol- lows: 32 Theignorance and, still more, the poverty of the fellah make it difficult to take care of him. Medical stations and centers do exist, especially in Lower Egypt, and the price of the medica- tions at these government centers is well within reach Of most of the fellaheen. But the fellah goes to the doctor only when he is very 111, BEcause it means the loss of a day's wages, the bus fare to the hospital, as well as the price of the medicine. If the medicine is not to be found in the store of pharmaceuticals at the clinic, he must buy it commercially for what is to him a . great price. (Ayrout, 1963:77) unlike the doctors at the government medical centers, those who practice folk medicine do not charge even a small fee for their services, because they believe that by helping others they will be rewarded in heaven. Despite the prevailing resistance to modern.medica1 practice in Kafr el-Elow, an increasing number of villagers are resorting to bona fide doctors for treatment. This trend can be explained.by several factors: 1. In the mid-1950's, when the village of Kafr el-Elow was under quar- antine due to a smallpox epidemic, doctors remained there until the disease disappeared. 'This experience "converted" many of the vil- Alagers tO-the value-omeOde n medicine. In 1959, a physician Opened the first private clinic in Kafr el-Elow on a part-time basis, but the project failed due to lack of interest among the fellaheen. In 1963, however, another clinic was Opened on a.part-time basis, the doctor charging 15 piasters (30¢) for an of- fice visit and 25 piasters (50¢) for a home visit. While the major- ity of the clinic's patients are still infants and children, the doctor's presence in the village twice each week for a few hours has contributed to a gradual Shift away from folk toward.modern.medi- cine. 33 3. The new industries which have recently emerged around the village provide medical treatment and drugs for their employees free of charge and, at minimum cost, to their employees' families. 4. ‘Mbre public clinics and hospitals, where the sick are treated free of Charge, have been Opened in the Helwan area adjacent to the village of Kafr el-Elow. 5. The:mass media, especially transistor radios, have taught the vil- lagers the importance Of personal hygiene and of cleanliness in general. 6. The modern village elementary school, by checking its students' cleanliness each morning and by sending them home if they fail to meet certain standards, has made the villagers more conscious of, and concerned about, good personal hygiene habits. There is no way to determine the percentage Of Kafr el-Elow's villagers who now resort to modern medical treatment. More important is the fact that an inroad has been.made by modern.medicine whose con- sequences for the health of the villagers is certain to be Significant. Kafr el-Elow is more fortunate than most other Egyptian villages in that its strategic location near Cairo and Egypt's largest industrial complex is favorable to the acceleration of this trend because of its implications fer the peasants' fOrmal educational Opportunities and _contact with peOple from outside their village. Housing .As one drives from Cairo or Helwan and approaches the village of Kafr el-Elow, the first thing which comes into view are the clusters of dwellings separated from one another by narrow, winding, unpaved roads. There are three types Of dwellings in Kafr el-Elow, the first 34 or traditional type (fellahi) being referred to by the villagers as haush or 5131;. Characteristically, the traditional type of dwelling has walls two or three feet thick constructed of unbaked bricks made with mud and straw, although a few prominent villagers ' homes are constructed of stone. That the traditional style of home is well suited to envi- romnental conditions in Kafr el-Elow is attested to by the fact that sane homes of this type in the village are at least eighty years old. Breaks in the walls are repaired Simply by an application of mud plaster covered with white -waSh. The only entrance to the traditional home is a large wooden door, closed at all times for the sake of privacy, on either side of which one often observes an earthen or wooden bench covered with straw‘ mats or rUgS, where the males of the household Sit and Spend their lei- sure time. This door Opens onto a wide, roof -1ess, dirt-floored court- yard, the dimensions Of which may vary from 10 feet by 10 feet to 20 feet by 50 feet, depending on the Size of the house. The courtyard serves many functions for the household members. During the summer months, one corner is used as a kitchen, where cooking is done on a kerosene or wood-burning stove. Dishes, eating utensils, and clothing are also sometimes completely washed in the courtyard, or are washed in the canal and then rinsed with clean water in the courtyard. The water is then carried in a pail to the entrance Of the house, where it is dumped in the street due to the absence of a sewage system in the vil- lage. This is an unsanitary practice which frequently causes friction between neighbors living next door to, or across from, one another. The household privy is still another facility located in the courtyard, usually in one of the corners. It consists of a small 35 (approximately 3' X 3') enclosure with a concrete floor constructed around a pit lined with stones and covered with a piece of wood. When the pit is nearly full of excreta, it is emptied by persons who make this task their principal occupation. The excreta is removed in buck- ets, buried in a hole in the street, in a vacant lot, or next to the canal, and covered with earth. The collector digs a new hole eaCh time he empties a privy, as there are no permanent waste disposal pits in the village. After the excreta has dried, it may be dug up and trans- ferred to the fields to be used as fertilizer. Other facilities which may be found in the courtyard of a tra- ditional home are a cement wash basin--a recent innovation, a large earthen jar (5323) for the storage of cold drinking water, a shelter (zareebah) for farm equipment and for livestock (water buffaloes, don- keys, goats, and sheep), and a chicken COOp (khgum). Sometimes, too, jars or cans are hung on the walls of the courtyard as roosting places fOr pigeons. Off the courtyard, adjacent to the main entrance of many tradi- tional homes, is a room designed to accommodate male guests SO that they 'will not come in contact with the female members Of the household. The women leave the courtyard and retire to their rooms when male guests enter the house, but Often return to resume their work after the men ‘have entered this room and closed the door behind them. The other rooms of the house are also located Off the courtyard, but are further re- moved from the entrance . I JMost homes in Kafr el-Elow are meagerly furnished one-story structures with.white-washed interior as well as exterior walls and con- crete floors, but some still have dirt floors. A few traditional homes, 36 however, have two stories. The second floor, which is supported by steel beams, whether constructed of mud or cement, usually consists of one or two rooms used for storage or to accommodate guests or a newly- wed Son and his wife. Consequently, these rooms are more elaborately furnished than those on the lower level of the house. During the win- ter, people generally Sleep on cotton-filled comforters laid over straw mats which serve as insulation against the dampness; during the summer, however, when the coolness of the floor is desired, comforters are used without the straw mats. Before the villagers retire for the evening, they always secure the latch on their courtyard doors . Inasmuch as there are no public baths in the village, one of the rooms in every traditional home is used for bathing, wherein the indi- vidual usually Sits on a wooden stool, scrubs himself with soap, and then rinses himself by dipping warm water from a basin and pouring it over his body. The water is usually heated in a pan on top of a kero- sene stove. 'Any room in “the house may be used for bathing, as there are 'no specific bathroom fixtures orappliances involved. Roofs on most traditional homes are constructed of rough wooden beams covered with sticks, bamboo, and straw, which, in turn, are over- laid with mud. The roof is frequently used as a drying area for both clothes and agricultural products. While prior to 1950 all homes in Kafr el-Elow were of the traditional type, at the time this Study was 'conpleted (1966) not more than 70 percent of all dwellings in the vil- lage were of this style. Fortunately, however, most of the traditional homes are now electrically lighted, because their small windows do not admit much natural light, even though they have no glass panes. 37 According to the 1960 Census, the average size of the household in Kafr el-Elow was 4.5 persons, only Slightly over the national average Of 4.4 persons. In terms of density per room, however, Kafr el-Elow ex- ceeded both the Governorate of Cairo and Egypt generally. It was 2.6 persons per room in Kafr el-Elow versus 2.3 persons per room in the Governorate of Cairo and 1.9 persons per room in Egypt generally. These comparative statistics reflect the relatively crowded housing conditions in Kafr el-Elow resulting from the influx since 1950 of workers seeking industrial employment. This Situation, however, has encouraged those with sufficient capital to build new dwellings for their own use or for rental purposes, a tendency which has Stimulated a tremendous amount of competition among relatives and neighbors. As one elderly informant told the writer, "This village is referred to as balad eSh-mina," which means "If my neighbor, cousin or other relative can build, why can't I do the same?" To build a new dwelling has become such an important status symbol in Kafr el-Elow that persons with limited financial re- sources sometimes construct their units gradually until they accumulate enough money to complete the project. These new dwellings, which have made their, appearance in ever- increasing numbers Since the early 1960's and which constitute the sec- ond and third types of housing in Kafr el-Elow, are modern apartments and one-family homes constructed either of oven-baked bricks or of re- ' inforced concrete and steel imported from outside the village. In structure and design they resemble urban dwellings in Helwan with their flat wooden roofs and glass windows, cement or tile-covered floors, electricity, indoor bathrooms and kitchens, and bedrooms outfitted with modern furniture . 38 In the past, when all the villagers lived in traditional homes with only one entrance, renting living facilities was considered an un- acceptable practice, because it could have led to the exposure of the females in the family to strangers. Even today, however, some villag- ers living in traditional homes will rent rooms to married couples, but never to Single men. Since each residential unit in the modern houses and.apartments has its own entrance, there is no reluctance to rent these facilities to strangers. The monthly rent range in Kafr el-Elow is from 1/2 Egyptian.pound ($1.25) to 1 Egyptian pound ($2.50) for a room and from.3 Egyptian.pounds ($7.50) to 6_Egyptian.pounds ($15.00) fOr an apartment or house, depending on the Size and condition of the accommodations. The writer, for example, rented an apartment consist- ing of three rooms, a kitchen, shower, and.privy fOr 6 Egyptian.pounds per month. Most of the modern dwellings are located in the southern part Of Kafr el-Elow and cater primarily to industrial workers; this explains why newcomers, all Of whom.are employed in factOries around Kafr el-Elow, are concentrated in this section of the village. EXpansion is the new trend in Kafr el-Elow with respect to housing--expansion.whidh is directed toward.modern architectural stan- dards. New'modern dwelling units, which in 1966 constituted approxi- mately 30 percent of all housing in the village, were being constructed to accommodate both newcomers and long-established residents, and.many traditional homes were being renovated to add a touch of modernization or to accommodate expanding families. Clothing The traditional dress for males in the village of Kafr el-Elow is the jalabiyah, which resembles a man's nightgown in the United 39 States, except that it is ankle-length. The winter-season jalabiyah is made from flannel or heavy cotton, while the summer garment is made from light-weight cotton or Silk. It has a hip-level pocket on each Side and an Opening for the head extending downward about twelve inches from the neckline, which may or may not have a collar Similar to that on a shirt. Worn over a cotton undershirt and knee-length Shorts , the jalabiyah is a very full garment which is easy to put on and take off. When working in the fields, for example, the fellaheen usually take off the jalabiyah and wear only their undershirt and Shorts, because the former might get wet or hinder their movements. hiring the winter they wear a vest over their undershirt for extra warmth. Villagers who work in the factories are required by law to wear western-style clothing--a shirt and khaki trousers--or, as it is called in Arabic, el-badlah eshabieh (national dress), because the jalabiyah would too easily get caught in the machinery, causing accidents. Teachers and government workers also wear western-style suits. The ma- jority of these workers, however, whether industrial, professional or service employees, wear the jalabiyah after returning home at night. One might say that the average male villager is an urbanite by day and a ruralite during the evening hours. The two village tailors who make most of the male villagers' clothing told the writer that the average man today has two ialabiyahs, and many have a third for Special occa- sions, whereas a couple of decades ago many men could not afford to buy more than one, although they sometimes shared a second jalabiyah with male relatives within their households. Younger generation males in the village, however, especially students, do not wear the jalabiyah, preferring western-style clothing 40 which they purdhaSe in Helwan or Cairo. It is not surprising, there- fore, that the three clothes-pressers in Kafr el-Elow, all of whom have opened their shops Since the early 1960's, depend largely on the younger generation for business. Prior to 1960, anyone who wished to have clothing pressed had to take it to Helwan. Even today, however, Shirts and trousers must be washed at home befOre being taken to a presser's Shop. After returning home from work or school, however, many younger males wear pajamas to walk about the village, which is considered a Sign of sophistication, inasmuch as the practice of wearing pajamas was adepted from urbanites. Similarly, a small cotton or woolen cap is worn by all elderly men in the village, but by very few younger males, who prefer to go bare-headed. Shoes and sandals, however, are worn.by most mem.in Kafr el-Elow, irrespective of age; very few walk about bare- fOOted as in the past. The only public dress considered apprOpriate for women who are long-established residents of the village is a black cotton or Silk jalabiyah, a symbol of maturity and stability whiCh is Similar to-that worn by men, except that it is fuller. While young girls under the age Of_twelve are permitted to wear colored dresses anywhere, older girls and women may do SO only in the privacy of their homes. On various oc- casions, however, the writer Observed village women who had worn a jalabiyah over a.western-style dress while traveling on the bus between Kafr el-Elow and Helwan or Cairo take Off the jalabiyah upon reaching Che city and fold it in their handbags. Wbmen in Kafr el-Elow purchase the material for their garments either in Helwan or from a female peddler who comes periodically to the village, selling from door to door. Then the material is taken to one 41 of the few dressmakers in the village who may charge from 15 to 25 piasters (35-55¢) for each jalabiyah or dress. In public, village women also wear a Shawl over their heads, the ends of which they wrap around their necks . While shoes and sneakers are becoming increasingly popular among the women of Kafr el-Elow, some still walk about the village bare- footed. Moreover, very few females in the village wear either western cOsmetics, such as powder, rouge, and lipstick, or local cosmetics, such as k_<_J_h_J_._ (eye makeup) and henna. Those who do, purchasing their cos- metics from a female peddler who comes to the village regularly from Cairo, are mainly young married women whose husbands are employed in urban occUpationS. The fact that both students and newcomers , especially those from urban areas, wear western-style clothing has encouraged the Older, long- established male villagers Of Kafr el-Elow to make the transition from traditional to modern clothing. The few women who dare to wear westem- style dresses in public, however, are newcomers and visitors, and they are frequently objects Of ridicule, espeCially by the children in' the village. While children are required to wear western-style Slacks and shirts (boys) and uniforms (girls) at school, they wear the jalabiyah at home and at play. Diet Traditionally, the majority of peasant families in Kafr el-Elow lived almost exclusively on bread (£511) made from the corn and/ or wheat WhiCh they raised on their small plots of land. Indeed, bread still CODStitutes the major item in the diet of some of the villagers, and is an important accompaniment of every meal for most. 42 111......“ is usually prepared in two different forms--the round, thin, dry variety (battawi) made of corn and fanugruk seeds, which is frequently referred to as aish fellahi, and the round, double-layered, soft type (aish baladi or aish tari) made Of wheat, which is Similar to the bread sold in urban areas. Although some of the fellaheen make their own flour from the wheat and corn which they raise on their small plots, the majority Spend a substantial portion of their incomes to pur- chase flour from one of the four flour ShOps in the village . When a village family has its flour for making bread a year in advance , it feels very secure. Some villagers buy their bread from the commercial bakery which was established in Kafr el-Elow during the early 1950's to accommodate the migrants who came to work in the local industries. Most of the bakery's customers, however, are Single men, because it is usu- ally more eapensive for families to buy their bread than to make it at home. Baking-Day (Yomel-Khabeez) tin Kafr el-Elow Baking bread, a biweekly event in the village, provides an op- portunity for women who live in the same haush (courtyard) to socialize and gossip. 01 that day, women from several neighboring families bake bread together at the home of one who serves as hostess for the occa- sion. The women begin to prepare dough at their respective homes around 3 A.M., using their hands to mix together flour, yeast and water. The lHiking process is repeated over and over again until the dough ferments and is ready for baking, which usually takes three to four hours. Then it is put in a large dish (Eight) and taken around sunrise to the home "hose oven is to be used. After all the women have assembled, one Stal‘ts burning fuel to heat the oven, while the others take pieces of 43 dough and place them on the matraha, a flat, wooden plate with a long handle used to put the dOUgh into the oven. Frequently, the women do the hostess' baking in return for using her oven and fuel. A profes- sional baker may also be hired for about 90¢ a day to do the baking, several families Sharing the cost of her services as well as that of the fuel, fill-Eh. (dung) and ka_s_h_ (straw) being the substances most. commonly used. Other Prominent Items in the Villagers ' Diet Besides bread, the average villager in Kafr el-Elow today con- sumes meat (lamb and beef, but no pork, because Islam forbids the eating of pigs' meat) or poultry once a week; local citrus fruits, watermelons, and cantaloupes; and vegetables, such as tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, Spinach, okra, squash, cucumbers, mouloukiah, and a variety of fava beans, called _fuul___, which are high in protein content. After they have been soaked in water over night, _f1_1_u_l_ beans are frequently grOImd, mixed with several spices and parsley, shaped into small flat cakes, and fried in Oil to make Laugh, which is often put between layers of bread to make a sandwich especially pOpular among Egyptian urbanites. §u_u_l_ mudamas'is another bean dish currently pOpular among the villagers, which tastes Similar to chili and is made by boiling fuul beans for a long time and then adding Spices. In Spite of recent improvements, however, the villagers ' diet is still mainly a starchy one, with little protein, fat, or sugar. Poultry is raised in the village, but primarily for commercial purposes rather than for home consumption; fish is seldom, if ever, eaten; meat is rela- tively expensive; and locally grown fruits are available only a couple of months each year. Daily meals are not only simple in content, but 44 are Simply prepared. Women do all the cooking; men are seldom even seen in the cooking area Of the house. In most village homes, tea is prepared several times a day, being served between meals and with meals to members of the family as well as to house guests. Many Shop-owners in the village also serve tea to their customers. The tea is boiled until it is very dark and syrupy, and then sugar is added, producing a very heavy, sweet drink. Yet, many villagers consume several cups in succession, if the supply is adequate. Beer and soft drinks have been only recently introduced to the village Of Kafr el-Elow and are consumed primarily by the younger generation, especially those employed by industry. Beer is drunk in secrecy, be- cause the elderly villagers still adhere tO the Islamic belief that the consumption of alcohol is Sinful . Recent Trends in Food ConSanption Patterns Prior to 1950, the majority of peasant families in Kafr el-Elow had an extremely meager and unbalanced diet, living almost exclusively on bread. Meat was purchased only once every three or four months , and then only in small quantities, to celebrate holidays or Special events. Vegetables, too, were rarely eaten, because most of the peasants' small plots were planted in so-called "annual crOps"--wheat, corn, and barley. Most of the villagers purchased only kerosene, flour, tea, sugar, and soap from grocers. One of the village grocers told the writer that, in the past, it was rare for a villager to purchase commodities with a 5 or 10 pound note, and that it would have been difficult, if not impos- sible, for most grocers to cash such large bank notes. Today, however, the village grocers are accustomed to their customers' making larger purchases and are, therefore, prepared with a greater supply of currency. 45 Moreover, the village grocers now stock a much greater variety of foodstuffs, including canned goods, soft drinks and beer, along with detergents, cigarettes, and many other household and personal items of the kind sold by stores in Helwan. Twenty years ago, such items could not have been sold in Kafr el-Elow. For example, one of the village , grocers told the writer that when he moved to Kafr el-Elow from Cairo about twenty years ago for health reasons , he took his complete inven- tory with him, hOping to sell it to his customers in the village, but found no market for it. Today, the villagers in Kafr el-Elow purchase commodities from a variety of sources--from stores in Helwan and from peddlers, as well as from the local grocers. Three major factors have accounted for Significant changes in the villagers' food consumption behavior Since the 1950's: (1) the changed emphasis in agricultural produCtivity from annual crOps to cash craps, Such as vegetables, watermelon, cantaloupes, and citrus fruits (see Chapter III for explanation); (2) greater purchasing power due to increasing industrial employment; and (3) a related factor, contacts with migrants from all over Egypt who have come to work in the factories around Kafr el-Elow. The villagers have. not only learned to include new food items in their families' diets through contacts with their migrant neighbors , but they have acquired new techniques of preparing tradition- al as well as modern foods. It is too early to evaluate the long-term effects on health, mortality rates, and life-expectancy levels in Kafr el-Elow, but, quite Obviously, they Should be positive. 46 Public Utilities and Services Water, Sewage and Electrical Facilities Prior to 1930, the villagers in Kafr el-Elow secured their drinking water directly from the Nile, females carrying it in jars to their households. In the mid-1930's, however, the Egyptian government brought fresh water to the village by installing a public water tap at the entrance to the western side of the village. A second public water tap was installed during the late 1940's on the eastern side of the vil- lage. These two public fountains were the only sources of fresh water in the village until the early 1960's, when the government installed water pipes throughout the village to make it easier for villagers to bring water to their homes . At the time the writer was conducting his study of Kafr el-Elow (1964-66) , approximately 85 percent of the homes had indoor water taps. Nevertheless, women carrying jars on their heads to and from the public fountains is still a common phenomenon in the village, because the public fountains serve not only as sources of water, but as focal points for women to congregate and exchange the latest gos- sip in the village. The public fountains are also used for washing clothing and utensils by women who do not have an indoor tap, which some are ashamed to admit, contending that they prefer to use the public fountains so as to avoid making a mess at home. The fact that most of the women who use the public fountains are single, however, leads the writer to conclude that another prominent function served by going to and from the fountains is that it provides an excuse for unmarried women to walk through the streets of the vil- lage, which is considered inapprOpriate under other circumstances, where some eligible men might see them, inquire about their identity, and 47 eventually many them. Of course, going to and from the public foun- tains enables all women, irrespective of their marita1.status, to leave their homes and to observe for themselves the daily activities in the village. There is the additional consideration that water from the pub- lic fOuntains is free, whereas a fee is charged by the government for all water consumed through the indoor taps. In.Chapter III, whidh deals with the village economy, it will be explained how the villagers' fields are irrigated by a network of public canals branching out from.the Nile River; These public canals (tugah), like the public fountains just discussed, are places where the village women congregate to gossip while they wash their clothing and kitchen utensils. Some women.even use the canals for dumping human.waste and _ garbage, because there is no sewage system in.the village. Absence of a sewage system.also results in.low-lying land's being inundated for months during the winter season when the Nile River level is high. Both situations constitute a health hazard, because they contribute to the ’ breeding of disease-carrying mosquitos and flies. Electricity was introduced to the village of Kafr el-Elow during the early 1960's. At the time of this study, most of the narrow.streets in.the village were electrically illuminated, and all the modern as well as most of the traditional homes were equipped with electricity. Elec- tric power is used.almost exclusively for lighting and Operating radios; few homes have television, and the writer is not aware of the villag- ers' using any other electrical appliances. Yet, most villagers use small bulbs for home lighting to reduce their electric bills. 48 .Mail Service Prior to the year 1960, the small volume of mail coming into Kafr el-Blow was delivered weekly to the home of the gmdah_(vi11age head) for distribution. .Most of the recipients were persons who came to the gmgahfs home inquiring about mail which they anticipated from :members of their households who had left the village for a short time. Out-going mail was brought to the same place, the villagers giving the M money sufficient to cover postage. Although the volume of mail in Kafr el-Blow has greatly increased in recent years due to the influx of industrial workers from distant areas, there is still no post office in ‘ the village. Instead, every morning a mail-truck stops at a ShOp desig- nated by the government to deliver and collect mail, with the exception of registered letters and.packages which.must be sent from, or picked.up at, the post office in.He1wan. This system was inaugurated.in 1960. Telephone Service .Before the mid;1950's, there was no telephone service in Kafr el-Elow; in.emergencies the villagers had to use the telephone at the cement factory near the village. Since that time, however, telephones have been installed at the village police station, at the c00perative society office, and in the home of a laboratory technician employed by the cement factory. .Although the cooperative society phone is available for public use, very few villagers have need to place calls. TranSportation Facilities The first modern fbrm.of transportation connecting Kafr el-Elow with Helwan and other neighboring villages was a taxi introduced in 1928. While the car was a novelty to the villagers at that time, very 49 few availed themselves of its services because the fare--two piasters-- mes relatively expensive, considering that many of the villagers worked an entire day for that amount of money. In the mid-thirties, a.bus line was established.which connected a chain of villages, including Kafr e1- Blow, with Helwan. This bus line made four round-trips daily between Kafr el-Elow and Helwan, charging a fare of one piaster each way. .Al- though the trip was short--a distance of about twelve mdles covered in fifty to sixty minutes, it was an.uncomfortable one due to the dusty, unpaved roads. Consequently, most of the villagers preferred to walk from Kafr el-Elow to Helwan, even though it took one-and-a-half to two hours to make the journey. Some villagers, however, rode donkeys be- tween Kafr el-Elow and Helwan. Fellowing the government's nationalization of the country's transportation system in.1957, not only did bus service between Kafr el- Elow and.the neighboring villages become more regular, but the principal road connecting Cairo with Helwan and Kafr el-Elow's iron and steel' plant was paved. Prior to that year there were no paved roads in this area. Today a bus line Operating on the main road.between Kafr el-Elow and.Helwan.provides regular service every twenty minutes and extra ex- press service during the morning and evening rush hours. The round-trip takes about forty minutes and costs four piasters. Although most of the factories around Kafr el-Elow provide bus transportation for their employees, many prefer to walk or ride bicycles to and from work. Similarly, most farmers continue to use carts and donkeys to transPort their products to market. The village school teacher has the only automobile in Kafr el-Elow, an oldrmodel car which he not only uses for his own personal transportation needs, but as a SO taxi to transport villagers in emergency situations and, upon request, to special occasions, such as weddings. Summary Chapter II has shown that the village of Kafr el-Elow is located at the tip of the Delta of the Nile Valley, which Delta contains 65 per- cent of the country's pOpulation. Winter temperatures in the village average 66° Fahrenheit and, summer temperatures, 96°. The humidity in Kafr el-Elow ranges from 51 percent in May to 70 percent in.December. Rainfall is extremely slight in the village, averaging only 1.2 inches per year. Chapter II has also shown.that pOpulation growth and density are both greater in the village of Kafr el-Elow than in Egypt generally. the major explanation is Kafr el-Elow's strategic location in the midst of Egypt's largest industrial complex, attracting numerous persons seek- ing employment in.the factories surrounding the village. A.second.and equally important explanation, however, is Kafr el-Elow's location.near the Delta of the Nile'Valley. The fact that the sex ratio in Kafr el-Elow is very well balanced at all age levels up to 60 helps to explain why 75 percent of both the male and female population of the village is married. 0f the unmarried segment of the population, however, there are three times as many bache- lors as single women and sixteen times as many widows as widowers. The average life eXpectancy of males and females in Kafr el-Elow is 52.7 years, about the same as that in the United States at the turn of the century. This is because the high fertility rate in the village is offset by the high infant mortality rate (25 percent of all children die befOre the age of one year) due to poor nutrition and hygienic con- ditions. 51 Three types of dwellings in Kafr el-Elow have been described in Chapter II: the traditional _ha_u_sh, modern apartments, and modern hous- es. While 70 percent of the homes in the village were still of the tra- ditional type when the writer was there from 1964-66, most of them.had been recently equipped with electricity and indoor water taps. IMore- over, because of the influx of industrial workers since 1960, many tra- ditional homes have been enlarged and.a considerable number of new mod- ern apartments and single homes have been constructed. In the section.on clothing, it was stated that the traditional village dress, the jalabiyah, is still the only approved public garment for mature native women and for agricultural workers , most of whom be- long to the older generation. Moreover, while school children and in- dustrial, professional,and civil service employees wear western-style clothing during the day, they change into the jalabiyah upon returning home in.the evening. Indeed, whereas two decades or so ago the average man.in.Kafr el-Elow owned only one jalabiyah, he now has two or three. Similarly, while bread continues to be a major item.in the diet of Kafr el-Elow's villagers, as indicated by the fact that baking day "is still a biweekly event, meat and.vegetables are eaten.much.more fre- quently than in the past due to the increased.purchasing power of the natives and the arrival of many newcomers with the industrialization of the area. Mbals are still low in.protein, fat, and sugar content, however, and are simply prepared. Tea is still the older villagers' favorite beverage, but many of the younger peOple prefer beer, although they drink it in privacy in deference to the Islamic teaching that al- cohol consumption is sinful. 52 In addition to poor nutrition, dusty unpaved streets , absence of a sewage system, use of the street and canals for waste diSposal, and lack of refrigeration were cited as major factors accounting for the prevalence of contagious and infectious diseases among the villagers of Kafr el-Elow. While the majority of the fellaheen in Kafr el-Elow still rely on folk medicine to treat various injuries and diseases, an in- creasing number of them are seeking professional medical care due to the recent influence of private and public clinics, of industrial and school health programs, and of the mass media in promoting modern medicine in the village and in the Helwan area. Although Kafr el-Elow still has no sewage system, 85 percent of the villagers ' homes now have indoor water taps . Many women , however , prefer to secure their water from the two public fountains in the vil- lage in order to have an Opportunity to leave their homes , to gossip with their neighbors, and, if unmarried, to be seen by eligible men. Electricity was introduced to Kafr el-Elow during the early 1960's, but the villagers still use it sparingly, mainly for home lighting, because of the scarcity of electrical appliances. While telephone servicewas inaugurated in Kafr el-Elow in the mid-1950's, it still Operates on a very limited basis, there being three phones in the entire village, only one of which is available for public use--that at the cooperative society office. Mail service also Operates on an informal basis, letters being picked up and delivered at a shop in the village, as there still is no post office in Kafr el-Elow. Transportation facilities in Kafr el-Elow, along with the water system, constitute the most advanced public utilities in the village. 53 Only one resident of the village- -a school teacher--has an automobile, but the government offers frequent bus service between Cairo and Kafr el-Elow and most of the factories in the area provide bus transporta- tion for their employees. Many villagers, however, still prefer to walk or ride bicycles to and from work. CHAPTER III THE VILLAGE ECONOMY Introduction Prior to the mid-1950's, the majority of the villagers in Kafr el-Elow earned their livelihood exclusively from agricultural work, cultivating their small plots of land mainly for their own consumption or, as they expressed it, to secure the munat il-bait (the basic food to maintain the famdly’fOr an entire year). In recent years, however, rapid industrial expansion in the area around Kafr el-Elow, and the accompanying influx of migrants seeking employment in the factories, have produced profound changes in the economic structure of the vil- lage. Net only has a money economy develOped in agriculture, whereby crops are raised for cash as well as for home consumption, but, as illustrated by Table 7, many new occupations have been created which now constitute the main sources of income fer the majority of the vil- lagers. By a cursory inspection of Table 7, one can easily see that only slightly more than 10 percent of the villagers were engaged in agricultural work in 1960, the remaining 90 percent being employed in other occupations. In this chapter, therefore, the writer will de— scribe the agricultural, industrial, and commercial sectors of Kafr el-Elow's economy and discuss the impact of each on the village social structure . 54 55 TABLE 7 ESTIMRTES.OFIMAJOR.OCCUPATIONS, 1960 Occupation Total 1) Professional, Technical and Related Workers 29 2) Administrative , Executive , and Managerial Workers 5 3) Clerical Workers 40 4) Sales Workers 70 5) Farmers and Agricultural Workers 380 6) Miners, Quarrymen, and Related Workers 19 7) Transportation and Communications Workers 31 8) Industrial BIployees--Craftsmen and Production Workers 1032 9) Service , Sports and Other Recreational Workers 159 10) Workers not Classified by Occupation 2008 Totals 3773 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1960:180. Agriculture Land Ownership and Inheritance In all agricultural societies where villagers make their live- lihood mainly by farming, the peOple have a strong attachment to the land. In Egypt, too, land ownership was and still is regarded as a source of security and as a status symbol within a community. 1 by, . a l(. .‘f. 56 Privately-owned land in the village of Kafr el-Elow, however, totalled only about 180 feddans (l _f__e__ddan_;_ = 1.038 acres) until 1930, when another 120 feddans were reclaimed from the area bordering the Nile, known as the Gezira. The 1937 population of 2656 persons in Kafr el-Elow rela- tive to these 300 feddans meant that there was approximately one _f_e_dd_a_n for every 9 inhabitants of the village. In 1960, the situation with respect to private land ownership in the village was much less favor- able. While the pOpulation had increased to 6,608 persons, the total amount of privately-owned land had not changed since 1930, with the re- sult that there was only one feddan for every 22 persons. Rapid popu- lation growth has resulted in continuous fragmentation of the land, which has made it difficult for agricultural productivity to keep pace with population needs. The inheritance system in Kafr el-Elow is another factor which, through successive generations , has fragmented agricultural lands into ever smaller units. According to the 33351113 (Islamic Law), if a man dies leaving a wife, a son, and a daughter, one-eighth of his prOperty goes to the wife and seven-eighths to his children. 0f the children's portion, a son's share is twice that of a daughter. In cases where only a daughter survives her father, she inherits half of the seven-eighths and the other half goes to her father's nearest male relatives, usually nephews. If the deceased is Survived only by his wife, she is entitled to one-fourth of his prOperty. When parents, as well as a wife and/or children, survive a man, each receives a sixth of his estate. If a man's parents are his only survivors , his mother is entitled to one-third of his prOperty and his father to the remainder. The mother of the de- ceased will get only one-sixth of his prOperty, however, if he has sur- viving brothers and sisters. (Koran, Sura 4:11) 57 In practice, Islamic Law is not strictly followed with respect to inheritance rights. After a father's death, his sons usually divide the estate equally among themselves; only in rare instances do the daughters, if any, demand their share . Moreover, in cases where the individual land shares resulting from division are very small, one of the brothers may buy the others' holdings, sometimes simply to raise his status in the village. To sell one's land to an outsider, however, would be considered disgraceful. The importance of keeping landholdings within the family is also reflected by the villagers ' preferring to rent their land to tenants or sharecrOppers , rather than sell it, when they are in need of money. Another factor of significance in connection with land inheritance in Kafr el-Elow is the villagers' strong emotional at- tachment to their holdings, however small, for this is their only link with the deceased. Furthermore , parents take tremendous pride in the prospect of passing on prOperty to their children, and they receive the villagers' reSpect for so doing. Land Tenure Systems The writer has already indicated that the total amount of pri- vately-owned land within the village of Kafr el-Elow is small--300 feddans--and that land fragmentation resulting from rapid population . growth and the inheritance system has prevented. the emergence of any large farmers or landowners, as demonstrated by Tables 8 and 9. For this reason, the Agrarian Reform Law, enacted in 1952 to limit private ownership of agricultural land, did not alter the landholding situation in the village of Kafr el-Elow as it did in some other rural areas of Egypt. The law did, however, create a new system of land tenure based on the rental of land from the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, which now 58 TABLE 8 THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACREAGE AMONG KAFR EL-ELOW'S FARMERS, 1965 Number of Farming Families Number of Feddans Cultivated 20 5-10 20 3-5 82 205-05 170 l kirat - 12 kirats Total 292 I"l feddan is equivalent to 24 kirats or 1.038 acres. Source: Records of the village COOperative society. TABLE 9 ma DISTRIBUTION OF ACREAGE AMONG KAFR EL-ELOW'S LANDOWNERS, 1965 Number of Landowners Number of Feddans 12 5-10 20 3-5 70 1-3 167 1 kirat - l feddan Total 269 Source: Records of the village cooPerative society. owns approximately 470 feddans in Kafr el-Elow, land which was expro- priated from the ex-Royal Family by the revolutionary government fol- lowing its take-over in 1952. Three feddans is the largest plot, and one-half of a @1133 is the smallest, which a fellah may lease from the Ministry of Agrarian Reform. Rents under this new system are 59 limited to seven times the tax on privately-owned land, and written leases, granted only to persons who will cultivate the land themselves, are binding for a minimum of three years. The 187 families in the vil- lage which lease land from the government either own no land or very small plots, but the writer was told that priority is given to the former (see Figure 6). Traditional tenant farmers ' rental practices continue , however , among those fellaheen who lease land from private landowners in the vil- lage. Rent varies a few pounds, up or down, from the government's fixed rate of seven times the land tax, depending upon the fertility of the plot leased. The lessee may either assume complete responsibility for cultivating the land, or enter into one of the following share- cropping agreements: 1 . The Musharakah (partnership) Method: The lessor pays for the seeds , fertilizer, the cost of irrigation and of extra hired hands , if needed, and takes responsibility for marketing the craps. Any money . remaining after the land rent has been deducted from the net income derived from the sale of the crops is divided between the lessor and the sharecrOppers on a fifty-fifty basis. This is the prevailing sharecrOpping method in the village of Kafr el-Elow, although con- siderable risk is involved for both the lessor and the lessee when output declines or when crOps are damaged. 2. The Klmmss (one-fifth) Method: The lessor provides everything but the labor in the agricultural operation. When the crOps are market- ed, the lessor receives four-fifths of the gross income and, the sharecrOpper, one-fifth. Residents of Kafr el-Elow told the writer that they consider the Mag method degrading, because it is 60 NILE Riva“ FIGURE 6 LAND CULTIVATED BY VILLAGERS IN 1966 Government-Owned Land Privately-Owned ,7? Land 61 tantamount to performing a domestic service for the lessor. Con- sequently, most of the sharecrOppers who work under this arrangement come from outside the village. A written contract is usually not involved when villagers enter into the private rental and sharecrOpping agreements described above , but the kinship system, as well as the network of social relationships among the villagers, impose social and economic sanctions on those who violate such informal agreements . Cooperative Societies in Kafr el-Elow The Egyptian Agrarian Reform Law of 1952 did not restrict its program to the redistribution of land, but, in addition, specified the establishment of agricultural cooperatives and compulsory membership therein for farmers who would rent government-owned land. The stated purpose of the cooperative societies is to render a variety of social and agricultural services to improve their members ' standard of living . Among the important agricultural services rendered the fellaheen by the cOOperatives is the provision of certain essential farm supplies , such as fertilizer, insecticides, seeds, and animal feeds. These supplies are issued either for cash or on credit, with payment due when the farmer has marketed his CI‘OpS.’ To secure the credit method of payment, the government COOperative in Kafr el-Elow has employed twelve guards and a supervisor to make certain that no fellah who owes the cooperative money markets his crOps without obtaining clearance from the coopera- tive's treasurer. If a fellah's debts are long-standing, the COOpera- tive may market his crOps , deduct what he owes from the revenue, and give him the remainder. 62 The official staff of the government cooperative in Kafr el- Elow, which serves only 187 farmers--those fellaheen who rent land from the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, consists of an agricultural engineer, a treasurer, and a clerk, all of whom live in nearby Helwan and commute daily to and from the village. In addition to these officials, however, the government cooperative has a ten-man council , elected by the members of the cOOperative for a three-year term, which submits the constitu- ents ' recommendations to the Ministry of Agrarian Reform through the co- 0perative office .' In addition to this government cooperative , there is a private cooperative in Kafr el-Elow which was organized in 1960 after a few farm owners petitioned the Ministry of Agrarian Reform for permission to es- tablish a cooperative which would afford them some of the benefits which the government COOperative was providing those farmers who rented land from the government . The five -man governing council of the private co- operative, elected by the members for a three-year term, meets once a month under the supervision of an agricultural expert to discuss prob- lems and suggestions submitted by the constituents which, in 1966, totalled 105 farm owners. The agricultural expert has been assigned to the private COOperative by the Ministry of Agrarian Reform to render its governing council scientific advice . Moreover, every order which the private COOperative submits to the Ministry of Agriculture , whether for seeds, fertilizer, or other essential items, must be approved and signed by this agricultural expert. When the private COOperative was organized, each member was as- sessed one. Egyptian pound to build up a fund with which to purchase the spraying machines which are rented to members as well as non-members , 63 although the former are given priority. Later, shares in the private cooperative were sold to members at 50 piasters each, the revenue from which is invested in seeds and fertilizer which are sold to farmers on a cash or credit basis. At the end of each year, profits are divided among the shareholders in proportion to their investment in the COOper- at ive . Agricultural Labor Agricultural work is almost exclusively a male occupation in the village of Kafr el-Elow. Most of the women who are seen working in the fields, weeding and picking vegetables, are hired laborers from sur- rounding villages or the wives of hired agricultural workers. The few I female agricultural workers who are residents of Kafr el-Elow are de- scribed by the villagers as widows who are trying to earn extra money to take care of their own little plots. Under any other circumstances it would be considered disgraceful for a woman in Kafr el-Elow to labor in the fields. When the writer was conducting this ethnographic study, many of the villagers cultivating from three to ten feddans complained to him about the limited availability of agricultural workers. At first, this situation was difficult to comprehend, but after obtaining a more tlorough knowledge of the village, it became apparent that Kafr el- Elow's location in the midst of Egypt's largest industrial complex af- fords many more lucrative occupational opportunities in industry than in agricultural work. Another factor which makes farm work unattractive relative to factory employment is its seasonal character. Consequently, most of those who are working as agricultural laborers in the village 64 are persons who are unable, by reason of advanced age, sex (female), or physical disability, to obtain employment at any of the local factories. The scarcity of persons available for agricultural work in Kafr el-Elow has produced the positive result, however, of increasing farm wages. While Egyptian law provides for the annual fixing of wage rates for farm workers in various sections of the country by a committee ap- pointed by the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, the rates vary from 20 to 35 piasters for a nine- to ten-hour day, depending on supply and demand conditions in each area's labor market. Egyptian law also encourages the formation of trade unions by agricultural laborers to promote their common interests , but there are no farmers' unions in the village of Kafr el-Elow. Most farm owners, however, provide their laborers with one meal daily (usually lunch), with tea twice a day--during the morning and afternoon breaks, and with a few cigarettes. These are what one might label volimtarily-contrib- uted fringe benefits, on the basis of which farm owners compete with one another to secure and retain their hired hands . Crop Cultivation and Productivity Today, as for centuries in the past, the fellaheen in the vil- lage of Kafr el-Elow depend entirely on the Nile waters to irrigate their crops throughout the year. The cultivated fields east of the main highway which passes alongside the village are irrigated by a canal which lies between these fields and the highway and by several smaller canals which branch out from it (see Figure 7). Water is brought to the canal from the Nile by a pumping station located in the village. The government maintains this irrigation system by including Operational costs in the land taxes levied upon the fellaheen who own land in the Ix“ ! ‘lh 65 / o ‘ /. ’7/ /////{ / /// M? 39/60? 7/77 " ‘LM/‘éw‘flm ”3474 // /// ' / / // /' / / // /////' / / // / ;;/////' ///// £2 “///??.[ ’ //../.-/-//-//-4”/ //’.//‘<:/;/ ///6 “,.a’ " ‘/,‘/,/// // A/:/‘ A ’ // j//// I / 93‘9’0/ /?/// /¢ . /{/"//. v"’ 0// /6;/G//’/// .‘ NtLE R\VER AREAS SERVED BY IRRIGATION CANAL SYSTEMS FED BY THE NILE RIVER Government-Owned Pump Privately-Owned Pumps @- . q Canals ‘- 66 eastern section of the village. Water for irrigation is automatically included in the rental contract of those villagers who rent land from the Ministry of Agrarian Reform. Once each year the canal is cleared of weeds, widened, and deepened by the Ministry of Irrigation so that water will readily pass through it. The cultivated lands west of the main highway, known collective- ly as the Gezira, depend for irrigation on two water ptmps owned by three villagers. Fellaheen who cultivate land in the Gezira area buy water for irrigation from the owners of the pumps nearest their plots . The irrigation prOcess in this section of Kafr el -Elow Operates on a very systematic basis. Daily, a certain mmmber of cultivators are scheduled to irrigate their fields, the pimp-owners timing every opera- tion carefully, charging 40 piasters (equivalent to 90 ¢) each hour the machine is in use. Farmers located at a distance from a pump usually require more time to irrigate their fields than those located close by, because part of the water is lost in the canal system before it reaches their plots. The fellaheen may either pay for their water at the time of use or defer payment until a later date when they sell their crops. In regard to farm implements, most of the fellaheen have not progressed much beyond the primitive hand tools--rakes, shovels, hoes, and forks-~employed by their ancestors. Only two farmers in Kafr el- Elow, each owning approximately ten feddans, have their own plows and draft animals. The other fellaheen hire one of the eight professional plowmen (h_a_ra_th) in the village to plow their fields. It still takes a plowman approximately four days to plow one feddan, but whereas in 1938 the fee was only one-half of an Egyptian pound per _f_e__;5_ddan_, the fee in 1966 was between two and two-and-a-half pOimds per feddan. 67 Other mechanical farmnimplements, besides the plow, which are used by the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow are the crOp-spraying machines leased from.the village cooperative societies and the pumps used for irrigation in the Gezira area. .All this modern machinery must be pur- chased outside of the village, because, as yet, none of it is manufac- tured in Kafr el-Elow. While the fellaheen.obviously continue to depend heavily upon ancient methods of farming, these are the techniques best suited to the small plots cultivated.by most of them. That agricultural productivity is extremely high.in the village of Kafr el-Elow, despite heavy reliance on traditional farming methods, is indicated by the fact that the fellaheen are able to harvest three to fOur crOps each year. The farmers' plots are always green, but the intensity of the color is greatest during the spring and summer sea- sons-éMarch through August. Throughout the year, however, the fellaheen work in.their fields almost dailye-tilling, spraying fertilizer and insecticides, weeding, and picking crOps to eat or sell. ‘Vegetables such as tomatoes, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplants, and spinach, which are referred to as cash crOps, are grown year-round in Kafr el-Elow, both for home consumption and commercial use. On the other hand, wheat and corn, referred to as annual crOps, are cultivated on a small scale exclusively for home consumption, mainly for making bread. This agricultural situation, however, is quite different from that which prevailed in the village prior to the 1950's, when the fellaheen not only raised.wheat and corn exclusively for their own use, but vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, squash, and cucumbers as well. The revolutionary government, by first outlawing the cultivation 3" 1 68 of cotton, which was raised on a small scale prior to 1950 to pay land rents and taxes, and by then providing farmers with seeds and fertilizer, encouraged the present emphasis on the production of vegetables for com- mercial use in the village of Kafr el-Elow. Other major causes were the increased demand for foodstuffs resulting from the expansion of popula- tion which has accompanied rapid industrialization of the area since the late 1950 's and improved methods of transporting produce to market. The fellaheen initially resisted the government-induced trend toward cash crOps, fearing that, by departing from the long-established tradition of annual crOps, their incomes, which, at that time, depended entirely upon farming, might be jeOpardized. Gradually, however, they came to recognize the advantages of cash crOps over annual crops , be- cause raising the former does not involve crOp rotation and long growing periods as do the latter, which means greater productivity and more in- come annually. The prominence of cash crops in Kafr el-Elow's agri- cultural economy today is reflected by the fact that the Egyptian gov- ernment recently constructed a refrigerated bin to store the farmers' seeds and potatoes cuttings for replanting at a later date. The farmers are charged a very small fee for this service. Methods of MarketinggrOps Since the late 1950's, when the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow began to cultivate vegetables on a year-round basis, there has been a con- tinuous flow of crOps from the fields to merchants, a task which is usu- ally carried out by one of four alternative methods. First, a group of large-scale farmers in the village may rent a river-boat or several trucks to transport their crops to Cairo, where the produce is loaded on carts for delivery to various vegetable markets in the city. The 69 second alternative is to transport the crOps to nearby Helwan by mule- or donkey-drawn carts or, if the amount of produce is smaller, in boxes loaded on donkeys' backs. The trip from Kafr el-Elow to Helwan by this method takes slightly over one hour. The third alternative is to sell the produce to peddlers passing through the village who will pick up the crops from the fields; and the fourth is to sell the crops to vegetable merchants in Kafr el-Elow. The latter two marketing procedures are used exclusively by small-scale farmers who produce crOps mainly for their own consumption and sell the meager surplus. The Importance of Livestock A considerable variety of livestock can be seen in the village of Kafr el-Elow- -camels, donkeys, goats, sheep, cattle, and water buf- faloes. Recently, due to the meat shortage in Egypt, cattle have become especially valuable commercially. Besides encouraging the fellaheen to raise more cattle, the government has also attempted to relieve the meat shortage by imposing a new restriction on butchers whereby they are per- mitted to sell meat only four days a week--Thursday through Sunday. The government cooperative in Kafr e1 -Elow is attempting to re- lieve the meat shortage by periodically selling water buffalo calves to the fellaheen at a low price, at the same time sending a veterinarian to inoculate their livestock against disease free of charge. The private cOOperative in the village is also making an effort to increase the meat supply by encouraging its members to raise more livestock and by pro- viding them with feeds and veterinary services. In order to obtain these benefits, however, a £3113]; must register his livestock with the treasurer of the cOOperative. At the time the writer was conducting his 70 study of Kafr el-Elow, 800 head of water buffaloes and cattle, 25 cam- els, and 220 donkeys were registered with the village COOperative. The government COOperative is also encouraging the fellaheen to raise more fowl for the commercial market by selling them month-old chicks at a reduced price and by inoculating their poultry free of charge. As a result, chicken, ducks, turkeys, and pigeons can.be seen almost anywhere one looks in the village-~in the narrow streets and.al- leys and frequently inside homes. When the writer was invited to a vil- lager's home in Kafr el-Elow, the host would frequently chase Chickens and.pigeons from.the room. Because the tending of poultry is strictly a female task in the village of Kafr el-Elow, income from the sale of poultry and.poultry products usually goes to one of the females in a household--to the grandmother, the mother, an aunt, or a daughter, depending on who pur- chased the baby Chicks and.nurtured them to maturity or market-readi- mess. A.mother will often use poultry money to buy luxury items, such as gold jewelry, for herself or her unmarried daughters. For many ‘widows and divorcees, however, poultry money is their only means of sup- port. Rather than being sold for cash, poultry and poultry products are sometimes sold to a grocer on a barter basis; that is, they are traded fer such items as sugar, tea, soap, needles or thread.whiCh the house- wife needs personally or fOr family use. ' The few sheep and goats in the village are raised for one of two purposes--to sell or to slaughter for home consumption during Eiélilf Adha, an Islamic holyday when those who are financially able are ex- pected to kill a goat or a sheep and distribute the meat to the poor. Camels owned by four villagers are used to carry heavy loads, such as ‘I‘T 71 fertilizer, from the village to the fields, or building materials, such as bricks, sand or cement, to construction sites. Donkeys owned by a few farmers are used primarily to transport crOps to market. Unques- tionably, the animal most highly valued by the fellaheen is the water buffalo .( gamousah) , used throughout Egypt for plowing, for milk and the dairy products derived therefrom, and for their hides, which are sold to the leather industry. Livestock owners usually tie their animals in the fields so that they will not wander to other farmers' plots and destroy crOps. Wealthy farmers build barns (zareebah) from mud and palm leaves to house their livestock. These barns may be constructed either in the fields or constitute a section of the farmer's home. The Agricultural Credit System Due to their poverty, the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow frequently find it necessary to borrow money. Members of the government or private cOOperative may borrow money at a low rate of interest from these sources , repaying their loans after they have marketed their crOps . Those who can offer some sort of security, such as land or gold jewelry, sometimes borrow from other villagers . Most villagers who have money to lend, however, do so only for friends and relatives and charge no in- terest, because usury is considered a major "sin" in the Islamic reli- . gion (Koran, Sura 3:180, 4:161, 3:130, 30:39). Consequently, the bulk of the money which is borrowed by the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow comes from outside the village, mainly from merchants in Helwan or Cairo, and is referred to as "advancement of cash on crOps or livestock." These merchants will advance money to needy farmers on only one condition , however--they reserve the right to market the borrowers ' crOps or ll. 72 livestock, at which time they deduct the amount loaned plus a 5-10 per- cent commission, but no interest is charged. Industry The fellaheen living in the village of Kafr el-Elow had their first industrial experience with the establishment of several small fac- tories in the nearby Helwan area during the second and third decades of the twentieth century. Prior to the Revolution of 1952, which inaugur- ated a period of accelerated technological deveIOpment in this area, however, the impact of industrialization on their lives was negligible. The following is a list of the principal industries, all of them located within a radius of ten miles from the village of Kafr el-Elow, which have either come into existence or tmdergone major expansion since the Revolution: The Egyptian Iron and Steel Plant The Ceemaf Railway Wagons Ind. The Coke and Chemical Gas Company The Steel Pipes Industry The Misr-Helwan Textile Industry The Aircraft Industry The Helwan Cement Factory The Military and Amrmmition The Misr-Spare Parts Manufacturing Complex Company ‘ The Nasr Automotive and The Stelke River-Boat Company Tractor Industry According to the Egyptian government's semiofficial newspaper, Al-Ahram, the government invested 123 million Egyptian pounds in factory construction in the Helwan area between 1957 and 1964, thereby creating jobs for 47,000 workers. (Al-Ahram, August 7, 1965:6) According to the Second Five Year Plan, govermment investment in the Helwan industries is expected to reach 435 million Egyptian pOimds by 1970, providing jobs for 80,000 more people in the area. By way of contrast, in 1945, when 60 percent of the total national investment was in the agricultural sector of the economy, only about 50,000 peOple in all of Egypt were 73 engaged in industrial OCCUpations. Table 10 reflects the gradual in- crease in Egypt's net income between 1946 and 1963 as the result of in- creasing emphasis on the industrial sector of the economy. TABLE 10 INCOME FROMVTHE.AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS OF THE EGYPTIAN ECONOMY, 1945-1952 AND 1952-1963 (EXPRESSED IN MILLIONS OF EGYPTIAN POUNDS) Year(s) Agriculture Industry 6 Electric Power 1945 200 60 1952-53 252 127 1953-54 262 140 1954-55 301 155 1955-56 312 170 1956-57 374 192 1957-58 381 218 1958-59 364 240 1959-60 405 269 1960-61 403 297 1961-62 441 344 1962-63 469 376 Source: (Khairi, 1965:302-303). Pesitive Results of Industrialization Several major advantages have accrued to the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow as a result of the industrialization.process in the Helwan area: JOb security Industrialization has given the residents Of Kafr el-Elow great- er job security, a condition.which is rare in underdevelOped nations such as Egypt. In unindustrialized.Jordan and Lebanon, for example, there is a shortage of positions for the available supply of tech- nicians. Consequently, their surpluses of technically-trained 74 peOple are exported to the oil-producing countries of the Middle East--Kuwait, the Arabian Peninsula, and Libya. This is not the case in Egypt, however, especially around Kafr el-Elow, where those who acquire a technical education can easily find jobs in the new industrial establishments. Income security Because industrial employment is available within a short dis- tance from Kafr el-Elow, it is possible for many villagers to con- tinue cultivating their small plots of land after factory hours and on weekends, thereby supplementing their principal source of income and maintaining a financial cushionagainst unemployment due to factory lay-offs and strikes. Fringe benefits Industrialization has meant free medical care and drugs for all factory workers and their families in Kafr el-Elow. Retirement plans, whereby both workers and employers contribute a fraction of the workers' earnings to a general government fund fer the workers' old age subsistence, constitute still another fringe benefit of the industrialization.process in the village. In addition, the Egyptian _ government offers industrial workers a savings plan through the fac- tories where they are employed, whiCh is, at the same time, intended to curb inflation. Continuance of family solidarity Since the industries in.the Helwan area are very close to the village of Kafr el-Elow, it is not necessary for factory workers to 75 leave their homes and families for weeks at a time, as would be the case if they were employed in some urban center such as Cairo. Nor is it necessary for them to move their families to such an urban setting, which is in itself an eXpensive project, not to mention the higher cost of living in the city and the cultural shock which the family members would likely experience in making the transition from a rural to an urban environment. As Professor Watson has eXpressed it, "migrant industrial laborers, parted from their relatives in the country, are in a way living in exile, for the atmosphere of the city is always alien to them." (Watson, 1958:195) The industrial situation around Kafr el-Elow also contributes to the maintenance of paternal authority in the family , because the husband and father returns home every day after work to exercise his role as head of the household--as the chief decision-maker, disci- plinarian, and value-transmitter. Moreover, since single as well as married males can live at home while employed in the Helwan indus- tries, yomig men are likely to marry girls from the home village , thus perpetuating the traditional endogamous marriage pattern in Kafr el-Elow. Finally, kinship ties, whereby families within the same lineage depend upon one another regularly for companionship and for assistance in times of crisis, are more easily maintained when proximity of residence is made possible by the availability of ample elployment opportunities in and around the village, as is the case in Kafr el-Elow. Professor Nargaret Mead has stated the double- barreled advantage of such a situation in the following words: 76 The waste in human welfare which came into being as a by-product of industrialization has caused much cOncern among governments, social scientists , and foundations. There ap- pears to be general agreement that decentralization of indus- try- -bringing work to the village or to its vicinity, within the framework of known associations and associational ties-- will make for less disruption and, at the same time, will bring the increase in income needed for raising the standard of living. (Mead, 1954:267) New perspectives Villagers employed in the Helwan industries, by virtue of their daily contacts with workers from urban areas , are exposed to ways of life completely different from the traditional folk life prevailing in Kafr el-Elow. Moreover, they learn more about world events and about economic and political organization by their membership and participation in government-sponsored labor unions and in the Arab Socialist Union. All of these new eXperiences are then communicated by the workers to members of their immediate family, to relatives and friends, thereby multiplying the socializing effect of industri- alization in the village. Professor Watson has aptly described the process as follows: When two societies of such a different kind- -agricultural and ' industrial-exist side by side in the same land, and both are dependent on the same supply of labor, no rule or regulation can prevent the passage of ideas, as well as men and goods, from one to the other. (Watson, 1958:192) Stimulation of the local economy Since its incorporation into Helwan's industrial complex, Kafr el-Elow's rural economy has received a larger supply of cash income, because workers now spend an increasing amount of money on consumer _ goods to satisfy their newly-acquired tastes in food and clothing, as well as on investment. Both tendencies have greatly reduced the 77 incidence of economic deprivation in the village and have added a commercial sector to the economy wherein money, rather than barter, is the principal basis of trade. Greater social and economic mobility According to village informants and evidence contained in case histories compiled by the writer, not only is there much more inter- . generational occupational mobility in the village, but there is _ greater career mobility, whereby a worker changes his occupation once, or even several times, during his life, each new position bringing him higher income and social status. The increasing Opportunities for occupational and social mobil- ity in Kafr el-Elow are reflected in answers to several questions which the writer posed to the villagers, such as: "Do you think that the social position an individual attains is the result of his own efforts or the result of God's Will?" and "If you could start your life again, would you pursue the same employment path or change it?" In reply to the former question, 90 percent of the respondents said that one's social position is dependent upon his personal ef- forts; only 10 percent eXpressed the belief that . it is predetermined by God (kismah wa naseeb) . It is not surprising, therefore , that 74 percent of the respon- dents to the second question said they would pursue higher education if they could begin their lives again, and 18 percent said they would seek more skilled employment; a mere 8 percent said they were satisfied with their position in life, and, most of these, as one might eXpect, eXpressed the belief that no matter how hard a man 78 struggles to compete, he cannot improve himself, because his destiny is predetermined by God (kismah wa naseeb). In general, industrial employment is the OCCUpational preference of the villagers, because it provides greater security in the form of steady income and fringe ‘benefits than Operating one's own business or farming. The writer collected three samples of life histories from the 'villagers of Kafr el-Blow which clearly demonstrate that industri- alization of the Helwan area has effected a significant amount of educational, occupational, and social mobility. The individuals se- lected for one sample of life histories were those living in.house- holds where a grandfather, father, and son were available fOr inter- views; those selected for the second sample were living in house- holds where a father and son were available for interviews; and those selected for the third sample were regular informants for the writer. The first two samples provided evidence of intergeneration- al mobility, as demonstrated by Figures 8 and 9, while the third sample of case histories provided evidence of career mobility, as demonstrated by Figure 10. ,.As Figures 8 and 9 indicate, the two- and three-generation life histories collected in.the village reveal an insignificant amount of intergenerational mobility-~educationally, occupationally, and, hence, socially--from the first to the second generation, but a highly significant amount from the second to the third generation. It is especially interesting to note that none of the third genera- tion.was involved in agricultural work, reflecting the decline in the popularity of this occupation discussed in the previous sec- tion. Industrial employment has become the prime occupational 0% V4 79 cf T T 7 I / 23454789/0 FIGURE 8 C(NPARATIVE INT ERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY: GRANDFA'IHER- FATHER-SON 5.81 A - Farm Work B - Unskilled Work C - Skilled Work D - Professional Work 80 C" A \ \/\/~4b/\\A\1N rséséklpfls 5 $3155 5 “JR / /~/\ \A J l~lhli~l~l BF F~FFz~FlF bes‘EssE A " AA J‘Als+/\/\J\ F F; F F F F F F E 1 . ' r L ‘ I 33 45 6 7 a 710/1 “13.4316/75010 FIGURE9 C(MPARATIVE INTERGENERATIONAL lDBILITY: FATHER-SON Le): A-Farm Work 8 - Unskilled Work C - Skilled Work D - Professional Work L3 Ufiw> 81 1. D a. C "' T T AL 15 B 4" If A I} 4x A "' IL IN x» Is A\ 4K 3 4 5 6 z e . FIGURE 10 CAREER mBILITY Farm.Wbrk Unskilled Work Skilled Work Professional Work 82 preference of the younger generation because of its association in their minds with affluence. and the urban, modern way of life. Similarly, Figure 10 indicates that no individual in the wri- ter's third case history sample remained in farming throughout his work-life. Instead, 60 percent of the cases reflected career mo- bility--a change in occupation from the beginning to the end of the individual ' 5 work history. Finally, comparing the evidence in Table 10 with that in Tables 8 and 9, one must conclude that career mobility is a much less conspicuous trend than intergenerational mobility in the village of Kafr el-Elow. New recreational patterns Industrialization of the area in which Kafr el-Elow is located has also had its impact upon the use of leisure time in the village. New forms of recreational activity, reflecting the influence of technological progress , urbanization, and increased purchasing pow- er, have become pOpular with many villagers, eSpecially with the younger generation and with those who work in the local industries . In the past, young men usually gathered on smnmer evenings in a field or, if the weather were inclement, at the village coffee shOp (3312311), where they would play cards. While young people were aware of the recreation available in Cairo and Helwan, they usually confined their social activities to the village due to lack of money and the strong opposition of their parents, elderly relatives, neighbors and friends . On rare occasions , such as holidays , however , some young peOple would go secretly to Cairo or Helwan to see a movie . Today, when more young peOple are financially independent and work away from home, it is a fairly common practice for them to 83 attend movies in Cairo or Helwan, although they still tend to con- ceal the fact from their parents, most of whom continue to regard this activity as sinful. Another favorite pastime of today's village youth is congregat- ing at their athletic club (nadi il-shabab al-riadi) , which has a membership of about eighty persons ranging in age from twelve to twenty-seven, most of whom are students or factory workers . Leader- ship positions in this organization, however, tend to be dominated by the few members who are college graduates. The club is located on a piece of land which was originally given to the village youths by the Ministry of Culture and Guidance for use as a football field, but, in 1963, they obtained permission from the government to build a recreation center on the site . Constructed by the young peOple themselves with md bricks, the one-room center features two major types of recreational activity--soccer and table tennis. There are two soccer teams in the club--the junior and senior teams--which compete on weekends with teams. from neighboring villages. Besides engaging in sports activities, members of the club also enjoy Spend- ing their time chatting. hany students go to the center immediately after school each day, for fear that if they go home first, their parents will prevent them from going . Parents tend to view the center as a negative influence on their children--as a place where they will learn to smoke, talk about "bad things ," and be encouraged to attend movies. For this reason, the young peOple of the village had to bear the entire financial burden for building their recre- ation center; their parents refused to contribute any money to the project. 84 Reflecting the impact of technological progress on the village, watching television and listening to a transistor radio have become popular fOrms of leisure-time activity for people of all age groups. Because the number of television sets in the village is extremely limited, however, small groups tend to assemble from time to time fOr television viewing at those homes which have them. Radio lis- tening, on the other hand, tends to be much.more individualized, be- cause ownership of transistor radios is more wideSpread. While all _age grOUps enjoy radio listening, elderly persons almost always tune into stations broadcasting religious songs and recitations from the KOran. If a young person.would dare to change the dial setting from a station broadcasting a religious program to one broadcasting secu- lar'music, he would be repudiated by his elders as a sinner. The area industries are still other sources of recreational ac- tivities for all age groups in Kafr el-Elow. Their recreational facilities--football teams, playgrounds, and club rooms with pro- visions for indoor games--are, of course, reserved for employees' families, but the majority of the workers seem to prefer leisure- time activities unrelated to their employment situation. Many, for example, simply enjoy watching people, gossiping with their rela- tives and friends, and haggling at the weekly market (egg). For females, of course, these alternatives are still about the only rec- reational outlets. . .Although hashish-smoking is illegal in Egypt, the practice is widespread throughout the country. In Kafr el-Elow, there are sev- eral private groups consisting of eight to ten.men, mainly factory workers and government employees, who convene once or twice a.week 85 behind closed doors to smoke hashish (more rarely Opium). Groups purchase hashish for these occasions from secret agents in the vil- lage, paying fer it at the end of each month when they receive their wage or salary checks. .Although beer is sold Openly in two village ‘grocery stores, it, too, is consumed in secrecy and largely by young industrial workers. Elderly persons regard.beer-drinking as "sin- ful," because Islam forbids the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The two coffee houses in Kafr el-Elow are prominent social spots for industrial workers seeking legitimate or approved entertainment, as they serve only tea, coffee, and soft drinks. The writer was told, however, that a third coffee house in.the village had been closed by the security police several years before his arrival, be- cause it was caught serving hashish to its customers. Cardrplaying is the favorite pastime of coffee house patrons. In.the recreational area, therefore, industrialization has in- troduced.the villagers of Kafr el-Elow to many new forms of enter- tainment--televisiondviewing, radio-listening, beer-drinking, movie- .going, and the athletic events sponsored.by private clubs and fac- tories--by increasing their leisure time, purchasing power, mobility, and contact with urban areas and peOples. YOunger and.better edu- cated males, factory workers, and government employees, however, have been the principal beneficiaries of these innovations; elderly persons and.women.have been relatively unaffected by modern recre- ational patterns in the village. 86 Negative Results of Industrialization Health hazards The effects of industrialization on the village of Kafr el-Elow have not all been positive, however. Farmers frequently complain that smoke from the industrial establishments surrounding the vil- lage, especially that from the cement factory, damages their crops. The writer, in discussing this matter with an agricultural engineer at the village cOOperative society, verified the farmers '_ grievances . He was told that the cement dust is especially deleterious to crOps on a windy or misty day, because these conditions contribute to its reaching more crops and adhering to those it touches. Many vil- lagers also complain about the human health hazard presented by the dust from the cement factory. Social conflict The tremendous influx of migrants into the village of Kafr e1- Elow to work in the surrounding industries has also elicited a nega- tive reaction from many natives who resent the newcomers for com- peting with them for jobs, for customers, and for marriage mates. A barber shOp , tailor shop , butcher shOp , and several grocery stores in the village are Operated by newcomers . Moreover , informants told the writer that several native youths had gotten into fights with newcomers over the latters ' attempts to attract or flirt with native girls. As a result, some of the newcomers had been beaten and forced to leave the village permanently. 87 Commerce and Other Sources of Income The Growth of Private Enterprise in Kafr el-Elow deay, when transportation facilities out of Kafr el—Elow are maxim improved over the past, enabling one to travel by bus to Helwan in approximately fifteen minutes and by electric train to Cairo in about an hour, many villagers find it attractice to do their shopping for major itemms, such as clothing, in.these large urban areas, where there is a greater variety and a better quality of merchandise. At the same time, however, commercial activity in the village of Kafr el-Elow'has in- creased at an unprecedented rate in recent years . Prior to 1950, commercial activity in Kafr el-Elow,'both from the standpoint of consumption and investment, took place at a.very slow pace due to the impoverished economic condition of most of the villag- ers. .As Table 11 indicates, 70 percent of the businesses established in Kafr el-Elow between 1920 and 1950 catered exclusively to the villagers' fOOd.needs. Since 1950, however, with rapid industrialization of the area around Kafr el-Elow and the accompanying increase in.the‘villagers' purchasing power and level of expectation, not only a larger number, but a greater variety of businesses has been established in the village. As indicated again by Table 11, twenty-four new businesses were added in the decade 1950-1960 and thirty-five between 1960 and 1966, bringing the total number of businesses in.Kafr el-Elow to seventy-seven when the waiter concluded.his study of the village. While it is true that the villagers' consumer activity has in- creased as their economic condition has improved, the major factor ac- counting fOr the tremendous growth of private enterprise in Kafr el-Elow since 1950 has been the villagers' greater capacity for saving, as well 88 TABLE 11 BUSINESS UNITS ESTABLISHED IN KAFR EL-ELOW, 1920-1966 Type of Business 1920- 1930- 1940- 1950- 1960- Totals 1930 1940 1950 1960 1966 Groceries Hardware Stores Radio ShOps Electric Supplies Dealers Tailors Barbers Coffee ShOps Pres sers . Vegetable Stands Shoe Repair Shops Other Repair ShOps Bicycle ShOp Butcher ShOps Kerosene Dealers Bakery Flour Dealers Sandwich ShOps IHIHIIIIIIIHHIIIN IIIIIIIUIIIIHOIIH IHIINIIIIIHHIIIIM HHIHNHNNmNIwHHth HNHImIHuaIHIHHINw NMHNOHUNWNNMhNNOO Totals 6 2 10 24 35 N V Source: Survey by the writer of all ShOp-owners in the village. as their changing attitude toward investment. In the past, most vil- lagers lived a marginal existence , economically speaking. Subsistence was all that could be expected from their meager earnings; savings were extremely small, and, in many families, non-existent. Land and gold jewelry were the most common forms of investment by those with savings; many, however, simply hid their savings under the floor, in a pillow or mattress, or in some other presumably "safe" place in the house. As Professor Margaret Mead expressed it, "a Greek traditionally likes his money in the form of a lump under the mattress, not as so many figures on a chart or as a number of shares of stock." (Mead, 1954:255) 89 Today, however, a considerable number of families in Kafr el- Elow have savings, eSpecially those with two or more members employed by industry. When the writer inquired of several such families about their savings objectives , most replied that they planned to invest the money by Opening a small business, building a home for rental purposes, or establishing a savings account through the factories where they worked. A bank savings account was not a frequently mentioned objective , because there are no banks in Kafr el-Elow, where lending money with interest is still considered sinful. If a villager decided to Open a bank account, it would be necessary for him to patronize the one bank in Helwan or one of the many financial institutions in Cairo. In recent years , the Egyptian government has been urging its citizens to invest as large a portion of their incomes as possible in an effort to stimulate industrialization and curb inflation. The growing Spirit of competition among the younger generation, a probable by- product of the industrialization process, is another important factor explaining the relatively new enthusiasm about investment in Kafr el- Elow, a tendency which has been augmented by the influx of migrant work- - ers from various parts of the comtry. This spirit of competition was expressed to the writer by several village informants in the following terms: balad ish mina--"If a thing is done by one person, there is no reason why it should not be done by the rest." Larry villagers, for ex- ample, compete with one another to provide housing facilities for the newly-arrived industrial workers, who find it cheaper to live in Kafr el-Elow than in Cairo or even Helwan. The writer discovered, however, that when a villager was planning a business venture of some sort, he might not publicize it for fear of the "evil eye." In other words, he 90 feared that his neighbors' jealousy might cause his investment enter- prise to fail. (The evil eye will be discussed further in Chapter V.) Types of Occupations and Commercial Activities in Kafr el-Elow Occupations and commercial activities in Kafr el-Elow may be categorized as traditional or modern on the basis of how long they have existed.in the village and on the basis of whether they Operate on both a barter and cash basis or exclusively on a cash basis. Another clas- sification scheme, however, is based on the place from which the service is rendered or the business is transacted. There is also a clear-cut dichotomy between dignified and.undignified occupations in Kafr el-Elow. ‘Dignified.work consists mainly in cultivating one's own.plot of land, performing one's own daily domestic chores , or helping a friend or neighbor with his field.work and domestic tasks without monetary com- pensation. On the other hand, such jobs as shoe repairing, barbering, and.emptying waste pits are regarded as undignified occupations and are, therefOre, reserved fOr'newcomers--principally fOr migrants from other rural areas onggypt. That this distinction between dignified and un- dignified types of labor also exists in other Egyptian villages is il- lustrated.by the reply which the shoe repairmen in Kafr el-Elow made to the writer when asked if he would engage in the same OCCUpation.in.his home village--"I'd rather die." Traditional Occupations The village barbers (mouzaien).--The two traditional barbers in Kafr el-Elow, who are brothers, regularly cut customers' hair both at their shop and in their home. Upon request, they will even go to their 91 customers' homes or to the fields to cut hair. Because very few of the traditional barbers' customers, most of whom are elderly, pay cash, the barbers' must go to their customers' fields at the end of each crOp sea- son and receive compensation for their services mainly in wheat and corn. Frequently, however, they are given other farm products , such as vegetables and watermelons, as a bonus. The traditional barbers, there- fore, Operate mainly on a barter basis. Besides shaving and cutting hair, the older of the traditional barber-brothers in Kafr el-Elow was the official representative of the Fblwan Health Department until 1957. In this capacity, he registered new-born babies, granted families permission to bury their dead rela- tives through the Health Department , and reported any unusual diseases or epidemics. Occasionally, he also administered first aid and prac- ticed folk medicine in the village, although this type of activity was an illegal extension of his authority. Still another task performed by the older traditional barber was the circumcision of male children, a ritual required by the Islamic religion. The Older traditional barber in Kafr el-Elow inherited his oc- cupation from his father; he, in turn, passed it on to his younger brother and to his nephew, although the latter received further training in Cairo . The nephew and two other barbers , one from Helwan and one from Cairo, Opened barber shaps in the village after 1960. They are known as the modern barbers because they follow the urban style of haircutting, use modern equipment, and Operate strictly on a cash basis , as their customers are primarily young factory workers and students . 92 The village tailors (tarzi).--The tailor shop, like the barber shop, is a favorite spot in Kafr el-Elow for villagers to meet regular- ly, to socialize, and to exchange the latest gossip while drinking tea or coffee. Usually the tailor provides the drinks, but, on occasion, one of the regular patrons will bring a pot of tea or coffee from home to Share with his friends. The first tailor shop in Kafr el-Elow was established in 1930 by a villager who went to nearby Helwan to learn the trade of making the villagers' native dress , the jalabiyah. Prior to the late 1940's, when the tailor purchased a second-hand Singer sewing machine, he did all his sewing by hand. Like the original traditional barber in Kafr el-Elow, the orig- inal village tailor passed on his trade to relatives--in this case, to his two sons who help him in the ShOp. He told the writer that prior to 1955 his business was very poor, because the average fellah could not afford to have more than one jalabiyah made each year. Consequently, he was forced to butcher a sheep once a month and sell the meat to the vil- lagers in order to supplement his income. After the mid-fifties, how- ever, his business began to improve as a result of the general upswing in the village economy which accompanied the industrialization of the area, and two more tailors opened shops. The village butchers (gazar) . - -Although there are nine butchers in the village, only two Operate from a shOp Specifically designated as a meat market. Five have their businesses in the front of their homes and two, at a street stand, where the meat is suspended from a hook at- tached to a tripod, mprotected from dust, flies, and Spoilage. Accord- ing to government regulations , butchers are supposed to buy their meat 93 fhxmm a slaughter house where animals are inspected befOre being killed and their meat stamped to certify that it has passed government stan- dards. In practice, however, all butchers in Kafr el-Elow do not comply with this regulation, killing their own animals at home according to long-established techniques. Several informants told the writer that two butchers' businesses had been closed by the government for violating the law. The fact that government inspectors cannot control law viola- tors whose meat businesses are located.in.their homes as easily as those whose business is transacted at a public shOp or street stand helps to eXplain why five of the nine village butchers have home-based Opera- tions. As in Egypt generally, selling meat is not a.daily occupation in Kafr el-Elow. Rather, meat is sold only two or three days each week-- ‘Thursday through Saturday. The majority of the butChers slaughter ani- mals-mostly lambs and sheep--on Thursday and Friday mornings, and any :meat not sold by Friday evening is sold on Saturday. Since there is no refrigeration in.the village, butchers are anxious to diSpose of their meat as quickly as possible. Consequently, they sell meat on both a cash and credit basis. Essentially, the butchering occupation.has not undergone much change in recent years, except for the fact that more meat is butchered and sold due to the increased.purchasing power of the villagers . Civil service occupations The few villagers in Kafr el-Elow who are employed as government workers in Helwan and Cairo can be easily distinguished by their west- ern-style suits as they wait for the bus each morning, and by their packages bearing the names of big city ShOps as they return home in the 94 late afternoon or early evening. While these civil servants become an indistinguishable part of the urban scene during the day, after work they become an equally indistinguishable part of the village setting, removing their modern clothing and donning the traditional jalabiyah. Traditional commercial activity at the weekly market (s23) (he center of commercial activity in Kafr el-Elow which has not lost its pOpularity, in spite of the establishment since 1950 of a con- siderable number of modern business establishments in the village, is the weekly market or gig. In 1925, Sunday was designated as the weekly market-day throughout Egypt, as this was the official weekly holiday until 1955, when Friday became the weekly day of rest by government proclamation. Since 1955, therefore, Kafr el-Elow, which serves as the market center for several neighboring villages , holds its weekly market every Friday from 6 A.M. until noon, when most men go to the mosque to participate in the Friday -noon prayers . Always regarded as a festive occasion, market-day in Kafr el-Elow is a. time when the village becomes a place bustling with peOple and activity. In addition to the peasants from Kafr el-Elow and the surrounding rural areas, urbanites, wearing western-style clothing, come from the nearby Iron and Steel Company housing project and even from Helwan to buy agricultural products at the market. Market-day, therefore, affords an Opportunity for social interaction between villagers and urbanites, as well as between vil- lagers from different areas , and while many men, women, and children come to buy, others comesimply to "look around" and/or to socialize with friends and relatives. Most of the merchants participating in the weekly market are itinerants who move from one village to another throughout the year , 95 selling their merchandise on the day or days specifically designated for market activity in each: place . Some merchants take their merchandise to market in a wooden wagon pulled by a donkey or pushed manually, while others load their goods on a donkey or carry it themselves. Female merchants, who typically sell chickens, geese, pigeons, ducks, and tur- keys , usually occupy one side of the market , located at the southern entrance to the village, while male merchants, who usually sell larger farm animals, such as goats, sheep, donkeys, and calves; grains, such as wheat, barley, and corn; vegetables, such as beans and peas; and agri- cultural by-products, such as candy, sugar-cane juice, Spices, and in- _ gredients used in the preparation of folk medicines , ocwpy another. In the center of the market are merchants selling a variety of dry goods , such as fabrics, veils, kitchen utensils, earthenware, glassware, wom- en's jewelry, plastic slippers, mirrors, combs, and handkerchiefs. As a result of the industrialization process in Kafr el-Elow, the purchasing power of the weekly market's patrons has been greatly en- hanced, as many now supplement their farm incomes with wages from fac- tory employment. This is reflected not only in the greater variety of products displayed by the vendors at the weekly market in recent years , but in the increased demand for fresh vegetables and poultry, especially from newcomers in the village who came to Kafr el-Elow specifically to work in the surrounding industries. While most of the market-day busi- ness today is transacted on a monetary basis, some villagers still make their purchases on a barter basis, exchanging corn, eggs, and poultry for other commodities . 96 Modern commercial activity Since 1950, fifty-nine new businesses have been Opened in Kafr el-Elow, several of them rendering services and selling products which were previously unobtainable in the village (see Figure 11). The six hardware stores, the two electrical supply dealers, the two radio shaps, the two shoe repair shOps, the two sandwich shaps, and the bakery, for example, are types of businesses which never existed in Kafr el-Elow be- fore 1950, and reflect very clearly the new patterns of behavior which have appeared in the village as a consequence of industrialization and urbanization. The large number of bachelors among the new industrial workers in the village is reflected by the bakery and sandwich shops; the increasing amount of residential construction discussed in Chap- ter II is reflected by the hardware and electrical supply dealers; the introduction of modern communication facilities is reflected by the radio shaps; and the influence of urban modes of dress , such as wearing shoes, is reflected by the shoe repair shOps. These new businesses are modern not only in the sense of being expressions of industrialization and urbanization, however, but in the sense of being conducted in a shop rather than in a home setting and on a fixed-price, cash-only basis. In other words, they resemble in most ways businesses of a simi- lar type in Helwan and Cairo. The Egyptian government has established fixed prices for many basic commodities, such as meat, flour, sugar, and tea, whether sold by traditional or modern merchants , and prosecutes anyone who sells above these prices. Despite this fact, exploitation of consumers, especially of long-time residents of the village, is not an uncommon practice in Kafr el-Elow. Merchants are less prone to overcharge strangers or 97 u. a // / j? /é o ' , o ///// . 0 ' . o / / ““"—' o .0 o . “"'"" o " _________. “M ._____;‘ NILE RIVER FIGURE 11 WERCIAL OUTLETS IN THE VILLAGE 98 newcomers, however, since they might be government inspectors or persons who would not be reluctant to report the case to government officials because, as yet, they lack any close ties with merchants in the village. Channels of OCCUpational and Commercial Activity Shaps IMost of the village sheps have come into existence only during the last decade. About 40 percent of them are both owned and oper- ated by famdlies whose members take turns serving the customers. Fbr example, while the husband is working at a factory, his father, wife, or son.may "mdnd the store." In the other 60 percent of the cases, the owner makes a full-time occupation of managing and oper— ating the shop. Goods are sold and services are rendered on both cash and credit terms, charge customers paying their accounts on either a.month1y or biweekly basis. Factory workers, who are paid every two weeks, prefer the biweekly payment plan, while civil service employees, who are paid at the end of each.month, prefer the monthly payment plan. vendors At the time the writer was doing his research in Kafr el-Elow, there were only seven vendors' stands in the village, all of them Operated.by women and specializing in fruits, vegetables, and.poul- try. Many of these stands are located in front of the vendors' homes. Vendors are eSpecially prominent on market-day in Kafr e1- Blow, described earlier in this chapter. 99 Peddlers Peddlers are itinerant merchants who come to Kafr el-Elow car- rying their merchandise themselves in a basket or box, or leading a donkey with the merchandise packed on its back or in a cart. They attract customers by shouting for peOple to "come out and buy." Peddlers sell a wide variety of merchandise, including clothing, yard goods, cosmetics, candy and other sweets, fruits and vege- tables. Some even sell on credit--especia11y yard goods--and col- lect from their customers when they return to the village . Like street vendors, peddlers are especially prominent at the weekly market in Kafr el-Elow. Summary Although the amount of land under cultivation in Kafr el-Elow has increased from 300 feddans in 1930 to 770 feddans since the passage of the Egyptian revolutionary government's Agrarian Reform Law in 1952, al- though agricultural productivity has risen significantly due to the modern irrigation system recently installed by the government, and al- though there is a much greater variety of agricultural commodities than in the past due to the deemphasis of annual crOps in favor of cash crops, it has been pointed out that with the industrialization of the area, the agricultural sector of the economy has gradually declined in importance. Some residents in Kafr el-Elow, notably those owning small plots near the residential area of the village, have found it more financially rewarding to construct homes for rent on their land and to enter industrial employment than to continue cultivating their plots . 100 The few villagers who have remained in farming are older persons and those with physical handicaps who cannot secure factory jabs, some of whom rent land from the government or from private individuals . The latter may enter a variety of sharecropping agreements, but the partner- ship (musharakah):method is the most pOpular. While the majority of the _ village farmers cultivate fewer than four feddans and still employ the primitive hand tools used by their ancestors, membership in the private or government couperative has made their approadh to farming more sci- entific. The cooperatives not only lease spraying machines and sell seeds, fertilizer, and insecticides to their members, but, by selling them.baby chicks and buffalo calves and by inoculating their poultry and livestock against disease free of charge, encourage them to raise more fowl and livestock. A The writer found it difficult to secure precise infOrmation from the fellaheen regarding their income, not only because they are not ac- customed to keeping records, but because they are afraid of arousing jealousy and envy in their neighbors. However, when he asked several large farmers, as well as some smaller farmers and agricultural labor- ers, how many feddans were necessary to support an.average family of five persons comfortably--that is, a modest life according to village standards, they said four to five feddans if the farmer owns the land. and five to six feddans if he rents it. The same infOrmants told the ‘writer that the average annual return per £29922 varies from 60 to 80 Egyptian pounds, after deducting rent and Operating cOsts. If these estimates are fairly accurate, the majority of those involved in agri- cultural work in Kafr el-Elow are impoverished, because very few cul- tivate four to six feddans and earn 360 Egyptian pounds per year, the 101 average annual income which would be derived from this amount of acreage. By comparison, the average unskilled industrial worker earns 130 to 160 Egyptian pounds per year. Moreover, this income is certain and augmented by fringe benefits which the farmer does not enjoy. Due to the meager economic rewards of farming, an.increasing number of the younger generation in Kafr el-Elow are choosing industrial employment over agricultural work. This trend has affected the lives of all the villagers in significant ways, however, because of the continued strength of the extended family, giving them greater income security, modernizing their recreational practices, broadening their intellectual horizons, and offering them Opportunities for social mobility. The im- proved financial condition of Kafr el-Blow's residents resulting from the industrial development of the Helwan area is indicated both by in- creased consumption and investment, resulting in a tremendous expansion of commercial activity in the village. NOt only is the weekly market more popular than ever, attracting customers from neighboring communi- ties as well as from Kafr el-Elow, but many new businesses have been Opened in the village (59 since 1950), and the traditional occupations of the village butcher, tailor, and barber have been greatly stimulated. All of these trends, by expanding occupational opportunities for Kafr el-Blow's villagers, have generated an ever-increasing amount of income fer the continued growth of the village economy. CHAPTER IV FAMILY AND KINSI-IIP ORGANIZATION Kinship organization in Kafr el-Elow conforms to a general Arab Middle Eastern pattern characterized by four components: patrilineal descent, patrilocal residence, patriarchal authority, and preferred kin group endogamy. A considerable range of terminology is used by differ- ent writers on the Middle East in referring to various family units. The term, b_ai_t_, for example, has been used to refer to the smallest fam- ily unit, the m1clear family, as well as to a lineage, and the term 231E has been used to refer to both a joint family and a lineage and to both immediate and distant relatives. Because there are no generally applicable terms in the Arabic language to refer to family units of the same scope, the terms used by different writers must be interpreted within a particular context (Murphy and Kasdan, 1959:18-19; Evans- Pritchard, 1949:75; Gulick, 1955:108-109). Similarly, the term all has been used to refer to a person's immediate family or to his entire clan. For the sake of clarity, however, when referring to various fam- ily units the writer will use terms used by the villagers in Kafr el- Elow and their anthrOpological equivalents, as illustrated in Figure 12. Villagers' Terms Author's Terms (Anthmpological) hamulah clan 1' I ailal i1 kabeerah lineage ai‘fah joint family Bait . nuclear family m household FIGURE 12 FAMILY UNIT TERMINOLOGY 102 103 The relationship between these several levels of family eXten- sion may be diagrammed as follows: - HAMULAH if - ZEA A x 4 WW ,4. A. A A A 4. -W AAAAAAAAA AA-..“ FIGURE 13 GENEAIDGY OF A HAMULAH A hammlah (clan), which gradually evolves from a single bait (melear family), embraces all the levels of family extension below it, reflecting a segmentary organization of kin groups . Family Structure in Kafr el-Elow When the village of Kafr el-Elow was established nearly two hun- dred years ago, its entire pOpulation consisted of only six _a_i_1_a_al:_ (sing., ai_la_h) or joint families. Today, however, all four levels of family extension illustrated by the diagram above are represented in Kafr el-Elow. The smallest and least important family unit, from both an economic and social viewpoint, is the bail (nuclear family), consist- ing of a husband and wife and their unmarried offspring. There are three types of ba_i_t_s_ in Kafr el-Elow, however: (1) the independent nu- clear family of recent arrival in the village; (2) the nuclear family be- longing to an extended family household; and (3) the nuclear family in 104 its own household which results from division of the joint extended fam- ily upon the death of the father. Independent nuclear families are found exclusively among the recently-arrived factory workers in Kafr e1- Blow. The nuclear family is usually part of , and subordinate to, a second and more complex family unit known as the ai_la_h (joint family), which consists of a husband and wife, their unmarried and married sons, their unmarried and divorced daughters , and any unmarried or divorced paternal aunts. At the head of the ailah is the grandfather, if living, or, if not, the father. Traditionally, all members of a particular ailah have resided within the same w (household), but each married son's nuclear family occupied a separate residential unit therein. All the sons in the ailah, both married and unmarried, are ex— pected to contribute to its financial support, the father or grandfather (depending upon which heads the ail_ah_) stipulating the amount from each, usually depending on the size of the son's or grandson's earnings. For example, if one son earns 12 Egyptian pounds per month, his contribution might be set at 4 to 5 Egyptian pounds per month, the remainder being saved for him to get married or, if he is already married, to spend ex- clusively on himself, his wife and children. Nevertheless, if a son fails, for one reason or another, to contribute to the ailah's financial resources, he does not suffer eXpulsion from the family unit. Upon the father's death, the ailah is usually dissolved, the inheritance is di- vided among the sons, and each of the constituent nuclear families be- comes the nucleus of a new a_i_lal_1_. In other words, a constant cycle from nuclear to. joint family and from joint family to nuclear families may be observed . 105 The ailah is part of, and subordinate to, a still more complex family unit--il ailah il kabeerah (lineage). This third level of family extension represented in Kafr el-Elow may include five or more direct- line and collateral generations. Since the members of the i1 ailah il kabeerah do not reside in one household (haush) , as do the members of the ailah, their relationships have greater social than economic sig- nificance. Each lineage has a head, referred to as kabeer el ailah (the elder of the lineage), who speaks for the entire group, represents them at social events, and advises them on important matters . The fourth level of family extension in Kafr el-Elow is the hamnlah (clan), which embraces all the lineages descended from a common ancestor. According to several elderly informants in Kafr el-Elow, there were six clans in the village, varying in size and generational depth. There are many families in Kafr el-Elow, however, which have not been established long enough in the village to attain the generational ' depth required to form a hamulah. The leader of a hamulah, who is re- ferred to as a stalk and whose position is usually hereditary, is ex- pected to resolve diSputes between members of his clan and to offer them hOSpitality when they visit his house. As one can readily conclude from the preceding discussion of fam- ily organization in Kafr el-Elow, kinship ties, rather than being limited to the nuclear family, are extensive, producing a network of special re- lations between relatives that makes the kinship group a clearly distin- guishable unit within the commmmity. Many elderly informants, when dis- cussing the historical background of the village with the writer, not only eXpreseed pride in their immediate relatives, but in their ability to establish a connection between themselves and a larger kinship group. 106 The number of persons constituting one's hamulah has always been, and still is, a source of pride in the village, as it is in all rural areas of the Middle East. Kinship Terminology Linguistically Speaking, kinship terminology reflects kinship status, which, in turn, determines the pattern of interaction among in- dividuals. The kinship terminology used in Kafr el-Elow is basically the same as that used in the Arab world generally, but the pronunciation of certain terms is unique by reason of the dialect peculiar to its region. Figures 14 and 15 illustrate kinship terminology used within two ascending and two descending generations and affinal terminology, respectively. Starting with the "ego" or the individual, the clan or lineage name is used for identification purposes . For example, if Ibrahim Abed . Il-Atti Saloum's wife gives birth to a baby boy named Ahmad, the child will be called Ahmad Ibrahim Abed Il-Atti Saloum, the name Saloum being the hamulah name, Il-Atti, the lineage name, and, Ibrahim, the father's name. Several other names may also be included, such as that of the paternal grandfather or great-grandfather. Frequently, however, either the lineage or hamulah name will be dropped in common usage for brev- ity's sake, so that in the above case the child would be called either Ahmad Ibrahim Saloum or Ahmad Ibrahim Abed Il-Atti. If one's lineage is large, wealthy, and socially prominent within a hamulah, the lineage name will usually be retained. For official purposes, however, a person always uses his or her complete name. If an individual is the eldest son, his first name will be used by friends and relatives to refer informally to his father and mother. 107 302% $323 3 BBC: .8553 m .8555 b: - 5:5 55 :8 {Bass a - 35a flan 8555 98m be .. .25 5:5 com 9:3 be .. 5m 5.." m85wsme be - 58:5 spasms E - 35.5 meow b: .. “page 8538p 9888 be - .303 «:5 com be u 55 eon 9888 be - 503 :5 85533 9.888 9855 be .. 5.58 ”:5 com 9.88.8 9855 b: - 5:26 :5 i , 85553 98505 9.855 b: .. use 55 .8553 988.8. 9.8503 b: .. 585 55 cow 9.8505 9.855 b: - unis :5 8m 8m 9888 9u5oe b: .. 585 :5. 88.8 b: - 55 .8555 9850.5 9858. be - .35 5:5 850.5 b: .. 55 fill]? com 9850.5 9850... be - 55 5..“ .888 9.855 b: - 555... 8505 9855 be .. 5 .8505 be u 5 .888 9.850... b: - 5:5 .855 be .. 5.95 850.5 m .8505 be - 39.2 839655 b. - 38a.“ $5.5qu E .. been :05m88w mefipeoumoe wow c05m88w 9598830 52” cowumuocow m . owm cowumhocow memos—comm 8H :05m88m gunman ecu 108 302% .2592 ma $50: @555 m . 859:3 b: . 5:553 835 98505 b: .. 5.95 umoon out: be - Smog omen—o5 9.8.88 9.855 b: .. 595nm moon 83.3 98505 9855 be .. 5 noun—ON «a? who... a - as“ been @5595 98.88 be - at? moon p.855 9888 9850.: be .. 515x moon owes 9850.5 9.8505 b: - «H5 uwmooN 109 For example, if Ibrahim's oldest son's name is Almad, then Ibrahim may be called Abou Almad--the father of Ahmad. A mother may also be re- ferred to by the name of her oldest son. In other words, Ibrahim's wife may be designated as Umm Ahmad. This practice is referred to as tek- nonymy. Even in cases where a name is given in advance to the hOped-for first son of a newly-married couple, friends and relatives may refer to the potential father and mother as abiu: . . . . (father of ..... ) and m. . . . . (mother of. . . . .) , respectively. Frequently, a deceased grandfather's name is given to the prospective son. While conducting his study of Kafr el-Elow, however, the writer discovered that, instead of being re- ferred to by the name of their eldest son, some mothers and fathers were referred to by the name of a younger son who was well-educated or suc- cessful . This practice has become more prevalent recently as the vil- lagers have become status -conscious , but the number of parents to whom it applies is still extremely small. The writer is aware of only three families in Kafr el-Elow which adapted the practice. ._ Kinship terminology also differentiates an individual's rela- tionship to his paternal and maternal relatives , and distinguishes his first cousins from more distantly related cousins. For example, when a man refers to his first paternal cousin, he uses the term ibn-ammi (my father's brother's son), whereas when he refers to his second paternal cousin, he uses the term ibn ibn amni (my father's brother's son's son). Similarly, when a man refers to his first maternal cousin, he uses the term ibn khali (my mother's brother's son), whereas when he refers to his second maternal cousin, he uses the term ibn ibn khali (my mother's brother' 5 son' 5 son) . 110 A daughter-in-law may use the term ammi to refer to her father- in-law and the term mart ammi to refer to her mother-in-law as a sign of respect, even if she is not her husband's father's brother's daughter. Similarly, as an expression of affection, a father-in-law may use the term ya binti (my daughter) to address his daughter-in-law, even if she is not his brother's daughter. The terms m and W. may also be used by a daughter-in-law to refer to her husband's father and mother, respectively, and the terms nasseeb and ki9_n_ah_ may be used by parents to refer to a‘daughter's husband and to a son's wife, respectively. When collective reference is made to one's kin within five gen- erations, the term ahl lazam (immediate relatives) is commonly used, but when the term _a_h_l_ is used alone, it refers to all of one's kin. Simi- larly, while the term jiddi refers to both maternal and paternal grand- fathers and the term j idditi refers to both maternal and paternal grand- mothers, a paternal grandfather is specified as jiddi abu abuyah, and, a maternal grandfather, as jiddi abu mmmi. A paternal. grandmother is specified as jidditi umm abuyah, and, a maternal grandmother, as jidditi Imam ummi. Finally, age being a very important factor determining the status of an individual in Kafr el-Elow, a person refers collectively to pater- nal relatives who are older than he as il-ammam (sing. , emf-paternal uncles, and to those who are younger as awlad il-ammam- -paternal cousins. Maternal relatives older than a Speaker are referred to collectively by the term akhwal (sing. , khal)--maternal uncles, while those who are younger are referred to as awlad il-akhwal--maternal cousins . lll Kinship Roles In Kafr el-Elow, greater importance is placed upon paternal than upon maternal relatives, although they may both belong to the same line- age or hamulah due to the prevalence of endogamous marriage in the vil- lage. If the maternal relatives are members of a different lineage or hamulah, however, their subordinate position relative to the paternal relatives is even more conspicuous . This phenomenon is reflected in a proverb well-known throughout the Arab Middle East--el-khal emkhala wa- el-amm moowala--the literal meaning of which is that, after the father, the paternal uncle is the custodian of his nephews and nieces , rather than the maternal micle. Moreover, if a feud develOps between paternal and maternal relatives , children are expected to identify with, and to support , the formers ' cause. Nevertheless , children frequently have a strong attachment to their maternal uncles and aunts . A married woman resides in her spouse's family home, where she ‘plays a role subordinate to both her husband and mother-in- law. Indeed, a husband frequently sides with his mother against his wife. Romantic love between husbands and wives is practically non-existent , except among better-educated couples , and even they never demonstrate affection toward one another in the presence of their children. Since female clitoridectomy is a common practice in the village, orgasm in women is often delayed, and most husbands are disinterested in whether or not their wives reach a climax. Sexual activity is geared mainly to the husband's satisfaction. The man is also unquestionably the head of the household and, as such, his authority is undisputed. This is reflected in the well-known Arabic proverbs, rub-al-aila and amend e1-bait--"the father is the master and pillar of his household." 112 A.wife with grown sons still plays a subordinate role relative to her husband, but she exercises considerable authority in rearing her children.and.in.SUpervising the household activities of her sons' wives. Conflict frequently occurs, however, if a mother-in-law shows partiality toward one or other of her sons"wives. The wife of a son who occupies a dominant position relative to his brothers by virtue of his superior education.or greater financial contributions to the maintenance of the household, or the daughter-in4 law who bears the largest number of sons, is very frequently the object of privileged treatment by a.mother-in- law; Hamady (1960:39) and Berger (1962:131-134) point out that this 'pattern.is prevalent in all Arab countries. When a wife in Kafr el-Elow is angry with her husband for some reason, she may complain to her father- and.mother-inrlaw, the former usually being more sympathetic with her and more willing to criticize his son. In other cases, however, an angry wife may leave her hquand's 'house and go to live with.her father or brother until her husband sends a member of his family--his father, uncle, or a close relative--to medi- ate fOr her return. ‘Wives who resort to the latter procedure are re- ferred to as hardanih. Which of the two procedures is used depends on the couple involved and on the reasons for their disagreement, a tOpic which will be discussed.in greater detail in this chapter's section on divorce. 5 _ In.the village of Kafr el-Elow, and throughout the Arab Middle East fathers guide and discipline their sons, while mothers perform the same fUnction for their daughters. Nevertheless, the fact that mothers frequently intervene to temper their husbands' disciplinary action against their sons and that fathers exercise a similarly protective 113 influence with respect to their daughters helps to explain why boys tend to be closer emotionally to their mothers than to their fathers, and girls closer to their fathers than to their mothers, even though these feelings may not be overtly expressed. Professor H. Amnar has expressed the importance placed upon children's obedience to both parents in all Muslim communities of the Middle East as follows: The authority of the parents is sanctioned by the Koran. Obedience of children to their parents comes next to the Moslems' major obligations to God and the Pr0phet. Disobedi- ence to parents hokouk al walidain is one of the major sins which is harshly punished in the next world, and, according to Ali, even in this world. A disobedient son or daughter will rever live a successful or happy life on earth, and the parents' curse might even affect the son's or daughter's children. To obtain the parental blessing is more important than to inherit land or wealth from them, as having their blessing is a prerequisite for both piety and success. Thus, if the father is to wield authority and provide protection, the son or daughter must Show "filial piety" and submission to him as well as to the mother. (Ammar, 1966:52) In general, however, Arab children of both sexes feel deeply . loved at home, and in some cases are spoiled, not only by their parents, but by grandparents , uncles , and aunts on both sides of the family. Paternal grandparents , especially , tend to favor the children and to . give them protection and refuge when their parents try to discipline them, but their feelings are stronger for their sons' male offspring than for either their sons' female offspring or their daughters' off- spring of both sexes. This phenomenon is expressed in the well-known Arabic proverb frequently recited to the writer by several grandfathers in the village of Kafr el-Elow: rabi ibn ibnak wa ibn bintak la--"take care of your son's son and not of your daughter's son." The rationale for this statement lies in the fact that the son's son not only perpetu- ates his father's family name, but is required to care for his paternal ll4 grandparents. That the daughter's son does not have a similar respon- sibility for his maternal grandparents reflects the greater strength of patrilineal than of matrilineal ties in the village. Not only during childhood and youth, but even after reaching adulthood and getting married, a person is expected to accord courtesy and respect not only to his parents, but to all older members of his hamulah. In family gatherings one must play a subordinate role, social- ly and otherwise, to all older persons present, serving them food and _ giving them seats ahead of himself and all other younger members. It is also considered disrespectful for a younger person to smoke in front of his parents and older relatives , even if they know that he smokes and state explicitly that they do not object to his smoking in their pres- ence. This was well illustrated by the following case. An elementary school teacher in the village, a man in his late twenties who was mar- ried and educated at the Teacher Training Institute in Cairo, during an informal conversation with the writer in the guest room of his home, discarded the cigarette which he was smoking when his elder brother, a farmer, entered the room. When the writer questioned him about this be- }avior, he said he would have reacted in the same manner had his father or an older relative entered the room, because it, is an insult to the superior social status of one's elders to smoke in their presence. Still another example of superior status based on age is the fact that the oldest son often becomes temporary master of the household during his father's absence. This is reflected in the pOpular Arabic proverb, el-akh el-kabeer walid--"the eldest son is the father." Even when the father is at home, he frequently consults with his oldest son on various matters. The eldest son's prominent position in the family llS derives from the fact that he is the first sibling to help his father in the fields or to contribute his earnings from some other occupation to the family income. While his younger siblings remain subordinate to him throughout his lifetime, he, in turn, has the responsibility of caring for them, even after his father's death. This behavior pattern reflects the traditional authoritarian character of interpersonal relations in rural areas of the Middle East. During the past few years, however, as the result of increasing educational Opportlmities, the main criterion determining one's status in the family has been shifting from age to education. I Daughters in Kafr el-Elow are expected to obey both their parents and their brothers. At the age of nine or ten, their mothers assign them certain household tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for their younger brothers and sisters. After reaching the age of twelve, girls are not permitted to leave the house except to purchase necessities when _.‘no males are at home. Walking through the village alone, they are ex- pected to move swiftly and not to let their eyes wander. When accom- panied by their fathers or brothers , they are supposed to walk ten to fifteen yards behind them so that strangers will find it difficult to identify them. Even in their homes, girls are not allowed to let them- selves be seen by visiting strangers. These behavioral eXpectations are a reflection of the double standard which prevails, not just in Kafr el- Elow, but throughout the rural villages of the Arab Middle East, and which is likewise implied in the following typical statement by guests upon leaving their hosts' home, be farah awladkum in sha-alah--"thank you, and we hope to come again during the wedding of your sons." Anoth- er Arabic proverb reflecting the double standard as applied to married 116 daughters is: il-bint sharraha le-ahlaha wa khairha le-zougha--"the daughter's happiness and welfare always redound to her husband's enj oy- ment and satisfaction, but her dissatisfaction and misery become the concern of her family alone." It is also significant that an Arab woman retains her family name after marriage, rather than adopting that of her husband. It has already been mentioned that the ailah (joint family) , the most prominent family unit in the village of Kafr el-Elow, is an economic as well as a social unit, and that the sons pool their resources to sup- port the entire household and to buy or build and maintain a home. Due in part to this cooperation in financially supporting the joint family to which they belong, brothers have a very strong emotional affinity and tend to defend each other, right or wrong, against Opponents. This is reflected in several Arabic proverbs, such as "I and my brother against my cousin; I and my cousin against strangers" and "Oh, dear brother." I The latter words are supposed to have been uttered by a man who had been Slain and who, before dying, called Upon his brother for help or ven- ' geance. While there is a close relationship between sisters before mar- riage, interaction between them tends to decrease after marriage, Lmless their husbands are close kin. The Mate Selection Process . Because few peOple in Kafr el-Blow marry outside their clans, few have chosen a mate who is not a resident of the village. This principle of preferred endogamous marriage is strong in all rural areas of the Middle East. Moreover, marriage to a close relative, especially to a paternal first cousin, is generally preferred to that with a more dis- tant kinsman, such as a member of one's lineage or clan. There is a 117- common saying in Kafr el-Elow--bint el-amrm sutrah--that the prevailing system of paternal cousin marriage protects a woman against village gos- sip if she passes a certain age without. getting married, because, theo- retically, a paternal male cousin has priority of access to his paternal female cousin. Should a girl's distant relative or a man from another clan wish to propose marriage, he would usually send a was___eet (mediator) to find out whether or not she has been promised to her paternal first cousin, or if her paternal first cousin is thinking of marrying her, before pursuing the girl in question. If it is discovered that the girl's father has refused consent to such a parallel-cousin marriage, few other relatives or outsiders will dare to ask for the girl's hand, for a man has the prerogative of marrying his paternal uncle ' 5 daughter , regardless of her father's feelings about the matter. This is generally understood not only in the village of Kafr el-Elow, but in the rural areas of all Arab countries (Murphy and Kasdan, 1959:18). Another advantage inherent in the parallel-cousin type of mar- riage is that the wife will usually be extremely cooperative with her husband, because he is a close relative. Moreover, the male paternal cousin suffers much less of a financial burden in regard to the bride price and other expenses associated with a marriage than does a non- relative. 0n the other hand, because a woman retains her family name after marriage, and because a woman's male cousins rank in importance immediately below her father and brothers, any shameful act performed by her will also reflect negatively on the cousins. The mate selection process leading to the marriage of parallel cousins is a simple one, for the fathers of the prospective bride and groom, who are brothers , merely discuss the matter informally and then set a date for the wedding. 118 The following pattern of'mate selection is pursued by men in the 'village of Kafr el-Elow who marry outside their own clan. Having ob- served or heard about a desirable girl, a young man tells his mother about her, and the mother, in turn, conveys the happy idea to her hus- baumd. If the father agrees to his son's choice, he usually asks his wife to send a muusually a female neighbor or a relative--to visit time girl's parents to determine whether or not she has already been promised to someone, and, if not, to seek their consent for her marriage to their sont The girl's father, however, is the principal decision- maker in this situation. Depending on his reaction to the proposed son- inrlaw, he will either tell his wife to reject or accept the mediator's marriage plan. If the mediator's report is favorable, the boy's mother ‘visits the girl's mother to confirm the repOrt. Following this confir- mation, the fathers of the future bride and groom meet to work out the details of the wedding, and both agree to announce the happy event of- 'ficially, but the boy's father pays for all the expenses. The prOSpec- tive spouses have very little to say about their marriage plans, espe- cially the girl, and in some cases they are not even cOnsulted. If the prospective bridegroom is employed and able to pay his own marriage ex- penses, however, the father is less restrictive, both about his son's choice of a mate and about the type of wedding ceremony. In cases where the prospective spouses are from.different vil- lages, the same mediation.process described above is followed, but if the mediator's report is favorable, both the father and.mother of the boy visit the girl's home. On this occasion, the girl will be called upon by her father to prepare and serve tea for her prospective parents- in-law. If she meets their expectations in this regard, as well as in 119 her general appearance and decorum, they will encourage the prOposed match following their visit; if not, they are polite and sociable while at her home, but consider the case closed upon leaving. An extremely important characteristic of a mediator's role in arranging marriages is confidentiality, especially in cases where negotiations break down, be- cause most villagers are deeply concerned about saving face before their friends and relatives . Pre-Nuptial Rituals On the date agreed Upon by the fathers of the prOSpective spouses as the engagement day (youm el-shabkah) , the groom's parents and a small 1 group of their closest relatives take presents to the future bride's bane. The variety and value of the gifts reflect the socio-economic po- sition of the prospective groom's family. Some characteristic items presented to future brides by their prospective female in-laws are one or two pieces of dress-making material, a piece of jewelryuusually a gold bracelet or a necklace, and two wedding rings. On their way to the future bride's home, the prospective groom's mother and female relatives sing and utter various cries of joy (zagareets) . The future groom's father also sends gifts--usually meat, rice, vegetables, and soft drinks-- to the prospective bride's home on the engagement day. After both families and their guests have eaten a meal together, the future groom's father thanks the prospective bride's father for his hospitality and goes through the formality of publicly asking for his daughter's hand in marriage by saying, ehna talbeen a1 gprb ("we will be honored if - we get closer to you"). The prospective bride's father re- plies by saying gurbukum sharaf, which means the honor is his and that his future in-laws' visit to his home has not been in vain. Then he 120 shakes hands with the prospective groom and his father.- Next, the fu- ture groom puts a wedding ring (the custom of wearing wedding rings started only about ten years ago in Kafr el-Elow) on his bride's as well as.his own finger, while his father makes a portion of the marriage pay- ment (Er), referred to as mugaddam ("in advance"), to the bride's father. Because the remainder, called the muakhar ("the delayed"), is jpayable only in case of divorce, it Operates as a kind of security mea- sure discouraging the husband from dismissing his wife in the future. The future bride's father uses most of the mugaddam portion of the _mahr totbuy furniture for his daughter and to cover the wedding expenses; the ‘remainder goes into his own pocket as compensation fer losing his daugh- ‘ter. In certain cases, both fathers agree to buy the basic furniture needed by the couple, and in still other cases the groom buys all the furniture. In Kafr el-ElOW'the total mahr_usually varies in amount from 50 .to 400 Egyptian.pounds, depending on what the couple's parents agree ‘upon. In paternal first cousin marriages, the fathers of the prospec- tive bride and groom do not always agree on any specific.mahr, on the assumption.that both will voluntarily purdhase whatever the couple need and desire without having to be bound by a fOrmal contract. HOwever, since Islam requires the payment of a mahr, though.not any specific amount, the fathers frequently agree to specify a mag; of one pound ($2.50) in the marriage contract. This is done simply to comply with the prescription of the Keran, in spite of the fact that marriage is generally regarded as a secular rather than a religious affair. The small amount specified reflects the strong affectional bond between brothers which motivates them to avoid the possibility of financially lZl exploiting one another. In a few instances, when a father wishes to discourage his daughter's marriage to her paternal first cousin, he may demand that such an enormous _ma_l_1_r_‘_ be paid by the boy's father--as much as 1,000 Egyptian pounds--that even if he were a wealthy man the 51mm would be considered outrageous and the prOposed marriage not worth the price. On the engagement day the prospective couple's fathers also agree upon the date for signing the marriage contract, referred to in Arabic as katib el kital. 0n the appointed day, the legal representative of the bride and groan and two witnesses sign the marriage contract in the presence of the marriage registrar (ma___zun_) , who finally affixes his own signature as well. While Egyptian law Specifies a minimum marriage age of sixteen years for girls and eighteen years for boys, the @1931 often ignores this requirement, especially if he is paid well for his ser- 'vices. The M is appointed by the Minister of Religious Affairs after passing an examination in Moslem Canon Law (33133) . Islam also Specifies that the girl should be asked to give her consent to the marriage, but this, too, is seldom done in the village of Kafr el-Elow. When the ritual of signing the marriage contract has been completed, the entire group assembled for the occasion at the bride's home recites the Opening chapter of the Koran (£55133) . While the couple is legally married after the signing of the marriage contract, the wedding ceremony itself does not take place until several days, or even several months, later on a date selected, again, by the couple's fathers . During the period between the engagement and the wedding day, on holidays such as Eid-il-Adha or Eid il-Fitr, the family of the groom 122 usually sends his future bride gifts such as meat, bread, and holiday cookies. If they are wealthy, they may also send her a piece of materi- al and some jewelry. A few days before the wedding (lailat addukhlah), the groom and his brother or one of his male cousins go around the village inviting their kinsmen and friends to, the event. The night preceding the wedding (lailat el-henna) , both the bride and groom celebrate with their friends in their reSpective homes. At the groom's home, the village barber rubs the hands and feet of the groom with henna, and some of the guests do the same. Soft drinks (sharbat) and tea are then served while the . groom's friends sing and dance. His mother, sisters, and female rela- tives celebrate in a similar manner, but in a different part of the house. This prenuptial social affair usually lasts late into the eve- ning. The party at the bride's home is identical, for all practical purposes. The day preceding the wedding is also the occasion for the bride's parents to carry her new furniture and personal possessions to the groom's home, where both families arrange the items in the room reserved for the newly-wed couple . The Wedding Day (Youm Addukhlah) On the wedding day itself, the bride and groom participate in still another ritual; the groom undergoes a hair-cutting and bathing ceremony and, the bride , a bathing and beautifying ceremony. The groom is usually invited to hold this ritual at the home of one of his friends during the previous night's prenuptial party. In addition, all of the men present the night before are invited to attend the hair-cutting and bathing ceremony. The village barber not only cuts the hair of the prospective groom, but that of any guests who so desire. The host warms 123 the water for the groomfs bath, but the barber actually bathes him, dur- ing which process some of the groom's friends pinch and pat his shoul- ders, symbolizing their desire to undergo the same ceremony themselves in the not-too-distant future. Others sing, dance, and clap, as do some females standing outside the bathing chamber. After the groom is bathed, Ihe is helped to dress and then seated on a chair surrounded by his friends,who sing praises to him.and their host. During the singing, they , give monetary donations (nkggg) to the barber as compensation fer his contribution to the wedding ceremonies. He, in turn, commends them for loving and honoring the groom and specifies the amount each has donated, ‘which.usually varies from.three to fifteen.piasters (equivalent to 6¢- 30¢). In the meantime, soft drinks and tea are served to the guests by the host. ‘When the groom leaves his friend's home after the hair-cutting and bathing ceremony, he walks in a procession to his parents' home, 'flanked.by two friends who serve as a body guard. A.baladi_(rural) band from.a neighboring village, consisting of a flutist, a tambourinist, and a drummer, usually leads the procession. Some of the groom's young (under 12 years of age) relatives fellow the procession, singing, clap- ping, and beating the Eablah_(a small drum). As the procession moves slowly through the village, it stOps several times in front of various shops, where the leader of the band shouts and sings out an invitation fer the people to come and honor the groom. IMbst peOple give the band leader and his musicians a.monetary donation on these occasions. WOmen of the village usually go to the roofs of their homes to watch the pro- cession. Close friends and relatives of the groom might throw salt from their roof-taps to drive away the evil eye from those walking in the procession. 124 When the procession reaches the groom's home, the participants enter a big tent (sewan) rented.eSpecially for the wedding, wherein they sit on chairs or on mats while eating and being entertained by the mu- sicians. Meanwhile, the barber stands beside the groom and greets the male guests, many of whom offer monetary gifts (_nkogt). The barber thanks each donor individually, and a relative of the groom records the amount of money received so that , in the future , when that person or one of his sons gets married, the nkggt_can be returned.in the same amount or'more. Indeed, some of the guests who give money to the groom at any ‘ given.wedding are repaying what they were given.by the father of the groom when they were married. Those who fail to reciprocate in this manner receive a note by messenger reminding them of their obligation. Failure to heed the notice would be considered a grave insult to the groom and his family. The groom's close relatives usually send their donations to him.two or three days befOre the wedding. Rice, sugar, tea, or a live sheep or goat are customary gifts from relatives. Kins- men who prefer to make their donations in the form of money, however, do so on the wedding day itself, along with the groom's unrelated friends. The bride's bathing and beautification rites usually take place at her own home and are conducted by a ballanah (one who prepares brides for weddings), who uses a piece of wet,red material to rub the bride's face so that it will look rosy. In recent years, commercial rouge has frequently been used for this purpose. Female friends of the bride who attend the ceremony sing, clap, and entertain her while her family serves soft drinks and tea. After the bride has been physically pre- pared for her wedding, the groom's family comes to take her and her famr ily to their home. If the distance between the two homes is short, they 125 walk in procession, singing and dancing. But if walking is not feasible because the bride comes from another village or because her home in Kafr el-Elow is too far from the groom's, he will send a taxi or two to bring the bride and her family to his home. Some of the writer's elderly in- formants in Kafr el-Elow commented that they preferred the old way of transporting the bride and her relatives to the groom's home on the wed- ding day- -by providing them with a camel and parading them around the village before the ceremony, a practice which was discontinued in the late 1940's with the rise of industrialization and the accompanying mod- ernization of the village. When the bride reaches the groom's home, she is seated on a chair set on a box so that she can be readily seen by all the female ’ guests in the room and in the courtyard. The groom visits her briefly after her arrival, but then leaves to join his male guests who are seated in a, different roOm, house, or tent erected outside his home for the occasion. While the bride is on display, other females who have been invited to the wedding entertain her by singing, clapping, and dancing to the beat of the tambourine until late in the evening. During this entertainment, food, soft drinks and tea are served to the bride and her guests. Later, the bride's female guests view her new clothing and furniture, the amount and quality of which tend to reflect the groom's social status, inasmuch as his family purchases these items. The bride also Shows her guests the chest of goods supplied by her own family, for it is customary in the village of Kafr el-Elow for mothers to save money earned from the sale of poultry and poultry products to buy their daughters jewelry, clothing and cooking utensils in anticipa- tion of their wedding day. Village females usually gossip for many months about the gifts they have seen on a bride's wedding day. 126 A wedding ceremony itself is a joyous event, not only for the couple united in marriage, but for their relatives as well. The lavish- ness of the event depends, of course, on the socio-economic position of the families involved. The following is an account of a wedding cere- mony to which the writer was invited while conducting his ethnographic study of the village, together with some details preceding the event which will hOpefully contribute to a better understanding of the case. Mr. B was a wealthy and prominent man in the village* who owned a truck with which he transported cement from the village cement factory to various construction projects in the Helwan area. His seventeen- year-old son, who was employed as a laborer in a textile factory near the village, had the reputation of being a play-boy, spending most of his earnings, as well as money he stole from his mother, on girls, in spite of the fact that dating is not permitted in the village. Conse- quently, his mother and father decided that it would be good for him to assume the responsibilities of marriage, and they chose for his future wife a fifteen-year-“old paternal cousin who lived next ‘door. Subse- quently, Mr. B prOposed his idea to his brother, the prospective bride's father, who gave his consent to the marriage, and both fathers agreed on a wedding date. When the young man and woman were informed of their fathers' decision, neither objected, granted that the matter was not a contestable issue. Soon thereafter, both fathers requested the services of a _magup to assist them in executing the marriage contract. Both fathers lied to *The man in this case has been designated as Mr. B for the sake of confidentiality. Mr. B was wealthy only in terms of village standards. The writer was told by several informants that he had accrmxulated consid- erable wealth from his first occupation as a hashish peddler. 127 the new about the girl's age, because at fifteen she was one year under the marriage age established by Egyptian civil law. After the £31112 was specified and the contract was written and signed by both fathers, two witnesses, and the m, the wedding date was set for a month later. In the meantime, the fathers purchased a bedroom suite for the prOSpective married couple and placed it in the room designated for the newlyweds at the groom's house. This was considered an exceptional case by village standards, for the writer was told that very few families possessed a bedroom suite. One week before the wedding, the groom and his brother went about the village personally inviting people to attend the ceremony. Although the groom had his hair cut in Helwan early on his wed- ding day, he also Imderwent the traditional hair-cutting and bathing . ceremony later that day in Kafr el-Elow. Rumors circulated that the bride had also gone to Helwan on her wedding day to have her hair set at a beauty ShOp. This was an unconventional thing for her to have done because, traditionally, professional beauty care has been regarded as degrading to a woman's morals, although many young women in the village express a desire to avail themselves of such services. Following the groom's hair-cutting and bathing ceremony, the wedding procession began, led by a group of local musicians. When the procession reached the front of the groom's home , a photographer from Helwan took the groom's picture with some of his friends. Later, the photographer took a picture of the bride and groom inside the house. The writer was told that this was the first time in the history of the village that a professional photographer had been hired to take pictures of a wedding. After the pictures had been taken, the wedding guests entered the groom's home for a meal. The female guests ate with the 128 bride in one room, while the male guests ate in another with the groom. Meat from a cow which had been butchered for the occasion was served 'with a sauce over rice on a brass tray. Following the dinner, the guests were seated by the groom's father according to social rank in a tent whidh had been set up outside the house for the wedding festivi- ties. The writer and his research assistant, plus four prominent vil- lage leaders, the police captain,and three of his secret agents, sat together in one corner of the tent. 4 Soon, the male guests were entertained.by a group of musicians imported from Cairo for the occasion at a cost to the groom's father of 25 Egyptian.pounds, when the local band could have been hired for only 4 Egyptian.pounds. The writer was informed that musicians had.been brought from Cairo for only two or three weddings in the past. The mu- sicians and a singer started the entertainment with religious songs, but then Shifted to nationalistic songs in praise of President Nasser's 'revolutionary adhievements. Songs were also sung in recognition of the host's hospitality and in appreciation of the villagers' cordiality. In.return, the villagers donated money to the musicians in amounts rang- ing from one-halprgyptian pound to 1 Egyptian pound (equivalent to $1.zs-$2.so). .As the entertainment continued, tea and soft drinks were served to the male guests. In addition, however, the privileged guests, in- cluding the writer, were provided with a gggah_(water-pipe), lighted charcoal, and.an individuallydwrapped cube of hashish. The writer re- }garded this as a most unusual form of hospitality, not only because hashish-smOking is forbidden by Egyptian law, but because it is an ex- tremely expensive practice. One member of each group of Special guests 129 mixed the hashish with mu__s_sal_ (sweet tobacco) and put it in the funnel- shaped head of the water-pipe, covering the mixture with hot charcoal. The water-pipe was then passed around to the other members of the group, each taking two to three deep puffs. Some of the special guests drank beer or a heavy and dark sweet tea while smoking the gggah_in order to achieve more quickly the feeling of being high or gay. The hashish- smoking session lasted for about three hours. The sahra_(wedding night entertainment) does not usually come to an.end until well after midnight, at which time the groom goes to the newlyeweds' room, where his bride has been awaiting his arrival and has prepared some fOod for him to eat. The following moments are extremely difficult ones for the coople, but especially for the bride who, in most cases, fears that the first act of sexual intercourse will be painful. The groom may try to appear confident in front of his bride in order to conceal his own tensions, and he may even attempt to scare her into not 'resisting him. Other grooms, however, try to minimize their bride's fear of sexual intercourse by being gentle or by bribing her with a gift of one to three pounds ($2.50-$7.50). In most cases, too, the bride's mother, sisters, and female relatives try to relieve her tension before they leave the groom's home on the wedding night by talking about sex and assuring her that intercourse is not to be feared. Reports circulate in the village of Kafr el-Elow that some grooms slap or beat their brides with a stick if other methods of in- ducing them to surrender fail. Such techniques are gradually disappear- ing, however, especially among the younger generation who know more about sex and who tend to view marriage more romantically than previous generations. In the past,it was not uncommon fer the bride's father to 130 insist that the groom present him with a handkerchief stained by the blood from the breaking of the girl's hymen at first intercourse as proof of his daughter's virginity, a factor which was supposed to con- siderably enhance the honor of the girl and her family. The following verses, still sung by the families of some young men on the day following their wedding, reflect the traditional importance placed upon virginity in Arab villages of the Middle East: 0h beautiful bride who has covered the white silk with her blood. Ye stars revolving and shining over her father's house. You beautiful girl with a figure of a date tree who brought honor to your family. Send messengers to inform her father to eat and relax, because the blood of his daughter flows to cover the bed. Traditionally, the groom broke the bride's hymen by inserting his fingers into her vagina. Frequently, an elderly woman would witness the event and even assist the groom in breaking the bride's hymen, but this practice has almost disappeared over the past ten to fifteen years. For example, when the writer asked the groom in the wedding described above if he had followed the traditional procedure of showing a blood- stained handkerchief to his bride's father as proof of her virginity, he replied that he had not, because he considered this to be a ridicu- lous practice. 'For three c'onSecutive days following the wedding, the bride's . mother brings breakfast and dinner to the couple. To the dinners, which usually consist of rice, meat, and bread, the groom invites all or most of his friends who gave him nkout on his wedding night. Po lygyny The following quotation from the Koran is usually cited as evi- dence that Islam permits a man to be married simultaneously to four women: 131 If you fear that you cannot treat orphans with fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to you: two, three, or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only or any slave- girls you may own. This will make it easier for you to avoid injustice. (§_u_r_‘a_ 4:3) Since over 99 percent of the pOpulation of Kafr el-Blow adheres to Islam, it is clear that any man in the village who so desires may practice polygyny. According to reliable informants , however, there were not more than seven men in the village who were married to more than one woman during the period when the writer was conducting his study there, and most of these had only two wives. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that polygyny is the exception rather than the rule in .Kafr el-Elow, and that monogamy is the prevailing or dominant form of marriage. When the writer inquired about the reasons for some men's mar- rying more than one woman, despite its general unpOpularity in the vil- lage, it was frequently mentioned that a particular man's first wife could not bear children and that she encouraged her husband to marry another woman. She may even have made the selection herself from among those women with whom she thought she could live harmoniously . In some instances, this resulted in the husband's marrying his wife's sister (sororate marriage). Another factor offered in explanation for a hus- band's marrying a second wife was the serious and prolonged illness of his first wife. A third and final reason cited was wealthy men's desire to demonstrate their high social status by supporting two women simul- ‘ taneously. While the two wives in all these cases may share the husband and the housework more or less equally and refer to one another as sisters, and while the children may call both wives mother, the first m' qu‘ 132 wife usually enjoys seniority and receives more respect from the hus- band, especially if she does not oppose his" second wife. If she is the jealous type, however, and strenuously objects, her husband may divorce her. The first wife's family usually opposes her husband's marriage to a second woman, except for the reason of having children. Moreover, if a man has older children, they often object to his marrying another woman, even if their mother is deceased. This is eSpecially true if any of the man's sons are married, because, in this case, the son and his wife, plus any unmarried daughters, can take care of him. Their oppo- sition might be further motivated, however, by the desire to prevent their father from having more children who would constitute a burden for them to supervise and who would eventually share in their inheritance. Widowhood That the number and percentage of widows has been consistently A greater than the number and percentage of widowers in Kafr el-Elow for several decades is clearly indicated by Table 12. TABLE 12 WIIDWED PERSONS IN KAFR EL-ELOW IN SELECTED YEARS Year Widowers Widows Totals No. Percent No. Percent 1937 21 16.7 105 83.3 126 1947 19 11.0 154 89. 0 173 1960 - 16 5.4 280 94 . 6 296 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1937, 1947 and 1960: pp. 26, 21, and 210, respectively. 133 A major explanation for this discrepancy is that the villagers do not approve of a widow's remarrying after her husband's death, unless she married her husband's brother (levirate marriage) or a poor man who cannot afford to pay a dowry. The most respectable path for a widow to follow is to remain unmarried and to stay with her deceased husband's family, which will not only support her, but any children she may have. Other factors contributing to the larger mmrber and percentage of widows than widowers in Kafr el-Elow are the greater life expectancy of women; men's unwillingness to marry women older than themselves, or even of the same age, if they are beyond the childbearing age; men's reluctance to marry a non-virgin or a woman with children, especially if they have children of their own who object to their father's remarrying because they do not want to assume responsibility for supervising step-brothers and sisters or share their inheritance with them; women's relative dis- advantage in taking the initiative in match-making; and the fact that women's lives are more circumscribed or sheltered than those of men, limiting their freedom to circulate in public places and, hence, their Opportunities for meeting men. Divorce Divorce, like polygyny, is regarded as a male prerogative in Islam, because women are considered socially inferior to men, as ex- pressed by the following quotation from the Koran: Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has granted them. As for those who disobey, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Allah is high, supreme. (Sura 4:34) 134 Moreover, a man may divorce his wife simply by telling her rouhi talkah ("you are divorced"), without justifying his action to anybody. Islam also provides that, within four months after divorcing his wife, a man may reclaim her without her consent, provided it is only his first or second divorce (Koran, Sura 11:225, 226, and 228) and that at the time he divorced her he did not repeat the words rouhi talkah bi ethalatah three times, in which case the divorce is considered final. A man who desires to have this restriction lifted, however, can easily accomplish this objective by consulting a _mn_i_f_t_i_ (a religious judge), who will usu- ally oontrive some fa_tw_a_ (justification) for excepting his client from the general rule. On the other hand, for a wife to obtain a divorce un- der Islamic law is a difficult task, for she must present her case be- fore the el-mahkamah e1-sharieh--"the Islamic religious court." If a woman's husband agrees to her securing a divorce, however, complications are reduced. Despite the ease with which men may secure a divorce under Islamic law, a very small percentage of Kafr el-Elow's villagers are divorced, as reflected by the statistics in Table 13. Let us examine some of the factors accounting for this apparent paradox. First, since the paternal- cousin type of endogamous marriage predominates in Kafr el-Elow, if a man divorces his wife it means that he is not only divorcing his pater- nal-cousin, for whose general welfare he has responsibility, after her father and brothers , but he is also embarrassing the members of his lineage and clan. As a result, when conflict develops between a husband and wife from the same clan and community, their respective fathers or uncles usually attempt to reconcile the couple as quietly as possible, lest gossip further complicate matters and reflect negatively upon the reputation of the entire lineage. 135 TABLE 13 MARRIED AND DIVORCED PERSONS IN KAFR EL-ELOW: 1937, 1947 AND 1960 Year No. of No. of Total Number Total Number Percentage Di- Divorced Divorced of Divorced of Married vorced Relative Men Women Men 8; Women Men 8 Women to Total Number Married 1937 16 18 34 1111 .030 = 3.0% 1947 19 19 38 1696 .022 = 2.2% 1960 17 25 42 2648 .016 = 1.6% Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1937, 1947, and 1960: pp. 26, 21, and 210, respectively. In cases where a husband and wife on the brink of divorce come from different clans or communities, the elders of each meet in an ef- fort to reconcile the couple, but if they fail, they submit the case for further consideration to the Arab Council in the village where the cou- ple resides, or to the Council in a neighboring community, whose members might be more familiar with tribal law and skillful in resolving dis- putes. (Further details concerning the Arab Council are presented in Chapter VII). If the Arab Council cannot reconcile the couple, after carefully reviewing their situation, the marriage is dissolved. In all divorce actions,the husband is required to pay a speci- fied amotmt of alimony (nafakah) for the support of his children and former wife. If he refuses to comply with the Arab Council's alimony judgment, the civil court forces him to pay by requiring his employer to withhold a certain amount each week from his salary or wages. Such ac- tion is rarely necessary in Kafr el-Elow's divorce cases, however; when it is, thehusband is usually an employee at one of the factories in the area. If the divorced couple has children, their custody is awarded the 136 mother until sons reach the age of seven and daughters the age of mine, at which time, according to Islamic law, the father asswmes custody and child-support payments to the former wife cease. Islam, by promising a heavenly reward to those who promote rec- onciliation between discordant husbands and wives, is a second major factor accounting for the low divorce rate in Kafr el-Elow. Not all ef- forts at reconciliation are religiously motivated, however. A wife's father may encourage his daughter to return to her husband in order to avoid having to support her. He may also be interested in obviating the friction which might develOp between his danghter and other females in his household, especially his sons' wives, and between their respective children, should she come to live in his home permanently after becoming divorced. A third factor accounting for the low divorce rate in Kafr el-Elow is the husband's reluctance to repay part of his wife's dowry, the amount of which is stated in the marriage contract. Having considered several major factors minimizing Kafr el- Elow's divorce rate , let us review some prominent reasons advanced by husbands for wishing to divorce their wives . Village informants told the writer that disobedience--for example, a wife's refusal to wash her husband's clothes; neglect of duty--for example, a wife's failure to have her husband' 5 meal prepared when he returns from work in the eve- ning because she has been socializing with neighbors or relatives; and nagging--for example, a wife's persistently urging her husband to spend or borrow more money to satisfy her needs--are among the more pOpular charges. It should be recognized, however, that authoritarian husbands who are selfish with the family income, who beat their wives during every minor argument, or who are so jealous that they object to their ‘ I 137 wives' speaking to any other men, even relatives, sometimes provoke their wives into disobedience, irresponsibility, and nagging. Finally, conflict between a wife and her mother-in-law, especially when her hus- band takes his mother' 5 part, often contributes to divorce , according to village informants. AS mentioned earlier in this chapter, however, en- dogamous marriages reduce considerably the possibility of serious con- flict develOping between a wife and members of her husband's family. Social Class Earlier in this study, the writer pointed out that land-holding and property ownership have been extremely limited in Kafr el-Elow from ‘the time the village was established. Moreover, the fact that the total amount of cultivated land in Kafr el-Elow has doubled during the last half century has not significantly benefitted any particular group of villagers, since individual land ownership does not exceed 5 feddans. Indeed, only a few villagers own as many as 5 feddans. Consequently, land ownership, which was such a prominent factor delineating social classes in Egypt prior to the land reform law of 1952, as well as in most other Middle Eastern societies, has never served this function in Kafr el-Elow. A second factor which has minimized class distinctions in Kafr el-Elow are the strong kinship ties binding the members of each _a_i__l_a_t. For example, when the writer inquired about class differences between members of an ailat or between the various hammlahs in the village, in- formants usually quoted a common Arabic proverb, ish-show hassanah eani wa-inta ibn ammi, which means, literally, "What makes you better or of a higher status than 1, since you are my cousin or kin." In other words, the economic success and resulting prestige of one member of an 138 ailah is shared by all of his kin. If any individual is ranked above his kin, his silperior position is based on such personal qualities as , generosity (harem) or courage (shahamah) . About the only evidence of social class distinction in Kafr el-Elow is the tendency for long- established residents to express a feeling of superiority relative to newcomers in the village by the statement: sukan il-balad i1 asleeyiin-- "we are the original settlers of the village." While class differences are still virtually nonexistent in the village of Kafr el-Elow, the writer predicts that as employment and income Opportunities continue to expand, new styles of living will grad- ually emerge in the village which will inevitably affect traditional attitudes concerning social class . CHAPTERV RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES The Basic Tenets of Islam The adherents of Islam, whether they belong to the Smite or _S_u_‘_a_ branch of the religion, are extremely reluctant to criticize the Koran, which they believe contains the word of God revealed to the prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. In addition to the Koran as a guide for daily living, the villagers have the Hadith--a record of the activities and teachings of the prophet Muhammad and his colpanions. The theology of Islam rests on five pillars--the profession of faith in (he God, Allah (Al-Shahada); prayer (As-Salat); the fast of Ramadan (As-Saum); almsgiving (Az-Zakat); and pilgrimage to Mecca (Al-Hajj)" referred to collectively as Arkan al-Din or Arkan al-Islam. Being de- vout Mislims, most of the villagers in Kafr el-Elow believe that it is necessary to observe these five practices faithfully in order to gain eternal salvation. The writer will, therefore, deal with each in great- er detail. Al-Shahada--The Profession of Faith Tie most important tenet of Islam is that "there is no God but God, and the prOphet Muhammad is His messenger" (La-illaha illa-Allah Wa-mhammad rasul Allah). The role of Muhammad in the world is deline- ated by the Koran as follows: Mahammad is the father of no man among you. He is the apostle of Allah and the seal of the prOphets. Allah has knowledge of all things. PrOphet, we have sent you forth as a witness, a bearer of good news, and a warmer; one who shall 139 140 call men to Allah by his leave and guide them like a shining light. Tell the faithful that Allah has bounteous blessings in store for them. (Sura 33:40, 45-47) It is important to point out, however, that Islam regards Muhammad as the last, not the sole, messenger from GOd to recall men to Allah, for both Moses and Jesus are recognized as prophets who came at earlier periods in history to show people (al-basharia) the light. Concerning the relationship of faithful Muhammadans to Allah and his prophet, the Koran states: Obey Allah and obey the Apostle. If you give no heed to him, knov that our apostle's duty is no more than to make plain his message. Allah--there is no God but He. In Allah let the faithful put their trust. (Sura 4:12-13) While Mlhammadans, like Christians, conceive of God (Allah) as indivisible (wahid) and present everywhere at all times (maujoud fii kul makan), they reject the Christian belief in the Trinity (three per- sons in One God) as polytheism (Shirk), in accord with the following Koranic injunction: They are unbelievers who say "God is the Messiah, Mary's Son." For the Messiah said, "Children of Israel serve God, My Lord and your Lor ." Verily, whosoever associates with God anything , God shall prohibit him entrance to paradise , and his refuge shall be the fire; and wrongdoers shall have no helpers. They are unbelievers who say "God is the third of three." No God is there but One God. (Sura 5:76-78) When the writer asked the villagers of Kafr el-Elow about their concept of God, the coment was frequently made, especially by elderly persons, that God is merciful (raheem) , generous (kareem) , and present every- where . As -Salat- -Prayers The second pillar of Islam, prayer, obligates all believers to pray five times daily- -alone or in a group, at home, in a mosque, or I “T’- "5;! i=2 Ki 141 wherever they happen to be when travelling , and to face eastward (gigs; - - toward Mecca- -while doing so. The five prayer periods are designated as follows: (1) salat es-subh (morning prayer), which is to be said before sunrise; (2) salat al-thur (noon prayer); (3) salat al-asr (afternoon prayer); (4) salat al-nagrib (evening prayer after sunset); and (S) salat al-ishaa (night prayer), which is to be said around 9 P.M. Since Friday noon prayers is regarded as the most important of all prayer periods , devout Mislims make a concerted effort to attend services at a mosque each week at this time. The mosque in Kafr el-Elow, for example, is al- ways so crowded for the Friday noon prayer service that it is usually necessary for some of the villagers to attend the service in nearby Helwan. In Cairo it is often necessary to place straw mats on the side- walk in front of mosques to seat those who cannot be accomodated in- side. An important feature of the Friday noon prayer service is the sermon (khot-bah) given by the sh_a_i_k_ of the mosque, which usually touches upon many aspects of life. In sore instances, the semen is used for political purposes, that is, to support the governing regime. Several villagers in Kafr el-Elow who are civil service employees in Helwan and Cairo told the writer that they especially enjoyed attending Friday noon prayer services in these larger cities because the _shaiks' sermons were more enlightening and SOphisticated than those delivered at the mosque in Kafr el-Elow. Mislims are eXpected to wash before each of the five prayer periods , as indicated by the following statement from the Koran: . Believers, when you rise to pray, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbow, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankle. If you are polluted, cleanse yourself. But if you are sick or traveling the road; or if, when you have just re- lieved yourselves or had intercourse with women, you can find 142 no water, take some clean sand and rub your hands and faces with it. Allah does not wish to burden you; he seeks only to purify you and to perfect his favor to you, so that you may give thanks. Remember the favors which Allah has bestowed upon you, and the covenant with which he bound you when yo: said: "We hear and obey." Have fear of Allah. He knows your immermost thoughts. (Sara 5:6-7) Regarding the importance of devout prayers of petition and thanksgiving to Allah, the Koran states further: Attend regularly to your prayer, including the middle prayer, and stand Up with all devotion before Allah. When you are ex- posed to danger, pray while riding or on foot; and when you are restored to safety, remember Allah, as he has taught you what you did not know. (Sura 2:238-239) Moreover, before every prayer the following introduction to the Koran (al-Fatiha) must be recited: In the name of Allah, the corpassionate, the merciful, praise be to Allah, Lord of the creative, the compassionate, the merci- ful, King of the last judgment! You alone we worship, and to you aloe we pray for help. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored , not those who have incurred your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray. (Koran 1:1) The writer observed that many of the male villagers of Kafr el- Elow were conscientious in their observance of the Friday noor prayer obligation, but very few, especially among the younger generation, prayed five times a day. At noon and in the afternoon, however, when most of the village men were outside of their homes, many could be seen interrupting their work in the fields , or their conversations inside or in front of various business establishments , to pray. Moreover, elderly persons could be seen praying as they walked about the village or sat on mats in front of their favorite ShOps--those of the village tailors and barbers. The structured questionnaire administered by the writer to the residents of Kafr el-Elov SUpported these observations regarding prayer 143 in the village, for only 26 percent of the younger respondents indicated that they prayed daily, the remaining 74 percent praying less regularly. By contrast , older reSpondents replied almost unanimously that they prayed daily. "Lack of time" was the principal reason offered by the younger respondents for neglecting their daily prayers . Secularism's lesser influence on the older than on the younger generation was also expressed by the farmer's considering a new mosque the most urgently needed facility in the village, whereas the latter preferred a clinic. As-Samm--The Fast of Ramadan One of the most exacting acts of worship in Islam is the fast of Ramadan, whereby for one month (the ninth) of their lunar calendar each year Mislims assert that man has higher needs than food. The Koran explains the significance of this third pillar of the faith as follows: 0 Believers, prescribed for you is the fast, even as it was prescribed for those that were before you. . . . the month of "Ramadan," wherein the Koran was sent down to be a guidance to the people and a clear sign of salvation. So let those of you who are present at the monthfast it; and if any of you be sick or on a journey, then a number of other days And eat and drink until the white thread shows clearly to you from the black thread at dawn; then complete the fast until the night. (Sura 11: 183- -187) The practice of fasting as a spiritual discipline is both an- cient and widespread, antedating Islam. According to the Hadith, for example, prior to his founding the religion of Islam, Muhammad had ob- served the fast of Ashura, a custom derived from the Jewish Day of Atonement, and his tribe, the M, had placed special religious sig- nificance on the ninth month of the year (Ramadan) as a period of pen- ance. It was during one of his vigils of devotion and penance in the month of Ramadan that Mzhammad supposedly received his first revelation from God, thus linking the month of Ramadan with Islam. 144 The month of Ramadan begins with the report of a new moon by a trustworthy witness and the subsequent thunder of cannon, the calling of the mnezzins from the mosque minarets, and, in modern times, with ex- cited announcements over the radio to alert the pe0p1e. Reporting the new moon is the responsibility of the religious hierarchy at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. If atmospheric conditions make their observation of the new moon impossible , the length of the preceding month, Shaban, normally twenty-nine days, is extended to thirty days, at the end of which fast becomes obligatory. While fasting, believers must abstain from all food and drink and must observe strict continence from the break of dawn to sunset. Food is eaten only during the hours of darkness, or, as expressed by the Koran, "until the white thread can be clearly distinguished from the black thread at dam." (£1133, 11:183-187) Any Muslim breaking the fast, with or without an excuse, is expected to make amends (gada) for the days of fasting omitted. Even pregnant or nursing women, who usual— ly do not fast consistently, are required to make amends for the days omitted by giving a bushel of wheat to the poor. Each day during the month of Ramadan, as the shadows lengthen and the sun is about to set behind the horizon, muezzins climb minarets to call believers to evening prayer and to the breaking of the fast. At the exact moment the sun sinks behind the horizon, the call is punctuated by the firing of a can- non, an innovation introduced during the period of the Ottoman Empire. In recent times , the radio has also been employed to announce the end of the daily fast. During Ramadan, activity in the village of Kafr el-Elow usually begins in the late afternoon with men purchasing food for the iftar, 145 the first meal after sunset. In the past, the male members of each clan in the village convened at their respective guest houses (mandarah) to eat the _i_f_tir_‘_ meal, for which each family in the clan sent a dish of food. This practice has recently become less frequent, however; most man now eat the lift}; meal at their own homes, although guests may be invited fer the occasion. In the evening, a festive air fills the mar- 'row streets of the village as men crowd into the mosque for the isha, the fifth prayer of the day, and the al-tarawih, a special prayer for Ramadan. Some male members of each clan, however, usually meet for the reading of the Koran and the al-tarawih at their guest house (mandarah), where a m (one who recites from the Koran) may read aloud until 2 or 3 A.M. , when the muezzins announce on the radio or from the minarets that it is time to begin.§ahgg, the meal eaten immediately befOre re- sumption of the fast at dawn. This meal generally consists of left- overs from the iftag_feast. In addition, the mgsahig_or village crier roams the streets, rapping on doors with a stick and beating a drum to rouse the sleepy faithful, and crying out in a loud voice, “Awake, sleepers! It is time for gahg£_and.prayers!" The mggahig often waits beneath the window of particularly heavy sleepers until they acknowledge his call, usually with the sleepy reply, "Thank you, brother. ‘May God compensate you with his grace and benevolence." .At the end of Ramadan he is usually given a few piasters by many of the villagers as a cam- pensation fer his services. While all Muslims over the age of seventeen are eXpected to ob- serve Ramadan, in many households of Kafr el-Elow even.youngsters be- tween the ages of ten and sixteen are encouraged to fast, although they are readily excused whenever they feel unable to continue the practice . 146 On the other hand, the writer was told by several young informants “that while elderly villagers generally abide by the Islamic fasting rules, many yomg adults do not. Some pretend to be fasting in public and in the company of their elders, but, when alone, they smoke, drink, and eat as they please. Such pretenders usually get 1p with the rest of the family to eat §_a_h_u_r_, but do not rejoin the family until after sunset for the 3.15.9.2 meal. Answers to a structured questionnaire which the writer administered to a gromp of young people between the pages of seventeen and twenty-five in Kafr el-Elow substantiated the informants' remarks, revealing that about 54 percent of the reSpondents did not fast regular- 1y during the month of Ramadan. This finding was not unexpected, how- ever, because the same situation exists in many urban areas of the Arab Middle East with which the writer is familiar. The single most important religious event during the sacred month of Ramadan is the observance of LaLlat a1-Qader--the "Night of Power," commemorating God's first revelation to the prophet Muhammad. While the event is celebrated on the twenty-seventh of the month, the original date has never been accurately determined. This is the time when devout Mmslims believe that the. gates of heaven open and the favor of Allah descends upon them, because, according to Muhammad, of all the acts of worship in Islam, the sacrifice of Ramadan is the one which God alone sees and God alone rewards . Two or three days later occurs the official closing of the month of Ramadan with the appearance of the new moon for the month of Shawwal. Aside from the religious significance of Ramadan, business ac- tivity increases tremendously during this period. Most of the people save all year in order that they may Spend freely during Ramadan. Due 147 to increased consumer demand, all prices rise during this period, but the price of meat reflects the inflationary tendency more than any oth- er, for while the. government ordinarily permits the sale of meat only four days each week in order to relieve the pressure on the meat supply , during the month of Ramadan butchers are allowed to sell meat daily. The fact that peeple greet one another during this month with the ex- pression Ramadan Kareem ("Ramadan is generous") and respond with [a Rabena Akram ("And God is more generous") reflects the Spirit of gener- osity and hospitality which prevails in the village during the month of Ramadan. Az-Zakat--A1msgiving Almsgiving, the fourth pillar of the Islamic religion, is ex- plained by the Koran as follows: If they ask you what they should give in alms, say, "What can you Spare?" Thus Allah makes plain to you his revelations, so that you may reflect upon this world and the hereafter. He that ‘ gives his wealth for the cause of Allah is like a grain of corn which brings forth seven ears, each bearing. a hundred Allah gives abundance to whom he wills, he is mmmificent and all- knowing. Those that give their wealth for the cause of Allah and do not follow their almsgiving with tamts and insults shall be rewarded by their lord; they shall have nothing to fear or to re- . gret. A kind word with forgiveness is better than charity fol- lowed by insult. Allah is self-sufficient and indulgent. Be- lievers, do not mar your almsgiving with taunts and mischief, making like those who Spend their wealth for the sake of ostenta- tion and believe neither in Allah nor in the Last Day. Such men are like a rock covered with earth: a shower falls upon it and leaves it hard and bare. They shall gain nothing from their works. Allah does not guide the unbelievers. But those that give away their wealth from a desire to please Allah and to reassure their own souls are like a garden on a hill-side: if a shower falls upon it, it yields up twice its normal crop; and if no rain falls upon it, it is watered by the dew. Allah takes cognizance of your actions. (Sura 2:219, 261-265) It is apparent from the above quotation that Islam expects those who are financially capable to give alms (zakat) to the poor. Almsgivers may 148 make their contributions to the Waqf Ministry ("Ministry of Religious Affairs"), the official government agency which distributes the funds for charitable purposes throughout Egypt wherever they are needed most , or to the mosque in their community. The writer was told by informants that the villagers of Kafr el- Elow fulfill the almsgiving requirement of Islam in a variety of ways other than in the form of monetary donations . Those who kill sheep dur- ing religious holidays often sell the skins to a man who comes through the village periodically to collect sheep skins, giving the money de- rived in this manner to the Ministry of Religious Affairs for services .to the needy. Others distribute meat to the poor during Bid-il-Adha, the sacrificial feast of Islam. Giving food and bread to beggars is still another form of almsgiving in Kafr el-Elow. Some of the villagers . give their alms as a memorial to dead relatives and friends. Besides requiring donations for the poor, Islam's almsgiving obligation also enjoins Muslims to be hospitable and generous to all their guests and neighbors, irrespective of their economic condition. Al-HannPilgrimage to Mecca Pilgrimage to Mecca, the fifth and final pillar of Islam, is emplained as follows in the Koran: Rilfill the pilgrimage and the visitation unto God; but if you are prevented, then make such offering as may be feasible. And shave not your heads till the offering reaches its place of sacrifice. If any of you is sick or injured in his head, re- demption will come by fasting, by free-will offering, or by ritual sacrifice. When you are secure, whosoever enjoys the visitation until the pilgrimage, let his offering be such as may be feasible; or if he finds none, then a fast of three days in the pilgrimage, and of seven when you return; that is, ten completely; that is for him whose family are not present at the Holy Mosque. And fear God, and know that God is terrible in retribution. The pilgrimage is in months well-known; whosoever 149 . uadertakes the duty of pilgrimage in them Shall not go into his womenfolk nor indulge in ungodliness and dissipating. Whatever good you do, God knows it. And take provision; but the best provision is God-fearing. So fear you Me, men possessed of minds! It is no fault in you that you should seek bounty from your Lord; but when you press on from Arafat, then remember God at the Holy Waymark, and remember Him as He has guided you, though formerly you were gone astray. (i113 2:92-94) Pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in the Islamic world, is one of the most exciting events in the lifetime of any Mislim. ' More- over, facing Mecca is the prescribed direction (m) for Nbslims to assume in reciting their daily prayers. Devout Muslims pray ardently that God will enable them to make the trip before they die, and each year, during the month of Dhual-Hyjah, thousands of Mislims from all Corners of the earth have their wish fulfilled. While devout Muslims regard pilgrimage to Mecca as a duty to God, they believe it is a sin for one to strain his financial resources to do so, thereby depriving his family of the necessities of life. Despite this fact, many pilgrims do make tremendous financial sacrifices to take the trip because of the social esteem accorded them in their communities upon returning from Mecca. Those who have completed the journey are referred to or ad- dressed as Lam (males) or 11311313 (females), and those who die on the way are believed to have been admitted to heaven (firdaus) by Allah. The latter are considered especially fortunate, because they are thought to have been selected by Allah for the privilege. While the writer's study was in progress (1964-66), pilgrimage to Mecca by Egyptians was controlled by the Egyptian government, because the hard currency shortage necessitated limitation on the number of per- sons leaving the country. Each year, by a certain deadline, the gov- ernment indiscriminately drew the names of a specific number of appli- cants to fill the quota for the trip to Mecca. hiring the writer's 150 first year in Kafr el-Elow, none of the village applicants' names were drawn by the government to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, but, during his second year, two peOple from the village were selected. A week before they departed for Mecca, both men, following village tradition, enter- tained many relatives and friends at their respective guest houses and discussed their forthcoming trip. The guests, in turn, wished them a safe journey, requested a remembrance in their prayers at Mecca, and . gave them a farewell gift (m. The usual gift on such an occasion is money, varying in amount from 50¢ to $15.00, to help defray the traveler's expenses and as an incentive for him to buy the donor a sou- venir in Mecca. On the departure day itself, the pilgrims, dressed in white clothing, were led in a procession through Kafr eli-Elow so that their relatives and friends could bid them farewell . Then both men were taken by their relatives in a taxi to Port Said where they embarked by ship for Mecca. The writer was told by some. informants in the village that in the past a few of the villagers had traveled by plane to Mecca, but this mode of tranSportation is more expensive than that by Ship. A few days before the pilgrims returned home to Kafr el-Elow, their families white -washed their homes in preparation for inscribing the doors and walls with verses from the Koran commemorating the pil- grims' journey to Mecca. In addition, a ship was painted on the outside wall of the house to signify their mode of transportation. Informants told the writer, however, that pilgrims who travel by plane to Mecca and on whose homes a plane is therefore painted enjoy higher social status or prestige among the villagers than those who travel by ship. On the day of their return from Mecca, the pilgrims were met at Port Said by lSl their relatives, who had set up a large tent Ewan) where the travelers, for about a week, received kin and friends who came to congratulate them on their achievement. Upon arriving at the pilgrims ' home, the kin and friends kissed the travelers' cheeks and said, haj j mabrouk--"a blessed pilgrimage" ; the travelers replied, oukbal endak--"may the Almighty pro- vide you also to make the trip." Same of the pilgrims' close relatives sent baskets filled with tea and other beverages , sugar and rice to their homes, as it is a considerable strain on any family's financial resources to entertain guests for a week. The guests were also served some of the meat from a Sheep which the pilgrims' families had slaugh- tered in gratitude for their safe return from Mecca (karaamat). A por- tion of the meat was also given to the poor of the village. Throughout the pilgrims' welcome-home week, female and male rel- atives gathered separately to perform certain rituals , such as Singing and dancing, to celebrate their return from Mecca. On the seventh day following their return from Mecca, the pilgrims distributed gifts which they had brought from Mecca- -beads, Silver rings and bracelets, shawls, table-cloths, wall tapestries, pieces of material for clothing, incense and herbs, many of which had been manufactured in Japan or Hong Kong. But to the recipients of these gifts--members of their immediate fami- lies, relatives , and friends who had given them money on their depar- ture, the mere fact that the items were purchased in Mecca and that the pilgrims had remembered them proved highly satisfying, both materially and Spiritually. Islam's Impact on the Villagers A system of beliefs and practices based on the Koran, Islam em- phasizes submission (aslama) to God's Will: "Allah misleads whom He 152 wills." In a great variety of situations the writer was told by the villagers in Kafr el-Elow that "nothing happens except by God's Will" (La-Yassebuktmm il-la-Wa-Makataba Allah Lakum). When a "good" (reli- gious) man's craps failed or livestock died, it was interpreted by the villagers as God's testing the faith of a man He loves, whereas if the same tragedy befell an irreligious man's property, it was interpreted as GOd's punishment for some sin(s) he had committed. Even when asked such a simple question as whether he were going out to work in his fields or were going to take a trip to Helwan on a certain day, the typical vil- lager in Kafr el-Blow answered: "If God wills it" (In sha Allah). This dependence on God's will, however, is eXpressed primarily by older villagers. For example, one day, on one of his regular visits to the tailor ShOp, the writer was asked by the tailor's nineteen-year- old son for a ride the following week to Cairo where he wished to attend the celebration commemorating Mdammad' 5 birthday. Although his father objected strenuously, telling his son that 'he needed his help at the shop, the son insisted on going to Cairo. Finally, his father suggested that his son should say, "I wish to go to Cairo next week, if God wills it." However, when the son insisted that he was going to Cairo regard- less of circumstances , his father Shook his head and told the writer: "'lhese days, young peOple have no faith in God. My son insists on going to Cairo even against God's Will, not realizing that God could strike him dead at this moment if He wished." When the writer was about to leave the ShOp, the young man said, with a smile on his face: "Don't forget to pass by next week and pick me up." Islam makes no distinction between the sacred and the profane in life. From birth to death, every moment of each day, and every 153 situation which could possibly arise, is covered by divine ordinance. In other words, Islam comprehends life in its totality, and as long as the Mislim conforms to the particular way of life prescribed by the prOphet, "he is fortified by the assurance of his righteousness." (Grunebatmm, 1946:108) Why should we not believe in God and the truth that has come to us, and be eager that our Lord should admit us with the righteous people? And God will reward them for what they say with gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; that is the recompense of the good-doers. But those who disbelieve are the inhabitants of Hell. (_S_u_r_a 5:87-88) That the concept of reward and punishment is an extremely power- ful factor governing the lives of most villagers in Kafr el-Blow was dramatically illustrated by two stories told the writer by informants while he was conducting his ethnographic research in the village. One story concerned a mother-in-law who attempted to poison her son's wife after serious conflict develOped between her and the girl over the newly—wed couple's marital difficulties. Instead of the girl's eating the poisoned'food which her mother-in-law had prepared and set aside for her, however, the young husband came home unusually early from work that day, ate the poisoned food, and died instantly. The second story con- cerned a man who perjured himself by swearing falsely on the Koran that he had already repaid a loan to one of his creditors when the latter sent a village leader to his home as a mediator to collect the money which he had borrowed. Later that same day, one of the perjurer's water buffaloes was killed by a truck. According to the informants , the moral which the villagers drew from both incidents was that Allah is aware of everything that happens and is sometimes swift in punishing evil-doers. 154 On the other hand, informants told the writer that the villagers also believe that Allah is merciful and compassionate, frequently sus- pending His punishment and granting an evil-doer a long life so that he has a chance to change his ways and make amends for past moral viola- tions. Barclay, in his study of the Sudanese village, Buurri a1 Lamaab, seems to suggest a similar notion by his statement that "particularly in a religion which emphasizes a final day of judgment and doctrines of heaven and hell, as Islam does, a man might become more concerned about religious matters as he approaches old age and death. " (Barclay, 1964:143) Three practices which are condemned by Islam are eating pork, drinking alcoholic beverages, and gambling. The first of these prohi- bitions-pork eating--is the only one which is rigidly observed in Kafr el-Elow, however, for the simple reason that pork cannot be purchased in, or anywhere near, the village. Since the early 1960's, beer has been sold by two grocers in Kafr el-Elow, as well as by the village cof- fee ShOp. Most of the villagers who drink beer, however, are young fac- tory workers who rationalize the practice by saying that Since beer is made from barley, it must be a healthful beverage. Nevertheless, they usually drink it secretly behind a screen in the grocery store or at private hashish-smoking parties. Gambling, the third prohibited prac- tice, which is likewise forbidden by Egyptian civil law, is also a pOpu- lar activity at young villagers ' beer-drinking and hashish-smoking par- ties. It usually consists of card-playing for money. Several years ago, the authorities closed a coffee ShOp in Kafr el-Elow while gambling and hashish-smoking were in progress. 155 Universal Islamic Practices Holidays and Festivities Three major festivals are celebrated by all Mislims, including the villagers of Kafr el-Elow: Eid il-Fitr or il-eid-al~saghir ("the little feast"); Bid-il-Adha or il-eid-al-kabir ("the big feast"); and Mawlid an-Nabawi ("the birthday of the Prophet"). Bid il-Fitr, "the little feast," comes at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. On the first day of the festival, men go to the mosque very early to offer morning prayers (salat essubeh) . In the meantime, their women go to the cemetery, taking along cookies and fruits (£933 and £11.11) to distribute to the beggars and children who tend to congregate there early in the morning . After morning prayer- service at the mosque, the males join the women at the cemetery, although they do not stand close together, and the women bring to a sudden. halt the wailing and crying in which they have been engaged prior to the men' s arrival. hiring the Bid il-Fitr festival, a mukre (one who recites from the Koran) is frequently called to the cemetery to recite the 5% over the tombs of the villagers' relatives, in return for which he re- ceives bread, cookies, fruits, and, occasionally, money. Since festi- vals in Kafr el-Blow are more or less family affairs, as is the case in Egypt generally, those who have lost a family member through death tend to miss them most at these times. Before the rituals at the cemetery come to an end, the men exchange the holiday greeting- -kul am wa inta tayeb--'h0pe to see you healthy and happy at all times." Then they pro- ceed to their respective clan guest houses where holiday greetings are exchanged again, and their children- -both boys and girls--kiss the hands 156 of theelderly, hoping to be, given some moneywhich theycanspendon candy or on amusement rides which are provided by some of the local shopkeepers as well as by itinerant amusement companies which come to the village during festival periods. Everyone is dressed in his or her best clothing, especially the children, whose garments are brightly colored in keeping with the joyousness of the occasion. Members of dif- ferent clans also exchange visits on Bid il-Fitr, going to each other's guest houses to extend their holiday greetings. Tea or soft drinks are usually served at such times. While the Bid il-Fitr festival lasts three days and is a civil as well as'a religious holiday period, the first day is most important, because the religious activities take place on that day. Bid-il-Adha, "the big feast," resembles the first, Bid il-Fitr, in several ways: (1) both last three days, the first of which is the most significant; (2) both Open with congregational prayer by the men at the village mosque, after which many of the villagers visit the cemetery to read the gain; in memory of deceased relatives and friends; and (3) during the three days of both festivals, some adults, e5pecially young men of the younger generation, attend movies in Helwan or Cairo, while parents frequently visit their married daughters , especially those who have married outside the clan, and give them a gift of money, usual- ly between 50¢ and $5.00. By way of contrast, however, Since Biggi- & is the festival of sacrifices, those who are financially capable are expected to buy a sheep and to slaughter it after morning prayer on the first day. In the village of Kafr el-Blow, butchers do most of the slaughtering for those who buy animals for the occasion, but some of the villagers kill their own animals. The writer observed some villagers 157 dipping their hands in the blood of the animal after slaying it, pre- paratory to making an imprint of their hand on the outside door of their homes as a Sign that they have sacrificed a sheep during the festival period. Considerable prestige is derived from this ritual. The sheep-slaying ritual supposedly commemorates the occasion when God was so pleased by the prophet Abraham's willingness to obey the Divine Command to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, that He ordered the proph- et to slaughter a lamb instead. Islamic tradition prescribes that two thirds of the slaughtered animal should be distributed among the poor and that the remaining one third should be consumed by members of the household offering the sacrifice. While the villagers of Kafr el-Blow cmply with this regulation, it is not generally acceptable for a person to send meat to a poor relative, because it might hurt the relative's pride, but some of the villagers do so in spite of this possibility. Most of the villagers, however, distribute the meat to transient agri- cultural workers , to beggars , and to poor recently-arrived residents of the village. After the one-third portion of the meat to be consumed by the family has been cooked, it is. generally placed on tap of a thin bread (battawi) which has been soaked with the meat juice and is served on a brass dish (m to the male members of the clan in the guest house following their return from the cemetery on the first day of the festival. Tea is usually served after the meal, at which time members of the clan exchange holiday greetings. As is the case before the Bid il-Fitr festival, an outsider who visits Kafr el-Blow one or two days before the Bid-il-Adha festival ob- serves the 'villagers spending more money than usual on sweets, vegeta- bles, meat, and other food items to be consumed during the holiday 158 festivities. The tailor ShOp in the village stays open all night on the day preceding the festivals to finish customers' orders, and both the barber and pressing shops are much more crowded than usual. A few vil- lagers--those who are well-off financially and who have a recently- deceased relative-rent loud Speaker equipment to set up in front of their homes on the night when they hire a m to recite the Koran in memory of their departed ones. Mawlid an-Nabawi, the third major religious festival celebrated in the village of Kafr el-Blow and throughout _Bgypt, begins on the eve of the eleventh day of the month of Rabi al-Awal (third month in the Is- lamic lunar calendar) and commemorates the birth of the prophet Muhammad. The villagers of Kafr el -Blow, however, start celebrating this festival four days before the twelfth of Rabi al-Awal, which is the prophet's. actual birth date. Those who have the financial ability usually decorate their homes and build a big tent (m) on an Open Space adjacent to their homes where male guests and relatives will eat their holiday meals and participate in the prescribed religious rituals . Some celebrate the occasion on a large scale to fulfill a vow (nether) which they have made to God. On any of the evenings prior to the festival day itself, reci- tations from the Koran about the life of Muhammad, as well as the chants of the people praising Allah , can be heard over microphones throughout the village . In addition to the celebration of Mawlid an-Nabawi by individu- als in the village, the various religious brotherhoods (el-touruq—el- soufieh) Sponsor festivities on two evenings prior to Muhammad's birth- day. (m these occasions, members of each brotherhood (tariga) meet either at the home of their director or in a tent erected specifically 159 for their purposes . On their first evening of celebration, besides recitations from the Koran and praises to the prOphet, the members of each brotherhood march forward and backward in two parallel lines chanting the following verses: Zikr Allah ("The name of God, the com- passionate and merciful"), a1 hayy al gem ("Who is living and present everywhere"), a1 tawheed lil-Lah ("God, he is the one"). During their second evening of celebration, on the day preceding Mlhamnad's birth- day, all the religious brotherhoods in Kafr el-Blow join the villagers in a procession led by flag-bearers and a band from a neighboring vil- lage, chanting praises to the prOphet of Islam as they march. oh the twelfth of Rabi al-Awal, Mlhammad's birthday, which is a legal holiday throughout .Bgypt, most families in the village of Kafr e1- Blow celebrate by eating a big meal in their respective homes. Others . go to Cairo's Bssit Zainab Mosque, one of the country's most famous mosques located in the old section of the city, to commemorate the feast, renting a room, or a Spot in one of the big tents erected around the mosque , for two or three days . Still others. go to nearby Helwan to celebrate the prophet's birthday. During the festivities connected with Muhammad's birthday, merchants come to the village of Kafr el-Blow with their wagons to sell cotton candy and 313251, a brightly-colored candy doll which symbolizes Millammad's birthday throughout ‘Bgypt. Ciremoision and Clitoridectomy (Bl -Tahuur) Although circumcision is not prescribed by the Koran, it has be- core a universal practice for the male offspring of orthodox Muslims. In Kafr eerlow, as in other Egyptian peasant communities, however, 160 female children must undergo a Similar ritual called clitoridectomy, but whereas circumcision is marked by joyous celebration, clitoridectomy is a quiet and secret affair. By tradition, the boy to be circumcised, who is usually between the ages of 4 and 7 and who is called E32922 ("groom"), is led in a small procession to the front of his home where invited guests and rela- tives clap to the beat of drums and utter cries of joy (zagareets) . At the end of the procession, the boy is seated on a chair and prepared for circumcision by the traditional village barber, who performs the Opera- tion with a razor blade and scissors while the boy's female relatives ,observe the ritual, clapping and shouting for joy. Recently, the barber began sterilizing his instruments with alcohol, after discovering that an increasing number of parents were taking their sons to clinics for circumcision, as the result of a growing belief among the villagers that any incision will heal faster if surgery is performed by a doctor ulder sterile conditions. Moreover, public clinics charge no fee for circum- cision. ‘ While this new trend has led to a gradual decline in ritual elaboration by the families of circumcised boys, guests and relatives are still invited to the home for a meal to celebrate the event, at which time they are usually empected to give the boy a gift of money (95931;) varying in amount from 25¢ to $3. All or part of this money is frequently used to pay for the food which has been prepared for the . guests and to compensate the traditional village barber, whose fee for performing circumcisions varies from 80¢ to $2, depending upon the fi- nancial capacity of the family. The two modern barbers in Kafr el-Blow ‘ I 161 :old the writer that they will not perform circumcisions, because they Lre of the Opinion that this is more prOperly the role of a physician perating in a clinic setting. Circumcisions are also performed in Kafr el-Blow by an itinerant rho travels from one village to another carrying. his instrurents in a tag inscribed with the Arabic word for "circumcisor"--muttahir. Upon trriving in a village, the muttahir calls out, muttahir awlad, muttahir egg-NA professional circumcisor for boys." Despite the fact that the nuttahir's fee is less than that of the traditional village barber, very :‘ew villagers in Kafr el-Blow, with the exception of newcomers and those rho are so poor that they cannot afford any celebration of the circum- :ision ritual, utilize his services. Although female clitoridectomy is prohibited by law in Egypt, .t is still practiced in rural areas of the coultryf In the village of {afr el-Blow, females undergo clitoridectomy at puberty by a ghagarieh 'gypsy) who travels from village to village "ciremmcising" youlg girls md tatooing women. Whereas - in the past the ghagarieh's fee was only L5¢ plus a bar of soap and some corn, it is now 50¢ to $1.00, depending m the income of the girl's family. The girl to be "circumcised" usual- Ly sits on her grandmother's or mother's lap facing the ghagarieh, while 1 female relative holds her legs apart. The ghagarieh then cuts the girl's clitoris and the lips of her vulva with a razor blade. After the >peration, the wound is rubbed with oven ashes to minimize bleeding. )ther folk remedies used to treat the cuts are the juice of an onion or '_1 *For further information, see Barclay, Buurri a1 Lamaab, Chap- ter 8, and 'C. G. Seligman, "Aspects of the Hamitic Problem of the Anglo- Sgyptian Sudan," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XLIII (1915), pp. 639-646. 162 the fried.and ground leaves-of the sant tree (grog). In the-past, "circumcised" girls would also Sit in the canal (fl) during the night, believing that the silt from the Nile waters would help to heal their incisions. Today, however, girls usually treat the sore area in the privacy of their homes, and an.increasing number are using anti- biotic and sulfa drugs to prevent infection.from.setting in. Moreover, most.female clitoridectomies take place during the fall and.winter months, because it is believed that the cooler weather facilitates blood coagulation and the healing of wounds. .As the writer indicated at the beginning of this section, female clitoridectomies are not publicly celebrated, and about the only recog- nition of the girls' ordeal is the preparation of several pigeons and chickens so that they can eat heartily for at least a week and quickly replace the blood.which they have lost. The usual explanations given by the villagers of Kafr el-Blow for their practicing female clitori- dectomy were that it is traditional (hallal) and that it reduces the fe- zmale's sexual desire so that she will not run after boys as an adoles- cent or be unfaithful to her husband as a married woman. Another reason advanced by some village infOrmants was that clitoridectomy makes a fe- male's vaginal Opening smaller, thereby enhancing her future husband's sexual enjoyment. Death Rites 'In.the village of Kafr el-Blow, death is not only regarded as a rite of passage, but as an occasion which reflects the solidarity of the deceased.person's clan and gives the villagers an Opportunity to ex- press their sympathy. In the past, whenever a death occurred in Kafr el-Blow, the deceased person's female relatives screamed and wailed so 163 loudly that in a short time the news spread throughout the entire vil- lage. In recent years, however, as a result of the village's expansion, news of a death is circulated by a man who, for a fee of about 25¢, goes around the village beating a drum and shouting the name of the deceased person. Subsequently, relatives and neighbors come to the dead person' 5 home, where the women congregate, wailing, shrieking, and repeating the name of the deceased over and over again. As soon as all the relevant men have convened at the deceased person's home , the corpse is prepared for burial. If the deceased is a male, the corpse is placed on a bench and washed with soap and water by the village tailor, who performs the _task free of charge. The body of a dead woman is washed by a female. The practice of washing corpses is based on the Islamic belief that the dead should be clean and pure before meeting Allah. After the mughassil ("washer of the dead") has washed the corpse, he sprinkles it with perfume or rose water, blesses it with holy water from the Zamzam well in Mecca, and places pieces of cotton in the ears and nose. Finally, he wraps the corpse in white cotton material and places it in a bier which is covered with a piece of green material dec- orated with verses from the Koran. While the mmghassil prepares the corpse, a m recites from the Koran, the women continue their wailing and shrieking, and the male relatives and neighbors Sit in an adjacent room or stand outside the house waiting for the funeral. Some of the deceased person' s relatives and friends contribute their services to the death rites by sewing the shroud (the white cloth in which the corpse is wrapped), by carrying the bier, or by digging the grave. According to Islamic belief, those who render such services, referred to as {ailah or air, will be rewarded by Allah. ‘ 164 In accord with Islamic tradition and the Arabic proverb, da__f_i_n_ il mayet hallal, the dead are buried as soon as possible. Persons who die before noon are usually buried on the same day, and those who die in the .aftemoon are usually buried the following morning. Four men gen- erally carry the bier from the deceased person's home to the accompani- ment of the female relatives' wailing and crying. The women usually follow the funeral procession for a few yards , but are then ordered by the men to return to the house. While the funeral procession makes its way to the cemetery (el-jabanah or garafa) located at the extreme east side of Kafr el-Blow, the men recite the M and other verses from the Koran in a loud voice, and gI‘OllpS of four take turns carrying the bier. Tm types of graves may be observed at the cemetery. One type, built to accommodate extended families, consists of a small room which is divided into two sections--one for males and ore for females. This room, which is usually constructed of stone, has a cement roof and is built ulderground, with only two to three feet appearing above the ground level. Informants told the writer that there are fewer than six such graves in Kafr el-Elow, all of them built within the past ten years . The second type , the conventional single grave, is much more prevalent, because it is less expensive to construct. It generally re- quires the efforts of two men to place the corpse in a niche in the side of the grave in such a way that it lies on its right side facing Mecca (Liblg) . Then long stones are placed on top of the grave to keep out the sand, and, in many cases, wet dirt is used to seal the holes between the stones .‘ After this is done, those present recite the m and the shaik or the mukre recites other verses to the dead person: "0 servant 1155 of God, when you are asked by the two angels who is your God, say, 'Allah is my God and the prOphet Mlhammad is his messenger. ' And when you are asked about your religion, say, 'Islam is your faith and the Koran is your guide- Immediately following the burial service, the male relatives of the deceased stand in a line at the cemetery to accept condolences from friends and neighbors, some of whom express their sympathy by hugging and kissing, while others simply shake hands and say, "May God have mercy on the departed one's soul so that he will be placed in heaven, and may God prolong your life." Then the men return to their respective homes, while the immediate family of the deceased prepares to accept condol- ences for a period of from three days to a week at its guest house (mandarah) or in a big tent set up especially for this purpose. The head and the elderly members of the deceased person's clan, as well as the §h_ai_k_ of the village mosque, stay in the mandarah or §_ewa_n_ almost constantly during the _age (mourning period) to receive guests. The hosts greet guests with a hand-shake and the greeting, shakara-Allah M ("May God reward you for your effort") , to which the guests re- ply, khafara Allah thanbakoum ("Nay God also forgive you your sins"). Then the guests are seated, those with high status being given the most comfortable places, even if they are already occupied. The writer ex- perienced this Situation in Kafr el-Blow when he and his research as- sistant went to the home of a deceased person to extend condolences. As we entered the house, two elderly men arose and insisted that we take their places on the sofa, an extraordinary gesture of hospitality con- sidering that they were not even members of the deceased person's clan. 166 Although the floor of the guest house or tent is covered with carpets , chairs are available to seat those who wear western-style suits. A micrOphone is usually set up in front of the house or tent so that the mu__k_re_'s recitations from the Koran, for which service he is paid one Egyptian pound, may be heard throughout the village. During the visitation, cigarettes and coffee are served to the guests. The coffee (kahwa sada) is served in small cups with no sugar or cream. On such an occasion, peOple tend to talk a great deal about life and death and about the power of Allah. Upon leaving the mourning rituals , guests are accompanied to the door by one or two members of the deceased per- ,Son's family, who once again shake their hands and thank them for On the Thursday morning of the week following a burial, the de- ceased person's female relatives usually visit the grave to wail and cry for awhile and then distribute cookies (fat_i_r) to all present. Relatives of the deceased who are financially well-off, however, celebrate the end of the mourning period by killing a sheep or a goat and by inviting all available villagers to their homes for a big meal. This ritual in be- half of the deceased is referred to as M. ‘ Several important changes in the traditional mourning rituals have taken place during the past fifteen years in Kafr el-Blow. Whereas the mourning period fornerly lasted forty days , it now never exceeds one week in length, because most people no longer have as much free time to devote to such rituals and because of the tremendous increase in the cost of the food served to the guests . Moreover , throughout the forty- day mourning period, male members of the deceased person's immediate family formerly refrained from shaving, and the female members wore dark - 167 clothes and no jewelry, refrained from combing their hair, and did not bake bread or cook, relying upon relatives and friends to supply them with food. Today, the only one of these customs which has been pre- served is the wearing of dark clothing by the deceased person's female kin. Finally, whereas the entire clan of a deceased person tradition- ally sat aromd his grave throughout the night on the first holiday after his death, they now visit his. grave on the morning of the holiday, and the male relatives convene in the evening of the same day at the clan guest house to express and receive condolences. Practices Associated with Islam in Kafr el-Blow The Evil Bye (Ain Il-Hassud) In the village of Kafr el-Blow, as in Egypt generally, there is a belief in the destructive power of the "evil eye" (ain il-hassud or e1 ain il wihshah), since both the Koran and Islamic tradition (Hadith) refer to. this phenomenon. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, say: "I take refuge with the lord of the Daybreak from the evil of what he has created, from the evil of darkness when it gathers, from the evil of the women who blow on knots, from the evil of an envier when he arrives." (Sura 113:1-5) According to Mislim belief, individuals possessed by the evil eye have no control over its power and, indeed, may not even be con- sciols of why they perform certain evil deeds or are victims of various misfortunes. Consequently, in order to protect their children and live- stock, the villagers of Kafr el-Blow avoid talking about them, especial- ly to strangers, because it is believed that another's envy can result in the possession of the person or thing envied by the evil eye. The writer, for example, frequently experienced reluctance on the part of 168 the villagers to answer questions regarding the anlber of their chil- dren, especially regarding the mlmber of male offSpring, and their place of employment. If the writer prefaced his questioning by saying, Alla E. need; 1?. ye _b_a_r_i_k_ ("Lay God increase and bless your house"), the vil- lagers were more spontaneous and frank in providing him with the infor- mation requested, and reciprocated by saying, rabina yezeedak min neamouh ("May the Almighty increase His blessing 1pon you") . Another phenomenon observed by the writer in Kafr el-Blow which demonstrates the villagers' fear of the evil eye is the midwives ' prac- tice of concealing the sex of the babies they deliver from everyone but those in attendance, to whom they reveal the news by using certain sym- bols , the meaning of which is generally understood by them. Whenever a female baby is born, for example, the midwife simply covers her as a protection against the evil eye and leaves; but if the baby is a boy, the midwife not only covers him, but tells the parents verbally that they have a girl in an effort to deceive the evil spirits, hangs a gold- en palm over his head, and may pierce one of his ears and insert an earring--all for the purpose of protecting him against the evil eye. Later, when relatives and, sometimes , neighbors are Shown the baby, they are expected to say ma aha Al___l_ah_ ("the power of God is so great"), and then recite a prayer. According to Muslim belief, if such a procedure is followed, the evil eye will be powerless to do harm to the infant. Even after their children are several years old, mothers employ various devices to rechlce their susceptibility to the evil eye's influ- ence. By dressing a child in brightly-colored clothes it is hOped that the evil eye will be attracted to the clothes rather than to the child itself; or, on the other hand, a child may be dressed in old clothes in 169 order to repel the evil eye. If, in Spite of all the mother's precau- tions, a child becomes ill, and the illness is attributed to the evil eye, the child's mother or grandmother, or perhaps a female ritualist in the village, will burn incense, wrapping the ashes in a piece of cloth along with a piaster (Egyptian coin), and drOp the package on a street where many peOple pass, hOping that whoever picks it up will contract the child's illness, thereby relieving the child and causing him to re- cover. The writer observed a similar ritual employed for the same pur- pose in Jordan, whereby the sick child's grandmother, after burning charcoal or wood in a metal tray and then throwing salt into the flames , .which produced a crackling sould, rotated the tray over the child' 5 head or walked arould the baby as it lay in its crib or in its mother's lap. In other cases, incense is simply burned near the sick child with the intention of chasing away the evil spirit and inviting the angels to take its place. I . In Kafr el-Elow, and in the Arab Middle East generally, one also observes many adults following a custom similar to that which some Amer- icans practice, namely, that of placing a St. Christopher medal, a rosa- ry, or a plastic statue of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint somewhere near the dashboard of their car for protection against accidents . Mis- lims hang a piece of palm with an eye-shaped hole cut in the center or a blue bead from the mirror of their cars. Lany villagers also place a charm on the step or over the door of the main entrance to their homes to protect themselves from the evil eye. They purchase these charms in jewelry stores or in shOpS which sell folk medicine supplies. 170 The Cult of Charms According to Islamic tradition (Hadith), the prophet Muhammad sanctioned the use of charms fOr protection against the evil eye. In Kafr el-Blow, however, charms (heejabg) are also used, especially by women, as protective devices against sickness, accidents, and against ill fate in.general. The heejab_is also used as a means of treatment for those who are already sick, physically and emotionally. There is one charm practitioner in Kafr el-Blow, whose popular- ity extends beyond the village, who inherited the role from his father upon the latter's death. His father left him a book containing pre- scriptions for the treatment of various physical and.mental diseases, the title and publisher of which he refused to reveal even to the wri- ter, lest the infOrmation fall into the hands of persons who:might use it for evil-doing. The charm practitioner's main profession is tailor- ing, but when a client comes to his shop seeking help, he usually locks the door so that nobody will disturb him. The majority of his clients are women seeking improvement in their marital relations , termination of their husbands' impotence or adulterous behavior, the prevention of a male relative's marriage outside of his clan or village, or the break- ing of such a.marriage which has already taken place in the hOpe that their daughters' marriage Opportunities will thereby improve. It is in- teresting to nOte that while the practitioner agrees to Oppose exogamous marriages, he considers it a sin to interfere with endogamous marriages, which are the preferred type in the village. Another major reason for female villagers' seeking the practitioner's aid is to assure long life fOr their newborn babies, as the mortality rate for infants under one year of age in Kafr el-Blow is over 25 percent. 171 The practitioner cited to the writer two cases which he had .cured, although he maintained that it had been possible only because God had so willed. One was that of an impotent man whom he had cured by ; giving two charms, one to pin to his undershirt and the other to put ulder his pillow. After following the practitioner's prescription for several nights, the man was able to perform the sex act without diffi- culty. A patient with a nagging backache was the second case cited by the practitioner. After doctors in Helwan and Cairo were uable to re- lieve his condition, the patient visited the charm practitioner in Kafr el-Blow, who suggested that he undress and lie down on a mat while he .(the practitioner) wrote and drew signs with a red ballpoint pen over his entire body, beginning with the Spots that hurt most. Later he went to the patient's home and bathed him in warm water while burning incense and reciting the 3333313. Since this treatment, for which the practi- tioner charged $10, the patient has felt extremely well. In the writer's opinion, the practitioner's treatment is largely psycho-therapeutic, for by allowing his patients to set their own fees, which are not payable unless or until cures are effected, the practi- tioner induces his clients to have confidence in his curative powers . The charms themselves are Simply triangular or rectangular pieces of paper inscribed with various symbols and Arabic phrases and covered with triangular-shaped cloth, like those pictured below. “3M” .WJJ1 A. 172 The zar_Cu1t The gar_cult, the central feature of which is the practice of casting out demons, is believed to have been introduced to Egypt some- time during the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century by female BthiOpian.slaves who entertained the harems of the rich Pashas, Boys and other wealthy families. (Behman, 1953:11) ‘With the passage of time and increased population mobility, the cult diffused to the lower classes, which found it highly consistent with their existing beliefs in.super- natural beings, in.magic, sacrifice, and.the inferior status of women (most of the gag spirits' victims are women). ' There are two kinds of gargf-public and private. First, the writer will describe the public 52!. which is conducted every Friday, with the exception of the month of Ramadan, at the Shrine of Shaik' Mathuz in.Kafr el-Blow. Since, according to the interpretation of the Koran, evil spirits disappear during the month of Ramadan, there is no necessity fOr the gar_at that time. Those who come to the shrine fOr the relief of their symptoms arrive around noon, remove their shoes, pay a fee of two piasters (equivalent to 6¢), and.then proceed to the room containing the we tomb, which they occasionally touch to bless themselves as they walk around it reading from the Kbran. Next, they go to an adjoining room where the gar practitioner, who may be either a man or a woman, diagnoses their maladies and attempts to identify the spir- its which possess them.if this is their first gar, Once the musicians-- a flutist, drummer, and tambourinist--have assembled, the gar_rituals begin- As the music prescribed by the practitioner for her patients progresses, the possessed women sway from Side to side until their 173 Spirits respond to the beat (daika) , at which time some give the prac- titioner a tip varying from two to ten piasters. While the musicians are playing, they and the practitioner sing certain songs apprOpriate to the spirits possessing the women who are attending the gar. The follow- ing, for example, is a verse from the song to the spirit B_l_-_Sul_ta_n B_l_- m ("Red Sultan"): "Red King of Kings, ye the King of ginnies, recall your spirits so that all of them will be present. Oh you little bride holding a lighted candle in your hand, you are the bride of the Sultan, and your groom is like a lighted candle." If the patient is a victim of the spirit Bl-Nabi ("the Prophet"), the appropriate song in- .cludes these words: "Oh beloved prOphet, oh beloved prOphet, oh beloved prOphet, bless your Spirit; she is your subject and your presence is al- ways welcome." AS the musicians play their instrurents and sing, the patients customarily beat their chests, breathe heavily, wail or shout for joy, and eventually, as the music becomes louder and louder, stand up and dance wildly until they go into a trance and faint from exhaustion. While dancing, each patient who is participating in her second or sub- sequent _z_a_r wears a gown (jalabiyah) of the color previously prescribed by the practitioner as being demanded by the particular spirit possess- ing her. The gown is worn to the _zar under the black jalabiya_h which is the customary dress for village women and which is removed before the dance commences. All the patients--old and new- -wear a facial veil dur- ing their respective dances to conceal the ugly expressions they will make after going into a trance , from which they are revived by the prac- titioner or an accompanying relative through body massaging and a drink of water. In addition to forcing the zar spirits to reveal themselves, 174 the patients' ritualistic dancing has some very important secondary functiolSuthe release of their pent-up energies , repressed sexual urges, and other emotions. mice the patients ' gar spirits have revealed themselves , the practitioner attempts to convert them from evil to protective Spirits. This is achieved by imploring the spirits to reveal what rituals their victims must perform in order to eliminate or mitigate theirtorments. Certain gar spirits' demands are easily fulfilled, such as the patient's having to wear specific types of jewelry and silk clothing. A woman possessed by Sayed Bl-Dair ("spirit of the monastery"), for example, may be asked to wear priests' clothing, drink wire, and follow the Coptic fasts and festivals. The spirit Bl-Sultan Bl-Ahmar ("Red Sultan") may demand that his victims wear a red cloak, present him with red candles, and sacrifice red roosters or chickens; the Spirit Bl-Sudani ("the Sudanese"), the wearing of a green jalabiyah and the sacrificing of a _ goat; the Spirit Bl-Habashi ("the Ethiopian") , the sacrificing of both a male and female turkey; the spirit Bl-Nabi ("the prOphet") , the wear- ing of a white jalabiyah and the sacrificing of a lamb or a pair of pigeons. Other spirits' alleged demands, however, are not only less easy, but more expensive, to fulfill. Since very few _z_a_r cult patients are discharged as permanently cured, most of them attend public _z_a_1_'_§_ frequently, soretimes over a period of several years. But the social and psychological aspects of the rituals also account for their frequent attendance, namely, the Op- portulity to make personal contacts and to vicariously participate in others ' emotional eXperiences . 175 In addition to the public gags, private E2 are conducted at any time by the village practitioner at the homes of the possessed. The home where a private gar is being conducted is usually brightly lighted with candles, filled with the odor of incense, and crowded with an as- semblage of guests wearing brightly colored dresses who sit on pillows tastefully arranged on a carpeted floor. During a private gap, the practitioner and the musicians direct all the rituals to the possessed person Sponsoring the ceremony, unless he or she is sharing the _zg with a few possessed guests. In such cases, the guests also share the ex- penses, which may match or even exceed those of a wedding. Another fac- tor which differentiates a private from a public 5g; is that, in the former, the sacrifices allegedly demanded by the possessing Spirit are carried out by the practitioner at the home of the hostess, and on the same day the rituals are performed, whereas, in the latter, they may be carried out several days or weeks later by the patients in their respec- tive homes. The following case histories of alleged possession by evil Spir- its in the two most common p1aces--cemeteries and bathrooms-were pro- vided the writer by the v_z;a_r_ practitioner in Kafr el-Elow and illustrate both patient symptomat010gy and the treatment involved in a typical _z_a_r_ ceremony. Patient Number One This is a woman in her forties who has been married twice. AS a child She fainted of fright in a cemetery. Her mother used incense to help her recover from the experience and them took her to a male _zgr practitioner (shaik) , who prescribed the sacrificing of a pair of pigeons and the bIessmg' of the child with their blood. The mother was also advised to buy her daughter jewelry specifically designed to repel the evil Spirits which were causing her headaches and trouble with her brothers and sis- ters. It consisted of two silver rings engraved with the words, Allah 176 Akbar ("God is great"), a fetish made from a brown stone to be pinned in her hair, and a necklace with a red stone to protect her heart. During her first marriage, however, the young woman's problems recurred. She was in continuous conflict with her husband and she imagined that Negroes were trying to kill her. Upon consulting another shaik, She was told that she was possessed by the Spirit Abdel Salam EI-S'oudani and that to satisfy him 5 e had to sponsor or attend a £21 ceremony, wear a white dress, sacrifice a sea pigeon and a red rooster, put their blood on her head, and not go out for a week. She felt so much better after partici- pating in a zar as the shaik had recommended, that she has not missed a single one s'i‘n'Ee that tim' e. Moreover, during her first pregnancy she sacrificed several fowl , thereby loping to prevent the evil Spirits from killing her baby at birth. Now that the patient is older, however, She suffers pains in her head and legs . She contends that because She has not obeyed her Spirit's directives, she had been punished. Now she is willing to do anything to please the spirit in order to secure relief from her distress, because doctors are not able to cure her and only make her feel worse. Patient Number Two This is a woman in her thirties, who, at the age of twelve, was hit by her brother in the privy of her home. As a result of the blow she had felt nauseated, her face was swollen, her eyes stared, and She refused food. A Shaik whom her mother consulted attributed the child' s condi- tion to possession by a rieh (spirit of a bathroom) and recommended that the girl attend a zar. The mother refused to comply with his advice, however, and the g‘fi‘T's sickness grew worse daily. Often she felt that pe0p1e were jumping on her when she was in the bathroom. Finally, the _ girl '5 grandmother took her to a zar and for three consecutive weeks thereafter, the girl visited Ivar Gfi'i'rguis and Amir Tadros Churches, as the _zag practitioner ordered, running about kissing the crosses and statues each time. After completing the church visits, she regained her appetite and began to act normal. Now, whenever the patient feels ner- vous or aggressive , She attends a _z_§_r_ ceremony. gal practitioners usually claim sanction for their alleged abil- ity to cure the possessed by inheritance of the prerequisite powers and knowledge from relatives . Some maintain, however, that they have been called into 331 practice during a dream. Kafr el-Blow's only £a_r_ prac- titioner, for example, claimed to have inherited the role from his grandfather who, in turn, is said to have had a dream wherein he was ordered by a holy man, named Shaik Mahfouz, not only to become a 5.31 practitioner, but to build the gag; shrine dedicated to Shaik Mahfouz which was referred to earlier in this section. CHAPTER VI EDUCATION: FORMAL AND INFORMAL Traditional Education Prior to 1923, when Article XIX of the Egyptian Constitution was passed, stipulating that all boys and girls between the ages of seven and twelve would be provided with free and compulsory elementary school- ing, educational Opportunities in the rural areas of Egypt were extreme- 1y limited. The only school in Kafr el-Elow, for example, was the kgttab at the mosque, administered by a shaik_(religious leader), and SUpported by the villagers, whose purpose, in addition to teaching stu- dents to read and write, was religious education according to the prin- ciples of Islam. Today, two shaik§_0perate kuttabs in Kafr e1—Elow--one at the village mosque, and the other, in a rented room near the mosque. The shaiks_receive fees for their educational services from their students' parents, some of whom, as in the past, make their payments in the form of wheat, corn, and other agricultural products. The majority, however, pay cash-~from 20 to 30 piasters per month (30 to 40 cents). Nest of the students attend irregularly and only a few hours each day for a max- imum of three to four years. They regard its educational program as merely supplementary to their schooling at the public school. At the two kuttabs, students sit on floor mats in a semicircle around the shaiks, learning to read and write by cepying on black slate tablets passages from the Koran which they are expected to memorize. 177 178 Many boys told the writer that the M beat them with a stick when they misbehaved or did not recite their lessons well. The writer ob- served for himself the §}_1_a_ilis_ ' punitive treatment of students on several occasions when he visited the kuttabs. Moreover, the §_l_1_a_i_k_s_ appeared very much on the defensive when the writer visited their schools, giving the impression that they considered him an intruder and a severe critic of their rural backgrounds and meager educational preparation--elemen- tary school only, inasmuch as he was an urbanite, a college graduate, and a non-Moslem. From 1933, when secular education was first introduced into Kafr el-Elow, until 1950, the public elementary school in the village was conducted in a private home rented by the Ministry of Education. Al- though a 1933 amendment to Article XIX of the Egyptian Constitution pro- vided that any parents who violated the compulsory school law would be subject to fine and imprisonment, prior to the 1950's, the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow, like most Egyptian villagers, never fully accepted the compulsory education system. While the village school master, at the beginning of each academic year, received from the government a list of all school-age children who should be attending his school, and while the parents of these children were informed of their obligation to send them to school, actual school attendance was extremely poor. Many of those parents who complied with the law and sent their children to the elementary school did so only to escape prosecution, and not more than ten students graduated annually. Ammar, in his book, Growing Up in an Egyptian Village, commented as follows on school attendance in Egypt during the 1930's and 1940's: 179 The statistics from the Elementary Education Department Show that, during the year 1939-1940, average school atten- dance in the entire country was only about 60 percent of the total number of students registered. Absence from school was especially high in the villages during the irrigation and harvest period when there was much work to be done in the fields. (Ammar, 1966:216) Modern Education In 1950, the Portland Cement Company built a second elementary school in Kafr el-Elow for the children of its employees, which became a.public school epen to all students in the village in 1955 when the original public elementary school was closed after having been condemned as dilapidated and unsafe. Thereafter, the Ministry of Education in Cairo assumed responsibility for the appointment of the school's two "masters" (principals) and fourteen teachers. In.1964, when.the writer ‘was conducting his ethnographic study of the village, this elementary school offered a sixayear education with two day-time shifts-~the 7:45- 1l:4S A.M. period for boys, and the 12:30-4z30 P.M. period for boys and . girls. The square, six-classroom structure is built around a dirt- floored courtyard, where students are lined up by classes daily after the bell rings for school to begin. There is a drinking fountain in the center of the courtyard. Other rooms leading off the courtyard are the principal's office, the supply room which serves once a week as an of- fice fer the visiting nurse, a room used as a kitchen, and two privies, one for males and one for females. The classrooms, all of which are equipped with electricity, have brick walls covered with whiteawash and floors of cement. Their furnishings consist of a portable blackboard, a.map of Egypt and the Middle East, rows of small benches with desks for the students, and a table and chair for the teacher. 180 In the new public elementary school, the curriculum for the first two years consists of training in the rudiments of the Arabic lan- guage, mathematics, music, civics, and physical education. The last feur years are devoted to advanced Arabic, religion (Islam), mathematics, social studies, civics, music, natural science, and physical hygiene. During the first shift each day (7:45-11:45 AJM.), a male principal and a staff of seven.ma1e teachers Operate the school; during the afternoon session (12:30-4z30 P.M.), a female principal and seven female teachers take charge. Only three male teachers, the male principal, and one fe- male teacher reside in Kafr el—Elow; the female principal and the re- maining ten teachers reside in Helwan or Cairo and commute daily to the village. All the teachers are in the age-range twenty to thirty-five, and the two principals are in their forties. The teachers are all high school graduates, with one additional year of education at the Teacher Training Institute in Cairo. The principals have the same amount of fermal education, but longer years of teaching eXperience. unfortunately, the new public elementary school constitutes a threat to the students' health because of its location within the cement factory grounds. The classrooms at the back of the school building are adjacent to the cement factory, making it necessary to keep the windows closed at all times, and the students' play area outside the school's courtyard is always covered.with cement dust. The principal told the writer that he, the teachers, and the students' parents had requested the Ministry of Education for several years to rectify this situation, but no action had yet been taken. In recent years, however, the labor union at the factory has been accumulating a fund with which to con- struct a new elementary school at a greater distance from the factory 181 premises. Another major problem confronting the new public elementary school is overcrowded facilities. To alleviate this condition, the school recently inaugurated an evening education program, giving prior- ity to students between the ages of nine and sixteen.who cannot be ac- commodated in the day school. Stressing only the ability to read and write and a basic knowledge of Egyptian history and culture, however, the quality of the evening education program is not equal to that of- fered the day students, according to the school principal. Extracurricular Features of the Village Elementary School Each.morning the teachers at the public elementary school in- specttheir students for cleanliness, and those children who fail to meet a reasonable standard in.this regard are sent home to their par- ents. Moreover, each week a nurse visits the school to check on the , general health of the students. She is not authorized to administer any medical treatment other than first aid and.vaccinations or inoculations. Students in need of more intensive and/or extensive medical care are sent by the nurse to the public health clinic in Helwan, where they are treated free of charge. The school will not re-admit such students until the clinic gives them a clean bill of health. The village school also provides its students with free textbooks and a free daily snack-- usually a cup of milk and a cookie or a piece of bread. Recently, the public elementary school in Kafr el-Elow estab- lished a parent-teacher association, but it functions much differently than in the United States. In Kafr el—Elow, where most of the parents are illiterate, P.T.A. meetings are never used as an occasion for criti- cizing teachers. Instead, parents simply inquire about their children's 182 academic progress, eXpress appreciation for the teachers' efforts, and make it clear that they stand behind the teachers, regardless of how they treat their Children, as expressed by the Arabic proverb: "Take their flesh and give us the bones, if necessary" (khuth il-lahim wa- atinna il-adem). That teachers are highly respected and even feared in Kafr el-Elow is evidenced by the fact that many parents discipline their children at home by threatening to report their disobedience to the school teacher. With the villagers' growing awareness of the importance of for- :mal education for OCCUpational success, an increasing number of parents are requesting that teachers tutor their children outside the classroom to assure their academic progress. moreover, some parents invite their children's teachers to their homes for meals in order to establish a closer relationship with them. Still others send fruits and vegetables to the homes of these teachers who reside in Kafr el-Elow. These gifts fellow the traditional pattern of gifts given by the parents to the Keran school teacher. In the writer's judgment, the prime motive behind the parents' generosity is to encourage teachers to take Special inter- est in their children's education. Each year, the public elementary school takes its students on trips to the archaeological museum in nearby Cairo and to the factories around the village to make them aware of the rich historical tradition which they have inherited from their ancestors and of the revolutionary government's industrialization efforts since 1952. To entertain the villagers, at the end of each academic year the school sponsors a stage play (masrahieh) performed by the students. 183 Education Beyond the Elementary Level Secondary and higher education Students who complete their studies at the elementary school in Kafr el—Elow and.who pass the government's elementary school examination are eligible to enroll at the secondary school in nearby Helwan, as there is none in the village. Students who subsequently successfully complete secondary school must pass still another government examination in order to become eligible for admission to a state university, and their score over and above the passing mark determines which academic program.they may pursue at such a university. ‘Technical education YOuths who fail the government's elementary school examination, but who wish to continue their education, must enroll in a technical or vocational school. The increased rate of industrial expansion in Egypt during the past decade has given tremendous impetus to the establishment of more technical schools to train the skilled workers and specialists needed by various factories. The academic program at most technical institutes covers a three-year period. During the first year, theoreti- cal education is emphasized; during the second year, students are per- mitted to observe the application of the theoretical knowledge learned the previous year; and, during the third year, they must apply the theo- retical knowledge themselves. In addition to the technical institutes administered by the Ministry Of Education, there are those established by private indus- tries, where preference is given te employees' sons. In 1965, for ex- ample, ten youths from Kafr el-Elow were enrolled at the technical in- stitute Operated by the iron and steel plant near the village, which 184 ‘provides free transportation and daily lunch for all its students, and, during their third year, gives them money for incidental expenses as ‘well. Upon graduation, the students are guaranteed positions as skilled 'workers or technicians in the iron and steel plant. Formal Education of Females The formal education of females beyond the two or three years of elementary schooling necessary to learn to read and write is still ex- tremely rare in the village of Kafr el-Elow, where females constitute less than 20 percent Of the student population. Around the age Of ten, most girls are eXpected to help their mothers with the care of their ‘younger brothers and sisters and with the housework. Because this is the generally accepted role for most females from early childhood until they reach Old age, most of the villagers feel that extensive formal education would constitute a waste of time, money and effort. The wri- ter found only one exception to this point of view in the village--a grocer who had sent his daughter to college in Cairo despite strong Op- position from his relatives, who feared that the girl would become de- moralized from exposure to the urban way of life, in spite of the fact that she would be living with her maternal relatives. MOreover, the grocer was extremely proud of the fact that his daughter had become a school teacher Upon graduation from college, frequently boasting of her accomplishments to the writer. Two factors in the grocer's background may help to explain his liberal views on female education: (1) before moving to Kafr el-Elow for health reasons, he had lived in Cairo for eight years, there coming under the influence of urban values, including that favoring female edu- cation, and (2) he had no sons, who are usually a greater source of 185 parental pride than girls, because they perpetuate the family name. Consistent with the grocer's liberal attitude toward educating his daughter was his failure to resort to the socially-approved procedure of taking a second Spouse when his wife failed to bear him a son. While the grocer's example had the effect of inducing more vil- lagers to support education for females, many of them told the writer that they did not approve of educating males and females together at any level. Opposition to coeducation has diminished in recent years, how- ever, as female teachers have been added to the staff at the village elementary school, because parents object to male teachers' coming into contact with their daughters. As indicated previously in this chapter, _girls attend only the afternoon session at the elementary school, when the principal and all the teachers are females, although there are boys in their classes. The Impact Of Formal Education on the Villagers One Of the kuttab masters told the writer that since the mid- 1950's the modern public elementary school in the village has assumed increasing responsibility for the basic education of village youths, as indicated in Table 14. 186 TABLE 14 TOTAL AITENDANCE AT’THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN KAFR EL-ELOW 1957-66 Year NO. Of Students in Attendance 1957-58 292 1958-59 310 1959-60 320 1960-61 325 1961-62 340 1962-63 346 1963-64 393 1964-65 ' 423 1965-66 480 Source: Registrar's File of the Village School for the Years 1957-1966, Kafr el-Elow, united.Arab Republic, 1966.‘ This trend is undoubtedly reflected in Table 15, which demonstrates the rising literacy rates in Kafr el-Elow between 1937 and 1960. TABLE 15 ILLITERACY.AND LITERACY IN KAFR EL-ELOW 1937, 1947, AND 1960 '(PERSONS UNDER 10 YEARS OF AGE NOT INCLUDED) MALES ‘ Educational Level 1937 1947 1960 NO. % No. % No. % Illiterate ' 960 78.4. 1352 76.3 1263 54.2 Literate 265 21.6 421 23.7 1069 45.8 TOtalS 1225 100.0 1773 100.0 2332 100.0 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1937:37; 1947:45; 1960:150. 187 TABLE 15 ILLITERACY.AND LITERACY IN KAFR EL-ELOW 1937, 1947, AND 1960 (PERSONS UNDER 10 YEARS OF AGE NOT INCLUDED) FEMALES Educational Level 1937 1947 1960 NO. % No. % NO. % Illiterate 982 93.2 1460 92.7 1918 92.1 Literate 70 6.8 115 7.3 164 7.9 Totals 1052 100.0 1575 100.0 2082 100.0 Source: UaA.R. Census Book, 1937:37; 1947:45; 1960:150. Thus, while males' literacy rate increased a mere 2.1 percent between 1937 and 1947, it increased 22.1 percent between 1947 and 1960. The fact that females' literacy rate increased only .5 percent between 1937 and 1947, and .6 percent between 1947 and 1960 is not surprising in the light of the statement made in the previous section that most girls do not complete more than two or three years' schooling at the elementary school and constitute only 20 percent of the total student population in the village. IMOreover, as Table 15 indicates, the ma- jority of Kafr el-Elow's pOpulation—~54.2 percent of the males and 92.1 percent of the females--were still illiterate in 1960. However, these were primarily persons over 40 years of age. Whenever the writer Spoke to illiterate villagers about education, they always expressed the wish that they had taken advantage of the educational Opportunities available to them when they were younger. AS the writer pointed out in this chap- ter's section on traditional education, school attendance was extremely poor in Kafr el—Elow prior to 1950. The illiterate villagers' recent 188 eXpression of interest in formal education seems to indicate, therefore, that the public elementary school in Kafr el-Elow has made a significant impact during the last decade. AS Table 16 indicates, by 1960 nine peOple--eight men and one woman (the grocer's daughter referred to in the previous section)--in Kafr el-Elow had obtained a college degree and/or post-graduate educa- tion. All of these were lifelong residents Of the village, not recent immigrants. TABLE 16 HIGHER EDUCATION IN KAFR EL-ELOW, 1960 Educational Level Tales Females University or 6 1 College Degree Post-Graduate 2 0 Diploma Master's Degree 0 0 Ph.D. Degree 0 0 Totals 8 1 Source: U.A.R. Census Book, 1960:150. In the two-year period (1964-1966) during which the writer was conducting his ethnographic study of Kafr el-Elow, thirteen students from the village were attending various colleges and universities. As- suming that all thirteen students complete their college programs and graduate by the end of 1968, there will have been almost a 70 percent increase (from 9 in 1960 to 13 in 1968) in the number of college 189 graduates in the village since 1960. Inasmuch as education is the key t9_higher status.employment in Kafr el-Elow, as everywhere in the world, this remarkable increase in the educational attainment level of its pOpulation should contribute to the acceleration of the trend toward in- creasing intergenerational mobility in the village discussed in Chap- ter III. The Mass Media Anyone visiting Kafr el-Elow for the first time is impressed by the large number of villagers listening to music and news on their tran- sistor radios. Everywhere the writer went in the village--to the gro- cery store, to private homes, to the barber Shep, to the vegetable ped— dler Sitting in the street, he encountered a transistor radio Operating at full volume. Nany'factory'workers and field hands in the village also carry transistor radios to work. Mest of the villagers who own transistor radios buy them in Helwan or in Kafr el-Elow from a school teacher who Operates a small radio and watch repair ShOp in the eve- nings. The teacher actually takes watches and radios to a dealer in Helwan tO be repaired, but he pockets a certain percentage of the repair fee. The teacher told the writer that, since 1960, when he Opened his part-time business, the villagers had purchased over five hundred ra- dios, most of which he had sold on a credit basis--that is, with the customer making a small down-payment and a succession of weekly payments thereafter. One day the teacher asked the writer to accompany him as he went about the village collecting payments. From one of his creditors, a butcher, he took two five-pound packages of meat and subtracted the value thereof from the butcher's indebtedness. The school teacher 190 subsequently told the writer that whenever the butcher could not meet his weekly payments for the radio he had purchased, he (the teacher) simply took meat of equivalent value and sold it to friends in Helwan. While television may be viewed in Kafr el-Elow, as a pOpular means of communication it is not nearly as important as the radio. There were only six television sets in the village while the writer was there, all of which were purchased after his arrival in 1964. Since the owners of these television sets occasionally invite relatives, friends and.neighbors to their homes to view certain programs, however, the in- fluence of television on the villagers' attitudes and behavior is much more widespread than the small number of sets would seem.to indicate. One young man in the village, for example, told the writer that he doubted most of what he had been told about city life in Cairo until he saw various aspects of it portrayed in television.programs emanating from Cairo, where the first television station was established.in 1959. NeWSpapers and.magazines cannot be purchased in Kafr el-Elow, but they may be Obtained in nearby Helwan and Cairo. The writer fre- quently saw elderly and illiterate men bring newspapers several days old to a village barber or tailor Shep, hOping to find someone there who would be willing to read the paper aloud so that they might learn what was going on in the world.‘ Many pe0p1e in Kafr el-Elow eXpress a keen interest in obtaining news of national and international events, but the major means of fulfilling this desire are still personrto-person contact and, increasingly, the radio. A.conversation.which the writer overheard one market day between two elderly villagers--a grain merchant and his customer--c1ear1y illustrates this fact. When the customer asked the grain merchant if he had any yellow corn (American corn) to sell, the 191 latter impatiently replied: "Where have you been, fellah? Don't you listen to the radio? Whenever the Americans get mad at us, they st0p sending yellow corn. So, fellow citizen, get used to the idea of eating white corn (Egyptian corn), and never depend on the Americans."* When the writer asked the merchant about his source of information concerning the American embargo on corn shipments to Egypt, the old man pointed to his transistor radio. President Nasser has commented as fellows on the importance of the radio as a.means of issuing daily exhortations to the widely dif- fused social and geOgraphic segments of the Egyptian population: It is true that most of our people are still illiterate. But, politically, that counts far less than it did twenty years ago .u. Radio has changed everything. ... Today pe0p1e in the most remote villages hear of what is happening every- where and form their Opinions. Leaders cannot govern as they once did; we live in a new world. (Lerner, 1958:214) The fellowing quotation, which expresses the significant impact of the mass media in general, as well as of fermal education, on the village pOpulation of_Egypt, is eSpecially relevant, however, to this chapter's discussion of formal and informal education in Kafr el—Elow: Today, villagers are definitely emerging as a nationally conscious group. Strongly associated with this deveIOpment is the role of the mass media, SUperimposed upon traditional word- of-mouth communication. Our research has also indicated a rela- tionship between literacy and political sophistication. If it is true that literacy is increasing with the Spread of public elementary and secondary schools, then political awareness in the village should also increase. COUpled with the increasing a- vailability and effectiveness of the mass media, political awareness (even to international consciousness) seems destined to Spread among the villagers. (Hirabayashi and Khatib, 1956:363) rts of American surplus corn were halted fOr awhile in 1965 as the result of a Speech that year by President Nasser attacking American foreign policy in the Middle East. CHAPTER VII VILLAGE GOVERMIENI‘ The Traditional Government Prior to the 1960's, the government of Kafr el-Elow, like that of most Egyptian villages, was based on clan structure to the extent that each clan in a village nominated four persons for the position of shaik. Of the four persons nominated by each clan, however, only one was selected for the position of shaik by the Ministry of Interior Af- fairs, with the obvious result that the total number of §h_a_i_k_§ elected was equal to the number of clans in the village. Since the §_h_ai_1_<_s;' po- sition was honorary, they received no salary for performing their role. Nevertheless, because small families in the village frequently joined large clans in associations called hg_u_sa_ ("Share"), each elected shaik usually represented, for official business purposes, several families-- his own clan, plus all the smaller families aligned with it. The §_l_1_ai_k_s_ were supervised by, and were under the authority of, the _o_m_o_da_l_1_, whose position was legally defined in 1895 as the official representative of the central government to the village fellaheen. From a list of candidates submitted by all the villagers, a commission from the Ministry of Interior Affairs, called Lagnat al-Shaikat, selected the M, but his official appointment had to be approved by the Minister of Interior Affairs himself, who also had the power to dismiss the gm_dah_ and to appoint a new one, if necessary. To be considered for the posi- tion of g_m_<_i_a_h_, a candidate had to own no fewer than five feddans, be 192 193 less than sixty years old, and be able to read and write. In addition to being pOpular with the villagers, the gmd§h_had to come from a dis- tinguished and affluent family, Since his position required him to en- tertain guests and government officials on numerous occasions. (Ammar, 1966:61) In many villages, the gmdahfs position was traditional for a particular family, being transmitted from father to son for several gen- erations. In the village of Kafr el-Elow, the position of the gmdah_was originally in the Darwish clan, but then shifted to the Dawudeya clan, where it lay till the position.was abolished by the government in 1960. Traditionally, the gmdah_and his subordinate shaik§_constituted the sole government authority in Kafr el-Elow, as they still do in many Egyptian villages. Not only did they settle village disputes, but they supervised the guards (ghafeers), whose duty it was to protect the com- munity, especially at night, from vagabonds and thieves. The gmdah.pos- sessed the judicial power to arrest law-violators apprehended by the guards and to turn them over to the nearest markag_(police headquarters) in Helwan. The central government in Cairo installed a telephone in the home of the gmd§h_to facilitate his communicating with the police sta- tion. Still another fUnction served by the 9mdah_and his shaik§_was the supervision of the village census--the reporting of births, deaths, and epidemics. The shaik§_also prepared a list of names from their respec- tive hgu§a§_of all males who had reached draft age, and were exPected to accompany the tax collector (saraf) into the fields to collect taxes from land cultivators. In return for performing these fUnctions, the sons of gmd§h§_and shaik§_were excused from military service. After 1952, the prestige of the omdghfs and.shaikfs positions in Kafr el-Elow and in other rural areas of Egypt gradually declined, a trend explained by Ammar as follows: 194 ” The "omdah of the village is elected on the basis of his land prOperty, and has been the symbol of authority and re- sponsibility on behalf of the village. Now, with the estab- lishment of a police station, with the availability of more pe0p1e who can write our complaints, with the decrease in the wealth of the village ”omdah," and, consequently, with his inability to provide hospitality in the traditional way, or to represent the village prOperly without extending his hands for help from the village, his authority has been flouted and pe0p1e tend to send their complaints and disputes directly to the police station or to the provincial authorities. They complain that the ”omdah” is not what he used to be in the good old days--responsible for the reception and accommodation of government officials and generous to chance travelers and to the needy poor. (Ammar, 1966:80) Other factors which contributed to the decline of the omdah's position were the economic and political reforms implemented by the revolutionary government. The Modern Government .At present, Kafr el-Elow is under the direct jurisdiction of the subadministrative district (Eism) of Helwan, which is in charge of the southern part of the Cairo Governorate and is directly connected with the office of the Governor (Mbuhafiz) of the Cairo Governorate (Mpgha: Fazit Il-Khahira). Consequently, the fellaheen of Kafr el-Elow new con- duct most of their official business in Helwan. In 1960, however, a police station was established in Kafr el-Elow to insure the security of the village and its neighboring areas. Located at the extreme east Side of the village in a couple of rooms contributed by the cement factory, the station is administered by a police lieutenant who commutes daily from.Helwan, in whose absence a police sergeant takes charge. Cases which the lieutenant or sergeant cannot handle, or which are beyond their jurisdiction, are relayed by telephone to police headquarters in Helwan. 195 The village guards (ghafeers), who were part of the traditional government system in Kafr el-Elow, still exist, but they are now direct- ly connected with the police station, rather than with the omdah, as was the case prior to 1960. The eighteen ghafeers in Kafr el-Elow come not only from.the village, but from neighboring areas. Some work the day shift; others, the night shift. At the beginning of each shift, the guards report to the police station to get their rifles and, at the end of the shift, they report back to the station to turn in their weapons. Since the ghafeers wear the standard village clothing, the jalabiyah, the rifle is their only distinguishing feature. The ordinary ghafeers are paid between Six and seven Egyptian pounds (U.S. = $15.20) per month, while the head ghafeers, who are in charge of the shifts, receive between seven and nine Egyptian.pounds (U.S. = $20.25) per month. In 1960, after the abolishment of the traditional government system in Kafr el-Blow, a new administrative position.was created--that of the Shaik il-balad, whose administrative responsibilities extend beyond the village to two nearby settlements. The Ministry of Interior Affairs appoints the Shaik il-balad, whose monetary compensation is about twelve Egyptian pounds (U.S. = $30.00) per month. The man holding the office of shaik il-balad in Kafr el-Elow was an officer in the se- cret police (moukhabarat) at Port Said for twenty years before assuming this position, but originally he came from a small and socio-economi- cally insignificant family in the village. The new position of shaik il-balad incorporates some of the same responsibilities formerly performed by the omdah and his'shaiks in the village. The Shaik il-balad, for example, new accompanies the village tax agent as he collects taxes from the fellaheen; prepares a list of 196 draft-eligible men.which he submits to the government and notifies the men thereon to report for duty; certifies identification cards; informs villagers about new government regulations; and summons those whom the government authorities in Helwan wish to see for investigatory or other purposes. Unlike the former omdah and shaiks, however, the shaik il— bal§d_does not solve village disputes. For this reason, he experiences tremendous difficulty performing his role, because the villagers expect him to help them.solve their problems in the same way as did.the former gmdah_and.§haiks, If he refuses, the villagers ostracize him, and, if he accedes to their requests, his supervisors accuse him.cf accepting bribes from the villagers. Kafr el-Elow's Shaik il-balad told the wri- ter that he had twice applied to his supervisor for a transfer, but that his request had been refused both times. The New Political Horizon Until recently, the fellaheen in Egypt were generally regarded as living an isolated existence in their respective village communities. Professor Ammar has explained their traditional Situation in the £01- 1owing words: It is appropriate to mention that, in Spite of the po- litical and social vicissitudes which overtook Egyptian society, folk life held its own, oftentimes against trends in ' the larger society. Various political struggles have oc- curred throughout the history of Egypt, but the common pe0p1e, tied down to their land, submitted to any social order enforced upon them. They rarely took part in any resistance and left the battles to the military and ruling classes. (Ammar, 1966:70) Indeed, prior to 1952, Egypt's social structure was dominated by a small class, most of whom.were wealthy land-owners. With the 1952 Revolution, however, this old political order was abolished in favor of a liberal constitutional government. 197 That the villagers of Kafr el-Elow have both an awareness and an understanding of the political changes which have swept their country since the advent of the Nasser regime is expressed by their recognition and use of such terms as eshtrakiah (socialism), huriah (freedom), adalah (justice), elkwmiah (nationalism), and el-istimar (imperialism) which the government employs frequently in the mass media and in signs hung at entrances to factories, hospitals, and schools. The villagers would have no interest in these abstract political principles, however, if the government were not characterized by "good.works," which they de- fine in such terms as employment for themselves and education for their children, both of which bring them.greater security and dignity. Under President Nasser, the Egyptian fellaheen and industrial workers have also been given the privilege of voting freely for the first time in the history of the country. As social referms have progressed, the fellaheen of Kafr el- Elow, like those in most Egyptian villages, have become more conscious of their role within the society and, as a concomitant, have gradually developed feelings of nationhood and state sovereignty. Undoubtedly, many of the fellaheen.were skeptical about the sincerity of the revolu- tionary government for a long time, and some of them still are, but this feeling has all but disappeared, especially in the village of Kafr e1- Elow, due to its proximity to Cairo. The great majority of the fellaheen seem convinced that the Cairo government wants to help rather than ex- ploit them, as did the earlier tradition-bound regimes. Professor Kerr has described the most recent developments in Egyptian socialism as follows: 198 It was not until 1960 that "socialism“ began to take on a more definite ideological character, marked by explanations of a semi-Marxist tone. These explanations foreshadowed the more developed doctrines accompanying the sweeping decrees of July 19-23, 1960, which transferred to state ownership or con- trol virtually all economic enterprises except those of small shopkeepers, artisans and farmers, wiped out large incomes, and transformed the character of the Egyptian economy from one of maxed, but still extensively private ownership, to one of thoroughgoing socialism. (Kerr, 1962:127-131) The importance of the mass media (especially radios) and of fermal edu- cation in the dissemination of these modern socio-economic doctrines was discussed in the previous chapter. Another significant agency contributing to the political modern- ization of Egypt is the Itihad Il-Arabi Al-Ishtiraki, the Arab Socialist union Party, which is the only one permitted to fUnction in the country. Members of the agricultural c00peratives in the village are automati- cally affiliated with the party, as are factory workers through the trade unions at their places of employment. The various trade unions, therefore, perfbrm.the important function of orienting the fellaheen to desire social equality. Before the establishment of the Arab Socialist Union Party, the fellaheen had never been courted by political officials or parties. Still another factor whiCh brought the villagers of Kafr el-Elow closer to modern political institutions was the abolition of their traditional government, necessitating their dealing directly with the central government in Cairo. The Settlement of Disputes grf_Law (Customary Law) In Kafr el-Elow, as in rural Egypt generally, ugf_law is still the most influential means by which villagers attempt to resolve their grievances, whether the issue is as serious as murder or as trifling as 199 an insult or swearing. Ur£_1aw is the unwritten law which was used by Arab tribes prior to the rise of Islam and which has been passed down orally from one generation to another. Il-Hukum Il-Ahairi, Adah, and Hag Il-Arab are other terms used in different parts of the Arab Middle East to refer to urf_law. The fact that tribal organization still domi- nates the social structure in the rural areas of the.Middle East largely accounts for the persistence of urf_law in the Arab world. (Hardy, 1963:47-73; Lutfiyya, 1966:92-100; Abou Zaid, 1964:301-361) According to urf_1aw, each member of a clan is reSponSible for the welfare of all the other members, in return for which he receives assistance and protection from his clan. vulnerability to death, physi- cal harm, or social penalties for violations of urf_1aw also has a col- lective character in that any member of the aggressor clan might be killed in reprisal for the acts of a kinsman. The immediate kin of an injured person, however, always have the option of accepting monetary compensation (diyyah) through the tribal court in lieu of physical re- venge, especially if the injury was inflicted unintentionally. ‘(Hardy, 1963:11) MUrder can become a critical problem, however, eSpecially when inter-clan feuds continue for years. The November 18, 1966 issue of The Al-Mussawar Journal reported one case of blood feud starting in 1951 and ending in 1966 during which 295 members of two clans were killed as the result of thar--the revenge which each family tried to inflict on the other. (Al-MUssawar Journal, November 18, l966:9) That this case is not unique is evidenced by a report in the November, 1963 issue of The National Review of Criminal Science to the effect that 34.8 percent of all murders committed that year in Egypt were blood revenge murders. (The National Review of Criminal Science, Vbl. VI, 1963:301) 200 While strong kinship bonds, the motivating force behind blood revenge murders, are as prominent a phenomenon in the village of Kafr el-Elow as in other Egyptian villages, blood feuds are not common there. Village informants told the writer that only one case of blood feud had occurred in the village--during the year 1940, but that its impact was still being felt by some members of both clans involved. The Tribal Court-~Majliss.A1-Urfi Whenever a conflict arises, regardless of its type or cause, several elderly and prominent men in the village usually interfere to freeze hostilities by suggesting that the case be referred to the nejliss al-urfi for settlement. Subsequently, the injured.party nomi- nates three houses as potential sites for the hearing, one of which is to be chosen by the offender. If the offender refuses to accept any of the three, however, members of the majliss nominate several houses from which the two conflicting parties select one which is mutually accept- able. After an agreement has been reached concerning the place for the hearing, the majliss determines the amount of the rizkah_or sutrah, This is the money paid to the owner of the home agreed upon as the site for the hearing, the amount varying with the nature of the case and the number of pe0p1e invited to observe the proceedings and to serve as witnesses-~usua11y, the heads of prominent famdlies in the village and a few pe0p1e from neighboring villages. Especially in cases of blood feud, the police commissioner or the governor of the mouhafazah may be invited to attend the majliss al-urfi. The rizkah money is expected to cover all the eXpenses for food and entertainment incurred by the host, plus compensation for his efforts at offering hospitality. Both parties 201 to the conflict in question give Iigkgh_money to their host before the hearing takes place, but, after the hearing, the loser forfeits his con- tribution, while the winner receives a refund. The number of members constituting the majliss for a particular case, as well as the mode of their selection, depends upon the nature of the conflict to be settled. Most commonly, however, both parties to the conflict select the members of the majliss by choosing an equal number from their two lists of nominees. The judges selected in this manner then meet to select another judge whose role will become especially im- portant if the original members reach a deadlock in attempting to settle a case. Objectivity is considered an essential attribute for all mem- bers of the majliss; indeed, their reputations as judges are seriously impaired if they fail to maintain impartiality in every case. In addi- tion, unjust behavior is condemned by the Kbran in the following verses: O believers, be you securers of justice, witnesses for God, even though it be against yourselves, or your parents and kinsmen, whether the man be rich or poor; God stands closest to either. Then follow not caprice, so as to swerve; for if you twist or turn, God is aware of the things you do. (§u£a_4:134-135) On the date set for the hearing by the heads of the disputants' clans, they, plus any other kin who may be involved in the case, meet with members of the majliss and invited guests at the home designated by the disputants in the case. After both the accused and the accuser swear on the Koran that they will not give false information to members of the majliss, their testimony is heard.and members of the majliss in- terrogate them to clarify certain points. Then the majliss adjourns to another room to discuss the case as a basis for coming to a verdict and to a decision regarding the amount of money which the alleged offender should pay the offended party if he is found guilty. 202 Before publicly announcing its verdict, the majliss informs the heads of both disputants' clans of its decision in the case. Nbreover, if a fine is imposed, the amount announced publicly by the majliss is always larger than that which has been agreed Upon privately, because guests at the hearing generally prevail upon the offended party's family to reduce the amount of money which they will demand from the offender's clan in honor of the governor of the mouhafazah, President Nasser, or some other person. The majliSs, however, usually assigns a kaf§§l_or co-signer to eaCh of the disputants to make certain that its verdict is executed. The persons who perform this role are prominent residents of the village who have been nominated and selected.by both parties in the case. While, in most instances, the verdict is executed without compli- cations, Should any member of either disputant's famdly or clan chal- lenge the majliss' decision in a particular case, he would be publicly ostracized from his clan and no longer given support or protection in time of need. At the conclusion of the hearing, the offender and the offended shake hands, kiss eaCh other's heads, and swear on the Koran that they will forget what has happened. Then the guests, members of the majliss, and the parties involved in the case join together in eating the meal which their host has prepared. According to Islamic belief, the judges constituting the majliss who play the mediator role (waseet) in the so- lution of disputes will be rewarded by Allah (Sura_4:35). They also achieve high status and respect in the villages where they live for re- storing harmonious relationships between individuals and families. 203 Some Illustrative Cases The blood feud case of 1940 In the past, villagers frequently slept in their fields during the summer months to protect their crOps from thieves. Villagers who owned adjacent fields usually gathered each evening to socialize and drink tea. One would get water for the tea, another would collect pieces of wood for the fire with which to boil the water, and another would.prepare the tea. In one of these situations, a fellow who was supposed to prepare tea asked another in his group to get some wood and start a fire, but When.the latter did not respond immediately, the former tried to attract his attention by pointing a gun at him in a joking manner. Unfortunately, however, the gun accidentally went off and killed the man. Subsequently, the relatives of the Slain.man gathered to avenge his killing. According to ung1aw, a victimls clan is given a three-and-a- third day cooling-off period, known as foratid-dam.("the boiling of the blood"), during which to retaliate against the offender's clan in any way they see fit, but if they fail to take advantage of this privilege, they must abide by the settlement terms decided upon by the majliss al~ 23f}, In this case, the slain man's'clan.did take advantage of their cooling-off period, killing the livestock and burning the crOps of the offender's clan to inflict economic harm.Upon them and, hepefully, to tempt them to come out of their homes to fight. When the offender's father finally did leave his home, several members of the slain man's clan beat him to death. The blood feud between the two clans ended at that point and no court hearing was ever held, as the debt had been paid in full--a life for a life--and, consequently, there was no need for the majliss al-urfi to render a decision in the case. 204 Case 11 The conflict started.when a boy from Clan A was caught stealing hay from the agricultural field of a man from Clan B, whereupon the owner of the field beat the boy and then released him. When the boy told his father about the beating he had received, the latter went to the field and retaliated by beating the owner. Subsequently, the field owner went to the village to report his beating to the members of his clan, several of whom ganged up on the boy's father and beat him as he was returning home from the field. From that point on, news spread rap- idly that several members of Clans A and B had beat one another, and soon both clans became involved in a battle which resulted in injury to twelve persons. None was fatally injured, however, as leaders from oth- er clans eventually interfered to step the fighting between Clans A.and B. Finally, the heads of the two clans decided to settle the case through urf law, selected the judges for the u£f_council, and set the date for the hearing. After the plaintiff and the defendant in the case swore on the Kbran to give truthful testimony to the urf_council, the council members adjourned to an adjacent room to determine the verdict. A Bedouin Chief from a neighboring Bedouin village reported the ver- dict--a fine of 100 Egyptian pounds to be paid by Clan B to Clan A as compensation for the boy's beating, although he had been caUght stealing. The rationale behind the council's decision was that the field owner should have reported the stealing incident to the boy's father, rather than beating the boy. In addition, Clan B was made liable for the rizkah eXpenses (50 Egyptian pounds). 205 Case III This conflict arose when a fellow from Clan C was caught steal- ing from the field of a fellow from Clan D and was beaten by the owner. Several days later, the thief waited for the fellow who had given him the beating and hit him.on the head without warning. Some wise men and elderly people interfered in the case, however, with the result that the head of Clan C requested that a representative from Clan D meet with him to settle the issue through the u£f_council. This was, indeed, the man- ner in which the diSpute was finally settled, the u£f_council fining the thief 50 Egyptian pounds plus the rigkah_money. The council penalized the thief in this case because he was an adult, whereas, in Case II, the thief was Shown indulgence due to his youth, as the writer has indicated. Case IV This was an inter-family feud which originated.when two brothers agreed that their offspring (one's daughter and the other's son) should marry; in other words, they arranged a paternal-cousin marriage between their children. When the boy's mother realized that her son had entered ' the marriage against his Will, however, She tried to terminate the union by poisoning her daughter-in-law's food, but her son ate the poisoned food by mdstake. Following the young man's death, his parents and in- laws fought continuously. On one occasion, however, when the dead man's mother accused his surviving wife and mother-in-law of stealing some of her gold jewelry, the fathers of both families agreed to settle the case through the urf_council. Each contributed a :igkah_of 50 Egyptian pounds to the family whose home and dining facilities would be used dur- ing the hearing. Only fifteen persons, including the writer, all of whom were prominent and reSpected persons in Kafr el-Elow, were invited 206 to the mandarah of the home where the hearing was held. The ur§_council Opened the hearing by reading the Eatiha, Next, the fathers of the con- flicting families were asked to raise their hands and swear on the Koran that their testimony would be truthful. The judges then asked the father whose daughter and wife had been accused of stealing the gold jewelry to go with a witness to an adjacent room to administer the same oath to the defendants, since females are not ordinarily permitted to appear before strange men. When the man objected, insisting that his ‘wife and daughter be brought into the mandarah to swear that they were innocent of the Charge before all who were present at the hearing, the judges complied with his WiSh. The judges then asked the accusers if they were satisfied that the defendants' testimony was true. .After the accusers indicated that they were satisfied, the judges requested both brothers to embrace and kiss each other and to swear on the Koran that they would forgive one another and forget their grievances. Shortly thereafter, rice, meat and bread were served to those attending the hearing. Since the host, a maternal relative of both brothers, was es- pecially anxious to help solve this case, he attempted to return the 50 Egyptian pound hospitality fee which each of the brothers had con- tributed, but the husband of the plaintiff refused to accept his share. Following the meal, the guests proceeded for tea to the homes of the two families which had just settled their differences, and both brothers visited one another's home for the first time in three years. Case V This case involved three men.who were employed by the Iron and Steel Factory in Kafr el-Elow, two of whom were natives, while the third was a newcomer to the village. One day, the two native men went to 207 investigate a roomer at the house where the newcomer lived. When per- sistent knocking and shouting failed to elicit a response, the two men went to the second floor of the house where they found the newcomer Sit- ting on the t0p step of the stairway overlooking the courtyard of the building. The newcomer became very hostile about the two men's invading his privacy and proceeded to insult them with offensive language. After the two men had left, however, the newcomer feared for his safety when he discovered that both men came from large and.prominent families in the village. Consequently, he went immediately to Markaz Il-Saha, a village near Kafr el-Elow where he had been reared, and asked three prominent persons to accompany him to the homes of the two men.whom he had insulted in order to arrange for an u£f_council so that he might pay damages. The heads of the offended families, however, agreed to waive a hearing in the case, accepted the offending man's apologies, and told his sup- porters that since he had admitted his error, they would absolve him from the obligation of paying a fine. They warned the defendant, how- ever, that if he ever repeated the offense, a stringent penalty would be imposed upon,him, A Final Commentary on Ugf Law in Kafr el-Elow One of the most important factors contributing to the infrequent occurrence of interpersonal and inter-family disputes in Kafr el-Elow is the relative homogeneity of the villagers' socio-economic condition, re- ducing the tendency for one clan to dominate another. On the other hand, this social equality among the fellaheen in Kafr el-Elow means that whenever a murder or some other serious crime is committed, the status of the victim's family or clan will rapidly deteriorate if they fail to avenge his death or injury, for an act of aggression against one 208 clan member is considered an act of aggression against the entire clan. (The National Review of Criminal Science, VOl. VI, 1963:320) Clan mem- bers who disregard this obligation are referred to by such shameful labels as ha:eem_(females), not rejallah (males). It is not necessary that the victim's clan retaliate against the offender himself; a prominent member of the latter's family may be se- lected for reprisal purposes. Vomen and children, however, are not re- garded as suitable targets for revenge. MOreover, a murdered person's kin usually prefer to take revenge themselves rather than provide in- formation to government officials which might lead to the offender's ar- rest, because life imprisonment is generally the most severe penalty meted out by the government for murder, in which case the offender may live more comfortably than at home. Instead, they attempt to confuse the government's law enforcement authorities by accusing a member of the offender's clan who they know is not guilty, with the result that the case is soon closed and labeled unsolved. (Al-Mussawar Journal, Novem- ber 1966:12) In other words, most clans take tremendous pride in their ability to settle any dispute involving one of their members without calling Upon civil authorities. The Civil Courts Today, Islamic Law and the religious courts Operate side by side with the civil law and courts in Egypt. Each, however, deals with Spe- cific types of cases-~the religious courts, with divorce, marriage, and inheritance cases; and the civil courts, with all other types of cases. The foregoing discussion, however, demonstrated clearly that villagers in general do not rely Upon civil authority to settle diSputes. Several of the village elders in Kafr el-Elow told the writer that only persons 209 without back-bone resort to the civil courts in such cases. This state- ment reflects the importance of urf law in maintaining group solidarity, for cases settled by a civil court involve only the few individuals who are directly involved, while those which are settled by u:f_law involve two or more clans and government Officials such as the district police commissioner and the governor of the mouhafazah, especially when homi- cide or rape has been committed. Professor V; Ayoub, in an article entitled "Conflict Resolution and Social Reorganization in a Lebanese Village," explains the Arabian villagers' tendency to choose adjudicating procedures consistent with the indigenous social structure, rather than those employed by the cen- tral government's courts, in the following words: Per the Lebanese villager, appeal to an agency of the state is not a viable alternative. Recognition that the authority of the state is alien and, therefore, to be feared is not likely to promote a genuine choice ... [Mereover,] an individual who resorts to the courts does not solve the problem Of the group, whatever the result of the court action. The need fOr mediation persists, because reconciliation of the disputants continues to be considered important in maintaining the solidarity of the ‘ group ... Thus, appeal to the courts not only does not eliminate or SUpersede the mediation precedure, but makes the success of the latter more difficult to achieve. It is not surprising, then, that there is considerable resistance to the use Of courts. Nevertheless, the alternative is there, and some have chosen it. The choice reflects a process Of transformation in important so- cial relationships affecting village life. (Ayoub, Human Organi- zation, V01. 24, 1964:11-13) . In Kafr el-Elow, too, despite the villagers' general reluctance to have recourse to the civil courts in settling their diSputes, the so- cial structure is changing. The writer was informed by the Officer in -Charge Of the police station that more villagers, eSpecially newcomers, are submitting their grievances and other problems to civil authorities, rather than resorting to the traditional methods. The following are the major factors accounting for this new orientation: 1. 210 Since 1960, when a police station was established in Kafr el-Elow, the villagers have had a greater sense Of physical and psychological security. Prior to this time, the nearest police station was that in Helwan, too remote to be considered an effective law-enforcement agency for the village. 'With the replacement of the traditional village government (the omdah and.his staff) by a civilian Officer (shaik il-balad) who serves as a liaison Officer between the kism (district) headquarters in Helwan and Kafr el-Elow, the villagers have found it necessary to . go to Helwan to conduct most Of their Official business, because the shaik il-balad will not perfOrm.aS many services for them as did the previous regime. The influx Of migrants into Kafr el-Elow to work in the various in- dustries surrounding the village has introduced new values into the community which have especially affected kinship structure. ‘With the rising prominence Of materialistic values, for example, the traditional approach to settling disputes, which tends to be eXpen- sive not only for those directly involved but for their entire clans, is being modified to the extent that each family within a clan is ~ financially responsible only for disputes involving its immediate members, who are referred to as al-ahl il—lazam. The mass media, such as transistor radios, television, and news- papers, acquaint the villagers with the urban way Of doing things. As a consequence Of these social forces, the villagers have become less reluctant to try new methods Of solving a variety Of problems, most Of which are more formal and impersonal than the traditional methods. In 211 other words, urban ways are regarded with less suspicion as the vil- lagers' contacts with large urban centers increase. AS a result, the villagers now have a greater choice Of machinery for settling disputes. Cl-IAPTER VIII SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS When the writer came to Kafr el-Elow in 1964 and introduced him- self as a fellow.Arab from Jordan who had come to study the community, indicating that the results of his research would benefit the Egyptian government, other Arab nations, and scholars throughout the world, the villagers were somewhat apprehensive, because he was the first research- er they had ever encountered. Moreover, they were surprised that any stranger would be sincerely interested in studying their daily activi- ties and efforts to improve their socio-economic conditions. Gradually, however, the villagers relaxed and became less reticent about discussing various aspects of their life which the writer has described in the pre- ceding chapters. The village Of Kafr el-Elow was chosen by the writer for an ethnographic study not only because Of its proximity to Cairo, but be- cause Of its location in the midst of Egypt's largest industrial com- plex, making it possible for him to study the impact of the urbanization and industrialization processes on the traditional way Of life. This he accomplished mainly by means of participant observation, interviewing, and case history analysis. While the writer was conducting his research in Kafr el-Elow, a very definite struggle for dominance was being waged.between the new in- dustrial and the traditional agricultural economic orders, as a conse- quence of which the old social order was not only undergoing modifica- tion, but, in some areas, a complete transformation. The average 212 213 villager was quite literally living in two different worlds—-in an urban- _industrial one during the day and in a fOlk-agricultural one after ref turning from work at the end of the day. Nevertheless, although many social and economic changes have already occurred in Kafr el-Elow and many are currently in progress, their full impact and repercussions have yet to be realized. That today's life in Kafr el-Elow is different from yesterday's and that tomorrow's will be different from today's, however, has been clearly demonstrated by this study. The writer is confident that it not only provides an excellent base from which the village of Kafr el-Elow may be restudied in the future, but that it will encourage more research of a similar nature in other traditional communities of the Middle East. The Community Of Kafr el-Elow in Retrospect As was pointed out earlier in the dissertation, the village of Kafr el-Elow was established by six families who came to this area 17 miles south of Cairo in the mid-eighteenth century. In time, the original six families multiplied to produce six distinct kinship groups; these, in turn, intermarried and further increased the pOpulation. Eventually, other families migrated to the village causing its pOpula- tion to reach 6,608 persons by 1960. As the pOpulation increased, the social structure or organization of the village became more complex, leading to the develOpment of a very definite community consciousness among the inhabitants. From.the time when Kafr el-Elow came into existence to the time when this study came to an end_in 1966, the village community passed through three distinct stages. The first stage, which commenced with the establishment of the village, lasted nearly a hundred and fifty 214 years--Up to the early 1900's. During this period the village was a small homogeneous community whose economy was based on subsistence farm- ing, the fellaheen raising annual crOps, suCh as wheat, corn, beans, and cotton, mainly for their own consumption. A portion of the cotton was usually sold, however, to Obtain money for purchasing basic family com- modities such as gasoline fOr home lighting, sugar, and tea. Since crOp cultivation was a family effort, kinship bonds were very strong. Ac- cording tO several elderly informants in the village, prior to the be- ginning Of the twentieth century the residents Of Kafr el-Elow resembled one big clan. Despite their proximity to Cairo and Helwan, most Of the villagers lived in complete isolation, because no paved roads connected Kafr el-Elow with these two cities. The few who left the village oc- casionally to visit or ShOp in Helwan were forced to walk or ride a donkey or a horse. During the first stage of its history, Kafr el-Elow's only per- manent link with the central government in Cairo was the omdah, the chief authority figure in the village. While the tax collector also represented the central government, his contact with the villagers was limited to visits once or twice a year. MOreover, his image was one of Oppression rather than benevolence, due to the fact that he collected taxes imposed upon the villagers without.their consent. The only formal education available in Kafr el-Elow during the first stage Of its his- tory was that Offered by the kuttab, a religious school administered and Operated.by the shaik_of the village mosque. The primary Objective Of this education was to teach male youngsters to memorize the Koran. The second stage of Kafr el-Elow's history began in the early 1920's when a few pieces of modern machinery were introduced into the 215 village, the first being the government water pump for irrigation. Another innovation Of equal Significance about this time was the estab- lishment of the village cement factory and textile mill. Economic gains from the new industrial technology were small and limited, however, be- cause only a few villagers were engaged in factory work and this was on a seasonal basis. In the mid-1930's, after a gravel road.was construc- ted linking Kafr el-Elow with Helwan and Cairo, once-a-day bus service became available to the villagers. Secular education was also intro- duced to Kafr el-Elow during the 1930's, and despite the fact that the villagers were not initially conscientious about sending their children to the public school, a new trend.was established which has gradually but significantly increased the literacy rate of the village population. The second Stage of Kafr el-Elow's history came to an end early in the 1950's after a decade of exposure to the influences of WOrld war 11. Many Of the villagers had come into contact with foreigners for the first time, had gained greater familiarity with the urban way of life, had become acquainted with new types of industrial machinery, and had been engaged in a variety of war—time occupations which created sev- eral new sources of income in the village. The Revolution Of 1952, which initiated a new political, social, and economic order in Egypt, marks the beginning of the third stage of Kafr el-Elow's history. As the writer pointed out earlier in this dissertation, Egypt's largest in- dustrial complex started rising in the Helwan area, where the village Of Kafr el-Elow is located, during the late 1950's, producing marked chang- es in the social and economic life Of the community. Chapter IV stated that kinship organization in Kafr el-Elow is characterized by four components: patrilineal descent, patrilocal 216 residence, patriarchal authority, and preferred kin group endogamy. MOreover, kinship ties, rather than being limited to the nuclear family, are extensive, producing a network Of social relations between relatives that makes the kinship group a clearly distinguishable unit within the village. Bonds between different clans are also strong when the repu- tation Of the village is at stake or when the village community feels threatened by outsiders. This solidarity may be attributed not only to their common place of residence, but to a cohesive network of social re- lationships based on intermarriage which has prevailed since the time when the village community was established. The terms ammam_and.akwal, commonly used by older villagers when speaking about their identity as members Of the village community, mean "we are all paternal and maternal uncles," and reflect the fact that the social solidarity between members of different clans is primarily based on kinship. This network of interclan relationships has been frequently compared to an elastic rope in the sense that it can withstand considerable strain--stretching and pulling by extraneous factors--without being broken. Many elderly in- formants told the writer that even though competition and friction exist both within and between clans, if an outsider were to threaten any of the native villagers, all clan members would put aside their internal and external difficulties to confront the stranger together. The strong sense of social solidarity between the long-estab- lished clans in Kafr el-Elow iS also CXpressed by the impersonal char- acter Of their interaction with newcomers who have moved to the village in recent years. AS a result, newcomers patronize almost exclusively businesses owned and Operated by newcomers. The modern barber who moved to the village from Helwan in 1960, for example, told the writer that ' 217 most of his customers are newcomers and that only lately had a few na- tive villagers from among the younger generation started to patronize him. The traditional village barber, on the other hand, is still pa- tronized.mainly by native villagers and by only a few newcomers. More- over, when newcomers patronize native businesses, they are always given the prices Specified by the government, while the owners tend to hike prices fOr natives. Native businessmen fear that newcomers may be government inspectors or that they would report being overcharged to government Officials. That Older natives also identify very strongly with the village of Kafr el-Elow itself is expressed by the familiar statement, sukan il-balad i1 asleeyiin--"we are the original settlers of the village," and, being SO, they feel that their social status is higher than that Of newcomers. 1MOreover, while they will admit that Kafr el-Elow is lo- cated in the §i§m_of Helwan and that it thereby falls under the adminis- trative jurisdiction Of Helwan, they refuse, as do the majority Of the younger natives and newcomers, to give their address as Kafr el-Elow- Helwan. In other words, Old-timers still insist that Kafr el-Elow is a separate and distinct social community, while the younger generation and newcomers tend to view the village as a suburb Of Helwan and to identify more strongly with this relatively large urban center than with Kafr el- Elow. That a strong sense of social solidarity and village pride is still prevalent even among the younger natives, however, is expressed by their disapproval of male newcomers' walking around the village after work to flirt with females. In Chapter V, the writer attempted to describe the religious in- stitution in the village of Kafr el-Elow and to demonstrate its 218 influence on the villagers' behavior. While every villager whom the writer encountered professed Islam as his religious faith, answers to his questions regarding daily prayer and the Observance Of the month of Ramadan made it apparent that significant modifications in religious practices had been made, especially by the younger generation. For ex- ample, only a minority Of the younger generation said that they prayed daily and fasted during the month of Ramadan, both of which practices are Obligatory for all Muslims. Another religious modification which the writer Observed.was declining participation by the villagers in the £23. cult rituals, most of whose devotees are now persons, mainly women, from outside the village. The use of charms for the prevention Of illness and protection against the evil eye, however, is still widely practiced by the villagers in Kafr el-Elow. Medifications in religious practices might conceivably be attributed to the replacement Of religious by pub- lic education in the village, but, despite the secularization process, Islam still plays a major role in Kafr el-Elow and in Egyptian society as a whole. The increasing importance of formal education in Kafr el—Elow has had the effect of generating a new spirit of competition between families in the village. Parents frequently refer with pride to the fact that their sons are attending school, will soon be graduating, or are going to college, for a student's educational attainments reflect favorably on his entire extended family. In a sense, one person's at- tainments are regarded as those of his clan, enhancing their status in a community. 'This phenomenon prevails not only in Kafr el-Elow, but throughout the Arab world. Indeed, the number of educated men in an extended family or clan is becoming as important a status criterion in 219 Kafr el-Elow as was the size Of the clan in the past due to the rising educational level of the male pOpulation in the village. Educated mem- bers of an extended family help their kin by representing them in gov- ernment matters, by helping them secure jobs, and by extricating them from trouble. The trend toward more formal education.in Kafr el-Elow has also produced significant changes in recreational activities. The young people of the village, fOr example, have built an athletic club with their own labor and at their own expense, deSpite the Opposition Of their parents, and have organized junior and senior soccer teams which compete with other teams from.neighboring areas, both of which have fos- tered and strengthened the attachment Of these young people to their community. The athletic club is really the only facility in the village which prevents many young pe0p1e from going to large urban centers such as Cairo or Helwan to spend.their leisure time. The mass media, especially the radio, expanded the Older as well as the younger villagers' horizons beyond their village community. Both the Suez crisis Of 1956-57 and the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict have induced.many villagers to develOp the habit Of listening regularly to the news and to political Speeches on their transistor radios. The transistor radio, which has been referred to as the most revolutionary invention in this age of mass communications, can be seen everywhere in the village; factory workers carry one in their hands on their way to and.from their jobs, agricultural workers wear one on a belt around their waists as they till their fields, and most shops and vendors' stands have one playing for the entertainment Of their customers. It is such a tremendously effective social force in the village because it 220 hurdles the illiteracy barrier. AS one elderly man in the village ex- pressed it: "Although I can't read, I am still informed, thanks to my transistor radio." For many villagers, therefore, the transistor radio is performing the function of a private tutor. The radio has also become a major instrument of propaganda in the United Arab Republic, not just for political purposes, but for pro- moting such social reform programs as family planning, which the govern- ment is trying desperately to implement. A significant example Of the fermer purpose was Gamal Abdel Nasser's radio announcement during the Middle East war of June, 1967 accusing the United States and Great Britain Of providing air cover for the Israelis. DeSpite his later re- traction Of this statement as invalid, many Egyptians still believe it. Finally, many villagers have been introduced to the urban way of life, especially in regard to consumption patterns, by the commercial ad- vertisements which they hear on the radio. AS the educational level Of the villagers continues to rise, newspaper circulation will also un- doubtedly become more wideSpread, producing other important changes in the attitudes, values, and behavior Of Kafr el-Elow's residents. Politically Speaking, the villagers Of Kafr el-Elow have assumed a new identity. After 17 years of social and economic reform, the vil- lagers are coming closer and closer to full participation in the politi- cal arena, from which all but the wealthy were excluded in the past. Even those who cannot read and write have broadened their vocabulary to include such political terms as imperialism, nationalism, freedom, so- cialism, election, and political responsibility. While most of the vil- lagers do not fully understand the philOSOphical implications of such 221 political terminology, the mere fact that they use it reflects a new trend- -namely, an increased political awareness among the fellaheen. An important factor which contributed to this new trend in Kafr el-Elow was the abolition Of the traditional village government headed by the M, who was not only the link and mediator between the village connunity and the central government in Cairo , but the person who was responsible for the maintenance of stability and order in the village. In 1960, the village acquired a new political status when it became directly linked tO the central government in Cairo through the subadmin- istrative center in Helwan, and when the role Of the new central govern— ment representative in the village--the Shaik il-balad- -was restricted to exclude responsibility for the resolution Of disputes. As a con- sequence Of the latter, however, many villagers regard the §h_a_i_l_<_ as a snob from an urban area who is not as interested in their welfare as was the traditional M. They resent having tO report their disputes to the newly-established police station in the village and having to go to Helwan or Cairo to take care Of their own business affairs, matters which the omdah formerly included among his services to the villagers. As the villagers come into more frequent contact with government Offi - cials, however, they will inevitably become more personally involved in their nation's political system. Many significant economic changes have also occurred in Kafr el-Elow due to its rising per capita income--a trend which began when an increasing number of natives decided to leave farming and enter in- dustrial employment or to engage in both occupations simultaneously, and which has been augmented by the influx of migrants , all Of whom work in the factories surrounding the village. Even natives engaged exclusively 222 in agriculture, however, have Shared in Kafr el-Elow's economic pros- perity by shifting their production from.annual to cash crops to meet the greater demand for foodstuffs resulting from an increasing popula- tion and changing fOod tastes. The majority Of those engaged in agri- culture, however, are Older persons and those who, for reasons other than advanced age, cannot secure factory jobs. Even extra field hands must usually be hired from outside the village-~a Situation in.marked contrast to that prevailing in the past when there was always a surplus Of labor in Kafr el-Elow. This situation also reflects the impact Of industrialization on kinship ties in the village. In one family the ‘writer visited, the parents referred to their two sons who were working in the textile factory as khawajat, a termpmeaning "alien" or "for- eigner," because they refused to help their father in the fields. This tendency is common among young people in the village Of Kafr el-Elow and in Arab countries generally, indicating that they look down on ag- ricultural work as degrading. Rising per capita income in Kafr el-Elow may be attributed not only to industrial employment and to marked changes in the quantity and quality of food consumption, but to the demand for a greater variety Of consumer goods and services in general. .As a result, many villagers have invested their surplus incomes--savings--in new businesses or in housing fOr rental purposes. The tremendous increase in the number Of ShOps and new occupations in Kafr el-Elow between 1940 and 1960 reflects the former trend, and the gradual conversion of agricultural land to residential use is an expression of the latter. Other villagers have invested their savings in the renovation and improvement of their own 223 homes, adding rooms and introducing such modern features as indoor plumbing and electricity. All these factors have combined to produce Significant changes in the social class structure Of the village, cre- ating new criteria for personal evaluation and social placement. In addition to stimulating the economy and diversifying the so- cial class structure of Kafr el-Elow, the influx Of migrants has pro- moted the introduction Of post Office service and the provision of more frequent bus transportation in the village. Prior to the late 1950's, there was very little demand for postal or bus service because few pe0p1e left the village to visit friends and relatives or to work in industry, those who did the fOrmer were gone only a few days, and.busi- ness was transacted almost exclusively within the village. Whatever mail traffic took place was conducted through the omdahfs home. Since that time, however, these conditions no longer prevail in Kafr el-Elow; postal service has become the daily routine Of a government agent ap- pointed for this purpose by the central government in Cairo, and.bus transportation to Helwan or Cairo is available most Of the day every 45 minutes and more frequently at peak demand periods. Analysis Of Change in Kafr el-Elow The changes which have taken place during the last four decades in.the village Of Kafr el-Elow are Of the diffusion type, Spreading from the urban center, Cairo, to this peasant community. As is generally characteristic of cultural diffusion, innovations of a material nature were first introduced into Kafr e1~Elow, but they, in turn, produced alterations in the non-material culture-~i.e. in the traditional atti- tudes and values Of the community. Therefore, the writer will launch his analysis of the total process of social change in the village with 224 a cursory review of the material culture changes which have taken place in Kafr el-Elow since 1930. As the writer noted earlier, Kafr el-Elow was a relatively sta- ble agricultural community during the early 1920's, because the rate of change was not sufficiently rapid to produce any social disorganization. The slowness Of change not only reflected the community's physical iso- lation fromturban areas, due to the lack of communication facilities and the absence of paved roads, but also the prevalence Of illiteracy among the inhabitants of the village. During the third decade of this cen- itury, however, with the establishment Of a cement factory, the instal- lation of a water pump for irrigation, and the advent Of a modern trans- portation system, the process of modernization.was initiated in the vil- lage. While these early material culture innovations did not immedi- ately affect the majority of the villagers, they at least created a new awareness of modern technology in the community. By 1966, impressive technological changes had taken place in Kafr el-Elow. For example, with the rapid increase of industrial em- ployment, and the concomitant need to get to work at a Specific time, wrist watdhes had become very common among the villagers. Mere than two hundred watches had been sold to villagers by one of the village school teachers alone; other villagers had secured theirs from.outside Kafr e1- Elow. Bicycles were being used by some villagers to travel tO and from work, and youngsters were renting bicycles for pleasure rides around the village. Transistor radios had become a widespread means of communica- tion in the village, producing an OSpecially dramatic impact upon the lives of the illiterate segment of the pOpulation. Whereas prior to 1945, no radios existed in Kafr el-Elow, by 1966 villagers had purchased 225 over five hundred transistor radios from one Of the village school teachers alone, and six villagers even owned television sets. Electric- ity, which had been introduced into Kafr el-Elow in 1960, was being used for illumination and other power needs in private homes as well as in public facilities. Butane gas stoves, canned foods, and items like soft drinks, beer, and cigarettes had also become increasingly common in Kafr el-Elow's homes, reflecting the higher standard of living expected by the village pOpulation. This factor, in combination with the continu- ally increasing village pOpulation due to industrialization had resulted in a tremendous eXpansion Of commercial units in Kafr el-Elow--from 6 businesses in 1930 to 78 in 1966, many Of them Offering goods and ser- vices which were unavailable in the village prior to 1960. Population growth had also been responsible for the tremendous expansion of housing facilities in Kafr el-Elow. Not only had many old homes been remodeled and enlarged, but new single residences and apartments had been con- structed for rental purposes. Teachers, who had increased in number from one to sixteen since 1933 when secular educational was introduced, had also constituted im- portant agents of social change in Kafr el-Elow, not only in terms of accelerating the literacy rate, but in terms of influencing the values and attitudes Of the villagers, because teachers are very highly re- garded in Kafr el-Elow, as they are throughout the Middle East. Most impressive was the new trend among village youths to pursue higher edu- cation. For the first time in Kafr el-Elow's history, sons of villagers were graduating from institutions of higher learning in Cairo and in other urban areas. The increasing importance of formal education in Kafr el-Elow was reflected not only in larger school enrollments, an 226 increase in the number of teachers, and in higher educational aSpira- tions, but in the higher income level Of the villagers, resulting, in part, from.their ability to engage in better paying occupations than the traditional one of farming--occupations demanding specialized training and skills. .AS the new technology had eXpanded with the introduction Of more machines and tools into the village Since the 1930's, occupational Opportunities characteristic Of urban centers had become increasingly available in Kafr el-Elow. The preceding discussion, in.which the writer has compared life in Kafr el-Elow in 1930 with that in 1966, has made it quite clear that nany changes occurred during this 36-year'period.which.have Significantly altered the character of the village, so that today, the most advanced fOrms Of modern industry coexist with age-Old methods Of subsistence cultivation, and a modern urban community is arising in the midst of fOlk groups. Interestingly enough, Professors Redfield and Lewis used this same technique--namely, tracing a community's history through three decades-~to study social Change in.Tepoztlan, Mexico. (Redfield, 1964; Lewis, 1960) Similarly, the writer will raise two Of the same questions about the impact of industrialization on Kafr el-Elow whiCh Redfield, Lewis, and others have raised about the influence Of this process in ‘Other folk societies, namely: 1. What are the implications Of industrialization and urbani- zation fOr kinship organization in the village? 2. What are the implications of industrialization and urbani- zation fOr social stratification in the village? While sufficient time has not yet elapsed since the advent Of large- scale industrialization in Kafr el-Elow (1952) to answer such questions 227 fully, the writer will delineate a few trends based on changes which he Observed while conducting research in the village between 1964 and 1966. During the past fifteen years, the long-established principle that industrialization and urbanization break down kinship organization has been questioned by several noted anthrOpOlogists. Raymond Firth has reformulated the theory of the relationship of industrialization to ‘ family organization in terms of recent historical and sociological re- search as follows: What the development towards an industrial society probably does is to break down the formal structure of kin groups, ex- cept perhaps that Of the elementary family, which is most re- sistant. The lineage, the extended family, the large COOpera- tive, cognatic kin unit is likely not to survive as its members disperse into industrial employment and their traditional re- sources and authority structures lose meaning. But personal kin ties tend to be strengthened if the physical isolation Of the elementary family is promoted by industrial, urban conditions. There is no reason then to think that extra-familial kin ties are likely to decrease in our Western society. (Family and Kinship in Industrial Society, Sociological Review Monograph, NO. 8, 1964, 83) ' ‘ Similarly, Professor Singer, attempting to gain deeper insight into the functional relationship between industrialization, urbaniza- tion, and modernization and the Indian joint family, came to the fol- lowing conclusion: In a preliminary . . . study Of a group Of outstandingly successful industrial leaders in Madras City, I found that, while there have been striking changes within three genera- tions in residential, occupational, educational and social mobility, as well as in patterns Of ritual Observances, these changes have not transformed the traditional joint family structure into isolated nuclear families. On the contrary, the urban and industrial members of a family maintain numer- ous ties and Obligations with members Of the family who have remained in the ancestral village or town or have moved else- where. And within the urban and industrial setting. a modi- fied joint family organization is emerging. The metropolitan industrial center has Simply become a new arena for the work- ing of the joint fanily system. 228 It is not at all true that the joint family system is structurally and functionally incompatible with modern in- dustry and is, therefore, either a major Obstacle to the development of industry or is inevitably destroyed by the progress Of industry. (Singer, 1968:444-445) The writer's Observations in Kafr el-Elow coincide with Firth's and Singer's findings, even though the writer's families did not have to name away from their village setting in order to experience the indus- trialization.process, as did Singer's families. But one might readily conclude that if the extended family does not break down under the im: pact Of industrialization, even when.moving from a village to a large city is involved, there would be less Of a tendency for it to do so when no change of locale occurs. Nevertheless, the writer will now discuss two adaptations to industrialization.which he Observed among Kafr e1- Elow's extended families, namely compartmentalization and.vicarious ritualization. These two processes were also employed by Singer's in- dustrial leaders' families to maintain or modify joint family structure in the urban-industrial setting Of Madras. Compartmentalization, in Kafr el-Elow as in Madras, means that behavior approved at the Office or factory is quite different from that considered apprOpriate at home (Singer, 1968:438). AS the writer indi- cated in Chapter III on the village economy, industrial workers may wear western-style clothing and employ modern science and technology at work, but, Upon returning home each evening, revert to their traditional style of life. Vicarious ritualization, the second adaptive technique em- ployed in both Kafr el-Elow and.Mhdras to reduce the conflict between the traditional and.modern Spheres of life, means that young men who Spend eight to ten hours a day working at a factory and traveling to and from their jobs, and who cannot, therefOre, devote as much time as their 229 fathers or grandfathers to observing various religious rituals, may, for example, contract their daily prayers from several hours to several min- utes (Singer, 1968:439). This tendency was pointed out by the writer in Chapter V on religion when he stated that answers to a structured ques- tionnaire revealed that only 26 percent of the younger respondents in Kafr el-Elow prayed daily, the remaining 74 percent praying less regu- larly. By contrast, Older respondents replied almost unanimously that they prayed daily. .A Similar reaction was eXpressed in Kafr el-Elow relative to the writer's question on fasting. Again, the majority of the younger respondents replied that they did not fast regularly during the month Of Ramadan. These tendencies, however, do not imply that the younger generation is abandoning or turning against religion. While in- sisting Upon their allegiance to Islam, they maintain that some modifi- cation in religious practices is necessitated by changes in other aspects of their lives. weddings, birth ceremonies, and other life-cycle rites have also been contracted or consolidated by extended families tO ac- commodate their members who are employed by industry. For example, the mourning period fellowing a funeral, which formerly lasted forty days in Kafr el-Elow, new never exceeds one week in length. In other words, vi- carious ritualization is one of the major ways in.which industrial work- ers and their families may "modernize” their lives in adaptation to in- dustrial conditions without abandoning tradition. On the basis of the preceding data, the writer thinks that the ailah_(joint family) in Kafr el-Elow may undergo a change of organiza- tion without losing its essential character. Despite the fact that some villagers have left their joint family households to establish their own nuclear families in separate residential units, their families continue 230 to subscribe to the norms of the joint family system and do not abandon their joint family obligations. This phenomena was also Observed by the writer in a different geographical setting--in Jordan, where nuclear families still fulfill their economic and social Obligations to their joint family even though they live 50 to 100 miles away. On holidays, for example, they join the members Of their joint family in Observing conventional rituals and festivities . Moreover, such Strong identifi- cation and interaction with kin Often extends beyond the joint family to more distantly related kin on a selective basis. Social stratification is the second aspect Of life in Kafr el- Elow which the writer will discuss. According to Professor Redfield, personal biographies provide significant insights into the phenomenon Of social mobility in a commmity. 'Ihe respect in which a commmity is not one stable and self-consistent structure, but changes from one manner Of life to another, appears most plainly in the changing states Of mind of peOple, or in the differences between what Older pe0p1e think and feel and what younger pe0p1e think and feel. We might, therefore, attempt a comparison Of the careers of Older and younger people by Obtaining the life stories Of representatives Of each generation. (Redfield, 1961:60) The writer's case histories of families living in Kafr el-Elow reflect a definite upgrading in occupational status over a period Of several . generations. And when census data were checked to establish the valid- ity Of this case history information, a clear-cut trend of occupational nobility manifested itself. In 1960 the relative incidence of the two categories Of employment in Kafr el-Elow- -agriculture, industry and mining--was a complete reversal Of the Situation which prevailed in 1937. Whereas agriculture claimed 76 percent of all villagers engaged in these two occupational categories in 1937, it claimed only 27 percent . 231 in 1960, in spite of the fact that the amount of acreage under cultiva- tion had doubled during the twenty-three year period. On the other hand, there was a 300 percent increase in the number of villagers en- gaged in industry over the span of a generation, and the writer antici- pates an even greater rate of increase in the future. It may be safely stated, therefore, that the village occupational structure has changed from.one which is essentially agricultural to one which is based pri- marily on industrial employment. This trend has naturally resulted in a marked increase in the number Of professional and Skilled workers in Kafr el-Elew, most of whom are found among the younger generation. Consequently, the writer thinks that the relatively unstratified village pOpulation will be gradually replaced by a class-structured com- munity in.which status and social mobility are based on personal achieve- ment. As per capita income continues to rise, competition or rivalry among the villagers will undoubtedly become more intense, portending a truly dynamic community. The impersonal human relations resulting from this trend were already obvious to the writer when he was conducting his research in the Village. Nhny times, when taking pictures Of various sites, he was stepped and questioned by villagers about his purposes, even though he was always-accompanied on these occasions by a school teacher who was the son of a prominent leader in Kafr el-Elow, because most of the villagers did not recognize the teacher and he did not rec- ognize most of them. IMOreover, the writer predicts that the majority of Kafr el-Elew's pOpulation will eventually become an urban proletariat when agricultural employment will have disappeared due to the complete transfer Of land use from farming to residential purposes to accommodate 232 the ever-increasing flow of workers migrating to the village in search of employment in the surrounding industrial complex. The village Of Kafr el-Elew, therefore, constitutes an excellent prototype of a com- munity evolving from a relatively classless, agricultural, folk society to a stratified, industrial, modern society--a prototype which.may not only be predictive Of future trends in Egyptian society as a whole, but Of what will happen to traditional communities in other societies under the influence of industrialization. TRANSLITERATION AND PRONUNCIATION The following transliteration scheme is intended to help the reader pronounce the Arabic words in this study according to the colloquial Egyptian dialect. Name of Letter Arabic Snnbol ‘ ' be as in English U ta " C!) tha " é iim " Z In literary Arabic, jim represents the same sound as j in the English word jam. However, a variation is found in Egypt where j is pronounced as the hard g in the English words . gas and lag. ha 1! p & kha Z uvular voiceless spirant dal n a thal n z) ra ' II . J g min H a 1' sin " ow 233 234 Name Of Letter Arabic Symbol Shin as in English 0"" sad " 0.9 thad 0.6 tah .. .b m .. _B ain t, a harsh guttural intonation 21mm ~ 8, fa " d . . gaf " ‘3 a ‘ ~ .. a 1... .. a m .. r’ nun " 0 ha " .6 waw " .9 ya V " $9 abeu adalah ahl ailah ain ain il-hassud aish ajr akh ala al-basharia al-haii al-hayy-al-gayymn alkabeer al- tarawih al-tawheed Bil-lab amm ammeh ameud el-bait ankar aras arees - arkan.al-din arousa ash-Shehada aslama asr as-salat assaum awlad (pl. Of walad) azaa az- -zakat badlah bait baladi ballansh banat (pl. bint) dafin dakka dar gzriba yya diyyah GLOSSARY father justice relatives joint family eye the evil eye bread good deeds ‘ brother on human society pilgrimage who is living and.present everywhere the big religious songs God, he is the one paternal uncle paternal aunt pillar of the house a big brass dish - sant tree groom ' foundation Of religion bride testimony, to profess faith submission. ‘afternoon prayer fast boys mourning almsgiving suit house local a village women.who beaut1fies brides for their weddings girl burial beat house taxes collected by the government nidrwife . blood.money 235 elew eshtrakiah es-sageer farah fatiha fatir fatwa feddan fellaheen (p1. of fellah) fellahi forat id-dam furdaus fuul . gallah gamousah garafa ‘ gazar : gezira . ghafeer ghagarieh i gozah gurzah hadith ”'88 . . haJJ (fem. haJJeh) hanma . hanmah hamulah henna haram harath hardanah hareem hassanah (sing. hassanat) haush heejab hiddad . hokouk a1 walidain housa ' huriah 236 height socialism the little JOY the Opening chapter Of the Koran pastries , formal legal Opinion acre peasants , farmers adjective form of fellah: peasant the boiling of the blood paradise fava beans dung water buffalo cemetery butcher ' island . guard . gYPS)’ water pipe coffee house lit. "talk"; sayings attributed to prOphet Muhamad just, right a person who performs the pilgrimage father-in-law mother-in-law clan henna forbidden the one who ploughs the land ~ a wife who returns to her parents' home following an argument with her husband females good deeds ' courtyard, household charms to protect bearer from the evil eye mourn1ng . the parents ' rights share freedom ibn iftar ilkwomiah in sha Allah ishaa istimar Itihad il-arabi al-ishtiraki j abanah j alabiyah j awafia j idd (fan. 3 idah) kabir kafan kafeel kafr kahik kahwa karaamat kareem kash katib il-kitab khafara allah thanbakun khal (fem. khalah) khoum khoutbah khumss kism kismah wa nasseeb , kehl kuth lagnat lailat lailat adduklah laylat al-gadar magrib mhkamh Slmria mahr maj 1155 makan mandarah markaz _ grave clothes 237 son the meal to break fasting nationalism ' lit. "if God wills it" evening ' rialism lit. "Arab Socialist Union Party" cemetery garb trepical fruit ' grandfather large, great co- signer clustering of pe0p1e cookies coffee lit. "good deeds" generous ' straw, hay lit. "engagement, " ritual Of signing the marriage contract lit. "My God forgive your sins" maternal uncle chicken COOp sermon one fifth subadministrative unit lit . "luck" kohl take comnittee night , evening wedding night lit. "the night of power" evening a Muslim religious court pride price council place . guest house, hospitality house in tie village . police station Ma-ShasAllah masr :masrahiah matraha :maujoud mayet mazun mouhafazah ‘mouhafiz ‘moukhabarat muakhar muassal lmufti mugaddam mughassil mukre mulk munat il-bait musahir musharakah muttahir luuzaien nabi nadi nafakah nkout omdah qibla raheem rejallah riadi ‘ reeh rizkah rouhi talkah rub al aila sadagaat sahra sahur shaik (pl. shuyuk) salam salat al-asr 238 lit. "The power of God is so great" Egypt stage play flat wooden plate present dead marriage registrar _ governorate governor secret police, communication delayed sweet tobacco religious judge in advance washer of the dead the one who recites from the Koran on special occasions such as mourning private prOperty basic food for house consumption village crier ’ partnership . itinerant who perfOrms circumcisions barber prOphet club * alimony , gift village head eastward merciful ‘ men athletic 'wind lit. "livelihood"; the amount paid to a judge under customary law by the rty found.in the wrong lit. "you are divorced" ’ lit. "master of the house" good deeds evening gathering, evening entertainment meal eaten befOre resumption of the fast head of a clan. . peace afternoenuprayer salat al-magrib salat al-thur salat es-subh saraf sayed el-Dair sewan shabab (pl. of shah) shahhm ‘ shakara sharaf .Sharbaat Sharia Shirk sulha suq tablah tahuur tari tariqa tarzi tesht thar . torat.id.dmm turah ukt umm ‘urf law ‘wahid waqf waseet ‘wasfat baladieh yamin yeum el-shabkah youm addukhlah zaffah zagareet zareebah zeer ziyra 2°08 wait 239 evening prayer noon prayer morning prayer tax collector the master Of the monastery tent youth generous to express thanks and appreciation honor soft drinks Islamic canon law polytheism a peace ceremony market drum circumcision soft religious brotherhood tailor large dish revenge the boiling of the blood canal sister mother customary law lit. "indivisible" endowment to a religious institution mediator folkzmedicine oath engagement day wedding day a.wedding procession women's cry of joy barn, shelter fOr animals pottery jar lit. "visit"; a special festival husband ~ . wife BIBLIOGRAPHY Abou Zaik, A. , 1963 "Vendetta: An AnthrOpological Study in an Upper Egyptian Village," The National Review of Criminal Science, Vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 301-364. ' Anmar, Hamad 1966 Growing Up in an Egyptian Village. New York: Octagon Books. Ayoub, Victor 1964 "Conflict Resolution and Social Reorganization in a Lebanese Village," I-hman Organization, Vol. 24, no. 1, pp. ll-18. Ayrout, Habib ' 1963 The Egyptian Peasant. Boston: Beacon Press. Bacon, Elizabeth 1958 Obok. New York: Wenner-Gren Foundation. Baer, Gabriel 1964 Population and Society in the Arab East. New York: Frederick Praeger. Barclay, Harold 1964 Buurri a1 Lamab: A Suburban Village in the Sudan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Beardsley, Hall and Ward 1959 Village Japan. 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Manchester: Manchester University Press. 244 PLATES PLATE 1 .. 7;! 7 W1 1, ,. . " +2. A '.'.n~- -. -. , I m segue . “'33!“ ’. 9*1‘3’5-31» .. Mn “4* ‘T‘E‘ " .- \ v~ " f‘fifi- TYPICAL STREET SCENE IN THE VILLAGE PLATE 2 ..- ...- o __- SOUTHERN ENTRANCE TO THE VILLAGE PLATE 3 -c » ....‘1 . TRADITIONAL STYLE PDUSE TRADITIONAL HOME (RIGHT SECTION) IN PROCESS OF BEING REPLACED BY NEW STRUCTURE (LEFT PORTION) 1 T, . ' .13 _. ‘. x a I ET! 9. v . 5....“ TDDERN STYLE HOUSING .. . -\ l a 4 ~ ‘ ..Qll‘r ‘ ‘\ _ -;.:'h .; 3:!!- 753-5!- ,~ Jag-u. 3‘ f' I I ‘ . 4 , . - . . .15.“ ii" "'*" ‘ “K "" - .r . ~.. \ b -. ' a ...! l. __.-..r .. g“, . , £551,933; .43.... o ‘.. .. . ... J 0" _pt > “#1.... A - , -..—.... ......n q _ - .- _ 1. " .1 a — 3' ‘ .. ' 3 I. ‘ , . ‘ , . .. a - . ' , . a r u .1- .‘.. ~ . ~ , . '0'. . l " .. f . I. . 5 ‘ :1. , , , ‘- ‘ _‘ ‘ . ' . -. ’ - ‘1' F ' _ .' - V,“ ' “ "f" .1. . _ - - . -‘ 1' . ~ '..~~~-‘ . .. :. . ,u . fl . ...o- ., K , - .. . -¢ ~ ’ x ‘ _ . .3 my gar- - "Al. _ .v A... _. ‘-_A. M .v - ‘. I p.’ 1;» e 1 r" ~ « .. .,..,~ ...u ‘ .~ 3». ~_- ' _ . ‘~v.~_.v~ - .. ..m." w . .. . _ ,1 . m...“ “1..“ w .a.. .AJ~’.=~‘..-=. .J 1; ,y jaguar“ ~41." "élc‘mtul’m A ,' " ‘4 ~ ., ~ .‘w . - 1... -'-'~ . .11.: — . . . NEWLY BUILT HOUSE SHOWING ENCROACINENT OF URBANIZATION ON AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE VILLAGE PLATE 5 A GROUP OF VILLAGERS SI'l'I‘ING IN FRONT OF A BARBER SHOP RELIGIOUS SHAIK RECITING THE KORAN IN FRONT OF THE TAILOR SHOP VILLAGE VENDOR SELLING YARD GOODS FOR CLOTHING VILLAGE PRESSER PLATE 9’ ...: V :9... . 7 ‘ I I_ VILLAGE BUTCHERS PLATE 10 .,....,,. . .._ ' “" (Furn'n' . ‘ it»)? 'wwy: : nu.“ 2:.» Ws. M .' V “ I \ "1 a -.- . ’ ‘ 7.. . I "0 f ‘ - n ,- > 9?, Au 1134*“!wx-iyd 51‘1“” " “ m" "”f'i‘c" . ._'f*.':?‘: ..f f _f' .‘L-u my“ ““vaJd§¢agg (a. “3"“ I ’1‘"; ' 'dr" 3v ””3" PW?“- a rum”..- 'fl‘ . I:.";_‘y 9%.... f, . “a 9.5,. ‘vp -m ., 9 w ”‘1"2"~“It’"‘» . I. L . . ,fi‘: \. Wk)? 9 ~ . rt ‘ I: ,_' it"v‘.“ .\’v‘.u..:x1.d g.- . . -' t .- .v\ V. .U . -.' . ‘ ‘ .— 0"- ‘J\'~fl.‘} ”filth-1 f;‘ v :::‘ I f‘l" ' ‘h -u-.,_ -§,'V -' It...“ :- W5" LIME! “Ry. AIII, '. CUT ’iu'M'L'L‘ES"’§! fifiw'I-"A'IJM FBIIALES WORKING IN THE FIELD PLATE 12 WWI. . ‘1‘ ‘03 511' VILLAGERS DREDGING SILT FROM A CANAL PLATE 13 GENERAL VIEW OF TEXTILE MILL FRUII THE VILLAGE ‘4. ..- -..—"0‘ n-.. . - W -v-.-‘—rg--v~r-v~fl', M ‘0‘, m. _ "Ff Wfimw - I- 4’1 ‘ 12 I GENERAL VIEW OF THE CEMENT FACTORY FRCN THE VILLAGE PLATE 14 I. «av-\rnv-w quwv.n-'U ' ",- ~*-=’*";::~I"ehfifi .Q b’rr _.. “3'3" TWO COLLEGE GRADUATES WHO FOUNDED THE VILLAGE ATHLETIC CLUB PLATE 15 "It" . . . 72‘, .L. , . 'A 1' ' a» ._, ’ ‘4 . 41...,‘4m4‘3him ' SENIOR SOCCER TEAM IN THE VILLAGE PLATE 16 VILLAGE SHRINE