–g. The interval eb–f is approximately a whole
tone, and it gives Bedouin singing its special character. Other tetrachords
that are used probably derive from urban music: Sabā, Hijāz
and Bayātī (Table 1).‘Bedouin’, derived from the Arabic badū, refers to tribal peoples found in the Arab world and Israel. The Bedouin are nomadic desert pastoralists found in the deserts of West Asia, the Arabian peninsula and the North African Sahara. Through changing circumstances many Bedouin have now become sedentarized. Organized within the tribe (qabīla), clan (‘ashīra) and extended family, these peoples lead an independent way of life. Since antiquity they have had close associations with date palm trees and camels, which also adapted to the harsh nature of the desert.
Bedouin music developed slowly and internally, through long periods of semi-isolation. But trade contact with villages and towns at the edge of the desert also had an impact, especially recently, with Bedouin sedentarization. Radio and television have entered Bedouin tents and houses, bringing many new impulses. Outside influences on Bedouin music include the use of certain tetrachords, ornamentation and musical instruments. Today, although the nomadic way of life is disappearing, Bedouin cultural values and music have assumed symbolic importance within some Arab nation-states such as Jordan and Oman.
Bedouin melodies are short and usually fall within the ambitus of a 4th (extension to a 5th occurs, but is rare). The melodic line is mostly formed of stepwise intervals. Intervals of 3rds and 4ths are found, but a 5th is rare. Melodies are resistant to change, usually following a melodic formula. When small nuances of variation in rhythm or melody occur, they are perceived as highly significant. There is much melodic repetition: sometimes the whole poem is sung to a one-line melody. The melody of the first hemistich is either repeated exactly or with some alteration in the second hemistich, and if the same words are repeated, they take the same melody.
Bedouin
songs are based on the tonic (qarār). The melody moves around it
and leads to it, and most songs begin with it. Various characteristic cadences
(qafl) are used; see ex.1 (d as tonic). The Bedouin use a
special tetrachord (jins): d–eb–f–g. The interval eb–f is approximately a whole
tone, and it gives Bedouin singing its special character. Other tetrachords
that are used probably derive from urban music: Sabā, Hijāz
and Bayātī (Table 1).
Most types of song are interpreted in an alternating or antiphonal manner, although some are performed by a solo poet-singer accompanying himself on the rabāba (one-string fiddle). Singing is in a high-pitched nasal voice, especially when sung solo. The declamatory style is almost always syllabic, except during cadences.
Verses usually consist of two hemistiches. Songs are performed in a Bedouin poetic dialect (shi‘r al-badawi or shi‘r al-malhūn) which differs from everyday speech. New words are improvised to existing melodies. Themes usually relate to Bedouin values and experience (nomadism, heroism and life-cycle events). Some urban influences occur, especially among sedentarized Bedouin. Religious or Sufi themes appear within North African Bedouin songs, for instance the ‘aiyāī singing of the Algerian Bedouin.
The main features of many Bedouin genres are consistent throughout the Arab world, although genres may be known by different names. Variation, due to contact with local townspeople over a long period, reflects the specialities and tastes of different regions. Some genres are performed with dancing.
Hudā‘ was an Arab vocal genre used from the pre-Islamic period in connection with camels: to pasture them, gather them when dispersed, and on journeys to ease their fatigue and increase their pace as well as entertaining human travellers. Today Bedouin camel-related songs with the same functions are known as hjenī or frāqī. The hjenī melody consists of three measures in a four-beat metre (totalling 12 beats). A melodic leap (sometimes of a 3rd) may precede the cadence. Ex.2 shows three variants: 2a and 2b from nomad sources, and 2c from the city. 2b, with only 11 beats as opposed to 12, shows the possible changes which could affect a Bedouin type in the process of internal development. 2c shows the influence of urban singing, containing some melismatic figures.
Before, during or after battle Bedouin warriors used to sing short plain melodies in a rhythmic declamatory style in a three-beat metre (ex.3). The contemporary poet-singer (hādī) usually improvises new verses, singing them alternately with the other participants. (Agricultural labourers also sing another form of hidā as work songs in a two-beat metre.) In Palestine the hidā is an open-air song accompanying the sahja dance (see Palestinian music, §2).
From ancient times to the Abbasid period a related term, hazaja, meant to dance and sing in joy. In pre-Islamic Arabia women encouraged warriors by singing and playing the frame drum (duff); Bedouin women still sing songs of this type, known in some regions as uhzūja. In modern folk music this category contains sung poems dealing with war, battle and heroism. There are no special forms or melodies; usually new words are set to a well-known and lively folksong, which then becomes an uhzūja. These songs are mostly sung in processions and at some national festivities (see Jordan (i), ex.2).
From the earliest period of Arab history poetry has been connected with singing or recitation, sometimes with instrumental accompaniment. The Bedouin qasīd is related to the qasīda, an old form of monorhyme poetry consisting of many two-line verses (bayt) (ex.4). Bedouin singers prefer to be called ‘poet’ (shā‘ir) rather than ‘singer’; some use rabāba accompaniment. The Bedouin qasīd is performed with the sāmer dance (see below).
The sāmer (‘entertainment’) or sahja is performed by a circle of male dancers on happy occasions (ex.5). A leader sings the qasīd verses and participants either repeat them or sing the verse ‘Halā halā…’ (‘Hallelujah, hallelujah …’). After some time the leader asks a female member of the tribe to join the dance; in Jordan she is known as al-hāshī (‘defender’) because she defends herself with a sword from the surrounding male dancers who try to touch her. This last part of the dance is called dahhiyya, a wild and active performance with aspects of mystical eroticism. (For the dahhiyya dance of the Negev desert Bedouin see Palestinian music, §2; see also Arab music, §II, 4(ii).) Habīsh is another Bedouin dance with a female soloist (seeYemen, §I, 1(ii)).
The sāmer is believed to be an antecedent of the Jewish and Christian ‘hallelujah’, and may originate from the tahlīl (song of joy) performed by pilgrims circumambulating the Ka‘ba at Mecca prior to the advent of Islam.
In the Arabian peninsula a dance named ‘arda (‘exposition’; see Saudi arabia, §II, 2(i)) recalls pre-Islamic tribal battles (ex.6). Two rows of men face one another, clapping, singing and dancing in a lively manner, accompanied by large frame drums (tār). At the peak of the dance two swordsmen perform a duel between the rows of dancers. This dance may be related to the ancient rakbānī (‘riders' singing’) or rajaz (improvised verses performed during battles or work). In the extreme south of Iraq the ‘arda and samrī dances are both performed (see Iraq, §II, 1). Dances of Bedouin origin which use weapons (often known as razfah or ayyala) have achieved significance and popularity in the Arab Gulf states (fig.1) and Oman (see Arabian Gulf and Oman, §§2 and 3).
The term fārida denotes both the group of women accompanying the bride from her parental home, and their singing performed within this ritual journey. They sing in slow tempo, insistently prolonging one particular note (ex.7; see also Jordan (i), ex.1). There is no ornamentation; the sound is empty and dry like the wide desert that they cross, enlivening the journey as they sing and improvise new texts.
Certain fāridas accompany the departure of pilgrims (ex.8). They may be related to pre-Islamic and early Islamic songs called talbia which pilgrims sang while travelling to Mecca. Muslim pilgrims still recite talbias, but without any melody; it is possible that original talbia melodies are preserved in fāridas.
Women perform funeral lamentations (also known as nwāh). During such performances they used to beat their cheeks and breasts, tear their clothes and put ashes on their faces and hair. In some areas they perform a mourning dance in a semicircle, holding hands and moving slowly as they sing and cry.
Various songs are included within this category. Some deal with stages in the marriage process: the bride's bath, ritual application of henna (see Jordan (i), ex.3), or her farewell to her girlfriends. Lullabies are also known as tarwīdah.
This is a well-known folk epic describing incidents occurring during the Banī Hilāl tribe’s migration to North Africa. It originated in Bedouin culture and was adapted by non-Bedouin performers and taken into a wider repertory. Banū Hilāl bin ‘Āmir bin Sa ‘sa‘a is a branch of Hawāzin, a large Arabian tribe who lived in al-Shām (Greater Syria) and then moved to al-Hijaz (on the upper Red Sea coast of Arabia). Abū Zayd is the main figure of the story.
Hilālī epic performances usually occur during the evening (especially in winter) in many varied settings such as a tent, house, dīwān (family meeting-house), or coffee-house. The narrator, who should have a beautiful voice, might be Bedouin or non-Bedouin. He recites the story in a dramatic style, using special vocal effects, facial expression and body movements. According to region, he may accompany himself on the rabāba (one-string fiddle) or frame drum (tār). During the performance he adds improvised poetic commentary on the various incidents or characters within the story.
The most common instrument of Bedouin music is the rabāba, a monochord fiddle with a rectangular frame covered on both sides with skin and played in an upright position. It is unclear when this instrument entered the Arab world, but it is mentioned in the 10th-century ‘Great Book of Songs’ by al-Farābī. It is not exclusive to the Bedouin.
The mihbāsh, a carved wooden mortar and pestle used to grind coffee, is originally associated with Bedouin culture and hospitality; rhythms are created by striking the base and walls of the hollow body with a stick inserted through the top (fig.2). The Bedouin also use the qussāba or shibbāba, short oblique six-holed flutes. In North Africa the qussāba (known locally as the qasba) varies in size and pitch. Frame drums (tār, bandīr) of different sizes are used in some Bedouin music.
See also Arab music, §III; Algeria, §2(ii); Arabian Gulf; Egypt, §II; Iraq, §III, 1(i); Jordan (i); Lebanon, §III, 2; Libya; Oman; Palestinian music, §2; Saudi arabia; Syria, §3; Tunisia, §2 and Yemen.
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ABDEL-HAMID HAMAM