Tahtib

Tahtib (Egyptian Arabic: تحطيب taḥṭīb) is the Modern Egyptian term for a stick-fighting martial art originally named Fan A'Nazaha Wa-Tahtib (the Art of being straight and honest through the use of stick). The martial version of Tahtib also evolved into a traditional form of Egyptian folk dance involving a wooden stick, also known as "stick dance" or "cane dance". It is sometimes also described as a "stick-dancing game", or as a highly ritualized mock fight accompanied by music. Nowadays, the name 'Tahtib' encompasses both martial practice and dance practice. A "Nubian" form of tahtib is regularly performed for tourists in Aswan.

The oldest traces of Tahtib were found on engravings from the archaeological site of Abusir, an extensive necropolis of the Old Kingdom period, located in the south-western suburbs of Cairo. On some of the reliefs of the Pyramid of Sahure (V dynasty, c. 2500 BC); the images and explanatory captions are particularly precise and accurate in their depiction of what seems to be a military training using sticks. Tahtib, with archery and wrestling, was then among the three warfare disciplines taught to soldiers during their training.

More recent in chronological order, yet no less important, three of the 35 tombs of the Beni Hassan necropolis (XI-XII Dynasties, 1900 – 1700 BC) near the town of Minya, display engravings showing scenes of Tahtib. Similar engravings can be seen in the archaeological site of Tell el Amarna (XVIII Dynasty, 1350 BC), some 60 km south of Minya. Finally, the first traces of the festive representation of Tahtib can only be seen in the New Empire (1500 – 1000 BC), as shown by the engravings on the walls of Luxor and Saqqâra

It is believed that during the ensuing centuries, peasants and farmers from Upper Egypt gained gradually access to this art, developing a folkloric and popular version of it. The early Christian writings mention Tahtib as a leisure activity and a popular art, performed by men, during weddings and celebrations.

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