Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi

عبد الرحمن الأبنودي (Known as "Al-Khal")

Vernacular Folk Poet, Oral Historian, Collector of Sirat Bani Hilal

Born Apr 11, 1938

Abnud (Qena), Egypt

Passed Away Apr 21, 2015 Ismailia, Egypt

Lifespan 77 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I am the son of the mud and the sun of Upper Egypt; my words were born where the reed pipes weep."

Archival Overview

Affectionately celebrated as 'Al-Khal' (The Maternal Uncle), he was Egypt's premier vernacular poet who spent thirty years traveling across the Arab world to record the million-verse oral epic Sirat Bani Hilal.

Biographical Record

Born in the Upper Egyptian village of Abnud, El-Abnudi elevated Egyptian vernacular dialect (Ammiya) into sublime high poetry, writing patriotic ballads sung by Abdel Halim Hafez, Shadia, and Mohamed Mounir during the War of Attrition.

His colossal life's achievement was collecting, transcribing, and broadcasting the entire Sirat Bani Hilal—the great Bedouin folk epic of North Africa—rescuing a world heritage oral treasure from extinction.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Ismailia Martyrs Cemetery
Ismailia, Egypt

                         GPS: 30.6000, 32.2667                    

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