Shahhat: An Egyptian

by Richard Critchfield

The story of a young peasant man from the upper Nile reveals the cultural and psychological turbulence of a country being thrust into the twentieth century.

Genres: Anthropology

265 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

Richard Critchfield was raised in Fargo, North Dakota. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1953 with a degree in Far Eastern studies and then served in the army in Korea. He received a master's degree from the Columbia School of Journalism in 1957. He taught journalism in India for two years before becoming a foreign correspondent for the Washington Star, most notably in Vietnam from 1964 to 1967. He later turned to writing books, focusing on the changing lives of rural people around the world.

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

closeup of peasant life in an ancient land

Richard Critchfield denied he was an anthropologist, claiming to be only a journalist, but his methods and his works prove otherwise. Perhaps he did not tie his writing to any theoretical framework or to the body of existing anthropological studies, but this book, at least, lies right in the heart of what I think anthropology is supposed to be about, revealing the nature, the tone, the nuances of another society, giving us understanding of why other people act in other ways. SHAHHAT is a penetrating study of the rhythms and contents of Egyptian village life in the 1970s. The profound picture painted of the young peasant farmer, Shahhat, his mother, his uncle, and several other friends and relatives, can be compared to Oscar Lewis' studies in Mexico and Puerto Rico, the wonderful study of Iranian women done by Erika Friedl, Ruth Behar's "Translated Woman", and perhaps a few others. Everything is covered; work, family life, relations between the sexes, health and healing, religion, festivals, food, entertainment, economic relations, and the effects of development at the grassroots level. Critchfield writes in a style half literary, half journalistic, with knowledge gleaned from living with the people concerned over a long period of time. Whether his methods were "kosher" in terms of anthropological technique is hardly the question. The book resounds with the truth, with the unexpected details that can only come from real life observation. Village life is anything but idyllic-in Egypt, as in Mexico, India, on South Sea islands, and everywhere else, village life often consists of endless struggle and quarrels within and beyond the family. Village life is unending hard work for small reward. The description is presented more by the author than by the Egyptians, but he often has them speak, including conversations that resemble fiction more than university-inspired texts.

While the black and white photographs of the principal characters are fine, the book might have been improved with at least one map.

Beyond everything I have already said in praise of this excellent book, I would like to add one more comment. In this day and age, it is common in certain quarters to tar Islam and Muslims, particularly Arabs, with one brush, a brush that paints them all as one, all fanatics, all thinking with one mind. With some personal knowledge, I have long known that this is extremely far from the truth. The world of Islam is as varied, if not even more varied, than the Western world. There are so many realities, even within the Arab societies. SHAHHAT brings to life just one of those realities, a world far, far removed from the austere pieties and rigidity of Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, but also equally far from urban Cairo, Istanbul or Jakarta. It brings men and women to life, real men and women, not caricatures of some politician's or oil man's creation. I liked this book deeply because it is a solid brick in the foundation of understanding that we, the human race, need so badly in these days.

[Natalie Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting - I read it for an Intro to Middle Eastern Studies class. Basically a story about teenage angst in rural upper Egypt, around the time the Aswan dam was first built. I didn't realize until the end that the author was present for a lot of the scenes in the book; he left himself out of the entire narrative.