Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-7hw4k Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-09-01T15:08:26.537Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre: A Resource for the Study of Folklore and Traditional Culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2016

Daniel Martin Varisco
Daniel Martin Varisco*
Affiliation:
Doha, Qatar
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

While the literature on folklore and traditional culture of the Middle East is quite extensive overall, relatively little has appeared on the Arabian Gulf. Unfortunately, this region has undergone rapid socioeconomic change stimulated by the impact of oil wealth. Much of the traditional way of life in the Gulf, as in the case of pearl diving, has disappeared except in the memories of the older generation. In late 1983 an institution was formed as an initiative of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) to document and preserve the folklore of the region. This is the Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre (Markaz al-Turāth al-Sha‘bī li-Duwal al-Khalīj al-Arabīya), located in Doha, Qatar. The center is housed in a complex of five buildings with facilities in support of research projects, documentation, and archives, and a library on the folklore of the region. Several major conferences and a number of small workshops have been sponsored here on issues related to the collection of folklore in the Gulf. The center publishes books in Arabic and English, as well as a quarterly journal, Al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘bīya (MS). This article provides an introduction to the AGSFC as the primary resource for research on the folklore of the Arabian Gulf.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Review of Middle East Studies , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , December 1989 , pp. 157 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Middle East Studies Association of North America 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Nāṣir Ḥusayn, al-‘Abbūdī. “Min al-azyā’ al-rijālīya fī dawlat al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīya al-Muttaḥida: aghṭīya al-ra’s wa-mulḥaqātuha” (Traditional male dress in the UAE: head gear). 1 (1986) 4:81–95.Google Scholar
Nāṣir Ḥusayn, al-‘Abbūdī. “Al-Khitān fī dawlat al-Imārāt” (Circumcision in the UAE). 1 (1986) 3:63–71.Google Scholar
Ibrahim, AbdullaMajed, Issa. “Design and Construction of Traditional Houses in Bahrein.” 1 (1986) 4:E33–E41.Google Scholar
‘Muḥammad ‘Alī, Abd Allāh. “Masjid al-Qabīb: anmūdhaj lil-‘imāra al-islāmīya fī Qaṭar” (The al-Qabīb mosque: a model of Islamic architecture in Qatar). 1 (1986) 2:30–38.Google Scholar
‘Muḥammad ‘Alī, Abd Allāh. “Gulf Wood Ornament.” 1 (1986) 3:E19–E27.Google Scholar
‘Muḥammad ‘Alī, Abd Allāh. “Tawthīq binā’ safīna” (Documentation of the building of a batīl boat in Qatar). 1 (1986) 4:97–110.Google Scholar
‘‘Alī Muḥammad, Abīd. “Aghānī ṣayyādī al-samak al-shatwīya bi-qaryat Shuqra al-yamanīya” (Winter fishing songs in the village of Shuqra in South Yemen). 4 (1989) 14:51–66.Google Scholar
‘Aḥmad Muḥammad, Alī. “Naḥw taḥdīd al-ashkāl al-mūsīqīya wa-al-aghnā-’iya wa-waẓā’ifuhā fī manṭiqat al-khalīj wa-al-jazīrat al-‘arabīya,” (Towards a definition of musical and lyrical forms and their functions in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula). 1 (1986) 2:51–69.Google Scholar
‘Abd al-Ḥamīd, al-‘Alwajī. “Ṭuyūr al-Baṣra fī al-turāth al-sha‘bī khilāla al-qarn al-tāsi‘ ‘ashr” (The birds of Basra in the folklore of the nineteenth century). 2 (1987) 5:105–116.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Ḥikāya sha‘bīya: ḥamāmat al-rayḥān” (A Qatari folk tale: The aromatic dove). 2 (1987) 8:91–95.Google Scholar
Fārūq, Awhān. “Al-Iḥtifāl al-masraḥī fī taqālīd al-raqṣ al-sha‘bī: raqṣat al-‘ayāla fī al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīya al-Muttaḥida” (Theatrical celebration of traditional dance: the ‘Ayāla dance in the UAE). 3 (1988) 9:41–61.Google Scholar
Muḥammad ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, al-Badāḥ. “Min al-alghāz al-Kuwaytīya” (Folk riddles from Kuwait). 3 (1988) 11:91–93.Google Scholar
Muḥammad Sa‘īd, al-Balūshī. “Ṣinā‘at al-fukhkhār fī sulṭānat ‘Umān” (The pottery industry in Oman). 3 (1988) 11:21–31.Google Scholar
Aḥmad, Bāqir. “Bayt al-Siyādī” (The eighteenth-century house of a pearl merchant in Bahrein). 1 (1986) 3:73–78.Google Scholar
Aḥmad, Bāqir. “Markaz al-turāth al-sha‘bī di-dawlat al-Baḥrayn” (The Folklore Centre in Bahrein). 2 (1987) 7:109–113.Google Scholar
Kamāl al-Dīn, al-Batānūnī. “Al-‘Iṭāra wa-al-‘attārūn fī al-waṭan al-‘arabī” (Herbal drugs and herbalists in the Arab world). 2 (1987) 5:7–17.Google Scholar
Bazza, al-Bāṭinī. “Min aghānī al-mahd fī al-Kuwayt: aghānī tarqīṣ al-banāt (Lullabies in Kuwait). 1 (1986) 4:133–147.Google Scholar
Muḥammad Ṭālib, al-Duwayk. “Fisayjra” (A Qatari Cinderella tale). 1 (1986) 1:55–59.Google Scholar
Munira, Daud. “Hishiishbu: A Folktale from Wadi Faṭma.” 2 (1987) 7:E21–E27.Google Scholar
Ṭāriq Ḥassūn, Farīd. “Mukhaṭṭat li-dirāsat awḍā‘ al-fanānīn al-sha‘bīya fī duwal al-khalīj al-‘arabīya” (A scheme for the study of the status of traditional performers in the Arab Gulf States). 1 (1986) 1:105–113.Google Scholar
Lois Ibsen, al-Faruqi. “Æsthetic Characteristics of the Traditional Music of the Arabian Gulf and the Peninsula.” 1 (1986) 2:E19–E25.Google Scholar
Ṣāliḥ, Gharīb, and ‘Uthmān, Shawqī. “Al-Kadu.” (Photo-essay on the hubble-bubble). 2 (1987) 8:103–106.Google Scholar
Ṣāliḥ, Gharīb, and ‘Uthmān, Shawqī. “Adawāt al-ghawṣ fī al-khalīj” (Photo-essay on pearl-diving equipment of the Gulf). 2 (1987) 9:107–110.Google Scholar
Ṣāliḥ, Gharīb, and ‘Uthmān, Shawqī. “Ṣina‘at al-fukhkhār” (Photo-essay on pottery production). 3 (1988) 11:117–121.Google Scholar
Ṣāliḥ, Gharīb, and ‘Uthmān, Shawqī. “Al-Funūn al-khalījīya” (Photo-essay on the arts of the Gulf). 3 (1988) 12:129–133.Google Scholar
Sulaymān Muḥammad, Haṣan. “Al-Ajzā’ al-khashabīya al-makammila lilbuyūt al-ḥajarīya fīal-Mamlaka al-‘Arabīya al-Sa‘ūdīya …” (The wooden components of traditional stone houses in Saudi Arabia). 4 (1989) 13:53–73.Google Scholar
Khalil, Husein. “Al-‘iddah Dance in Yemen.” 3 (1988) 12:E7–E15.Google Scholar
Juhayna Sulṭān, al-‘Īsā, and Melikian, Leron. “Istikhdām al-turāth al-sha‘bī fī al-dirāsat al-ijtimā‘īya wa-al-nafsīya” (The application of folklore in social and psychological studies for research on the knowledge of proverbs among young Qataris). 1 (1986) 1:39–53.Google Scholar
Najlā’ Ismā‘īl, al-‘Izzī. “Al-Malābis al-taqlīdīya lil-mar’at al-‘arabīya fī al-khalīj” (Traditional costumes of women in the Arabian Gulf). 1 (1986) 1:61–86.Google Scholar
Najlā’ Ismā‘īl, al-‘Izzī. “Al-Baṭṭūla: nisha’thā wa-taṭawwurhā” (The origin and development of the baṭṭūla face mask). 4 (1989) 13:17–27.Google Scholar
Simon, Jargy. “Comments on the Concept and Characteristics of Folk Music in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula.” 1 (1986) 1:E22–E32. (Arabic translation, pages 141–144).Google Scholar
Hayā, Jāsim. “Al-Muṭawwā‘ fī al-Baḥrayn” (Religious instruction in Qur’anic schools of Bahrein). 3 (1988) 11:7–19.Google Scholar
Ṣafwat, Kamāl. “Al-Wuṣūl ilā manābi‘ al-turāth al-sha‘bī fī manṭiqat al-khalīj wa-al-jazīra al-‘arabīya” (Approaching the sources of folklore in the Gulf and Arabian peninsula). 3 (1988) 10:63–78.Google Scholar
Toufic, Kerbage. “Musical Ecstasy and Functional Harmony in Arabian Rhythms.” 1 (1986) 3, E29–E39. (Arabic translation, 1 [1986] 3: 91–103.)Google Scholar
Waḥīd Aḥmad, al-Khān. “Fann al-līwa fī al-Baḥrayn” (Art of the līwa dance tradition in Bahrein). 2 (1987) 7:53–80.Google Scholar
‘Ā’isha, al-Khulayfī. “Al-Murādāt, raqṣat al-nisā’ fī al-khalīj” (Al-Murādāt, a variety of women’s dance in the Gulf). 1 (1986) 3:105–129.Google Scholar
‘Ā’isha, al-Khulayfī. “Adawāt al-qahwa al-‘arabīya fī al-bayt al-khalījī” (Coffee paraphernalia in the Gulf house). 2 (1987) 7:95–98.Google Scholar
Muḥammad Khālid, Muḥammad. “Min ‘ibārāt al-tahīya wa-al-tarḥīb ‘inda ahl al-bādīya” (Bedouin greetings and courtesy phrases). 3 (1988) 9:63–69. (English translation, 4 [1989] 14:E7–E17.)Google Scholar
Sabīka, Muḥammad. “Min wasā’il al-ṭibb al-sha‘bī lil-aṭfāl: al-sikāṭ” (On the traditional medical treatment of children: the sikāṭ). 3 (1988) 10:91–93.Google Scholar
Ḥasan Ibrāhīm, al-Muhannadī. “Al-Amthāl al-sha‘bīya fī Qaṭar” (Traditional proverbs in Qatar). 1 (1986) 2:159–168.Google Scholar
‘Abd al-Raḥman, Muṣayqir. “Al-Waṣfat al-sha‘bīya al-muta‘aliqa bi-‘ilāj al-amrāḍ fī al-Baḥrayn: dirāsat maydānīya” (Traditional medical prescriptions for illnesses in Bahrein: a field study). 3 (1988) 9:71–83. (English translation, 4 [1989] 13:E7–E21.)Google Scholar
‘Abd al-Raḥman, Muṣayqir, and Ḥasan Sajwānī, Mahdīya. “Al-Ṭibb al-sha‘bī fī dawlat al-Imārāt al‘Arabīya al-Muttaḥida: dirāsat maydānīya” (Folk medicine in the UAE: a field study). 4 (1989) 14:35–49.Google Scholar
Muḥammad, al-Muslimānī. “Ḥawl al-mūsīqā wa-al-raqṣ al-sha‘bī fī Qaṭar” (On the folk music and dance of Qatar). 1 (1986) 1:89–103.Google Scholar
Muḥammad Rajab, al-Najjār. “Al-Mu‘ādhalāt al-lisānīya fī al-adab al-sha‘bī” (Tongue twisters in the folk literature of Kuwait). 1 (1986) 2:80–95.Google Scholar
Aḥmad ‘Abd al-Raḥīm, Naṣr. “Madkhal lil-dirāsat al-fawlklūrīya fī al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabīya al-Sa‘ūdīya” (A bibliographic introduction of folklore studies in Saudi Arabia). 2 (1987) 7:29–40.Google Scholar
Ḥusayn, Qaddūrī. “Al-Nudhūr fī la‘b wa-aghānī al-aṭfāl al-sha‘bīya” (Vows in traditional children’s games and music of Iraq). 2 (1987) 5:119–129.Google Scholar
‘Allām ‘Abd Allāh, al-Qā’id. “Namādhij min al‘āb al-aṭfāl al-sha‘bīya fī al-khalīj wa-al-jazīrat al-‘arabīya” (Examples of traditional children’s games in the Gulf). 2 (1987) 6:101–107.Google Scholar
Khālid Muḥammad, al-Qāsimī, and Ghanim, Nizār. “Al-Judhūr al-yama-nīya li-fann al-ṣawt al-khalījī” (The Yemeni origins of a Gulf song tradition). 1 (1986) 4:9–27.Google Scholar
Khālid Muḥammad, al-Qāsimī, and Ghanim, Nizār. “Al-Mūsīqā al-khumāsīya fī al-khalīj wa-al-Yaman,” (Quintuplet music in the Gulf and Yemen). 2 (1987) 5:37–45.Google Scholar
Manāḥī Ḍawī, al-Quthāmī. “Mufradāt min lahjat al-Ṭā’if” (Terminology of material culture in Taif, Saudi Arabia). 3 (1988) 13:111–114.Google Scholar
Ali Jihad, Racy. “The Interconnection of Elements in Gulf Folk Arts: Implications for Field Research.” 1 (1986) 2:27–29.Google Scholar
‘Alī, Shabīb, and al-Kuwārī, Muḥammad ‘Alī, eds. “Mawāwīl min al-khalīj” (Folk poetry from the Gulf). 4 (1989) 13:75–83.Google Scholar
Hayā Jāsim, al-Shattī, “Al-‘Ajāfā” (A method of hair dressing among women in Bahrein). 4 (1989) 14:92–97.Google Scholar
‘Abd al-‘Azīz, al-Suwayl. “Lughat al-ḥayawān fī Najd” (Animal terminology in Nejd, Saudi Arabia). 2 (1987) 6:49–61.Google Scholar
Fahd ‘Abd Allāh, al-Ṭayyāsh. “Ḥawl irtibāṭ aghānī al-zār bi-raqṣat al-sāmirī: maḥāwala li-fahm al-jānib al-tarwīhī” (On the relationship of zār songs and the sāmirī dance: an appreciation of the recreational aspect). 2 (1987) 5:63–71. (English translation, 3 [1988] 9:E23–E36.)Google Scholar
‘Abd al-Karīm, al-‘Urayyiḍ. “Al-Manādūn: wasīlat al-a‘lān al-sha‘bī fī al-Baḥrayn” (Market hawkers: a method of traditional communication in Bahrein). 2 (1987) 6:17–21.Google Scholar