Like holidays in the West, Ramadan generates its own forms of nostalgia for the joys of Ramadans past. This nostalgia attaches not just to the month’s religious aspect, but to all the shared experiences that Ramadan holds, such as traditional foods, family meals, late nights around the TV or the shisha pipe, last-minute dashes for sohour — and in the realm of popular culture, the special TV programming as well.
In this context, the phenomenon of Ramadan mosalsals (TV programs) is well-known. As the explanation goes, with so many people in a post-iftar daze and trying to stay up late hours until sohour, the nights of Ramadan are prime hours for TV viewing. Accordingly, Arab TV networks release their most ambitious serials at this time of year.
The month of fasting is thus also a feast of TV options, some of which reinforce the Islamic identity of the month (e.g. Omar), some of which revive a glorious Arab past (Saqr Quraish, Haroun al-Rashid), some evoke Arab nationalist feeling of modern times (Layali al-Hilmiyya, Bab al-Hara), and some aim to be more topical (Al Gharabeeb Al Soud, Mawlana). This is not to mention all the mosalsals that are pure melodrama, simple comedy, or full-on imitations of American TV.
But there was another form of Ramadan programming that somehow managed to combine all these themes in one surreal mix: the fawazeer (فوازير). In essence, the fawazeer programs were a short 10-minute variety show containing dance numbers and sketches that present an affectionate pastiche of Egyptian popular culture of the pre-satellite TV era. The core of each fawazeer episode revolved around a riddle that the audience was asked to solve, usually anchored to a specific theme for the entire 30-episode season.
Although the tradition of fawazeer stretches back to the 1950s and continues even to this day through occasional efforts at revival, the peak of the fawazeer programming is widely considered to be the series presented by Nelly and then Sherihan in the 1980s and 1990s. Above all in Egypt, but also in other parts of the Arab world, they form part of the childhood nostalgia of the generation that would grow up to lead the Arab Spring.
Industry Arabic is celebrating this Ramadan by translating the full collection of riddles from the 1981 season starring Nelly, titled “al-Khatba” (الخاطبة). Considered one of the best seasons of the fawazeer, this series presents Nelly in the role of the professional matchmaker. In each episode, Nelly proposes a new potential suitor to an aspiring bride and her family in the form of a riddle describing his profession. For example, the riddle of the first episode goes:
| Whether you own shops or tracts Write for a living or act Even married or single You owe him a bill — This lifelong bureaucrat | أهل الدكاكين والفدادين والكتّاب والفنانين حتى العزاب تعمل له حساب وفي المأمورية بقى له سنين |
The expected answer here is “tax collector.” As part of the humor of the episode, in each case the father replies to the riddle saying, “al-gawaza di mish laazim titim” (this marriage must not take place) followed by the girl wailing “But I love him, daddy” — an age-old dialogue that still rings true in patriarchal Egypt.
But beyond the fascination that Fawazeer Nelly holds as a touchstone of popular culture, they have their own literary significance as well, in that they were written by none other than the beloved colloquial poet Salah Jaheen. Although Jaheen is most known for his collection of Rubaiyat (a poetry collection in Egyptian dialect that many Egyptians can still quote by heart), he was an omnipresent influence in the Egypt of the Nasser and Sadat era. As a daily cartoonist for Al Ahram, lyricist for songs of Abdel Halim Hafez, the screenwriter behind the blockbuster hit Khali Balak Men Zuzu, and playwright of works for Cairo’s puppet theater, there is little from that epoch that Salah Jaheen didn’t have a hand in. In this context, the fawazeer represents the intersection between Jaheen’s literary output as a leading colloquial poet and his broader gift for creating artifacts of popular culture that resonate with Egyptians of all classes.
In the spirit of the traditional Ramadan serial, we’ll be publishing the translation of one new riddle every day during Ramadan. This translation represents the first time this fawazeer will be translated into English. As such, we hope to rekindle the fond memories these programs hold for many across the Arab world, while at the same time bringing their joy and humor to a whole new audience.
To catch the full series of our translations, follow us on Facebook or Twitter to receive a new riddle every day during Ramadan.
UPDATE 1: The Full Series of Ramadan Fawazeer
UPDATE 2: The Answer Key:
| Day | English | Arabic | Solution (AR) | Solution(EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whether you own shops or tracts Write for a living or act Even married or single You owe him a bill — This lifelong bureaucrat | أهل الدكاكين والفدادين والكتّاب والفنانين حتى العزاب تعمل له حساب وفي المأمورية بقى له سنين | مأمور الضرائب | Tax collector |
| 2 | This guy, if he plays well Is gifted a car new and nice; Nowadays, no person is for sale But him, and a million is his price | راجل لو يلعب دوره بجد ياخذ منحة عربية صالون ما بقاش في زماننا ينباع حد غير هو و تمنه بالمليون | لاعب الكرة | Soccer player |
| 3 | Both this man, and referees Owe their authority To a little puff of air A pea makes blare | رف الكورة وهو بتديهم قوة آلت نفخ نونو فيها بلية جوه | شرطي المرور | Traffic cop |
| 4 | This tradesman saws his boards Whatever knots they hoard As his minbars higher climb! I’ve also seen him lurk In cupboards or lattice-work Resisting the chilly clime | أستاذ بينشر مواده يا ما عقد واقفة ضده ويا ما أعلى المنابر رأيته في النمليةو بره في المشربية على البرد قادر وصابر | النجار | Carpenter |
| 5 | Your suitor’s a darling kind With an enlightened mind He has villas and garages And even Nile barrages; Airports, roads and harbors He’s lavished on mankind With a nib precise and fine He sharpens on a sander | جاي لك جدع سكرة دماغه متنورة عنده فيلا وعمارات وله كمان قنطرةومطار وميناء وطريق قدمها للمخاليق بسن حامي ودقيق مرفّعه بصنفرة | المهندس | Engineer |
| 6 | He’s the one you always invite To keep the joint awake all night. Even the seats that see him swoon Because he speaks in tune | بيتعزم في أربع عزومات ويجري يسهر في محلات تعرف مقامه كراسي الصالة عشان كلامه على المقامات | المطرب | Singer |
| 7 | Hoodlums “Whiskers” and “Shiv” Sit for him portrait and side-view Then off to a room they go Where they’re not the only negative | المشبوهين سنجة وشنبه قاعدين له بالوش وجنبه ولما خطفهم على الأوضة خلوها ضلمة حسب طلبه | المصوراتي | Photographer |
| 8 | Garrulous poet With skin stretched taut Roaming here and there Without taking a fareIn a radio show he Previously starred Scored by Sayed Mekawy With Fuad Haddad as bard | شاعر غلباوي جلده شداد داير كده هاوي من غير عدّاد عملوله غناوي تتقال في رداوي سيد مكاوي وفؤاد حداد | المسحراتي… مع أحمد السنباطي | Mesaharati…with Ahmed al-Sonbaty |
| 9 | His feet are sunk in mud His love’s the sunny sun He plants a seed, sprouts up a dozen Only for cattle to come and munch them | رجله في المية مغروزة وحبيبته الشمس الشموسة يدق العود، يطلع ميت عودتيجي واكلاهم له الجاموسة | المزارع | Farmer |
| 10 | We grow up and he’s there With children in his care According to the well-known verse After a prophet, next place is yours | نكبر وهو في محله ويا الصبا على طول وبيت من الشعر قاله قربت تبقى رسول | المدرس…مع وليد توفيق | Teacher…with Walid Toufiq |
| 11 | Call him if you have a case And he’ll guide you through its maze And if you’re ever in an ambulance God protect his noble chase | أنا ليا حق هاته ارشدني في دهليزاته وربنا يخليلك ابن حبيبك كاتو | المحامي | Lawyer |
| 12 | True, a doctor too can want for healing And a cook fall victim of a craving But would you believe, I heard this clerk say Matchmaker, help me marry | أيوه الدكتور ممكن يعي والطباخ يحلم بالبامية بس أبو دفتر قال بيقولييا خاطبة عايز أدخل دنيا | المأذون … مع هاني شكر | Marriage officiant…with Hani Shokr |
| 13 | Like a bee, in blooming light he flits And mirrors make it doubly lit Curl and straighten, brunette then blond This man’s a tailor, shrink and tanner all in one | زي النحلة حوالين النور والنور بيبحلق في البنور كشكش افرد أصفر إسودمكوجي ومقصدار مشهور | الكوافير | Hairdresser |
| 14 | Shocking, but in touch refined He doesn’t fear a living lineHe splices, giving death no thought Because his feet are safe on wood | في سلوكه منتهى العادة ومن التيار لا ماترعب يلحم و ما يهموش يموت اكمنه واقف عالخشب | الكهربائي | Electrician |
| 16 | Rarely close, and often far Year-round he wears stiff white garb The sea-gull sees him and tells the dolphin“ Every time I see a boat, I find him” | القرب ناسيه والبعد غاويه شتا صيف لابس أبيض وكاويه شافه النورس قال للدرفي لأنا كل ما اشوف مركب بألاقيه | القبطان | Ship captain |
| 17 | At the counter he packs the fodder And turns to greet the cash But if there isn’t, it’s okOn credit he’ll let you pay | عالبنك بيحول الطحينية ويلف ويحي النقدية ولو ما فيش أهو بردك ماشي بالنوتة زي المزيكاتية | العلاف | Seller of provender |
| 18 | He prescribes but never dictates“ No coffee, tea or transfats” This is all because his rideIs private, with “Red Crescent” on the side | يؤمر ولا عمروش يتأمر بلا شاي بلا قهوة بلا محمر وده كله علشان عربيته ملاكي وهلالها مزنهر | الطبيب | Doctor |
| 19 | He chops the veggies For people’s bellies So gets to wear The tallest headgear | خرط القلقاس في بطون الناس خلاه يلبس أطول غطا راس | الطباخ | Cook |
| 20 | Two eagles met and had one mission: To give him a commission His chief’s command, he hearkens Then turns around and barks them | صقرين كبار اجتمعوا وسلموه الشهادة أمر اللي أكبر يسمعه وأمره يزداد شدادة | الضابط | Officer |
| 21 | A jeweler of precise scale For him, chicken scratch is legible He shares with us a healing serum After a serpent adds its venom | جواهرجي عالشعرة ميزانه نكش الفراخ سهل عشانه يسقينا بالشفابعد الكاس ما بخ فيها تعبانه | الصيدلي | Pharmacist |
| 22 | Columns are his daily chore His estate is number four He rashly dashes into danger All to feed the daily printer | فوق العامود عمال يجود وسلطته نمرة أربعة ويرمي نفسه في البارود عشان يغذي المطبعة | الصحفي | Journalist |
| 23 | Eye as wide as mason jarsHe spots carats near and far A mechanic if the cog-wheels clinch He frees them with a tweezer’s pinch | له عين وسع البرطمانات واختصاصاته قيراط في قيراط ميكانيكي لو زرجن ترسه يجي شايله بسن الملقاط | الساعاتي | Watchmaker |
| 24 | This humble man, beseeching GodSweats to make his daily bread And even though his shop’s on fire He wants the heat even higher | راجي عفو الرحمن على أكل العيش عرقان النار قايدة في دكانه ويقول لها قيدي كمان | الخباز | Baker |
| 25 | Because his sweetness knows no bounds Children think he’s number one At his shop they eat their fill And so above you hear the dentist’s drill | من كتر حلاوته يا جدعان عند الأطفال أعظم إنسان ياكلوا من عنده على كيفهم ما هو فاتح فوقه حكيم أسنان | الحلواني | Candyman |
| 26 | Living in a villa of high society He’s half-engineer in ingenuity But when he brings a rose, they treat him curt Because his feet are tracking dirt | عايش في سراية ماعرف مين ماتقولش مهندس في التفانين يطلع بالورد يقول له ارجع انت رجليك مليانة طين | الجنايني | Gardener |
| 27 | No hunchback, no, he bows from courtesy Because he works amid folks’ knees His face is thus the world’s footstool And – what’s stranger still – he thinks it’s cool! | معندوش قتب لكن محني أدب لشغله وشغله ما بين الركب في وشه مداس البشر كلهم ويفرح ميزعلش ياللعجب | الجزمجي | Shoeshiner |
| 28 | In the greater and the lesser Eid The baker and him trade clientele | في العيد الصغير والعيد الكبير الفران وهو يتبادلوا الطوابير | الجزار | Butcher |
| 29 | On his arm there rests a porcupine That pricks the lumps to sleeker lines Then in padding he’s such a whiz You’d bet he’s in the upholstery biz | طالع له في دراعه قنفد يعدل قوام المقنفد وتشوفه في الحشو اسطى تقول عليه ده المنجد | الترزي … مع جمال إسماعيل | Tailer…with Gamal Ismail |
| 30 | His colleagues always give him grief Because he carries lover’s kerchiefs(Although from tears they’re mostly tatters)His shoes and legs are no less battered And so a bicycle’s his highest dream(Shoukry Sarhan played him on screen) | زملاؤه كلهم اشتكوا من كتر مناديل العشاق اللي اتهرت لما بكوا والنعل داب وانكسر الساق البسكلتة عنده حلم وشكري سرحان عمل له فيلم | البوسطجي | Postman |
