• LINKS

Historical Background (Source: Encarta Encyclopedia)


    The Middle East, the Mesopotamia and Tigris area, is called the “Cradle of Civilization.” It is the place that created alphabets, farms, cities and government. Many traders and invaders, including Alexander the Great, came to the Middle East to look for raw materials/goods and political power. Four major religions began here – Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam.
    The Middle East is defined by geography and culture. Geographically, there are four areas: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Persia. The oldest and richest traditions are in the Persian area, which includes Iran and Iraq. Culturally, this area is based on Islamic law and custom. Thus, sometimes the term “Middle East” includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Islamic countries in North Africa.

INSTRUMETNS
Introducing the instruments to your students, from known to unknown:
    Moors (Turkish) brought Islam to Spain. In 1683, the Turkish invaded Vienna, but Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) became more and more corrupted. The Turkish left musical instruments and weapons behind in Vienna. Many instruments that are found in the Western world  were originally from this area, the cradle of civilization. Even the idea of the marching band came from this region. “The Turkish tradition of military music dates back to the age when the ancestors of the present-day Turks were in Central Asia. Marco Polo’s travel diaries describe troops being led by drums and trumpets. But the “Turkish march” and marching bands did not become familiar in the West until the heroic deeds of the military troops of the Ottoman Empire became widely known. At the zenith in the 17th century the military bands retained by the sultan were large ensembles consisting of 12 players on each instrument. The most symbolically important, as well as the largest, the kettle drum, was placed on a camel or an elephant’s back. Meanwhile, singing has been and remains an important aspect of Turkish military music (JVC, Video anthology of World Music).”

Musical Instruments
  •  Traditional music: rural or folk music; highly ornamented (not as much as Classical music); no improvisation; emphasis on aerophones.
  • Classical music: highly ornamented (no empty space); improvised; the performer is the composer; aerophones, chordophones & membranophones.
Chordophones:                               
  • Short Lute: Ud (video) is the most widely used instrument in Arab and Persian classical music. It has a large pear-shaped wooden body with three, usually ornamented sound holes, short neck, five courses of double gut or nylon strings and is plucked with an eagle quill or plastic plectrum. It is a prototype of the European lute.        
            An excellent example is found in Music Connections, Grade 3: Ala Delona.
  • Spike Fiddle: Kamanche (audio) is common instrument in Persian classical music. It is a spiked fiddle with a small round body and four strings, which is held upright on a peg like a miniature cello and bowed with the palm upward.
  • Zither: Santur (video) is a Persian hammer dulcimer. This instrument is a representative Iranian string instrument. It is also used in the classical music of Iraq. The santur is a hammer dulcimer with 70 odd metal strings that are struck with two curved wooden mallets. The santur spread widely throughout Europe from the latter half of the 15th century through 16th century, it was brought by English missionaries to western Europe.            
Aerophones: 
  • Single Reed: Tulum, or bagpipes, (audio) of the North-eastern region of Turkey is a double clarinet, each pipe having 5 finger holes and ending in a single wooden bell; the whole apparatus is set into a goatskin. Bagpipes are used mainly for dance in this area.

Musical characteristics:
  • MELODY:
    • Based on prescribed series of notes known as maqam or dastgah. Maqam is an Arabian musical system or mode (scale). Example: Hijaz (most ocmmon Arabic maqam) in D: d - e flat (tuned slightly higher)- f sharp (tuned slightly lower) - g - a - b flat - c sharp - d
    • Melodies tend to be very ornamental; melismatic singing is frequent    
    • Much stepwise movement
    • Phrases often of unequal length
  • RHYTHM:     
    • Much music is cast in free/flexible rhythm
    • Music is also cast in strict metrical (meter) rhythm with predictable patterns of strong and weak beats (isometric).
  • TEXTURE:    
    • Monophonic (unison)/Homophonic, no harmony!!!!The music consists of one melodic line. This line may be performed by one person or by a group.
    • Heterophony: several people performing a melody but making simultaneous variations on the basic melodic line.
    • Some drone harmony.                       
  • TIMBRE: 
    • There is a great variety in tone color in vocal and instrumental music. Voices often have a tense, nasalized quality with lack of wide, Western-style vibrato. Chordophones are very common.
Audio:

REPERTOIRE

Palestinian Fingerplay:  (courtesy of Amal Mustafa)
Hathee el Ajana (This is the dough maker) Audio (whole chant)
Hathee el ajana        This is the dough maker
Hathee el khabasa        This is the baker
Hathee el tabakha        This is the cook
Hathee el Malaya        This is the water carrier
Oo hathee el bit wadee
la abuha akil        And this is the one who takes food to her father
Yalla en rooh en
dawir la jajat        Let’s go look for the chickens


 Palestinian Children’s game:  Tak-Tak-Takia  (Takia = hat)
The children are to sit in a circle.  One person will hold a hat and walk around the outside of the circle.  This person will place the hat on top of someone else’s head.  Then that person must get up and chase the original person.  Every one chants “Tak-tak-takia” during the game.
(Very similar to the American duck-duck-goose activity).

 Counting in Arabic:
One: Wahad     Two: Thnayn   Three: Thalath   Four: Arba’a  
Five: Khamsa     Six: Sita   Seven: Saba’a   Eight: Thamanya  
Nine: Tis’a   Ten: Ashara  

Arabic Sayings:
Arabic Sayings (Arabian and English) Just Arabian
Marhaba = Hello Marhaba
As-salam-oo-alaykum = May peace be upon you As-salam-oo-alaykum
Wa Alaykum as-salam = And peace be with you too Wa Alaykum as-salam
Ma'a salama = Bye (literally - may peace be you as you leave) Ma'a salama
Shookran = Thank you Shookran
'Afwan = You're welcome 'Afwan
"Are you graduating this year?" The response would be "Insha'allah." Insha'allah
Ismi = My name is ........ Ismi
Ana = Me Ana


Palestinian Wedding (Audio: Palestinian Wedding Song)

Traditionally, a Palestinian wedding is over the course of two days, Saturday and Sunday (sometimes Friday and Saturday).  The wedding party on the first day is referred to as the Henna, and it usually starts at about 8:00pm and lasts up until about midnight.  Women dress in the traditional Palestinian wardrobe—they wear a thobe (elaborately cross-stitched dress) and gold headpiece called a ewkah.  The second day of the wedding is more Americanized—the bride wears the traditional American white bridal gown, and depending on the families, bridesmaids wear the same dresses (not very often).

In regards to the provided wedding tape, this wedding happened to be a double wedding, and it is the Henna party (the first day of celebration).  This specific wedding was in Orlando, Florida in May 2004.  Explained below is the order of traditional events that are on this tape and are usually apparent in other Palestinian weddings as well.

For about the first twenty minutes, the close family members escort the bride and the groom into the dance hall.  (In this particular wedding, they do this twice just because there are 2 grooms and 2 brides!)  After escorting them to the dance floor, all of the people clear the area to allow the bride and groom to dance for everyone to see them.  They dance alone for about 5-10 minutes; then slowly, the immediate family (parents, siblings, grandparents) joins in.  Soon enough, everyone—guests and close family—join the bride and groom to dance. 

After more dancing, the bride and groom and escorted in again—but this time they are each cloaked with a “abaya” or fancy covering on top of their wedding clothes.  Also, this is when very close female relatives (usually older relatives like mothers, aunts, grandmothers) carry henna in decorated bowls on their heads.  Candles are lit and placed in the henna bowls.  Also, candy and other treats are passed out to those in the crowd.  Only women carry the henna bowls; some women pass the bowls to someone else around them who may wish to dance with it.  This procession of carrying henna and dancing lasts for about 15 minutes. 

               Because the men are on the other side of the dance floor (men on one side and women on the other side), during part of the wedding, the men all line up and personally congratulate the bride and the groom.  After some more singing and dancing, the men and women perform the debkah separately.  This usually lasts for about 10-15 minutes.  During or after this time, the henna is applied onto the hands of the bride and groom.  This can be done professionally or a skilled relative can decorate their hands.  The brides’ hands are usually decorated more elaborately than the grooms’ hands.  After this, there can be more dancing, depending on the time, place and personal preferences of the people of the wedding. 
Debke Dance

Ye Troop Doram (Afghanistan Ball Game)
Video
Books:
Children Story Books:
Bower, T. (2000). The shipwrecked sailor. New York: Athenaeum.
Climo, S. (1989). The Egyptian Cinderella. New York: Harper Collins.
Demi. (2004). A tale from Turkey: The hungry coat. New York: Margaret K. McElderry.
MacDonald, M. R. (2006). Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale. Yolanda: Marshall Cavendish.

Information about Islamic religion and Islamic countries:
Banting, E. (2003). Afghanistan the culture. New York: Crabtree Pub. Co.
Black, C. (2003). Pakistan the culture. New York: Crabtree Pub. Co.
Hoyt-Goldsmith. (2001). Celebrating Ramadan. New York: Holiday House.
Marx, D. F. (2002). Ramadan. New York: Children’s Press.
Wolf, B. (2003). Coming to America: A Muslim family’s story. New York: Lee & Low Books.


Video:
  • Promises 
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