Līwa ( ar, ليوه /

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''laywah'') is a Khaleeji traditional dance of African origin performed in

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Unite ...

( Arab states of the Persian Gulf), mainly within communities of descendants of people from the Swahili Coast (

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

and

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

). It is also performed by the African-descended Sheedi community, as well as the

Baloch Baloch, also spelled Baloch, Beluch and in other ways, may refer to: * Baloch people, an ethnic group of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan * Baluch, a small itinerant community of Afghanistan * Balouch, Azad Kashmir, a town in Pakistan * Baloch (s ...

of Makran Coast and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

area.

Overview

A large number of male participants arrange themselves into a circle, which is anchored by one or several drum players. A man paces in the middle of the group playing a simple reed instrument called '' mizmar'' or '' surnai'', whose plaintive sharp sound reminds the listener of an

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

. The circle claps and dances in place, while individuals join a line which rhythmically paces around the inside of the circle. The Liwa is a more casual dance than the others, and can be performed with great spirit and banter from the young men who usually take part. The three backing drums for this dance are the ''shindo'', the ''jabwah'', and the ''jasser''. More recently, a fourth drum—known as the Peeper—was added.{{Citation needed, date=May 2008 This drummer plays a dominant role, which gives him plenty of opportunity for a virtuoso performance. The ''mizmar'' has an oboe-like sound and produces a haunting melody, which is lent particular poignancy by the eastern

tonic scale In music, the tonic is the first scale degree () of the diatonic scale (the first note of a scale) and the tonal center or final resolution tone that is commonly used in the final cadence in tonal (musical key-based) classical music, popular ...

to which it is tuned. Like the oboe, it is made in two pieces, with a double reed fitted into the second piece. The best instruments these days are made of African

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes fro ...

in Mombassa and Dar Es Salaam. Their cost can be as high as $2,000. The Liwa begins with a ''mizmar'' solo of about six minutes in slow tempo. The drums join in, followed by the ten dancers/singers, and gradually the pace increases to reach a spectacular swirl of activity. The whole dance takes about 25 minutes and both men and women can be involved in a performance. The singing is always performed in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

—the native language of

and

. These were both major trading partners with the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

in centuries past, and have lent their language and culture to influence this fascinating dance. It is especially performed on

Eid Eid as a name may refer to: Islamic holidays An Eid is a Muslim religious festival: * ''Eid Milad un Nabi'', alternate name for Mawlid (, "Birth of the Prophet"), the date of observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad * Eid al ...

and other celebrations.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080203142429/http://www.arab.net/uae/ue_music.htm * http://www.alshindagah.com/may/dances.htm
Africans in the Persian Gulf

Video of Liwa in Kuwait
* (en) Poul Rovsing Olsen, "La Musique Africaine dans le Golfe Persique", Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 19, (1967), pp. 28–36 * (fr
Maho Sebiane, « Le statut socio-économique de la pratique musicale aux Émirats arabes unis : la tradition du leiwah à Dubai », Chroniques yéménites, 14, Numéro 14, 2007
/nowiki>.] * (fr
Maho Sebiane, "Entre l’Afrique et l’Arabie : les esprits de possession sawahili et leurs frontières", Journal des africanistes, 84-2 , 2014, 48-79
* (en) Maho Sebiane, Beyond the leiwah of Eastern Arabia Structure of a possession rite in the longue durée, Música em Contexto, Brasília Nº. 1 (2017): 13-44 * (fr) Maho Sebiane "Nuisances et chaos des Vents. Expressions de l’agressivité dans un rite de possession en Arabie orientale", Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie 33, 2020: 113-131
Liwa and Tanbura from Africa to BahrainPart 2
Al Waqt newspaper, 21 Feb 2009 Middle Eastern dances Arabic music Bahraini music Baloch culture Kuwaiti music Emirati music Pakistani music Omani music Music of the African diaspora

Overview

See also

References