Sirat Al-Hilali

The epic Hilal story from the Poets of Upper Egypt

Ramadan Hassan and the Musicians of the Nile

 

These men are very brave and very rich. They are part of the 6000-strong cavalry and are well-armed.

From The History and Description of Africa by Leo Africanus

 

Mentioned by Hassan Al Wazzan (Leo the African), the Hilal epic is still sung by a few poets in Upper Egypt. It tells of the invasion of the Maghreb during the 11^th century by the Beni Hilal and Beni Soleim tribes from the Arab Peninsula. The great emblematic figure of this epic is Abou Zeid Al-Hilali, a warrior and poet (chaer) who, according to the story, was ‘as black as a raven’.

Plenty of other people appear in this tale : Khalifa Zanati, Caliph of the Zenata tribe, Emir El Moiziz Ben Badis known as Al Allam, Yunis Al Hilali and his nephews Merai, Yahya and above all, Yunes Al Hilalx who would give rise to the great love story between him and Aziza, daughter of the Zenata prince, Al-Wahidi Mebed.

The Hilal epic is one of great beauty, and the last evocation of this ancient nomadic world, so violent and passionate.

There are still traces of this tale in Upper Egypt, a region that has not yet succumbed to the mediocrity of western culture dominated by television.

Today, only poets of gypsy origin (Masalib, Mataqil and Halab) still sing this story accompanied by a fiddle with two horsehair strings, the rababah, that has a coconut shell body (djoz hind), just like the Arab rabab of Iraqi maqam.