Research paper on marriage contracts during Pharaonic era
Egypt, Science, 1/17/2002

History represents the memory and conscience of a nation which have to be preserved.

Since the dawn of history' man- the ancient Egyptian in particular- has been preoccupied with the idea of recording details of his life.

The ancient Egyptian resorted to papyri and murals as the two main elements for historic registration.

In an attempt to shed light on the role of papyri and manuscripts in preserving Egyptian, Arabic and Islamic history in Africa, the History Department of the African Research and Studies Institute held a symposium on Papyri and Arabic Manuscripts in AFrica.

Several of the research papers presented tackled different aspects as determining centres of Arabic manuscripts, revealing the content of some papyri scrolls that tell much about life in ancient Egypt and Egypt's relation to its neighbours.

In her social study on the Egyptian woman in the light of available papyri, Dr Neamat Morsi revealed that some of the ancients' marriage contracts referred to the physical soundness of would-be wives and stated the significance of checking men before marriage.

Witnesses had to admit that the bride is physically fit for marriage and that she is devoid of any deformity.

The research also dealt with traditions of marriage during the betrothal and preparations of couples for making their home in addition to dowry and other financial matters.

Some other research papers highlighted manuscripts of west African scientists which dealt with Arab-African relations. Some other papers focussed on manuscripts as important literary sources.

The symposium, however, drew the attention that manuscripts were an important African trade item in the past centuries since kings and sultans were keen to acquire them before the start of the colonialism era in their capacity as an important source of African history.

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