Voices ResourcesA website for the worldwide community around the journal Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy

Al-Minia in Small Words

Al-Minia is a small province in the upper Egypt. It lies on the Nile River. The province and university, take the "Nefertiti" picture as their symbol. In Al-Minia there are many archeological places. These places belong to many civilized periods in Al-Minia's past, stating from the "Pharaonic" period. The region contains many places like, "Beni Hassan al-Shurrq","Tell El-Amarna", the new city built by "Akhenaton" and dedicated to the god "Aton". "Al-Ashmunayn" and "Tunah Al-Gabal" belong to the Graeco-Roman period. "Al-Ashmunayn" was the capital city at that time and was called "Hermopolis". It contains the ruins of the Greek city where you can see several colunms of the basilica similar to the Acropolis in Greece. The most famous places that belong to the Coptic period are Deir al-Adra (Monastery of the Virgin) and the old Church which was built by the Empress Helena in 328 on the site where the Virgin, Christ, and Joseph, the carpenter, stayed during their flight to Egypt. The most famous place of the Islamic period is "Al-bahnasa". This place contains numerous monuments dating back to the Islamic Conquest of Egypt. The story of the conquests indicates the strong alliance between the Copts of Egypt and the Arabs in the struggle against Roman oppression.

Music Therapy in Ancient Egypt

Music therapy has been known since ancient times, when ancient man used singing and dancing as a part of his rituals to throw out the evil spirits, which were waiting to attack him with several diseases. The priests of the "Abidos" Temple (the biggest center of medicine in Ancient Egypt) treated diseases with chant. In ancient papyrus texts, it was found that there was a saint called Abu Terbo that had treated epilepsy by pipes chant.

Egyptian music healers enjoyed a privileged existence, due to their close relationship with priests and other important government leaders. Egyptian priests and physicians referred to music as medicine for the soul and included chant therapies as part of the medical practice (Davis et al., 1992).

"Gomara" ( a member of the Francis expedition on Egypt, 1798) pointed to the places of treatment in Cairo since fifth or sixth centuries. A number of hospitals (e.g. the hospital of Qallawon) were found that specialized in the treatment of melancholy. Patients in this hospital were separated in single rooms from the other patients in order to listen to music. It was found that they enjoyed listening to music. Also funny and dancing plays had been performed for patients to entertain them (Kenana Online, n.d.).

Music Therapy in Egypt at Present

It is important to note that there is not an academic institute in Egypt that gives a scientific degree in music therapy as for examplein the university of Michigan . Also in Egypt, there are not independent centers or hospitals specializing in treatment with music therapy. However most medical foundations use music as an entertaining activity in parallel to the traditional techniques of treatment. Although a room for treatment with music therapy and other rooms for art therapy are found in the National Institute, in order to treat and rehabilitate addiction, which was opened in November 2001. Now the Egyptian ministry of health are seeking to send a large number of physicians abroad to attain the new skills of treatment, especially in music therapy.

Literature of Music Therapy in Egypt

Studies in music therapy in Egypt were started by a study (Farag, 1978) of a sample of juvenile delinquents as an experimental group. A music treatment program was offered to them resulting in significant differences in the personal, social and general adjustment when experiencing the effect of music in reducing pain of (N = 20 ) male patients, (Mean 20 : 50 years) The results showed that listening to sedative music (e.g. the "El-Atlal" song of Mrs. "Om Kolthom")reduced blood pressure while stimulating music increased blood pressure (Yossef, 1979). Then (Yossef , 1985) carried out another study aimed at discovering the effect of music on patients with organic disorders. This study showed that the sedative music reduced blood pressure, heart rate and the ratio of Cortisone in blood (5.6 m / 100 cm3) and the stimulating music raised the blood pressure, heart rate and the ratio of Cortisone in blood to ( 9.2 9m / 100 cm3)(Yossef, 1985) .

In the study of El-Gadawy (1990) it was observed that the music reduced violence, destroyer behavior and maladjustment behavior. There were no significant differences before and after the experiment in the abnormal voices habits (El-Gadawy, 1990). In the study of Saad El-den (1993), he notice that listening to music increased the psychological adjustment in a sample of primary students (N = 100, the Mean 9 :11 years). Also he observed that music listening, combined with making activities is better than listening without any activities (Saad El-den, 1993). In another study of aesthetic feelings of music ( El-Sheikh, 1995) it was found that aesthetic feelings which normal subjects feel (N=29) during musical appreciation seemed to be similar to aesthetic feelings which addictive subjects feel (N = 49) during musical appreciation without take any drugs. This means that music can be used for treatment of addiction (El-Sheikh, 1995). In another study of El-Shaikh (1998) he discusses how music sometimes evokes normal and positive aesthetic feelings and causes psychological therapy. Sometimes it also causes deviant behavior (e.g. hallucination , drug abuse and psychopathic behavior (El-Sheikh, 1998).

In other study of Abdel-Hamid (1996) he found that the practice of the rhythmic, musical and expressive activities in a sample of children with mental retardation ( N =15, Mean 5-7 years ) increased psychological and social adjustment (Abdel-Hamid, 1996). Also listening to music, singing, playing music and musical creativity was found to increase the social values in a sample of primary school students (Aref, 1998). Also the experimental group that was treated with educative musical program showed a significant reduction in the depression rate and feeling of loneliness in a sample of preparatory students (N = 120 , 13 years old)(El-Dagwy, 2000).

In my own doctoral research, I examined the effectiveness of reinforcement by using music in forming some of the desired behavior such as enhancing intellectual performance (e.g. arithmetic education and perceptual speed), reducing tension , high blood pressure , and rebalancing the hart rate, of 120 University students( mean 18.7). The results showed musical enhancement of intellectual performance (accuracy and speed). Also music reduced high blood pressure, hart rate and biological tension (Abdel-Salhen, 2002).

In another article, I noted that music therapy raised the quality of life for elderly (Abdel-Salhen, 2003). And in yet another study I proposed that the level of the person in creation and expression is an indicator to psychological and physical well-being. Also creative and expressive therapies (e.g. music, dancing, mediation, poetry, drama, art and biblio) give a greater opportunity to attain psychological adjustment and free expression regarding creative behavior (Abdel- Salhen, 2004).

Reference

Abdel-Hamid, M. (1996). The Relationship Between Practice some Activities and Develop The Social and Psychological for Children with Mental Retardation. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Institute of Highly Studies of Children, Ein- Shams University.

Abdel-Salhen, E.(2002). The Role of Aesthetic Reinforcement by Appreciation Versus Reinforcement by Problem Solving Skills Training in Shaping Pattern of the Desired Behavior. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Faculty of Arts, Al-Minia University.

Abdel-Salhen, E.(2003). Music Therapy as one of the care patterns for Elderly. Presentation at The Forth National Conference for Care Elderly, Helwan University , Oct. 12-16.

Abdel-Salhen, E.(2004). The Creative and Expressive Therapy: the new views in the care of handicappedUnpublished master thesis. Presentation at The First Arab for Handicapped, Assuot University, January .13-14.

Aref, M. (1998). The Effects of Musical Activities on develop of the Social Values for Children in Primary School. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Faculty of Musical Education, Helwan University.

Davis,et al (1992). An introduction to Music Therapy :Theory and Practice. Wm. C. Brown Publisher.

El-Dagwy, A.(2000). The Effective of the Musical Program to reduce Depression and felling of lonely. Unpublished master thesis. Faculty of Education, Helwan University.

El-Gadawy, Y.(1990). The Effects of Music on Aggressive Behavior for Children with Mental Retardation. Unpublished master thesis. Faculty of Medicine, El-Azhar University.

El-Sheikh, A. (1995). The Comparative Between The Aesthetics Feelings during Aesthetics Appreciation and Addictive for Normal and Addictive people. J. of Psychology ,Cairo, 30, 6-11.

El-Sheikh, A. ( 1998). Musical—Appreciation and its effects on deviant and normal Behaviors. J. of Low and Security, Dobi, 12, 322-343.

Frag, A.(1978). Musical Education and it's effect on Juvenile Delinquent. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Faculty of Musical Education , Helwan University.

Kenana Online (n.d.) Retrievd November, 25, 2005, from http://www.kenanaonline.com

Yossef, N. ( 1979). The Effects of Music on reduce of patients pain. Unpublished master thesis. Faculty of Musical Education, Helwan University.

Yossef, N .( 1985). The Effects of Music for treatment of organic diseases.Unpublished doctoral thesis. Faculty of Musical Education, Helwan University.

Saad El-den, A. (1993). The Effects on Psychological and Social Adjustment of The Primary Students. Unpublished master thesis. Faculty of Education, El-Zakazikh University.

How to cite this page

Abdel-Salhen, El-Saeed (2005). Music Therapy in Egypt. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 08, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2005-music-therapy-egypt