Television helps to preserve the UAE’s cultural traditions

posted on 02/04/2006: 119 views

The lithe bodies in pristine kandouras move in time with the music, their weapons cradled in their arms. Spinning their rifles, the performers then throw them high in the air and catch them to the thunderous applause of the crowd.



The setting for this display of skill is Dubai's Global Village, where the finals of a unique competition have been held to choose the best yawil or performer of al youla, an ancient Bedouin dance. This involves a performer showing off his dancing skills while rotating his rifle – embodying the bond between a Bedouin and his weapon.



Every Thursday for the past month-and-a-half, five performers have competed on Al Maidan, or the arena, a TV show on the Sama Dubai channel. Viewers vote for their favourite dancer through SMS, explains Jumana Al A'zar, executive producer of the show. The last round of the contest, which began on February 18, was held on Thursday– and the winner is expected to be announced soon.



"Al Maidan has been a phenomenal success and the response… overwhelming. During our first episode we got 53,000 votes, which climbed up to 183,000 for the third episode, "she says. The show has not only been a hit in the UAE, its popularity has also spread across the region. "We get votes from people from as far away as Yemen and Jordan,” she says.



The winning Yawil will receive Dh300,000 in prize money and a Volkswagen Touareg, while five finalists will get Dhs100,000 each, according to Al A'zar. The show sees a panel of three judges commenting on the performance of each dancer, but the winner will be chosen based on how many votes he receives.



The competition is the brainchild of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is keen to preserve the UAE's heritage, explains Abdullah bin Dalmouk, who supervises the competition and is considered an expert in the country's heritage.



The UAE's modern renaissance has introduced many positive changes for its people, but the unfortunate aspect of progress is that it can undermine tradition, says bin Dalmouk.



NATIONAL HERITAGE "Sheikh Hamdan believes that the heritage of the UAE is a special treasure that should be cherished. That is why he launched Al Maidan amongst other initiatives to protect the heritage,” he says.



Al youla could have been relegated to the annals of history if not for the intervention of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first President of the UAE, according to Saif Juma Al Kutbi, a young poet. "The late Sheikh Zayed revived al youla by encouraging and rewarding the performers. Also, he himself was an accomplished Yawil and would perform during many occasions.



"Now the mantle has been taken by Sheikh Hamdan who has successfully managed to transform it to a popular pursuit amongst the youth,” adds Al Kutbi. He reminds UAE youth of the importance of keeping such traditions, citing a saying by Sheikh Zayed – "He who has no past has no future.” Just how popular al youla has become can be seen in the huge numbers the competition has attracted.

According to Ahmed Hussain, one of the judges, more than 1,000 performers took part in the auditions to choose the finalists. Hussain, who is an experienced al youla judge, believes the dance's popularity is growing by the day.



He traces the resurgence of the dance to 2003, after Sheikh Hamdan launched the al youla competition as part of wider heritage competitions including shooting and falcon hunting. "Now it has become very popular and you can see kids as young as two years old taking part, "he says.



Al youla's popularity among young Emiratis is also evident in the number of teenagers that form the bulk of the voters for Al Maidan. Noura, a 14 year-old Emirati, says she thinks al youla is "cool”. BEDOUIN TRADITION The dance springs from the deepest traditions of Arab Bedouin culture, explains competition supervisor Bin Dalmouk, who points out that al youla is actually a variation of al razfa, a dance performed by two lines of male warriors confronting each other.



Standing in the middle, a poet would recite melodic poems of valour, which the warriors would repeat after him. Al youla was usually performed by warriors after a skirmish – thus the name which means a battle round or circuit.



An All Youla performance demands great physical endurance, synchronisation between man and weapon, and split-second co-ordination and timing. The weapon – always a rifle – should not seem to be a separate piece of equipment, but an extension of the dancer's body and soul.



"The close ties between the Bedouin and his weapon are not a surprise, because in the harsh loneliness and wilderness of the desert a Bedouin depended on the readiness of his weapon. It became as essential to his life as his tribe,” says Bin Dalmouk.



Over time, this relationship between man and weapon grew into an art form in the form of a dance, he adds. The rifles performers now use in al youla are not real, due to accidental shooting incidents in the past. Nowadays, dancers have replica weapons especially made to make sure they have a perfect grip. The rifle has to be the same weight on both sides so as not to fall when it is thrown in the air.



Today, Al youla is often performed at weddings with some adaptations, including traditional music with a Bedouin beat. This environment is where Al Maidan competitor Rashid Al Marar discovered his love for the dance.



"I first started dancing when I was seven, during weddings. My father taught me the basic moves after which I improvised the rest,” says the 19-year-old high school student who is a member of a traditional dance troupe which performs during special occasions and weddings. AN HONOUR One of the contenders for the first prize, Rashid Hareb Al Khasouni, 18, describes al youla as a sport that runs in his blood. "al youla is part of our heritage, it is the dance of our ancestors. For us it is an honour to keep it alive,” he says.



Al Khasouni says that the only training he does is during wedding parties. "That is the only time that I get to practise my moves,” he says.



For Um Mohammed, a 60year-old Emirati grandmother, the sight of the young men performing brings back memories of her youth.



"In the past, our lives were simple and for entertainment we would have camel races and al youla. But then when the oil was discovered some of the young people stopped caring about the heritage and a lot of them even forgot these dances. But this competition is good, for it is teaching them to be proud of the dances of their ancestors,” she says.



At a time when globalisation is eroding many cultural traditions all over the world, the preservation of such art forms is seen by many as a necessity. For many of the young people dancing or watching the performers at Global Village, al youla is not just a dance but a piece of heritage passed down from their ancestors. For them, it is a way to prove their Emirati identity in an increasingly modern UAE. (Emirates Today)

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