Haggag Oddoul’s "Tasābīḥ Nīlīya" (Hymns to the Nile): A Celebration

Nubian writer Haggag Oddoul has been a highly controversial literary figure and political activist, often connected with allegations of separatism of the ancient land of Nubia from Egypt. Oddoul’s play Tasābīḥ Nīlīya (Hymns to the Nile, 2004) is unique and interesting as he opts for a literary genre which other Nubian writers do not normally make use of, and which directly addresses the audience and hence has an instant and far-reaching impact. This chapter explores and seeks to refute allegations of separatism as Oddoul himself makes clear in his depiction of his themes and characters. Oddoul dedicates his play to the Egyptian goddess Isis, “the warm embrace of safety and security to all variations.” By “variations”, Oddoul implies all races and religions which have existed in Egypt since time immemorial. If any literary text has “a strategic agenda,” i.e., an overriding message that the writer seeks to convey, I will argue that the play asserts and highly celebrates homogeneity and plurality in Egypt, and not separatism. Oddoul deploys [ostdramatic technique to express his unique vision of a micro, nonessentialist identity as one rich mosaic in the macro Egyptian identity.