Co-modification of Egypt’s History

Image from Tigertail Virtual Museum (tigtail.org)

     The history of Egypt is a rich one, dating back over 5,000 years. There have been countless influences over the years, from foreign invaders to internal restructures. Over time, its culture has changed, adapted, and warped – a swirling combination of times, ideas, perspectives, and structures, all thrown together into the Nile Valley and surrounding desert. These histories are the foundation upon which the present Egypt stands, and they can be seen integrated into the modern landscape.

     Egypt’s past has been co-modified, brought forward into the present, and adapted to fit the needs of the current day nation. The past is a part of Egyptian identity, but does not fit within contemporary Egypt.  There is pressure to move forward, technologically, politically, socially, and economically in order to be a part of the modern world, yet there is also a desire to maintain the past since it still is a part of Egyptian identity.  Thus, in search of a balance between the past identity and contemporary identity, Egyptians have incorporated past symbols, architecture, art forms and traditions to fit in with contemporary life.  The past remains but in a modified state, one that will show that Egypt is moving forward rather than being stuck in the past.  Additionally, Egyptians have commodified, that is, they have used their past to create products for marketing purposes.  Tourism is an essential part of Egyptian economy.  People have come to Egypt to see the pyramids and other sites since before the days of Herodotus.  As such, Egypt has taken symbols and traditions with which they are associated by tourists and others to create commodities people can take home with them; items like the pharaonic cartouche have been made into jewelry while other acts or traditions such as Bedouin performance or the Pharaonic Village have been modified to cater towards Egypt's tourist industry.   In this way, the past has been retained but modified to cater towards tourism. 

     Egypt's history has given a foundation, and continues to play a variety of roles: whether it has been used to preserve the past, create products, generate interest, or build awareness, the fact remains that the past is very much alive in present Egypt, and that it is being co-modified to fit specific needs.

     During our studies, we noticed four main areas where this co-modification can be seen: art forms, symbols, architecture, and acts/traditions.

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