Kurzbeschreibung: |
The Fellahin collection covers historical, cultural and economic information mostly from the 1910s-1970s, with some dating back to the first half of the nineteenth century. Three books in the collection stand out as the basic sources on the Fellahin. The first is a book by Ammar, a native Fellahin scholar which analyzes the social and psychological aspects of education in Silwa, a Fellahin village in Aswan Province where the author grew up. The second is a detailed ethnographic account of the Upper Egyptian Fellahin as observed by a British anthropologist, Blackman, in 1920-1926. The third is a study of ethos and psychology in Lower and Middle Egypt by a Syrian Catholic priest, Ayrout, who lived among the Fellahin in Lowe and Middle Egypt in early 1930s. Together, these three sources cover a wide variety of themes including family life, community organization, class divisions, economic activities, trade, religious practices, socialization and culture change, circa 1920s-1950s. The collection also includes an account by a nineteenth century German physician, Klunzinger, which provides a rich description of religious and secular festivals and ceremonies in Upper Egypt as observed in 1863-1875. This document is the oldest document in the collection, covering useful information relating to religious processions, entertainments, costumes, dances and music. Documents by Rasoul and Hopkins focus on spirits and traditional medicinal practices with particular reference to women and spirit possession, while a document by Blackman focuses on the conception of illness. Aother document, by Bush, focuses on agrarian transformations that occurred in rural Egypt beginning from 1980s when President Mubarak, reversing Nasser's brand of socialism, introduced liberalization, including laws allowing for agricultural land to be sold and bought. Bush's work especially focuses on the impact of liberalization on the land rights and security of Fellahin families
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