Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula
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Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar

Lisa Urkevich

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eBook - ePub

Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar

Lisa Urkevich

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About This Book

Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula provides a pioneering overview of folk and traditional urban music, along with dance and rituals, of Saudi Arabia and the Upper Gulf States of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The nineteen chapters introduce variegated regions and subcultures and their rich and dynamic musical arts, many of which heretofore have been unknown beyond local communities. The book contains insightful descriptions of genres, instruments, poetry, and performance practices of the desert heartland (Najd), the Arabian/Persian Gulf shores, the great western cities including Makkah and Medinah, the southwestern mountains, and the hot Red Sea coast. Musical customs of distinctive groups such as Bedouin, seafarers, and regional women are explored. The book is packaged with downloadable resources and almost 200 images including a full color photo essay, numerous music transcriptions, a glossary with over 400 specialized terms, and original Arabic script alongside key words to assist with further research. This book provides a much-needed introduction and organizational structure for the diverse and complex musical arts of the region.

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Information

Publisher
Routledge
Year
2014
ISBN
9781135628239
Subtopic
Music
Edition
1

1 INTRODUCTION

DOI: 10.4324/9780203553350-1

National Groupings

The Arabian Peninsula comprises the present-day nations of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian/Persian Gulf States of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and the Yemen. Culturally, the peoples are grouped by region. Saudi Arabia, which covers 80 percent of the land, is physically divided by the impressive Sarawāt mountain chain, with a northern branch known as the Hijaz. Communities of the mountains, which run from Jordan through the Yemen, and those to the west along the Red Sea coast share traditional music characteristics, and those of central Arabia (known as the Najd, literally “highland”) have ties with the Upper Gulf States of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The music and cultures of the southern nations of the UAE, Oman, and the Yemen, are somewhat different. The largest sand desert in the world, the Empty Quarter (Rub’ al-Khālī), physically separates these countries from the Najd and from Najdi nomads of the past. Moreover, their histories, demographics, and twenty-first century royal governance are not in league with those of the other states. In this study there is some mention of Yemeni music, since it is among the most influential in the Peninsula, but the main focus is on music of the northern areas—Part I focuses on the Najd and Upper Gulf region, and Part II on the Hijaz and Southwest (Fig. 1.1).1
Figure 1.1 Map of the Arabian Peninsula
FIGURE 1.1 Map of the Arabian Peninsula
Notably for the past few hundred years central Arabia and the Upper Gulf have been culturally close. The vast arid plateau of the Najd, that stretches from the Nafụd desert in the north (around Jabal Shammar, Ḥa’il) to beyond Wādi al-Dawāsir in the south, and from the Hijaz Mountains in the west to the Dahnā’ desert in the east (Fig. 5.2) is the home of the Saudi royal family (Al-Sa’ūd), and their “cousins,” the ruling families of Kuwait (Al-ṢabāḤ) and Bahrain (Al-Khalīfa) stem from the same Najdi confederation of tribes, the ‘Anizza (عنزة). Bahrain and Kuwait are further united since their royal families are members of the confederation’s ‘Utba branch (بني عتبة). Although they are not ‘Anizza (but Bani Taṃm) the Qatari Al-Thāni royal family likewise has Najdi ancestry—Saudi Arabia is the only country that borders the small Peninsula state and Qatar was a historic rangeland of Najdi and Al-Ḥasā Bedouin. Thus, the royal families of the more northern Gulf nations are perceived as cultural kin and a great deal of their peoples stem from shared tribes (Oskay 2010). These nations are also united by common seafaring traditions.2

People

Of residents with Saudi or Gulf State nationality, most are Arab and have ancestors who have lived in the region for centuries if not longer. Some citizens are of Persian or African lineage especially in the Gulf. In the Hijaz, the home of the holy cities of Makkah and Medinah, the line of descent is more diverse since over the years pilgrims from many nations came to the region and stayed. Hijazis might descend from Egyptian, Yemeni, African, Syrian, Turkish, and Central Asian peoples, among others.3
Although there has been much assimilation over time, among the local population there is a common saying “People live in boxes,” indicating that there are a myriad of independent communities and subcultures and one often knows little about another. Social groups are demarcated along lines of tribal lineage, ethic background, wealth, social status, religious observance, and location. So, for instance, it is not uncommon for a Najdi of one tribe to know little about the customs of another; or for an Arab Qatari family to be unfamiliar with practices of an African immigrant community; or for those of a Hijazi city to have minimal knowledge of the customs of villagers. People tend to “move in their own circles.”
Further complicating the culture is the fact that the Peninsula has an extremely long history and a number of residents still adhere to centuries-old traditions, while others have embraced the rapid growth of recent decades and innovations in technological and westernization. Thus, a trendy college student might be active in electronic social networking, wear the latest European fashions, and reside with a “traditional” grandparent who lived as a nomadic Bedouin in a tent. However, regardless of the diverse perspectives, certain broad social groupings are evident and within these are shared music traditions.

Badū and Ḥaḍar

A large proportion of nationals can trace their lineage back to nomadic tribes and still today identify as badū, Bedouin (singular badawị). Although they are no longer wandering nomads, Bedouin are united by a shared ethnic identity, ideology, moral values, and heritage. One can be a physician, a lawyer, a professor and still view him/herself as a being part of a specific tribe with its own customs and musical activities. Like the Najd, the southwest and Hijaz is also inhabited with countless “Bedouin” descendants, but because of the different environments, those of the western cultures are somewhat different. Others have historically identified as ḥaḍar, settled peoples. Ḥaḍar (الحضر, singular ḥaḍari), an antonym juxtaposed with badū in Arabic literature, have existed since time immemorial alongside badū, residing around oases and wells, surviving as farmers, craftspeople, and merchants. They developed their own traditions and music.
The demarcation lines are not always clear because the vast majority of settled people in the Najd and a great deal in coastal areas can claim nomadic origin. Although it took place gradually, the shift from pastoralism to agricultural or urban life was a continuing process. Bedouin moved to fixed centers, mingled with a wider variety of peoples, developed sedentary habits. Some eventually identified as ḥaḍar while others remained as badū. Those who settled in oases villages but maintained Bedouin customs are often referred to as grūwiyīn (“villagers,” القرويين, singular, gurawi, قُرَوي) although they will still also identify as badū.
Along with badū and ḥaḍar another grouping system used today especially among Najdi Saudi nationals is of qabīli and khaḍīri (respectively “tribal,” قبيلي and “green,” خضيري). One is either qabīli, stemming from the original aristocratic tribes, or they are not and are khaḍīri (in Kuwait, the term used is baysri, بيسري, an outsider, “one from Basra,” Iraq).4 Khaḍīri included those who lived in the desert but were not considered “Bedouin” proper, such as ṣulayb/ṣulubba—smiths, menders, and musicians who resided among, and worked for the aṣīl (pure) qabīli peoples (Dickson 1951, 515–519). Tribes also had black slaves, the muwāl or ‘abd. The music one performed depended on the community with which one associated, splitting along the badū-ḥaḍar lines. Some khaḍīri followed Bedouin traditions, and some followed ḥaḍar, while Bedouin in villages (gurawi) performed badū arts.
Though an oversimplification, in collective group performances ḥaḍar music of the Gulf and Najd historically used frame drums, and badū music, with a few exceptions, did not call for any instruments, just hand claps. Also, still today badū artistic endeavors feature a great deal of solo sung poetry, more so than one finds among haḍar. Note that urban arts in large cities, which might be an extension of ḥaḍar arts, often include various melodic instruments.

Popular Commercial Music (Khalīji/Sa’ūdi)

Regional commercial music as heard on the radio falls under the rubric khalīji (khaleegi; الخليجي), literally “Gulf”; or sa’ūdi, referring to Saudi Arabia. Although one can find artists who perform such music from Iraq, Oman, and the Yemen, these countries are usually not considered part of the khalīji/sa’ūdi music scene. Early commercial songs, which began to emerge in the 1970s largely in the recording studios of Kuwait, were inspired by Egyptian or pan-Arab music along with ‘adani (Yemeni) arts as found in the Gulf and Hijaz (see Appendix). However, khalīji/sa’ūdi is mostly rooted in local traditions: it is sung in regional dialects, includes traditional instruments, incorporates the famed polyrhythms of the Peninsula, and clearly draws upon folk genres, including Najdi-Gulf badū and ḥaḍar arts along with Hijazi and southwestern styles.
Often at events traditional and commercial arts are performed alongside one another, in which case the older songs might be referred to as fann al-asīl, “pure art.” That “modern” and folk fit well together is understandable because so many contemporary works are part of a continuum of heritage genres. Perhaps the closest analogy is that of today’s American Country Music, which like khalīji/sa’ūdi is marketable and patronized by youth, but manifests long-standing styles and performance practices. Thus, Saudi/Gulf elders view many commercial songs as being directly tied to their traditions and this is further intensified when musical characteristics are specific to their locale. For instance, Kuwaiti khalīji might include fast interlocking clapping (sharbuka, شربكة) as heard in Kuwaiti sea songs; Saudi artists might incorporate more frame drums (ṭīrān) as found in the Najd. Emirati produced khalīji songs, which are perhaps the most prevalent in the early twenty-first century, often include a bandari rhythm similar to that of southern Iran across the sea. Ṭanbūra, naggāzi, besta, sāmri, “khalīji rumba,” majrūr, rāyyeḥ, and Gulf/Hijazi ‘adani are all traditional genres or categories that have been musically reinterpreted or literally re-introduced in the popular music milieu. Modern songs that use the traditional khobayti/dōsari rhythms are among the most prevalent in the early twentieth century (for instance, see Balqees 2014). Granted, increasingly khalīji/sa’ūdi songs entail innovative rhythms, new instrumentations, and a pan-Gulf dialect known as “white language,” but it is of note that to date, traditional musical characteristics still survive in commercial music.

Traditional Music Performers

Historically musical arts can be divided into those of the land (of badū and ḥaḍar); those of the sea (pearlers, fishermen); “Incoming arts,” associated with immigrant subcultures; and urban “classical” arts, which usually include maqāmāt, melodic modes. Most of these are folk arts and were performed by non-professional community members. There are a few exceptions. For instance, historically Gulf vessels were manned with a few professional percusionists-singers to encourage the singing crew. And certainly in urban coastal regions like the Hijaz, profesionals have been active since at least the early Islamic era (Al-Isfahani 2004). But for the most part, the bulk of genres are participatory and community members themselves have performed them, although if a tribe or settlement had slaves they might take the lead, especially in drumming.

Twentieth-Century Folk Troupes

In the mid-twentieth century, community performance of collective dancing and singing began to decline because of swift “modernization,” a decrease in semi-private space, and certain prescribed socio-religious beliefs that frowned upon music (see below, Stigma of Performing Music). Therefore, by the 1980s the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), concerned with heritage preservation, encouraged the formalization of song-dance troupes throughout the country. These would take part in the first National Janadriya Festival for Heritage and Culture that opened outside of Riyadh in 1985. The ensembles, which survive today, are comprised of participants from the villages, towns, and tribes that they represent. At fairs or on televised performances for the most part they perform in the same way that they would at home, although at home they might sing and dance for no recompense alongside family and friends. Therefore, although troupes register with the KSA government, they are not merely “state-sanctioned” tools. Most performers are representatives of their own living heritage.
However, little by little complete professional folk troupes have emerged. In cities like Jeddah and Riyadh, several troupes today have members that come from a mix of ethnic backgrounds, including many African descendants, and they are not necessarily part of the community from which the folk art originated. While troupes comprised of mostly tribesmen or villagers are circumspect when choosing performances, purely professional troupes will perform more freely for a myriad of events, as they are hired hands trying to “make a living.”
Box 1.1 Musical Gatherings: Sāmer, Sāmri, Samra, Ḥafla, Jalsa, Fijiri, UNS
Late night celebrations with music are held among the young and old alike on the weekends in the desert, at the beach, or at a friend’s house. Or there may be a more structured party the night before a wedding or graduation ceremony in a rented hall or, in the Gulf, in a meeting chamber known as a dār or dīwāniya (الدار، الديوانية).5
In Saudi Arabia these night gatherings are called sāmer (السامر) or sāmri (السامري) from the verb sāmara (سامَرَ), which means to stay up at night talking, singing, and making merry (Kurpershoek 1994, 280; Sowayan 1985, 140). The term sāmri is slightly confusing since it actually has three meanings. “Sāmri” might indicate a general late night music gathering; or refer to a special event that includes dancers possessed by spirits (these events are also known by the African name “zār,” i.e., the “visit,” الزار). Thirdly, sāmri d...

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