A Sa'idi (Arabic: صعيدي‎) is a person from Upper Egypt (Arabic: صعيد‎ Sa'id).^[1]

[edit] Etymology

The word literally means "from Sa'id" (i.e. Upper Egypt), and can also refer to a form of music originating there,^[2] or to the dialect spoken by Sa'idis. The word Sa'id in Arabic means "level", "plain", "surface", and can also have the added sense of "ascending". The suffix "-i" denotes the adjective.

[edit] Sa'idis and Upper Egypt

Although Upper Egypt has 60 percent of Egypt's land area, it contains only 17 percent of its population.^[3] Until the Aswan High Dam was built, Sa'idis were less apt to suffer from waterborne diseases such as bilharzia than Delta peasants.^{[citation needed]} Gamal Abdel Nasser was of Sa'idi extraction (he was from the town of Beni Mur).

[edit] Stereotypes and jokes

Sa'idis and their dialect are the subject of numerous Egyptian ethnic jokes. They are popularly assumed to be rural simpletons, physically stronger but less clever than other Egyptians. An example of such stereotyping is the box office hit Ṣa‘īdi fil-Gama‘a al-Amrikiya ("A Sa'idi in the American University", i.e. the American University in Cairo) (1998) starring Mohamed Henedi.^[4]

[edit] Religion in Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt is less developed than the rest of Egypt, a fact that may have contributed to that Islamic fundamentalism found a shelter there^{[citation needed]}. The region also has a large Coptic population and a rich Coptic history. For instance, Sahidic was the leading Coptic dialect in the pre-Islamic period. In the last few decades, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism combined with the high concentration of Copts has led to more communal violence in small Upper-Egyptian towns than in any other part of the country, which in turn contributed to the intensification of Islamist militancy. On the other hand, the high proportion of Copts in Upper Egypt has enabled some Christians to hold prominent political posts there. For instance, Qena Governorate is currently headed by a Coptic governor.

[edit] See also

• Upper Egypt
• Sa'idi Arabic (the dialect spoken by Sa'idis)

[edit] References

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