Culture of Eastern Arabia

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Windcatchers, called bâdgir in local dialect, in Souq Waqif, Doha

There is a rich and ancient culture in

oriented towards the sea.[1]

The semiannual tradition of

.

Overview

A dhow, a common item depicting the culture of seafaring in Eastern Arabia. It is displayed in the coat of arms of Kuwait and Qatar.
A Majlis in the United Arab Emirates. Majlis forms the unit of social gathering in Arab culture.

Cultures in the region include those of

UAE, Eastern Saudi Arabia (Qatif and Al-Hasa), Qatar, and Northern Oman
.

Gargee'an

Qarqe'an is an semiannual celebration, observed in Eastern Arabia, that takes place on the 15th night of

sweets from neighbours, whilst also singing traditional songs. The tradition has existed for hundreds of years and deeply rooted in Gulf culture.[2]

Although the celebration of Qarqe'an shares superficial similarities with the Halloween custom of trick-or-treating, practiced in some western countries, Qarqe'an has no connection with horror and no associated origin with Halloween.

Music

A variety of music and dance forms are practised in the region, including

.

Musical instruments

Traditional instruments include the Oud, along with a variety of drums and the manjur. The Tanbūra lyre is also used.

Languages

A number of different dialects of Arabic are spoken in the region, including Gulf Arabic and Bahrani Arabic. The Lurs language of Kumzari is also spoken by Omani people of Musandam Peninsula. Kumzari is the only Iranian language native to the Arab world.

Cuisine

Due to the seafaring nature of the Arabs along the eastern Arabian coast, seafood forms the major part of the cuisine of the region. Camel meat and milk also forms a basic staple for all the population, most prominently for

bedouins who used to usually breed and sell camels to the rest of the population. Dates are usually consumed as snacks in between meals or offered to guests alongside Arabic coffee in the majlis. Other basic meals are rice and meat, chicken, and strained yogurt. Seafood diet is various with multiple ways to prepare fish for consumption. Squids, oysters, crabs, as well as shrimps all form basic staple food for the coastal Arabs. Harees is also a popular dish in the majority of eastern Arabian households.[3]

Dress

A khanjar, a commonly worn dagger in Oman (c. 1924)

The dress of the region includes long

Ghutra
.

Transport

Traditional transport in the region includes boats such as Dhows and Abras.

Other cultural features

Other cultural features of the region include

Bukhoor and Dewaniya
.

References

  1. ^ "Iranians in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates". Eric Andrew McCoy. pp. 67–68.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "القرقاعون من أهم الاحتفالات الرمضانية الشعبية في مملكة البحرين". Bahrain News Agency. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  3. ^ Charles Perry, "Cooking with the Caliphs", Saudi Aramco World 57:4 (July/August 2006) full text Archived 2014-11-30 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography