Description
Book SynopsisThis book is a study of moulids, the popular Egyptian religious festivals (Muslim and Christian) as they were in the first half of the 20th century. Moulids also had a secular side, where sports, games, theatres, shadowplays, beer booths, sweet stalls, eating houses, dancing, and laughter, were as much part of the festival as the religious processions and the whirling of dervishes. Nor were the festivals exclusive to one religion or the other- Muslims and Christians happily attended each other's moulids. Some of the rites and customs date from as far back as the Pharaonic period, but the moulids are gradually dying out. Many of the 126 festivals described here have since faded away, making the book of lasting interest. Published in Cairo at the height of the Second World War, Bimbashi McPherson's The Moulids of Egypt is a fascinating and highly original contribution to the study of the country's religious folklore and practice.
Trade Reviewan invaluable work...a superb first-hand glimpse of the life of Egypt -Laurence Durrell
Table of ContentsContents Editor's Comments on the Text viii List of Illustrations ix List of Maps xi Editor's Note on Map Section xii Foreword to the New Edition by Valerie J. Hoffman xiii Foreword to the Original Edition by Edward E. Evans-Pritchard xix Introduction 1 I Moulids: Their Origin and Objects 27 II Moulids: Their Place, Times and Seasons 35 III Moulids: Their Devotional Side 49 IV Moulids: Their Secular Side 69 V Moulids: Their Individual Features 91 Envoi 311 Post Scriptum 315 Glossary 321 Editor's Life of Author 333 Editor's Acknowledgements 373 Sources of Illustrations 375
