A rosary is not only a religious object with a history but, as Reham El-Adawi discovers, an ancient craft struggling to survive umber five Rab'a Al-Selselah Street, the entrance to Wikalat Al-Qutn deep within the Khan Al- Khalili district is where the rosary workshops of Cairo were located many years ago. It remains the centre of a craft that has seen better days. In one of the few remaining workshops, owned by Hag Mursi Ali Mursi, sits Mohamed Nasr a young apprentice. "I used to hear about the famous names that spearheaded the profession from the master of my craft. The workshops of men such as Reda El-Agouz, Hag Eid and Hag Shawqi were once leading centres for the craft of the rosary. But most of these workshops have now disappeared," lamented Nasr. As far as he is concerned, this is because less people now appreciate the hand-made rosary -- made of precious and semi- precious stones -- and instead prefer to buy the LE1 version made of plastic. Of course these are cheaper, but Mohamed Mursi, Hag Mursi's son who has followed in his father's footsteps, also argues that "The demand for rosaries is generally low because people nowadays are more secular. People have no time to praise God, with the exception of the Sufis, that is," he explained. And the competition is tough. "Imported rosaries from China, Taiwan, Turkey and the Czech Republic are widely available in Saudi Arabia, where Egyptians go during Hajj [the annual pilgrimage to Mecca], and buy them for LE3," he added. Despite the fact that the past few weeks have been their "high season" because of the Hajj, the general decline in interest in the hand-made rosary is a sad turn in the fate of these craftsmen when you consider that theirs was once an almost sacred profession. The word sibha (the Arabic word used for rosary) in the Hadith (Prophet's sayings) means 'voluntary prayer'. According to Rifaat Abdel- Azim, general-director of the Islamic Art Museum "the beads of the rosary are shaped in a circle symbolising the infinity of God. A minaret completes the circle of beads. Rosaries used to be made from perforated pebbles and date pits. Then materials became more diverse and the beads were made from burned clay, precious stones and metals." The word "rosary" is derived from the Latin rosarium which denotes a religious exercise in which prayers are recited and counted on a string of beads or a knotted cord. And while in our minds rosaries are perceived as a facet of the Muslim faith, the practise itself is widespread: Jews, Christians and Muslims all use rosaries, as do other members of other philosophies and faiths such as Hinduism and Buddhism. In Islam, however, the performance of the rosary is an act of piety. The word for "rosary" in the Arabic language is sibha or masbaha, which is derived from subhana allah (God be praised). According to Ali Gom'a Mohamed, professor of fiqh (Jurisprudence in Islam) at Al-Azhar University, the number of beads in the Muslim rosary varies: there is a 33- bead rosary which requires three turns around the circle of beads. Each bead represents one of the names of God mentioned in the Qur'an, the total of which is 99. Another is divided into three parts, each made up of 33 beads which is used at the end of each of the five daily prayers. There is also a 100- bead rosary used in accordance with sunah. In his book, Manners and Customs of Modern Egyptians, Edward Lane mentioned a 1,000-bead rosary used for funerals. Mohamed told Al-Ahram Weekly that "the idea of praising God using a string of beads originated with Al- Sahabah (companions of Prophet Mohamed). For instance, Abu Horaiyra used to practice this religious exercise using a knotted thread daily before sleeping. Wives of the Prophet, such as Fatemah Bint Al-Hussein Bin Ali and Safiya Bint Hoyayi, used to praise God using a group of stones. Hence, praising God using a string of beads or rosary is a sunah from the early days of Islam. Using a rosary helps people to remember to praise God most of the time." Abdel-Azim from the Islamic Art Museum begs to differ. He argues that using a rosary to praise God was not part of the rituals of early Islam. At the time it was said that all living creatures on earth praise God and hence there was no need for the use of the small beads. "Eventually, however, Muslims borrowed the practice from the various faiths that preceded the advent of Islam. Consequently, the number of beads and the type of materials used in the making of the rosary changed according to each faith," he told the Weekly. Today, two types of clients frequent Hag Mursi's shop: wholesalers, not only from Egypt but also from Saudi Arabia, and small local stores that buy between 10 and 20 rosaries at a time. The demand these generate, however, is not enough to abate fears that the craft is doomed to sink into oblivion. As far as Mursi is concerned the main reason for the extinction of the craft is the lack of proficient rosary craftsmen. An apprentice has to start learning the craft at the age of eight or nine. "Young people nowadays search for quick and easy means of getting money. They avoid our craft because it takes at least 10 years to become a professional," he explained. He added that the families of these young people discourage them from working in the field and the masters of the profession have grown too old and are becoming less capable of passing on their knowledge to a new generation. And yet Nasr is enthusiastic about his craft, a complex five-stage process, comprising cutting and piercing the small stones before turning, polishing and finally takhwish -- the process of widening the holes of the beads so that they can be strung together. Seeds, wood, ivory, bone, horn, shell, coral, pearl, jet, amber, gemstones, metals, ceramic, plastic and glass can all be used for the process. Among the most expensive rosaries, however, are those made from perfumed Indian sandalwood; each costs between LE20 and LE60, depending on the weight. These are followed by amber beads, although these are manufactured in Germany and are sold on the Egyptian market for LE15 and LE20, depending on the weight. Piety, or the lack of, cost and profit: the elements of our modern world are making their mark only too clearly on the little workshops of the Raba'a. The history, however, lives on.
