Traditions,rituals and orality have long established and characterized the cultural identity of any nation,among which is Egypt,a country which has always prided itself on its African affiliation.This presentation is concerned with social traditions in the light of what Anthony Giddens proposes"In traditional societies,the past is honoured and symbols are valued because they contain and perpetuate the experience of generations.Traditions are a means of handling time and space,which inserts any particular activity or experience within the continuity of the past,present and future,these in turn being structured by recurrent social practices."(Giddens,1990,pp.37-38).However,I contend that in the highly traditional ,conservative societies of southern Egypt,traditions work in two different ways:some need to be preserved and consolidated,while others need to be eroded.I will be concerned with the portrayal of such traditions in two plays written by two dramatists belonging to the south of Egypyt,this part which comes closest to Egypt's African roots.Haggag Oddoul,a prominent Nubian Egyptian writer ,depicts in his ritualistic play Hymns to the Nile,ancestral Nubian traditions that have been preserved ever since Time immemorial.These traditions deal with marriage,birth,,death...etc.One such interesting pre-Christian tradition which has been observed until the present times is the washing of the newborn by dipping it in the sacred water of the Nile, a sort of baptissmal rite which has been observed even by non-Christian Nubians for thousands of years.Conversely, Shazly Farah, belonging to another part of Southern Egypt,portrays in his play The Southerner the defective tradtions that need to be drastically revisited and eroded.These traditions are mainly concerned with the subjugation of women and denial of their free will.The necessity of eroding such defective social traditions will hopefully lead to a change in the whole social structure