The Wafa Masterpiece Lexicon of Egyptian Colloquialism: An Encyclopedia of Life in Egypt during the 19th Century
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The BA has published an encyclopedia titled: Althfh alwfa'eyh fy al'eamyh almsryh (The Wafa Masterpiece Lexicon of Egyptian Colloquialism), authored by Wafa Effendi Mohamed Alqwny (1849–1899) and revised and critically edited by Hesham Abd El Aziz, as part of its continuous efforts to document Egyptian heritage.
The Wafa Masterpiece Lexicon of Egyptian Colloquialism is a cultural encyclopedia of the Egyptian society in the late 19th century. It was written around 120 years ago, and it recorded people’s commonly used words at that time and their colloquial expressions, their manner of speaking among each other, and examples of their customs and common idioms, focusing on people living in Cairo and Lower Egypt. Despite its significance and richness, and despite the academic and intellectual status of its author, this encyclopedia has never been published before.
The BA aspires that publishing this masterpiece would be a significant addition to its efforts and achievements in its heritage documentation projects. It also hopes for the reader to be able to clearly envision the life of Egyptians during the aforementioned time period after exploring the rich content of this publication.
A collection of illustrations, featuring a a collection of pottery artifacts and agriculture tools drawn by Alqwny himself, are included in the first manuscript of The Wafa Masterpiece Lexicon of Egyptian Colloquialism. Hesham Abd El Aziz scanned the original illustrations without altering their dimensions or original state, numbered them, added their reference number s within text, and placed the scanned copies at the end of the encyclopedia.
Wafa Effendi Alqwny was an Egyptian statesman during the reign of Khedive Tawfiq— after the Orabi Revolution (‘Urabi Revolt). He served as the director of the Egyptian National Library and Archives and the editor of the Al kawkab al masry Magazine, which was issued before the Orabi Revolution.