By Azza Heikal It is not just a month full of rituals and moral values; Ramadan is a month of art and creation. Since art constitutes the consciousness of humanity at a certain time and place, Ramadan throughout the centuries has developed and evolved a number of artistic creations. During the Fatimid ruling era, Egyptians prepared a number of sweets and drinks that would help them enjoy the ordeal of fasting all day long, such as qataef, Konafa, and Kaak. In their nights after taraweeh prayers, they developed religious sonnets called tawasheeh that are still recited today with some modifications. These songs are part of folkloric Egyptian musical heritage. In addition to these songs, there was the poet narrator on the musical instrument rababa, who would sing legendary stories about heroes and struggles that had political and moral connotations. Those stories were the core of the art of fiction and storytelling. Not to forget the dances of the long haired man in his colourful skirt moving round in circles like a swarm of bees in a garden. However, at Sohour time, the lyrics of al-mesaharaty on his hand drum would announce the termination of eating and the beginning of fasting. While the dawn beams erupt the darkness of night, those lyrics would fill the air with sagacious words and satiric comments. Nowadays, we can trace the effect of Ramadan on the development of many arts celebrating that holy month. The famous Shahrazad tales on the radio, the musical show riddles on TV in the 1970s, and the TV drama series with all its distinguished stars and social topics. Eventually the art of advertising is changing to meet the matured taste of the audience using various art elements to form new artistic commercials. The art of Ramadan is the true appraisal of existence in a month that has a secret of its own. This week's Soapbox speaker is professor of comparative literature, writer and critic.
