Ramadan lanterns offer Egyptians a ray of hope

Cairo: Egyptians, weary of more than four years of political instability and economic woes, are turning to festive lanterns inspired by the past to celebrate Ramadan.

Festive lanterns, an age-old feature of Ramadan in this mostly Muslim country, have this year hit the local market taking the shapes of popular Egyptian puppets such as Boggy and Tamtam, two protagonists in a TV series that was aired in the 1980s.

“Children and grown-ups are interested in buying the lanterns of Boggy and Tamtam because these two characters have become part of the Egyptian heritage,” said Samir Farhat, a dealer in festive lanterns in the Old Cairo district of Al Sayeda Zeinab. “People have got fed-up with politics and want to remember the beautiful past.”

The Boggy and Tamtam lanterns play local tunes while swirling along to a display of lights. They sell for prices ranging from 40 Egyptian pounds (Dh20) to 70 apiece depending on their size, according to Farhat, an accountant by profession who works in the seasonal market of Ramadan goodies.

“Lanterns made in China taking the shapes of SpongeBob and Mickey Mouse are also popular with children,” said Farhat.

“This year, there are new types of lanterns that have impressed customers like the ones decorated with colourful tent cloth and taking the shape of the bowl of fava beans,” he said referring to a staple Ramadan dish in Egypt.

Last year’s lanterns were mostly military-themed, reflecting the popularity of the army after it ousted Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following street protests against his one-year rule.

Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, the architect of Mursi’s overthrow, became Egypt’s president last year, vowing to end instability and economic travails that gripped the country in the wake of the 2011 popular uprising.

According to Maher Sultan, who has been in the lantern business for more than 20 years, this Ramadan has also seen the traditional tin lantern stage a strong comeback.

Chinese-made lanterns of different shapes have upstaged the local metal ones for many years.

In April, Egypt banned the importation of foreign lanterns in an attempt to protect the local industry. The ban was part of a wider governmental effort to preserve Egypt’s traditional handicrafts.

“The tin lantern is the original expression of Ramadan,” said 45-year-old Sultan. “It reminds us of our childhood days and revives memories of playing with these lanterns in the evening after the iftar. The Chinese lanterns are mere children’s toys whose attraction is limited.”

To enhance the allure of the metal lantern, Egyptian manufacturers have this year come up with colourful variations made of copper and wood. “There has been high high demand for the traditional and new collections of this kind of lantern over the last few weeks,” said Sultan, who sells his wares in the working-class district of Al Zawya Al Hamra in northern Cairo.

Price tags of king-size versions of metal lanterns can reach 4,000 Egyptian pounds but such items are usually only ordered by hotels and Ramadan-themed coffee shops, he added.

According to some historians, the first candle-lit lanterns came to be used in Egypt on the seventh day of Ramadan in 362 AH (Islamic calendar) on June 11, 972 AD, when residents of Cairo took to the streets in the evening to welcome the arrival of their new Fatimid ruler Al Moez Lidin Allah.

From then on, the candle-lit lanterns have become associated with Ramadan.

The lantern-making industry thrived under the Fatimids, who ruled Egypt for nearly two centuries, historians say.

In recent years, Egyptian manufacturers of lanterns have replaced candles with tiny lamps to vie with the battery-operated lanterns made in China.