Centuries-old rababa fiddle hangs by a string in Egypt
Against the odds, street musicians compete with TV to keep tradition alive
At a Nile-side esplanade, he tenderly held a locally made fiddle and started playing famous Egyptian pop and folk songs for pedestrians.
For years, Idris Farouk has done the job of playing and selling fiddles known in Egypt as the rababa, a string instrument believed to date back to the eighth century.
“I inherited this job from my father, who had a passion for it as he was a fan of folk singers who played the rababa,” said Farouk, a native of Upper Egypt.
“This was the main tool of entertainment in the era before the appearance of the radio and television,” the 35-year-old man told Gulf News.
‘Everything has changed’
In the bygone years, rababa musicians, clad in the traditional flowing gallabiya garments, used to perform to cafe patrons in Egypt and recite epic poems about legendary heroes.
“Like everything else, people’s taste has changed over the years with the popularity of television in the 1960s and now the proliferation of the satellite channels and the internet,” he said.
“You don’t see singers today at urban coffee shops which, like the chic cafes, provide TV and video game services to their customers,” he added. “I am afraid this unique art will die.”
Farouk is one of a few musicians who roam the streets in Egypt, playing and hawking the rababa to eke out a living.
|“It is not merely a matter of earning a living. Most of us like this instrument. We want to restore its glory days and introduce it to the internet generation. Otherwise, we would not go through the trouble of walking in the streets for long hours in return for a few pounds,” he said.
“To attract children and teenagers, I follow the latest music and theme songs of television serials, and then play them on my rababa in public. The rababa produces touching tunes that appeal to the ear and heart,” he said.
Rababa musicians also perform at festivals.
“This attention has attracted people anew to the rababa,” said Ahmad Hassanein, as he sat playing the instrument outside his souvenir shop to draw potential customers.
“Increasing numbers of parents have realised that the rababa is part of our heritage of which we should be proud and preserve it. Therefore, they buy the instrument for their children when they see it on the street especially as it is cheap in price and do not need batteries like toys,” added Hassanein.
“I spend time with the child showing him how to hold the rababa with its attractive colours and play it. The first sounds coming out of it make the child feel happy,” said Hassanein.
The small rababa, made of dried palm wood, sells for around 10 pounds (Dh2). Bigger and more durable ones retail for up to 200 pounds, depending on the quality of its components, according to Hassanein.
“The rababa has also become popular with the tourists visiting Egypt,” he said. “Some of them buy it to present as a souvenir to their relatives and friends when they return home.”