QATAR: Traditional folk music and dances are still popular among Qataris and visitors to the Gulf state

For centuries, Bedouins have played music and danced to pass time during the long summer nights in Qatar's desert. Today, Qataris, expatriates and visitors to the country are reviving these old traditions in the alleyways and courts of the old Souk Waqif market. Despite the heat, people gather every Thursday and Friday night in the traditional surroundings of Souk Waqif to watch folk music bands perform well-loved dances and songs. Arabic music is traditionally accompanied by percussion instruments such as drums and tambourines, as well as Arab wind and string instruments. Folk singers, musicians and storytellers usually perform traditional music or narrate folk stories, at weddings and other celebrations. Traditional shows combine songs with drumming, clapping and group dancing. Performers wear regional costumes and sometimes dance with swords and other props. Poetic lyrics accompanying folk dances usually praise heroic leaders and tell battle stories, explore religious themes, describe the beauty of the lost beloved, mourn the loss of family and friends, and offer encouragement and guidance to the bride and groom. "Shabab al-Showl" is one of the traditional Qatari bands that perform at the souk every week. "'Shabab al-Showl' started its career by performing for children, then it developed into a folk band that performs popular dances like al-Ardah and al-Dosari. Besides old songs and modern popular songs, we also try to involve male and female singers from outside Qatar, especially at concerts that are held in the Souk (Waqif) every weekend", said one of the band's members, Awad Mohammed. The National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage is hosting traditional Qatari as well as other Gulf bands in Souk Waqif to allow visitors a touch of both local and regional folklore. "There are also bands from outside Qatar performing at Souk Waqif, from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. There are also bands from other Arab countries like Syria and Iraq. Every Thursday and Friday, a Qatari band gives a show followed by another band from outside Qatar", added Mohammed. The folk shows have drawn huge audiences, especially western expatriates living in Qatar who are anxious to learn about Qatari heritage. Mounira Spens, an American professor living in Doha, is one of them. "Well, I love it. Especially because it's in these surroundings. It's just perfect - the voices and the beat of the drum in souk Waqif like this", she said. Citizens from neighbouring Gulf States also come to watch the shows. Saleh Ahmed al-Noeim is a visitor from Saudi Arabia who sees the traditional shows performed at Souk Waqif as a welcome effort to preserve Gulf heritage. "We have watched the finest of the old folklore. This is a proof that the Qatari government cares about local heritage and tries to revive this heritage so that the Qataris and other Gulf citizens don't forget it", he said. One of the most popular dances performed at traditional music shows is al-Ardah, a stylized martial dance performed by two rows of dancers who are accompanied by an array of percussion instruments.

ITN Source | September 19, 2007

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