The Oil Economy and the Perpetuation of Musical Heritage in Abu Dhabi

 

ATMuse> Music in Arabia

 

from Chapter 3 by Virginia Danielson, pg. 32-49
In Music in Arabia,

Edited by Isso Boulos, Virginia Danielson and Anne K. Rasmussen

 

Celebrations of weddings of members of the royal families and other, celebratory governmental events in the United Arab Emirates typically took place in large outdoor spaces to which the public had access and were encouraged to attend. Many different musicians were invited to perform as part of these celebrations. These pictures were taken at the events by Mary Corrado, a long-time resident of Abu Dhabi, who generously shares them here.

 

Men in white robes and head coverings perform on their drums in an outdoor setting while others watch.
`Ayyāla performance at a royal wedding celebration at Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi, 1983. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

A man uses his hand to beat a drum that hangs horizontally in front of him.
Drummer in the procession in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's vist to Abu Dhabi, 1979. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

Three men beating drums and a man blowing a wind instrument stand outdoors with buildings and flags in the background.
Drummers and a habbān player at the celebration of Shaykh Hamad bin Hamdan's wedding, Abu Dhabi, 1982. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

A group male drummers and singers perform and wave palm branches outdoors.
Drummers and singers from a group performing at the wedding celebration of Shaykh Suroor bin Muhammad, near Mushrif Palace, Abu Dhabi, 1983. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

A man in a brown robe plays a horn-type instrument in a large and busy outdoor meeting place.
Mizmar player, preparing to perform for the celebration of the wedding of Shaykh Hamid bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi, 1982. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

A large goup of sitting and standing people, some playing instruments, look off to right side of the photograph.
Musicians, likely of African descent, performing at the celebration of Shaykh Hamid bin Hamdan's wedding, Abu Dhabi, 1983. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.´

 

Men in robes and playing drums walk in rows in a procession past spectators under an arched colonnade.
Performance, possibly `ayyāla, in welcome of Queen Elizabeth at her visit to Abu Dhabi in 1979. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

A group of musicians sit, stand, and mingle outdoors while carrying their instruments.
Performing group of African descent at a celebration of Queen Elizabeth's visit to Abu Dhabi in 1979. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

Three men crouch down and bend over to work on a drum laid on the ground.
Preparing a drum before a performance at Shaykh Suroor bin Muhammad's wedding celebration, near Mushrif Palace, Abu Dhabi, 1983. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

A man holding a hand drum crouches down by an open-air fire while several other men stand nearby.
Tuning a drum during `ayyāla, wedding celebration of Shaykh Hamid bin Hamdan, Abu Dhabi, 1982. Courtesy of Mary Corrado.

 

This brief and informal videorecording (below) gives a sense of what it is like to watch a performance of al-`ayyāla, this one at the Qasr al-Hosn Festival in Abu Dhabi in 2016. The performance is led by an  `ayyāla group from the city of Al Ain in Abu Dhabi and you can see the young girls serving as na `ishāt, as well as other local people, including children, joining in. Participation is encouraged, if not expected. Of note is the number of Emiratis watching and also filming the performance and the situation of the performance on the ground, right in the middle of the crowd, rather than apart, on a stage (although sometimes, especially for broadcast performances, stages are used).

 

 

The video application prepared by Oman and the United Arab Emirates for its successful application for inscription on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list appears here. This video includes clips from a number of different performing groups in both the UAE and Oman.

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