Article 310: Handala and the Cartoons of Naji al-Ali, By: Dr. Fayeq Oweis ? Part VI
Posted By Hasan A. Yahya, Ph.Ds- Dryahyatv from USA.
Symbols in the cartoons of Naji al-Ali: Visual vocabulary: In addition to the symbolic use of his own characters (Handala, al-Zalama, Fatima, and the Evil Man), Naji al-Ali employed a number of other symbols in his cartoons. These, along with the characters, can be called al-Ali’s “visual vocabulary” that became very familiar to his readers. The majority of his cartoons were simple and clear and he stayed away from complicated concepts. The symbols he used can be divided into three major categories: symbols of good values, symbols of the Palestinian struggle, and symbols of oppression and occupation.
Symbols of Good Values: Since the majority of al-Ali’s cartoons dealt with the clashes between good and evil, he used a number of symbols to represent the values of hope, love, peace, prosperity, dignity, democracy, human rights, opportunity for all, education, freedom of expression, and attachment to the land. Flowers, and especially daisies, appear frequently in the cartoons as signs of hope, love, and prosperity. They grow in the middle of destroyed refugee camps; they grow from the graves of the martyrs of Sabra and Shatila; they grow from inside abandoned oil barrels and they are presented as gifts by Handala to the wounded Beirut during the Israeli invasion. The love for the land, for Palestine and for Lebanon, is represented by hearts, trees, roots, and Lebanese cedars. The head of wheat symbolizes prosperity and the agricultural land of Palestine. Hearts drawn by the blood of Palestinian freedom fighters show their love for Lebanon and Palestine. The pen becomes a sword that can cut through the microphones stands of the official Arab radio stations. The pen changes to become a candle that represents hope for the future, a future of freedom, democracy and human rights.
Symbols of Palestinian Struggle: Many symbols represent the Palestinian resistance and struggle, the right of return to Palestine, and national and cultural identity of Palestinians. Jesus Christ and the cross appear frequently, signifying struggle, passion, and suffering. Jesus appears as a refugee, a wanted person, as a Palestinian and an Arab person. In some cartoons, al-Ali showed Palestinian freedom fighters being crucified. In another, a fighter leaves the ship that took him from Lebanon after the Israeli invasion of 1982, and returns using the cross as a raft and saying “We missed you Beirut.” Al-Ali was fascinated with the cross and one of his self-portraits contained the cross as part of his name and signature. The house key that Fatima wears around her neck and her tears that become key holes represent the right of return to Palestine. The house key is a symbol of attachment to the land of Palestine and to the houses that were left behind. The key also represents life in the refugee camps. Al-Ali used cultural elements such as Palestinian embroidery, folkloric songs and proverbs throughout his cartoons. Palestinian national symbols such as the flag, the kufiya, the map of historic Palestine and the camouflage clothes of the Palestinian freedom fighter, acknowledge the right to resist and the right to fight against aggression and occupation. The kufiya represents a national resistance and cultural identity when it is worn by the freedom fighter wrapped around his head. It is a symbol of love when wrapped around the shoulders of a woman representing Egypt defying its leaders signing the Camp David accords. It is also a sign of love when it worn by the lady Beirut. But when the kufiya is worn by the Evil Man in the form of a neck-tie or a tourist hat, it represents the imposter and his role in trying to take advantage of the resistance. When the kufiya is worn by the contractor Abdul-Kader, it represents the bourgeois segment of Palestinian society. Rocks are symbols resistance to the Israeli occupation thrown by Palestinian children at soldiers carrying their loaded machine guns or driving tanks. Refugee tents are signs of the living situation in the refugee camps. The tents are also used as a canvas to write messages taken from Arabic classical poetry. The passports that appear in the cartoons are meant to show that Palestinians do not have their own, and in some cases to represent the temporary document given to the Palestinian refugees by Arab states. Cactus plants and the word sabr (the name of the cactus plant and also the Arabic word for patience) appear frequently in the cartoons. The word represents the waiting of the Palestinians for a just solution and the plant itself represents the land. A number of Palestinians who were allowed to go and visit their original hometowns destroyed in 1948, identified the location of their homes from the surrounding cactus plants that had grown back after being uprooted.
References and Resources:
Al-Asadi, Abdu and Tadmuri, Kholud. A Study in the Creativity of Naji al-Ali [in Arabic]. Dar il-Kunuuz al-Adabiyya, Beirut, Lebanon: 1994
Al-Ali, Naji. The Cartoons of Naji al-Ali [in Arabic] Forwarded by Mahmoud Darwish. Beirut, Lebanon: 1976.
Ibrahim, Daoud. Encyclopedia of Naji al-Ali Cartoons, Vol. 1: The Man and the Revolutionary [in Arabic]. Palestinian Publishing Institute, Ramallah, Palestine: 2003
Ibrahim, Daoud. Naji al-Ali, the Life and Death of a Palestinian Artist [in Arabic]. Yarmouk Publishing Institute, Ramallah, Palestine: 1988.
Idris Samah (Ed.). Sihr ilKkaraama [The Magic of Dignity – in Arabic], Al-Adab Magazine. Vol. 50 # 9-10. Beirut, Lebanon: 2002
Kallam, Mahmoud Abdallah. Naji al-Ali, The Whole of Palestine: That is why they killed me [in Arabic] Bisan Publishing, Beirut, Lebanon: 2001
Web sites:
http://knol.google.com/k/handala-and-the-cartoons-of-naji-al-ali# http://www.oweis.com/handala.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naji_Salim_al-Ali
Professor, Dr. Hasan A. Yahya is an Arab American writer, scholar, and professor of Sociology lives in the United States of America, originally from Palestine. He graduated from Michigan State University with 2 Ph.d degrees. He published 65 books plus and 320 plus articles on sociology, religion, psychology, politics, poetry, and short stories. Philosophically, his writings concern logic, justice and human rights worldwide. Dr. Yahya is the author of Crescentologism: The Moon Theory, and Islam Finds its Way, on Amazon. He’s an expert on Race Relations, Arab and Islamic cultures, he is also, interested in religion, world affairs and global strategic planning for justice and human rights. www.dryahyatv.com
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