The Ambassadors - FEATURES - Vol.6, Issue 2 (July 2003)

The Satirical Papyrus and Modern Egyptian Cartoonists
By Prof. Talaat I. Farag

This three-part study of the evolution of Egyptian cartoons includes:

"The Satirical Papyrus"
"Modern Egyptian Cartoonists: The Tetrad of Saroukhan, Rakha, Zohdy and Toughan" and
"Post-tetrad Cartoonists" including Abdel Samee', Salah Jaheen, Mustafa Hussein, Ihab, Bahgoory, Nagy, Bahgat, Diab, Higazi, Ragai, Hakem, Hamid, Gomaa, and Mustafa Hanafy.

The international German scientists, Prof. Digweed and Prof. Sperling (1995) described how humorous sketches or cartoons were already in use in ancient Egypt, although the word 'cartoon' was coined in 1843 by the British weekly magazine Punch (or the London Charivari) founded in 1841 and was responsible for the modern use of the word 'cartoon' to refer to a comic satirical drawing. In Oxford Dictionary, the word cartoon means: amusing drawing in a newspaper or magazine, especially one that comments satirically on current events.

Pharaonic art is generally rich with human-faced lions (sphinxes) and animal-faced humans! Even the Ancient Egyptian sacred written language, the hieroglyphics, is entirely based on symbols and drawings. As shown below, the names of Queen Cleopatra and King Tutankhamun are written in hieroglyphic alphabet.

In general, the Ancient Egyptian artists were interested in detail, relied on Canon of Proportion rules, and presenting the interactions between humans and animals in their papyri and drawings. Prof. Redford's study of the talatat from King Akhenaton's naturalistic art period documented how the Ancient Egyptian art played a major role in both their lives and after-lives!

The question arises of who was the first cartoonist in the world? Interestingly, the Ancient Egyptians had left many of their beautiful cartoons found on the Satirical Papyri and vases dating over 3000 years ago and characterized by a sense of humor, symbolism, and representing animals to critique political and social conditions. No one knows exactly the name of the artist who painted the cartoons in the satirical papyri. Unfortunately, the artist leaves no signature and no comments. Many of these papyri are present today in several Western museums: Torino Museum in Italy, British Museum in UK, Munich Museum in Germany and Brooklyn Museum in USA. Could these satirical papyri be the very first cartoons the world has seen?

In Torino Museum in Italy, there is satirical papyri aged more than 3000 years. The Satirical Papyrus, as it is called, shows creatures engaged in activities which belong to repertory of tomb senses (no. 10016). The mocking of what was essentially a very serious matter was a characteristic posture of the craftsmen who lives in the workmen's village of Deir el-Medina. A lion and an antelope sit down facing each other to play senet. Further along the papyrus to the right, we find a cat herding geese and the cat is supported by a fox holding a staff and carrying a bag slung on another stick across his shoulder. The animals are shown in their quasi-human roles in an affectionate way, seriously engaged, delightfully and unsentimentally observed.

Also there is an interesting cartoon criticizing some of the musicians and singers, whom the cartoonists presented in the shape of animals well known to have bad voices. It seems that the Ancient Egyptian cartoonist was not happy with the musical band he heard, presenting them in mockery as a monkey, crocodile, lion and donkey! Also at the very bottom of the papyrus above, a chariot of dogs is being driven by cats!

Above the cartoonist presents how two cats and a fox are protecting the ducks and geese. One of the geese attacks one of the cats in an attempt to escape from the herd (3000 years old)!

The Ancient Egyptian cartoonist presents a rat sitting on a chair wearing aristocratic clothes. In one hand he is holding a rose and in the other is a glass of drink. A cat is fanning him and presenting gifts. It is well-known that during the Pharaonic era, the King is a sacred person. The cartoonists tried to use symbols in order to present their view!

The cartoonist represents here an aristocratic rat, with one cat combing its hair while the other cat is serving the rat a refreshing drink! It is well-known that in the last dynasties of Ancient Egypt, foreigners began to invade the country and setup an elite class. Could this be a political and satirical critique of these foreign invaders through cartoons?

The Indian tales of Kalila and Dimna from the Fables of Bidpai, which originated almost 2000 years ago is a Sanskrit collection of animal stories called the Panchatantra. These charming and humorous stories have found their way in one form or another into the folklore of every major culture and tradition. They have influenced all our fables from Aesop to La Fontaine, including Uncle Remus, The Arabian Nights, and The Canterbury Tales. Symbolism in art was used by both the Ancient Egyptians and Indians as well as other ancient civilizations.

Ramsay Wood translates Kalila and Dimna in a captivating, contemporary version that can be read on many levels. These stories ostensibly constitute a handbook for rulers, but in their slyly profound grasp of human nature they are clearly meant as helpful guidance for us all.

There is no doubt that both Ancient Egyptian and Indian artists were fond of symbolism in presenting their critical ideas and views. Both used animal symbols in the Satirical Papyri and Kalila and Dimna's Fables thousands of years ago, however the Egyptian papyri communicated its message through drawings, while the Indians relied on writing tales.

During the period of January 23 to February 7, 2003 the 35th International Book Fair was held in Cairo, with 5 million books from 97 countries and 3125 publishers. In frequent visits to this excellent fair searching for treasures among the millions of books with my friends the cartoonist Toughan and novelist Khairi Shalaby, we enjoyed the new book published by Merit entitled, "Tareekh el-Fan el-Sahafy fi Masr" (The History of Journalistic Art in Egypt - 2002). This challenged me to look to the Egyptian cartoons in the past, present and future. Nowadays, there are more than 45 Egyptian cartoonists, who present their material in all the magazines and newspapers.

Donald B. Redford (1992). Akhenaten: The Heretic King. American University in Cairo Press.

E. Prisse D'Avennes (1997). Atlas of Egyptian Art. American University in Cairo Press.

James Putnam (1990). Egyptology: An introduction to the history, culture and art of Ancient Egypt. Apple Press, London.

Leonie Donovan & Kim McCorqudale (2000). Egyptian Art: Principles and Teams in Wall Scenes. Ministy of Culture, Egypt.

Nasser Erak (2002). Tareekh el-Fan el-Sahafy fi Masr. Merit Publishers, Cairo. (Arabic).

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (1989). Oxford University Press.

NEXT ISSUE - PART 2:
Modern Egyptian Cartoonists:
The Tetrad of Saroukhan, Rakha, Zohdy and Toughan"

Dr. Talaat I. Farag, MD, FRCP(E), FACP, FACMG, is a community geneticist and syndromologist. He is the founder of The Ambassadors Research Foundation in 1998. Email: drfarag@ambassadors.net