Births, marriages and deaths in Egypt

Dr. Penny Walters PhD, MSc., BSc. Hons., Grad. IPM., Dip.HEd., PGCE, PGCert. Genealogy [email protected] www.searchmypast.co.uk Summary:

This session will look at censuses taken in Egypt between 1882 (6.7 million people) to the recent (c95 million). We will look at how modern day Egyptians officially register & celebrate or commemorate births, marriages & deaths (BMD). Egyptian naming systems will be covered, and how to analyse people’s ancestries from their names, utilising the chain system. Some regional differences will be looked at, such as how the Southern Sai’idi traditions differ to those in the north of Egypt, in Cairo. The role of religion will also be addressed, looking at the various types of marriage. What does Egyptian DNA tell us about histories? Useful Egyptian Arabic genealogy words will be given, and a list of resources to investigate Egyptian family history further.

Censuses Census Population Arithmetic Density Year (in thousands) (inhabitants/km2) 1882 6,712 6.65 1897 9,669 9.58 1907 11,190 11.09 1917 12,718 12.60 1927 14,178 14.05 1937 15,921 15.78 1947 18,967 18.79 1960 26,085 25.84 1966 30,076 29.79 1976 36,626 36.28 1986 48,254 47.80 1996 59,312 58.76 2006 72,798 70.70 18 April 2017 94,798,827 (2019) 98,101,011 (2020) 100,000,000+

Administrative divisions Map Region Population Capital Reference (2019) 1 Matruh 461,847 Marsa Matruh 2 Alexandria 5,299,718 Alexandria 3 Beheira 6,404,210 Damanhur Kafr El Kafr El Sheikh 4 3,478,267 Sheikh 5 Dakahlia 6,679,368 Mansoura 6 Damietta 1,539,075 Damietta 7 Port Said 764,499 Port Said 8 North Sinai 463,975 Arish 9 Gharbia 5,146,411 Tanta 10 Monufia 4,441,717 Shibin El Kom 11 Qalyubia 5,792,066 Banha 12 Sharqia 7,401,700 Zagazig 13 Ismailia 1,352,548 Ismailia 14 Giza 8,915,164 Giza 15 Faiyum 3,747,942 Faiyum 16 Cairo 9,788,739 Cairo 17 Suez 749,657 Suez 18 South Sinai 105,953 El Tor 19 Beni Suef 3,288,219 Beni Suef 20 Minya 5,745,212 Minya 21 New Valley 249,399 Kharga 22 Asyut 4,587,577 Asyut 23 Red Sea 372,862 Hurghada 24 Sohag 5,193,052 Sohag 25 Qena 3,302,894 Qena 26 Luxor 1,296,540 Luxor 27 Aswan 1,532,400 Aswan Total 98,101,011 Numbers

wahad واحد one 1 ithnin اث نان two 2 talatah ث الث ة three 3 arabah أرب عة four 4 hamsah خم سة five 5 settah س تة six 6 sebbah س ب عة seven 7 tamannya ث مان ية eight 8 tis’ah ت س عة nine 9 ashara ع رشة ten 10

Useful genealogy words: alab or ub اآلب father omm أم mother walad اب ن son bint اب نة daughter shaqiq or ukh شقيق brother ukht أخت sister zowg زوج husband mirati or zowga زوجة wife jid جد grandfather jida جدة grandmother hafid ح ف يد grandson haffida ح ف يدة granddaughter affad أح فاد grandchildren

Births  girls & women often go to their mother’s to give birth  baby - get paper ID  day 7 - celebrate birth of baby  stay with mother for 3-4 weeks  go to Register Office, get certificate, official seal/ stamp

Most popular names Girls Boys 1 Aisha Muhammad 2 Maryam Adam 3 Sara Ishaaq 4 Aaliyah Zakariya 5 Zara Ibrahim 6 Khadija Ali 7 Iqra Bilal 8 Zainab Hamza 9 Fatima Umar 10 Asma Abdullah

Names  no ‘middle name’  ‘chain’ of names - a ‘nasab’  each person’s name is: their name - father - grandfather - great grandfather For example, Moamen Abdu Fatha Mohamad Tayeb

Marriages:  reflect social class & residence of the families  women do not change their surname when they marry, they keep their father’s  any children from that marriage take the husband’s name  official certificate - separate photographs of the couple at the top of document Traditional wedding  bride and groom have an arranged marriage  brides wears elaborate rented white dress & groom wears galibaya  separate celebrations for men & women  local streets covered off for 3 days  the Sewen - huge Arabian tent  when the bride & groom enter together they are received by the Zeffa, a singing parade of drummers Both  mosque for Muslims, church for Christians  the night before the wedding the bride has a prenuptial (hen) party + henna  ceremony often held on a Thursday night - before Friday prayer  bride and groom – sit in a special seat called the Kosha - switch their wedding rings from the right to their left hands  festivities - singing, dancing and eating Urban or city wedding  choose partner for love  bride wears very fancy white dress & groom wears tuxedo suit  celebration - a hotel  when the bride and groom enter together they are received by the Zeffa, a singing parade of drummers and belly-dancers Orfi marriage  An Orfi marriage as it is defined and practiced in Egypt means a man and a woman (usually an Egyptian man and a foreign woman) simply agree to be married, neither giving or receiving any legal rights. The man proposes and the woman accepts his proposal in front of a minimum of two witnesses. Divorce:  difficult & unusual  difference between civil and religious marriages Egypt - Apply for a Divorce (wikiprocedure.com)

Deaths After death:  wash the body  wrapped - white cloth kafan  maximum of 1 day  take body to mosque & pray for deceased  men walk with body to cemetery  take ID to register death  subsequent certificates only close relatives Preparing the body  the stages of washing and shrouding the Muslim woman in detail مراحل تغسيل وتكف ني المرأة المسلمة بالتفصيل   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSYGFIFBnOs  the demonstration uses a plastic dummy Wake:  separate wakes for men & women to mourn  local streets covered off for 3 days  the Sewen - large Arabian tent

Family trees  mostly oral tradition  women not included

Teknonymy  ‘Omm Shams’ - mother of Shams, not Penny  referring to mothers & fathers by children’s names is termed ‘teknonymy’ or ‘paedonymics’

Egyptian DNA

Daughter 1 2 3 Africa 21.9 37.8 47.6 41.0 Middle East 17.1 33.3 29.8 46.5 Jewish - 16.4 15.9 10.8 Europe 30.3 8.4 - 1.7 Other - 6.7 - Asia 4.1 - - Total 100 100 100  my daughter’s Nubian - southern Egypt paternal DNA reflects a mix of Nigeria - Cairo Salt Route, Iberian (Spain & Italy) & Middle Eastern Islamic roots  my friends’ northern Egypt DNA reflect a mix of North African, Middle East Islamic & Jewish roots  reflects different histories, travel routes, trade routes, religion

Useful resources  Translation: any language to Arabic; Arabic to any language https://translate.google.com/  FamilySearch wiki: www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Egypt_Genealogy  Google maps: https://www.google.com  Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt  Egyptian Government website: can order birth, divorce, marriage & death certificates; use "subjects" under electronic services; need to already have the information to order & will need language translating capability in your browser http://www.egypt.gov.eg/english/home.aspx  National Archives of Egypt: NAE - National Archives of Egypt -Home  The National Archive, UK: Search results: Egypt | The National Archives  My Heritage: Arabic translation

Stay in touch:  Email: [email protected]  Website: www.searchmypast.co.uk  FB Business page: https://www.facebook.com/searchmypast/  FB: https://www.facebook.com/penny.walters.52  Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrPennyW

Author of:

‘Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy’ 2019. ISBN: 9781724038241

‘The Psychology of Searching’ 2020. ISBN: 9781687167262

Both available on Amazon in paperback or kindle

Please also see my accompanying Roots Tech Connect presentation: ‘I want my Mummy.’