quote:

---

Originally posted by Kem-Au:
Do modern Egyptians celebrate Ramadan? And do they fast?

---

Unfortunatley many of these customs are dying off but even the Ramadan celebration is different in Upper Egypt than Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt,however, even shows signs of the older customs such as the hanging and parading lanterns across the city. Herodotus reports such a tradition within the city of Saite[Sais] where annualy people would parade torches across the Delta and other regions. Children carry these lights while parading down the street singing. Some historians and scholar have speculated that these pratices might be a connection to the older festival rites. Definatley such events were commented on by Al Marqizi during the 1400's in Islamic Egypt.

See the following:

The present tradition of Ramadan lanterns dates from the rule of Saladin. Lantern designs were copied from the Qanadil and Mishkat (lamps) of Mosques. However, according to the historian, Al-Maqrizi, in his book, "Kitab al-Mawa`iz wa al-'l`tibar Bidhikr al-Khitat wa al-'Athar" (page 265), alludes to an earlier tradition. According to him, it was originally a Coptic Christian festivity celebrated at Christmas time (Coptic version) where people used to parade with colorful candles. The competition was to "outdo" each other with more and more expensive candles until one day when hard times fell upon Egypt, the people were no longer able to afford to buy the very expensive candles and thus the tradition nearly died out.
<http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7210/Ramad5.jpg>
However, as many of the Coptic population converted to Islam, the memory of the candle festivities never quite died out, and out of cheap tin, tinkers made lanterns equally beautiful to the original candles and hence the tradition was reborn. This time for Ramadan. Actually, the roots of this celebration of lights can be traced all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians who celebrated the Heliacal (visable after sunset) rising of the star "Sirus" (Shu`ayr). The occasion was marked by a festival of lights in which the Ancient Egyptians walked through the streets carrying torches. The festivities lasted for five epagomenal days (special days dedicated to the Ancient Egyptian Deities). Each day celebrated, in turn, the birthdays of Osiris, his son Horus, his sister and wife Isis, his arch enemy and brother Seth, and Seth's wife Nephtys.

This tradition of lights, which began with the torches of the Ancient Egyptians, continued with the candles of the Copts and finally ended up with the lanterns of Ramadan.

The term "Fanous" is from the Demotic Greek "Phanos" which means "beeswax candle".

The meaning of "Wahawi ya, wahawi iyyahah...", seems to be unknown to most people, but what it really means in plain Arabic is "light of fire". "Al-wahiyy" means "fire" in Arabic (Lisan al-Arab, page 893). A metaphorical meaning conveyed in the 24th Sura, verse 35 of the Qur'an called "Nur-The Light": God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp: The lamp enclosed in a glass: The glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touch it: Light upon light! God doth guide who He will to His light: God doth set parables for men: And God doth know all things.

The children parading in the streets, swinging their lanterns (fawanis), going from door to door chanting: "Wahawi ya, wahawi iyyahah..."

Hall hilalak shahr mubarak `alayna 'agma`in! Ramadan Kareem!

http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7210/ramadan.htm

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199202/ramadan.s.lanterns.htm

The Greeks generally did not use the term to describe AE or Ethiopians.

The Kemetians (Egyptians) had a word for some Kushites nehasi which means much the same.

Some Egyptologists have tried to say that this word means negro or nubian (and used it to imply that Egyptians were not African).

The problem is, nehasi is an "African" word. And is also used in other African languages like Hausa and Wolof to refer disparagingly to strangers.