The culture of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

is part of the historical region of

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Unite ...

. Thus, Bahrain's culture is similar to that of its Arab neighbours in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

region. Bahrain is known for its cosmopolitanism, Bahraini citizens are very ethnically diverse. Though the state religion is Islam, the country is tolerant towards other religions:

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

churches,

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

as well as a (now-defunct)

Jewish synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worsh ...

are present on the island.

People and heritage

Bahraini people are ethnically diverse. There are at least 8–9 different ethnic groups of Bahraini citizens. Shia Bahraini citizens are divided into two main ethnic groups:

Bahrani The Baharna ( ar, بحارنة) are the indigenous Shia Muslim inhabitants of Bahrain who inhabited the area before the arrival of Sunni Muslim Arab tribes from Najd, particularly by Banu Utbah in the 18th century which the Bahraini royal famil ...

and Ajam. Most Shia Bahrainis are ethnic

Baharna The Baharna ( ar, بحارنة) are the indigenous Shia Muslim inhabitants of Bahrain who inhabited the area before the arrival of Sunni Muslim Arab tribes from Najd, particularly by Banu Utbah in the 18th century which the Bahraini royal fami ...

, the Baharna being descendants of the original pre-Islamic inhabitants of Bahrain. The Baharna speak a variety of Arabic known as

Bahrani Arabic Bahrani Arabic (also known as Bahrani and Baharna Arabic) is a variety of Arabic spoken by the Baharna in Eastern Arabia and Oman. In Bahrain, the dialect is primarily spoken in Shia villages and some parts of Manama. In Saudi Arabia, the dial ...

. The Ajam are ethnic Persian Shias.They maintain a distinct culture and language, and they have greatly influenced the Bahraini culture. Among Sunni Bahraini citizens, there are also many different ethnic groups. Sunni Bahrainis are mainly divided into two main ethnic groups: urban Arabs (al Arab) and Huwala. The urban Arabs are mostly descendants of Sunni Arabs from central Arabia who were (alongside the baharna) traditionally pearl-divers, merchants, sailors, traders and fishermen in the pre-oil era. The Huwala are descendants of Sunni Iranians; some of them are ethnic Persians, and others are ethnic Sunni Arabs. In addition to these native Bahraini ethnic groups, there are also ethnic Afro-Arabs, and

Balochis The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...

. Bahraini Balochis are descendants of ethnic Baloch from Baluchistan. Most Bahrainis of African origin come from east Africa and have traditionally lived in Muharraq island and Riffa. Indian Bahrainis are mostly descendants of wealthy Indian merchants from the pre-oil era, known as the Bania. A smaller group of Sunni Bahraini citizens are descendants of naturalized

Palestinian refugees Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war (1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War (1967 Palestinian exodu ...

and other Levant Arab immigrants. Just around half of the population are Arabs. Foreign-born inhabitants, comprising more than half of the population, are mostly from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. About three-fifths of the largely Asian labor force is foreign. The population is mostly Muslim and includes both the Sunni and

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

sects. Bahrain also has the largest Christian minority within the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Thousand Christians hold

i citizenship, with the next closest GCC country,

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, only having approximately 400 Christian citizens.

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

is the official language of Bahrain, however, English is widely used as a lingua franca. The

Ajami dialect Achomi ( fa, اچُمی), also known as Larestani and Khodmooni, is a Southwestern Iranian Persian language spoken by people in southern Fars and western Hormozgan and by significant numbers of immigrant groups in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, ...

of Persian is widely spoken by Persian Bahraini citizens ''Ajam''. Many Bahrainis have a working knowledge not only of English but

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' soccer) is the most popular modern sport, while traditional pastimes such as horse riding, and

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

and hare hunting are still practiced by wealthier Bahrainis. Traditional handicraft industries enjoy state and popular support. The

Bahrain National Museum The Bahrain National Museum ( ar, متحف البحرين الوطني) is the largest and oldest public museum in Bahrain. It is situated in Manama, adjacent to the National Theatre of Bahrain. Opened on 15 December 1988 by the Emir of Bahrain ...

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very di ...

contains local artifacts dating from antiquity, such as ivory figurines, pottery, copper articles, and gold rings, many of which reflect various cultural influences from outside Bahrain. There is also a small but flourishing avant-garde art community.

Traditional dresses

The traditional Bahraini woman dress is an ''

abaya The abaya "cloak" ( colloquially and more commonly, ar, عباية ', especially in Literary Arabic: '; plural ', '), sometimes also called an ''aba'', is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in par ...

'', a long loose-fitting black gown, worn along with a black cloth on the head called the '' hijab''. Agal (accessory)

Bahraini men's traditional dress is the ''

thobe Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afr ...

'' (ثوب) and the traditional headdress which includes the '' keffiyeh'', ''

ghutra The keffiyeh or kufiya ( ar, كُوفِيَّة, kūfīyah, relating to Kufa, link=no), also known in Arabic as a ghutrah (), shemagh ( '), (), in Kurdish as a Shemagh ''(''شه‌ماغ'')'' or Serwîn (سه‌روین) and in Persian, as ...

'' and ''

agal An agal ( ar, عِقَال; also spelled iqal, egal, or igal) is an Arab men's clothing accessory. It is a black cord, worn doubled, used to keep a ghutrah in place on the wearer's head. It is traditionally made of goat hair. It is usually worn b ...

''. The ''thobe'' (or 'dishdasha' in Kuwaiti) is a loose, long-sleeved, ankle-length garment. Summer thobes are white and made of cotton and winter thobes are black and made of wool. The ''ghutra'' is a square scarf, made of cotton, and is folded in a triangle and worn over the keffiyeh. In Bahrain, it is usually red and white checked or all white. There is no significance placed on which kind the man wears in Bahrain, although this selection has implications in other Persian Gulf countries. The ''keffiyeh'' is a white knitted skull cap worn under the ''ghutra''. The ''agal'' is a thick, double, black cord that is worn on the top of the ''ghutra'' to hold it in place. In some occasions, Bahrainis wear a '' bisht'', which is a cloak made of wool, over the ''thobe''. Unlike the ''thobe'', the ''bisht'' is soft, and it is usually black, brown, or grey.

Gargee'an

Garqee'an is a biannual celebration observed in Bahrain and rest of

, that takes place on the 15th night of the

Islamic month The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...

Sha'ban Shaʽban ( ar, شَعْبَان, ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called as the month of "separation", as the word means "to disperse" or "to separate" because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water. The fiftee ...

and on the 15th night of Ramadan. It is marked with children dressing in traditional attire and going door-to-door to receive

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...

s and

sweets Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

from neighbours, whilst also singing traditional songs. The tradition has existed for hundreds of years and deeply rooted in Gulf culture. Although the celebration of Garqee'an shares superficial similarities with the Halloween custom of

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

, practiced in some Western countries, it has no connection with horror and no associated origin with Halloween.

Media

Several weekly and daily papers are published in

: ''

Akhbar Al Khaleej ''Akhbar Al Khaleej'' (in Arabic language, Arabic أخبار الخليج meaning ''The Gulf News'') is a Bahraini daily publication. It is the sister paper of the English-language daily, ''Gulf Daily News''. History and profile The first issue ...

'', '' Al Ayam'', '' Al Waqt'' to name a few. ''Al-Wasat'' daily Arabic newspaper is thought to have become the country's most popular newspaper by 2011 with a daily circulation of 15,000 and readership of 45,000 to 60,000. A small number of newspapers appear in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''

Gulf Daily News The ''Gulf Daily News'' (''GDN'') is an English-language local newspaper published in the Kingdom of Bahrain by Al Hilal Group. The paper, which is one of six daily newspapers in Bahrain, calls itself "The Voice of Bahrain". Al Hilal Group publi ...

'', '' Daily Tribune''. Most of the press is privately owned and is not subject to censorship as long as it refrains from criticizing the ruling family. The state television and radio stations broadcast most programs in Arabic: there are channels in English and

(radio) as well. A new digital publishing company that has been gaining attention with tourists, expats, and young Bahraini residents i
LocalBH
with content ranging from tourist attractions, entertainment and up to date events in Bahrain.

Arts, music and dance

Arts include readings of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

, ceremonial dances accompanied by flat drums, and storytelling. The poets of Bahrain are famous for their poetic verses and carry on established traditions while also exploring new themes. Births and marriages call for wide-scale celebrations in Bahrain, which often are a pleasure to take part in. Apart from this, the people of Bahrain are also known for their artistic skills, the boats used for fishing and pearling being an example of this craftsmanship. The traditional jewelry also speaks volumes about the intricate designs that the people of Bahrain can come up with. '' Khaleeji'' is a style of Arab folk music from the Persian Gulf area, played in Bahrain with

polyrhythms Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...

. The style is strongly influenced by the music of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The Bahraini pearl diving tradition is known for the songs called '' fidjeri''. ''Fidjeri'' is a musical repertoire performed traditionally by male pearl divers of Bahrain. It involves singing, clapping, drums and dances with earthen water jars. '' Liwa'' is a type of music and dance performed mainly in communities which contain descendants of East Africans, such as

Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain Int ...

and Hidd. The music of Bahrain follows the traditional mode. It is elaborate and repetitive. It is played on the

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

(an ancestor of the lute) and the rebab (a one-stringed instrument). Bahrain also has a folk dance tradition. The ''ardha'' is a men's sword dance, which is accompanied by traditional drummers and a poet, who sings the lyrics. A small number of feature films have been produced in the country; the first of which being the 1990

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

The Barrier The Barrier is a lava dam retaining the Garibaldi Lake system in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is over thick and about long where it impounds the lake. The area below and adjacent to The Barrier is considered hazardous due to the u ...

'' by Bassam Al-Thawadi. Cinemas have been popular establishments since the early 1920s when a makeshift movie theater was formed.

Festivals and customs

* Ashura * Bahrain Independence Day * Eid al-Fitr and

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...

* Prophet's birthday * Ramadan

National Cultural Heritage Sites

Places

* Museums in Bahrain

Holidays

On 1 September 2006, Bahrain changed its weekend from being Thursdays and Fridays to Fridays and Saturdays, in order to have a day of the weekend shared with the rest of the world. Notable holidays in the country are listed below:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of Bahrain