MENA House: Music and the Egyptian Revolution

On 23 July 1952. Egypt's Mohammed Ali dynasty was replaced by a Republic. King Farouk I was overthrown, the monarchy was abolished, and the official name of the land of the Pharoahs became "The Arab Republic of Egypt".

Fifty-eight years later, amidst talk of new relationships between media, politics, and change, it is useful to note one reason for the revolution's success: radio and newspapers might be essential for social interchange but they could also play leading politic roles

Dr Nahed Abdel Hamid attributes the Revolution's success to patriotic songs that brought out the emotion and passion in Egyptians for a "nation" and reached all social classes, unifying the state.  As Madonna's song "Music" explains, "Music makes the people come together....Music mixes the Bourgeoisie and the Rebel...."

During the 1940s and 1950s, Egypt produced some of the greatest and most well-known music artists and actors in the Middle East and North Africa. Abdel Halim Hafez (Andaleeb)  and Om Kalthoum, who respectively sang "Sawritna al Masriya" (Our Egyptian Revolution) and "Sawar-Sawar" (Revolutionary-Revolutionary), started a modern trend of patriotic expressionism practiced to the present day.

However, Abdel Hamid points out that these patriotic songs go back to the Ancient Egyptian era. "Wahawi ya Wahawi" (Greetings, Greetings), a song sung during the Revolution and to this day during Ramadan, is almost 3000 years old.

The story of the song is in drawings in the Karnak Temple.

In 1025 BC, King Mena went to fight a battle with the Hyksos, a tribe from the Gulf/Persian area.  Worried and concerned for her son, his mother Princess Iyaya travelled to find King Mena. On her journey, Egyptian troops and citizens greeted Princess Iyaha with the song: "w’h.wi w’h.wi i’h" and informed her of the good news that her son King Mena had defeated the Hyksos army.

The Ancient Egyptians also sang "w’h.wi w’h.wi i’h" during festivals to welcome the new moon and the new month. In this context, the song meant "how present (or how stable) is the moon".

Although we can never replay the tune of the song, the words remain as Egypt carries some of its ancient traditions. And so I wish you all a "w’h.wi w’h.wi i’h" and a Happy July Revolution....