Thread: Al-'arḍa dance -- any resources?

There's an odd photo in the Garland Encyclopedia (article on Nubian Music in Cairo by Ted Swedenburg) of a Nubian man dancing with a thin cane, and the caption credits it as Al-'arḍa.

What I've seen/read of Al-'arḍa is that it's a Saudi men's dual-line dance, often done with swords.

Just wondering if the photo is wrongly attributed, or if Al-'arḍa is a larger genre than I previously thought.

There are a few different places known as al Arda, so it may refer to a location rather than a dance style in this case.

I should check my JTE notes. I know Sahra mentioned that there were some khaleegy influences in the Nubian style, because of merchants crossing over from the Arabian Peninsula and traveling up the Nile...

I have a Saudi work colleague who is keenly interested in Al Aardhah which is called "Al Aardhah Al Najdyaah" in Saudi. Al Aardhah means the dance, Al Najdyah is relevant to the land of "Najd" which includes Riyadh and its suburbs, where King Abdulaziz was born. In the old days when there were lots of wars led by the founder of the Kingdom this dance is usually performed after winning a war ... they usually sing "Nehmadallh Jat Aala Ma Netmanna" which means "We are grateful to Allah that we have won such a war". After the wars ceased it became a Saudi traditional dance to be performed on occasions such as National Day and the Culture Festivals such as Jenadyriah. The King will also participate in such dance as his father used to. The drums, tassels, swords, the outfits, and all relevant decorations are derived from the old days.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niKJt1NOUio]YouTube - Saudi - Al Aardhah 2[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yWs6PsFk0]YouTube - Saudi - Al Aardhah 1[/ame]

Thank you SOO much !!!! This is great info. Thank you thank you thank you!!

You're welcome :-)

Aziza, do you have any insight on how this sort of dancing differs from the competitions they are discussing here? 'Not everybody can shake the sword' Other than the obvious geographical/ethnic affiliations, is this the same general concept as the videos (especially Part 1) you've linked? Sort of a cross between those videos and Egyptian tahtib done with swords? Something else?

I've seen tags for "Raqs al Harbiya" attached to videos of men dancing in rows with swords, rifles, or camel whips, but I'm not sure how you distinguish the various styles. According to this web page in Spanish (assuming it's accurate, and I'm translating it properly) La Danza del Vientre, the deciding factor between "Arda" and "Harbiya" is whether the song lyrics are romantic poetry or not. I don't know what the "Iyal" dancing is, unless that is what they're having the competition in Fujairah about.

The competition referred to in the article in 'The National' is mainly about the technique of making the blade of the sword quiver. The competition is open to both Emiratis and Omanis so it's going to be very interesting and I plan on being in Fujeirah to watch the finals in December.
I'll try to talk to an older person who remembers the other styles you mention. These people are more often found in one of the smaller emirates not in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, though Crown Prince Hamdan of Dubai has been instrumental in reviving yola an Emirati dance involving tossing of guns or swords that younger men do in front of the lines of older male dancers. There's a tv programme on here at the moment showing a yola competition sponsored by the Crown Prince.

Al Aardhah is from Saudi so nobody here (UAE) knows about it, but 'Romantic poetry'? Don't think so ..g.:

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Aziza, do you have any insight on how this sort of dancing differs from the competitions they are discussing here? 'Not everybody can shake the sword' Other than the obvious geographical/ethnic affiliations, is this the same general concept as the videos (especially Part 1) you've linked? Sort of a cross between those videos and Egyptian tahtib done with swords? Something else?

I've seen tags for "Raqs al Harbiya" attached to videos of men dancing in rows with swords, rifles, or camel whips, but I'm not sure how you distinguish the various styles. According to this web page in Spanish (assuming it's accurate, and I'm translating it properly) La Danza del Vientre, the deciding factor between "Arda" and "Harbiya" is whether the song lyrics are romantic poetry or not. I don't know what the "Iyal" dancing is, unless that is what they're having the competition in Fujairah about.

Maybe the "romantic poetry" refers to the pre-Islamic stuff? I know it's still known and recited by some tribes in the Gulf area.