Egypt: Female Folk Voices from the Nile Delta
We’ll listen to some distinctive voice from the Nile Delta.; This fertile piece of land in the north of Egypt -where a farmers culture prevails- is known for women singers who perform folk ballads and epics in weddings, celebrations, and reglious festivals.The big stars usually show their vocal virtuosity in singing the “Mawwaal ” . Their voices are strong and raw. the music and text are typically full of folk local dialects and exrpressions, different than the urban and classic music of Cairo.
Listen here to a series featuring female voices of Cairo and check here some female voices of Cairo’s pop scene (1980s-2000x)
We’ll listen to few singers that became quite famous also in Cairo, mainly as representatives of the Folk vocal traditions of the “Provinces”
Badria El_sayed (1930-1989) born in Alexandria , Haneyat Shaaban (circa 1930- ) born in Qillin, Kafr El-Sheikh province, Fatma Serhan (1928-) born in Basyoun, El- Gharbia (The Western) province (and Fatma Eid (1962-) born in El-Qanayat, El Sharqia (The Eastern) province.
Fatma Sarhan performing a mawwal in the typical folk delta style before embarking into singing “ya balah zaghlouli”
Fatma Eid in a TV portait of women of the countryside singing, cooking and chilling in the Nile Delta
“Hasaneen we Mahammaden” A brilliant popular song by Fatma Eid made for a TV campaign in the early 1980s.
Tracks
Badria El sayed (1930-1989)
- Ana kunt aseed elhawa (Mawwal) 1:00
- Men Fouq Shawashi E-ddorah and Mawwal (Live) 8:29
- Beheri (Edalaa ya Rashidi) (LP 1969) 5:40
- Hasib dhamirak ya fata (Mawwal) 1:29
- Bahibbuh ya khala 4:29
- Qul lil-gamil ya hawa (Mawwal) 2:49
Haneyat Shabaan:
7.Ya Weld El—‘amm 3:46
Fatma Sarhan:
8.Ya Qalbi leh teshteri (Mawwal) 1:42
9. Ala waraq el-fol 4:41
10. Ya mazlomen fe elhawa (Mawwal) 4:00
Fatma Eid
11. El-Toba 5:14
12. Al-Hogag (The pilgirms to Mecca) 7:31
13. Wana kol magoul E-Toba 4:48
Banat Mazin
14. (part of) Aftekerlak eeh 6:28
