|
Mizmar (dance)
Mezmar or mizmar ( ''al-mizmar'') is a traditional group performance and stick song-dance that is performed by in the Hejaz region in western Saudi Arabia for festive occasions such as wedding and national events. Almezmar is performed by about 15–100 practitioners in festive occasions such as wedding and national events, they twirl long sticks (bamboo Walking stick, cane), beat drums and clap to songs that can pertain to a variety of topics such as heroism, praise, chivalry, love and generosity. In the past, the ritual was associated with battle or competition. It closely resembles the tahtib dance practiced in Egypt and Sudan."Mizmar" in Lisa Urkevich, ''Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar''. New York: Routledge, 2015. pp 193–196. 'Mizmar' is actually the generic term for almost any wind instrument found in the Hejaz or Asir, from the end-blown flute to the dual-piped boos. But the name of the art mizmar is confusing bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folk Dance
A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances are usually called "religious dances" because of their purpose. The terms "ethnic" and "traditional" are used when it is required to emphasize the cultural roots of the dance. In this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. If some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic boundaries and even cross the boundary between "folk" and "ballroom dance", ethnic differences are often considerable enough to mention. Background Folk dances share some or all of the following attributes: *Dances are usually held at folk dance gatherings or social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music. *Dances not generally designed for public performance or the stage, though they may later be arranged and set for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hejaz
Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province",Mackey, p. 101. "The Western Province, or the Hejaz[...]" and it is bordered in the west by the Red Sea, in the north by Jordan, in the east by the Najd, and in the south by Greater Yemen, Yemen. Its largest city is Jeddah, which is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, with Mecca and Medina, respectively, being the third- and fourth-largest cities in the country. As the location of the Holy city, holy cities of Mecca and Medina, respectively the first and second holiest sites in Islam, the Hejaz is significant in the Arabo-Islamic historical and political landscape. This region is the most populated in Saudi Arabia, and Arabic is the predominant language, as in the rest of Saudi Arabia, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the List of countries and dependencies by area, 12th-largest in the world. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the south. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of Geography of Saudi Arabia, its terrain consists of Arabian Desert, arid desert, lowland, steppe, and List of mountains in Saudi Arabia, mountains. The capital and List of cities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in the case of ''Dendrocalamus sinicus'' having individual stalks (Culm (botany), culms) reaching a length of , up to in thickness and a weight of up to . The internodes of bamboos can also be of great length. ''Kinabaluchloa, Kinabaluchloa wrayi'' has internodes up to in length. and ''Arthrostylidium schomburgkii'' has internodes up to in length, exceeded in length only by Cyperus papyrus, papyrus. By contrast, the stalks of the tiny bamboo Raddiella, ''Raddiella vanessiae'' of the savannas of French Guiana measure only in length by about in width. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, but it most likely comes from the Dutch language, Dutch or Portuguese language, Portuguese language, which originally borrowed it from Malay langua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walking Stick
A walking stick (also known as a walking cane, cane, walking staff, or staff) is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion accessory, or are used for self-defense. Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes and some have become collector's items. People with disabilities may use some kinds of walking sticks as a crutch, but a walking cane is not designed for full weight support but used to help with balance. The walking stick has also historically been known to be used as a self-defense weapon, and may conceal a sword or knife. Hikers use walking sticks, also known as trekking poles, pilgrim's staffs, hiking poles, or hiking sticks, for a wide variety of purposes: as a support when going uphill or as a brake when going downhill; as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps, or other rough terrain; to feel for obstacles in the path; to test mud and wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tahtib
Tahtib () is the term for a traditional stick-fighting martial art originally named ''fan a'nazaha wa-tahtib'' ("the art of being straight and honest through the use of stick"). The original martial version of tahtib later evolved into an Egyptian folk dance with a wooden stick. It is commonly described in English as a "stick dance", "cane dance", "stick-dancing game", or as ritual mock combat accompanied by music. Nowadays, the word ''tahtib'' encompasses both martial practice and performance art. It is mainly practiced today in Upper Egypt. Tahtib is regularly performed for tourists in Luxor and Aswan. The stick used in tahtib is about four feet in length and is called an ''asa'', ''asaya'', ''assaya'', or ''nabboot''. It is often flailed in large figure-eight patterns across the body with such speed that the displacement of air is loudly discernible. History The oldest traces of tahtib were found on engravings from the archaeological site of Abusir, an extensive nec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisa Urkevich
Dr. Lisa Urkevich is a global specialist on the music and heritage of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the greater Arabian Peninsula and Gulf States. She has also undertaken significant scholarship on Northern European Renaissance music. She is an executive leader with experience in strategy and start-ups, education, heritage preservation and engagement, and has served as an advisor to governments and corporations, and is the former founding director of two regional heritage centers. She holds the rank of full professor of musicology and ethnomusicology and was the inaugural head of the arts and humanities and chair of the music and drama department at the American University of Kuwait. Previously, she was a full-time professor at Boston University. Since 2017 she has been the general editor of ''Symposium: Journal of the College Music Society'', the largest consortium of college, conservatory, university, and independent musicians and scholars. Urkevich is a 2025 Georgetown University Fell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intangible Cultural Heritage
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Intangible heritage consists of nonphysical intellectual wealth, such as folklore, customs, beliefs, traditions, knowledge, and language. Intangible cultural heritage is considered by member states of UNESCO in relation to the tangible World Heritage focusing on intangible aspects of culture. In 2001, UNESCO made a survey among states and NGOs to try to agree on a definition, and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was drafted in 2003 for its protection and promotion. Definition The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage defines the intangible cultural heritage as the practices, representations, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills (including instruments, object ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Eastern Dance
The traditional dances of the Middle East (Arabic: رقص شرق أوسطي) (also known as Oriental dance) span a large variety of folk traditions throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. For detailed information on specific dances of the region, see the main entries as follows: * Arab dance: Ardah, Baladi, Belly dance, Dabke, Deheyeh, Fann at-Tanbura, Hosa, Khaleegy, Mizmar, Raqs sharqi, Shamadan, Tahtib, Tanoura, Yowlah * Assyrian folk dance: Khigga * Kurdish dance: Dilan * Persian dance: Classical Persian dance * Turkish dance: Çiftetelli, Halay * Jewish dance: Hora, Tza'ad Teimani, Israeli Folk Dances Western dance is also incorporated in the Middle East. See also * Sufi whirling Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) ( borrowed from Persian Sama-zan, Sama, meaning ''listening'', from Arabic, and zan, meaning doer, from Persian) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufism, Sufi groups, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardah
''Ardah'' ( / ALA-LC: ''al-‘arḍah'') is a type of folkloric group dance in the Arabian Peninsula, in most countries located in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The dance is performed with two rows of men opposite of one another, each of whom may or may not be wielding a sword or cane, and is accompanied by drums and spoken poetry. Originally, the ''ardah'' was performed only by males of tribes of the Arabian Peninsula before going to war, but nowadays it is done at celebrations, weddings, and national and cultural events by males of all tribes. There currently exists various types of ''ardah'' across the Arabian Peninsula. It was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2015 as ''Alardah Alnajdiyah''. Variations The term ''ardah'' (عَرْضَة) is thought to derive from the Arabic verb ''ard'' (عَرَضَ) meaning to show or to parade. It was so named because its purpose was to publicly display the fighting strength of a tribe and boost m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yowlah
The yowlah (, ''al-yawlah'', or العيالة, ''al-ʿayyalah'' or ''al-ʿiyyalah''), is a weapon dance of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, traditionally performed during weddings, celebrations, and other events. The dance is accompanied by traditional music (drums and other instruments), and men and women are represented in separate groups of dancers. The yowlah originated as a Bedouin war dance where men would spin rifles after victory in a battle. There is also a variation from the standard yowlah known as the razfah ( ''al-razfah'', الرزفة العيالة ''al-razfat al-ʿayyalah'', or العيالة أهل البحر ''al-ʿayyalat ʾahl al-baḥr''); and the ardah is sometimes considered a form of the yowlah (as العرضة العيالة ''al-ʿarḍat al-ʿayyalah''). Dance routine The yowlah, or Al Ayyala dance, involves dance, drum music, and chanted poetry; its routine is meant to simulate a battle scene. Two rows of about twenty men face each other, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arab Dance
Arab folk dances (), also referred to as Oriental dance, Middle-Eastern dance and Eastern dance, are the traditional folk dances of the Arabs in Arab world. Arab dance has many different styles, including the three main types of folklore, classical, and contemporary. It is enjoyed and implemented throughout the Arab region, from North Africa to the Middle East. The term "Arabic dance" is often associated with belly dancing. However, there are many styles of traditional Arab dance and many of them have a long history. These may be folk dances, or dances that were once performed as rituals or as entertainment spectacle, and some may have been performed in the imperial court. Coalescence of oral storytelling, poetry recital, and music has a long-standing tradition in Arab history. Among the best-known of the Arab traditional dances are the belly dance, the ardah, and the dabke. Traditional dancing is still popular among expatriate Arabs and has also been successfully export ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
