Sham Al-Nessim
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For Egyptians, Sham Al-Nessim marks the advent of Spring. It falls on the first Monday after Coptic Easter, and it was linked to agricultural activity in ancient Egypt. It included fertility rites and ancient harvest festivals that were later, and unwittingly, attached to Christianity and the celebration of Easter. The date is not a fixed one: it is calculated according to the Coptic calendar — and here “Coptic” means the Egyptian calendar, which had its origins in the annual Nile flood and the agricultural seasons.
It seems that Sham Al-Nessim is a holiday as old as Egypt. According to the Egyptian Information Service, the name is actually derived from the ancient Egyptian harvest season, Shamo, the “the renewal of life”. According to Plutarch’s Annals, the ancient Egyptians used to offer salted fish, lettuce and onions to their deities on this day.
At the centre of the festival is fesikh, grey mullet; caught, piled high in containers, and left out until it is distended. When it is sufficiently putrefied, salt is added and the fish are left to pickle for a few months. Et viola, the fish that Egyptians are willing literally to die for is processed. It is no wonder that dozens are poisoned and several meet their fate every year during Sham Al-Nessim, usually as a result of botulism contracted from the foul-smelling feast.
Local papers ran articles on how to identify clean fesikh — by checking the flesh around the backbone and making sure the smell is not too pungent — and how much to eat. Nationwide, centres for the treatment of poisoning announced a 48-hour emergency. Medicines to treat botulism were distributed nationwide, but unfortunately four out of the 26 upstanding Egyptian citizens with severe fesikh poisoning last year died. The highest number was in 1991, when 90 cases were reported and 18 died. Last year Egypt spent LE2 million on medication for poisoning.
Egyptians can’t stop eating the fish in spite of the dangers.
But it is not all about fish: there are the coloured eggs, the lupine beans, and lettuce to name but the basics. New to the celebrations this year were the plastic Chinese eggs. The colouring and eating of natural eggs has been replaced by buying and colouring artificial ones.
This specific national holiday is believed to be of the most expensive. People have to pay to get around. They go out or travel, buy expensive food and eggs, play games and have fun, and get together with their families. According to the latest local statistics, Egyptians spend 45 per cent of their income on food and the rest on education, clothing, travelling and housing.
Excerpted from an article by Nashwa Abdel-Tawab for Al-Ahram Weekly
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