Thread: Anyone know anything about dance in the Yemen Tihama region?

I've got a wonderful CD called "The Yemen Tihama: trance and dance music from the Red Sea coast of Arabia". The music, especially the drumming, isn't much like other Middle Eastern music I've heard, it's more like African styles. Have been searching for videos of dance from the region and only found one of men at a wedding. It is a less-visited part of the world, so information may be hard to come by, but does anyone have any idea what the women's dances are like?

In the one clip I found, the men are shown in one segment stepping in a circle and doing high leaps, sort of Maasai-style, then in another going in a circle swinging knives, like I've seen in other Yemeni dance footage (can't see their footwork though) while others in the wedding party shoot guns in the air .w.: The women are somewhere else having their own party, and hopefully safe!!

Hi

The closer you get to the Red Sea coast in Yemen the stronger the African influence in the music becomes and the CD you've bought reflects that. There's a belief amongst some/many Yemenis that the coastal people practice "strong magic" (their words not mine). The houses in the villages in the coastal areas of Yemen look very similar to rural villages in Kenya. There are some photos of the Yemeni coastal region here.

It sounds like you have already seen the YouTube clip I filmed at Dar al-Hajjar showing men dancing in a circle with knives.

From my experience in Yemen, the women are very sheltered and my contact with them was not frequent. Though one lady who was fully covered including niqab and gloves, came up to me in a Sana'a street and spoke to me in impeccable English with a "Home Counties" accent. Once I got over my surprise, we chatted about families, travel, Yemen and then she went on her way.

Originally Posted by indrayu

I've got a wonderful CD called "The Yemen Tihama: trance and dance music from the Red Sea coast of Arabia". The music, especially the drumming, isn't much like other Middle Eastern music I've heard, it's more like African styles. Have been searching for videos of dance from the region and only found one of men at a wedding. It is a less-visited part of the world, so information may be hard to come by, but does anyone have any idea what the women's dances are like?

In the one clip I found, the men are shown in one segment stepping in a circle and doing high leaps, sort of Maasai-style, then in another going in a circle swinging knives, like I've seen in other Yemeni dance footage (can't see their footwork though) while others in the wedding party shoot guns in the air .w.: The women are somewhere else having their own party, and hopefully safe!!

Thanks, Aziza... I checked your photos...Looks fascinating, picturesque, a bit scary (that police post seems like they expect something serious!) and still mysterious.

I found an article by Jalilah about her experiences while living in Yemen; Gilded Serpent and she describes some of the women's dance

Thanks, Aziza! That's interesting reading, and the mystery deepens... If it's nothing like anything the author had seen before, what is it like? Would looove to see some video now!!