Crafts and Industries through the Ages
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Mauled festival

Mawlid is the birthday of a holy figure. At the end of the 11th century in Egypt the ruling Fatii- mids observed four mawlids, those of the Prophet Mohammad ( Mawlid an-Nabi ), Ali, Fatima, and the ruling caliph.
coptic

The mawlid is an occasion

Mawlids are not limited to the Prophet’s family. They have always been extended to celebrate the birthdays of popular saints, Moslems and Copts. The Mawlid is preceded by several weeks of merrymaking by the masses. Musicians, jugglers, and assorted entertainers attract people from far away places. A large number of camels, sheep, and oxen are sacrificed, and all those at-i tending are invited to feast. On the eve of the mawlid a torchlight procession passes through the area. Mawlid poems relate the saint’s life and virtues. The  mawlid is an occasion for fulfilling vows, circumcision for boys…. It is a group ritual of the saint’s cult serving social, economic, psychological and recreational functions.