Arabian Sword Dances (And other dances!)

kronckew · 26th March 2012, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

When did you live in KSA? one of the best sword dealers in the gulf lives in Dammam ;-) he owns some Tulwars with wootz blades last time I checked but he doesnt have any badawi saifs.

I was in Dhahran (Aramco of course) from 1980-87 & spent another year in Dammam in 1995 with M. Al-Mojil. part of the time with Aramco i was in Safaniyah as a project engineer on the desalting plant we were building there. drove up towards Kuwait one weekend and turned around a bit short of where the uniforms started getting a bit scary. that was as close as i got to Kuwait.

The last time in Dammam, i did spend a lot of time wandering around the souks, but I must either have missed seeing that dealer's shop somehow, or he was not in business then. i was working 10 hr days 6 days a week, so i was a bit worn out by the time i got some free time.

A.alnakkas · 8th January 2013, 04:00 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o0P14p8Eew

Aldaha of Eniza tribe, the largest and one of the most prestigious of Arabian tribes.

The story behind the daha is that at some time a larger raid was about to attack Eniza. The men of Eniza being outnumbered (they were less in the past!) they came up with the idea of doing this dance. Their sounds were like that of a larger army so the attacking raid turned tail and escaped!

The men dancing infront of the row are taking the role that women used to do before. The women of the tribe would do that to remind the men that incase they lose, they will be taken by the invaders.

A.alnakkas · 12th July 2013, 02:34 AM

Here is an old video and a chance to actually see someone who engaged in sword combat and has old warfare experience doing the ardha dance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7orax704PqM

The elder in the middle (wearing red shmagh and golden egal) from 00:50 + is shaikh Abdullah alJaber AlSabah of Kuwait. He fought in the battle of alJahra in the early 20th century. Anyone with some experience in the dance will notice that he is infact leading and controlling the other dancers, something very rare in our time especially as the elderly people are passing away :-(

A.alnakkas · 17th September 2013, 05:11 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfayu5r-Na4

This is an excellent video showing the Qatari variation of the Ardha.

Note at 0:50 it shows a glimpse of an art that seems restricted to Qatar and Bahrain called Mhayal. Its a duel in which the dancers try to knock eachother's egals (headband) using real sharp swords. I spoke about it with my Qatari friends and hoping to get a full video of it.

Iain · 21st September 2013, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfayu5r-Na4

This is an excellent video showing the Qatari variation of the Ardha.

Note at 0:50 it shows a glimpse of an art that seems restricted to Qatar and Bahrain called Mhayal. Its a duel in which the dancers try to knock eachother's egals (headband) using real sharp swords. I spoke about it with my Qatari friends and hoping to get a full video of it.

Any word on that vid?

Sounds interesting.

8th January 2013, 04:00 PM	#2
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o0P14p8Eew Aldaha of Eniza tribe, the largest and one of the most prestigious of Arabian tribes. The story behind the daha is that at some time a larger raid was about to attack Eniza. The men of Eniza being outnumbered (they were less in the past!) they came up with the idea of doing this dance. Their sounds were like that of a larger army so the attacking raid turned tail and escaped! The men dancing infront of the row are taking the role that women used to do before. The women of the tribe would do that to remind the men that incase they lose, they will be taken by the invaders.

12th July 2013, 02:34 AM	#3
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	Here is an old video and a chance to actually see someone who engaged in sword combat and has old warfare experience doing the ardha dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7orax704PqM The elder in the middle (wearing red shmagh and golden egal) from 00:50 + is shaikh Abdullah alJaber AlSabah of Kuwait. He fought in the battle of alJahra in the early 20th century. Anyone with some experience in the dance will notice that he is infact leading and controlling the other dancers, something very rare in our time especially as the elderly people are passing away :-(

17th September 2013, 05:11 PM	#4
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfayu5r-Na4 This is an excellent video showing the Qatari variation of the Ardha. Note at 0:50 it shows a glimpse of an art that seems restricted to Qatar and Bahrain called Mhayal. Its a duel in which the dancers try to knock eachother's egals (headband) using real sharp swords. I spoke about it with my Qatari friends and hoping to get a full video of it.