From one generation to the next, the El Baramka family (Barmakids) have been composing music and writing songs of their heritage ever since the Abbasid caliphate.

In their traditional peasant clothing, seven members of the El Baramka family came to perform at Tanboura Hall at the Mastaba Centre for Egyptian Folk Music on Thursday 5 May.

Prior to the show, the family gathered together to share their meal of koshari (traditional Egyptian dish) and tell Ahram Online their story.

With Iranian features inherited from his ancestors Sayed Montasser explains, “We are the Montasser family, a clan of the El Baramka family that dates back to the times of Jaafar El Barmaky and Harun Al Rashid.”   

“Jaafar El Barmaky (767-803 AD) originally came from Iran and helped Harun Al Rashid, the Abbasid caliph, to move the caliphate’s capital from Damascus the first city of the Umayyad caliphate, to Baghdad, and secure his reign,” explains Zakaria Ibrahim, Egyptian folklore researcher and founder of the El Mastaba Centre for Egyptian Folk Music.

During the Abbasid caliphate, the Baramka family settled in Iraq until the fall of the Barmakids in 806 AD. Caliph Harun Al Rashid assassinated Jaafar El Barmaky his vizier, and forced the family to disperse into Egypt, Syria, Palestine and many other parts of Asia under Abbasid rule.  

The Baramka of Egypt began fishing to earn their living and resided in Matariya in the Daqahlia district, next to the Manzala lake in the Nile Delta.  

Research by the El Mastaba Centre maintains that Baramka means generosity, but as the struggle between Al Rashid and Barmaky grew stronger, the name became associated with ruthlessness.

Yet the Baramka of Egypt became famous for their clear voices and harmonious sounds, and were once again described by the inhabitants of Matariya as the most generous people of all. The Baramka band, according to Ibrahim, dates from over a thousand years ago.

“We are the only ones able to recite our songs; no one can sing what we sing. No one can make the music we make,” asserts Montasser, emphasising the difficulty of memorising El Baramka songs which are only sung once.

Each member of the family recites over a hundred songs and repetition is forbidden. “For every event or occasion, there is a new creation,” he explains.

The Baramka family depends on the tabla (Egyptian drum), and sofara (Egyptian clarinet) when composing. However, the Egyptian ancient musical instrument that is often used in most folkloric bands, semsemia (ancient Egyptian harp) is totally ignored.  “The semsemia doesn’t work for us as it doesn’t give the right sound,” Montasser says.

The Baramka band consists of over 20 family members, yet the Tanboura Hall only featured seven of them due to the size of the venue. “Our songs and style are exclusive to the family. No outsider is allowed to join the band,” Montasser declares.

Their songs can’t be even chanted among the locals in Matariya. “Even among our generation, no one can sing our songs. Our own children don’t want to carry on our legacy except for our daughters,” he explains.  “While they are cooking and farming, we can hear them humming our songs very quietly,” says another member of the group. 

Among the family, it is the female members that are most aware of the Baramka heritage, yet they are not allowed to join the performing band. Their role is in the home but they are able to document the lyrics of the songs.

“I call for my daughter to write my lyrics for me as she is more interested in our heritage, though she is an adult and has a family of her own,” Montasser says, who despite his illiteracy works at the ministry of culture in Matariya. 

He criticises the new trends that occupy young people’s minds today. “Our parents used to force us to sing and we were determined to carry on their legacy,” he reminisces.  

The Baramka songs speak of the sea and in their song “Ra’ees El Bahr” (Head of the Sea), they call for the bounty of the sea and ask God to grant them good fortune.

El Baramka also feature the daily life at Matariya in their songs. They often speak of women they desire and their lost loves like in their song “Ana Babee’ El Ward We Anadi” (I sell flowers and call for).  

The troupe also sing at the traditional henna night of Egyptian brides. “We visit the bride’s house, have dinner and sing all night long,” Montasser relates.

Ahmed Mahmoud Montasser, 98 years old and the last  member of the happy old days, accompanied the group to Cairo. Despite his age, Am (uncle) Ahmed can sing and dance as well as a young boy.

They have sung for their most revered politicians and rulers like the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Thanks to the coup de tat in 1952 led by Nasser, which ended the long Ottoman rule in Egypt, each farmer was given five acres of land, making the farmers from Matariya rich and happy.

“We sing for Gamal Abdel Nasser and the life in Matariya,” says Abou Ouf, another member of the family and the eldest son of Am Ahmed.  In praise of Nasser they sing Leila Saaida (Oh Happy Night):  Leila saaida ba’ad el thawra, ba'a andi khamas fadadeen...Israel enti le sha’ab wela dowla, akhati ard mish ardek, emsho (Oh happy night after the revolution, I now own five acres of land...Israel, you are neither a population nor a nation, you have occupied a land that is not yours, leave us)

“We also sing in Turkish, a language passed on down from generations to generation,” says Montasser proudly.  Whether their songs speak of sadness or happiness, the sound of their music remains constantly cheerful.

Accompanying their songs, each member of the group takes a turn to dance the traditional routine of agricultural Egypt, while the rest of the group play and sing along to complete the dor (traditional oriental music form).

Because of their rich heritage, El Baramka has been featured on national television over the years. Montasser recalls the time when the late Egyptian TV presenter Samia El Etreiby visited them in Matariya to listen to their songs. “We have achieved fame all over Egypt and been friends with all the governments that have ruled Egypt,” he says, giving them an enhanced reputation back home in Matariya.

Over the years, El Baramka have been invited to sing in major cities all over Egypt but they acquired their fame mainly in Matariya, Cairo, and Port Said. 

Although the true origin of the group remains a mystery and whether they actually belong to the famous Baramka family, Ibrahim believes that this group are Mawali El Baramka (singers and followers of Baramka), who were paid to chant for the Baramka family. 

“We can’t tell if we are the original Baramka family because singing was a feature of the Mawali and not the earliest family members, yet we carry the physical features of Iranians,” he says but admits, “We are a big family and we took the name from our parents and grandparents.”

Today, El Baramka get together to sing and compose music at their meeting place in Matariya. Passersby often stand to get a glimpse of their latest production but they are left alone to work on their music. “Even the government  pay us respect and never disturb us,” says Montasser.

Normally, El Baramka perform during festivities and are called on for private events in Matariya and Port Said but their one-off performance on Thursday was mesmerising and well-received by the foreign audience that came to share some of Egypt’s heritage.