Intangible Heritage: Poems are the soul of Saudis culture
By: Lama Albasri
Tags: Saudi Arabia, World Heritage, Intangible Heritage, History

In all its aspects is the spirit of our vibrant past, it is interwoven with our; customs, traditions, ceremonies, art, handcrafted traditional skills, performances, folk dances, clothes, knowledge, proverbs, oral expression and language. It is also an important factor in protecting national cultural identities, and thus preserving the cultural diversity of humankind despite its fragile nature. The importance of intangible cultural heritage lies not in its cultural manifestation per se, but rather in the rich knowledge and skills that are transmitted from one generation to the next.

The UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) defines intangible cultural heritage in four different aspects, namely:

Traditional and contemporary heritage that is living at the same time: Intangible cultural heritage does not represent inherited traditions from the past but also includes contemporary rural and urban practices in which diverse cultural groups participate. Inclusive: the expressions that derive from the intangible cultural heritage that we practice may be similar to the forms of expression practiced by others Representative: intangible cultural heritage is not merely valued as a cultural good, on a comparative basis, for its exclusivity or its exceptional value. It thrives on its basis in communities and depends on those whose knowledge of traditions, skills and customs are passed on to the rest of the community, from generation to generation, or to other communities. Community-based: Intangible cultural heritage is not heritage until it is recognized as such by the communities, groups or individuals that create, maintain and transmit it. Without their recognition, nobody else can decide for them that a given expression or practice is their heritage.

Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is rich in tangible and intangible cultural heritage, because it is a land where very old civilizations have passed through the ages. Unfortunately, the world does not know about Saudi Arabia’s heritage treasures, because it is considered late in documenting what it has in UNESCO.

On the positive side, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia successfully registered eight intangible heritage elements on the UNESCO list: Al ardha “ folk dance”, Al Muzmar “ folk dance” and the Asiri cat as individual elements registered on UNESCO list as a Saudi cultural heritage. Falconry, Majlis, Arabic coffee, Date palm, and Sadu are common elements between some others countries registered on UNESCO list as cultural heritage.

At this instant, the Saudi Ministry of Culture is preparing a number of future nominations, such as: Taifi roses, Henna, Sesame and Engraving on metals. At the end of this year, 2021, the Ministry of Culture will discuss the partnership with 16 Arab countries to record the Arabic calligraphy file. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is receiving much attention from UNESCO, as the Kingdom has participated in a number of cultural programs, and UNESCO has offered numerous opportunities and initiatives the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the sake of preserving heritage.

As Saudis, we believe that heritage is an integral part of human identity, and the beauty of heritage and culture remains sustainable even as the world becomes more connected.

Moreover, one of my favorite aspects of intangible cultural heritage currently missing in the discussion of future UNESCO nominations are Arabic poems. As a Saudi and Arabi, I propose and nominate that Arabic poems to be add to the UNESCO Intangible Culture Heritage list, because it is soul of our culture as Saudis.

The Arabic poems

The Arabic poem, the poem was known in the past as lyric poetry, revolving around several topics such as emotional incidents, praising the king or the sheikh of the tribe, lamenting, boasting about the tribes to which the poets belong, or welcoming a guest. It is divided into poetry and prose. In fact, what distinguishes Arabic poems they have adhered to the weight and rhyme, in all its styles, the eloquence of the Arabic language and in its various generations!

The Arab poets compose style is genius poems glorifying their language and expressing its eloquence. Some of the verses of Arabic poetry are strange and others are so expressive that you think they were mixed with your soul. It is a language that addressed feelings before the mind.

Writing poetry originated in the pre-Islamic era. The poetry was known as the poems composed of verses, each verse in it is independent from what was before and after it in composition. The verses are connected together in meaning, and characterized by a specific tone. Also, it is known in this era as traditional or classical poetry. However, Arabic poems currently are written in several Arabic dialects, each dialect representing the region of the writer he is from.

The famous Saudis writers of Arabic poems

The poet Ibn Uthaimin:

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Uthaimin, was born in the village of Salamiyah from Najd in 1854, and spent his life traveling between Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia until he finally settled in Riyadh and he died there in 1944.

Ibn Uthaymeen is considered a praiseworthy poet who dedicated his poetry to the praise of kings and princes, especially the founding king of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz.

لا يبلغُ المجدَ إِلَّا مَن تَكونُ لهُ نفسٌ تتوقُ إِلى ما دونهُ الشُّهبُ

جوداً وبأساً وعفواً عندَ مقدِرَةٍ وخفضَ جأشٍ إِذا ما اشتدَّتِالنوبُ

Glory is only attained by those for whom a soul longs for what is below the meteors…

Goodness, miserable and amnesty in the ability and reducing sorrow if it doesn’t intensify the reason of hardness.

The poet Ghazi bin Abdul Rahman Al-Qusaibi:

Ghazi Al-Qusaibi was born in Al-Ahsa in 1940, obtained a law degree from Cairo University in the early 1960s, then pursued his studies in the United States of America, and received a doctorate in international law from the University of London in 1970.

Al-Gosaibi held several positions in the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the most prominent of which was Minister of Industry, Minister of Health and Minister of Labor, and he also represented the Kingdom as ambassador to Bahrain and Britain.

Al-Gosaibi died in the summer of 2010, leaving behind a great literary legacy, in addition to his achievements in the ministries he held and in the Saudi diplomatic corps. Al-Gosaibi’s books were not limited to poetry alone, as he has many novels, books and research.

خمسٌ وستُونَ.. في أجفان إعصارِ

أما سئمتَ ارتحالاً أيّها الساري؟

أما مللتَ من الأسفارِ.. ما هدأت

إلا و ألقتك في وعثاءِ أسفار؟

Sixty-five … in the eyelids of a hurricane…!

Are you still not tired of trekking, Sari?

Are you still not tired of travels .. they have not calmed down…!

Then, it put you in traveling tiredness?

Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal:

Abdullah bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the eldest son of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, was born in 1921 and interested in poetry and literature despite the fact that it had not been studied by that time. He wrote in eloquent poetry influenced by major Arab poets, as he wrote spoken Saudi poetry.

Prince poet Abdullah Al-Faisal died in May 2007, but during his life he had held several positions, most notably Minister of Health and Minister of Interior. As for his poetic legacy, he presented many poems to major singers in the Arab world in addition to his printed collections.

غرَّبتي غربةُ المشاعِرِ والروحِ وإنْ عشتُ بينَ أهلي وصَحبِي

أبداً أنشدُ الهَناءَ فألقى حَيثما رحتُ شَقوةَ الحسِّ جَنبي

أزرعُ الودَّ والحَنانَ وأسقي واحَةَ الحبِّ مِن روافِدِ قَلبي

فأرى الشَّكَّ والجحودَ وألقَى ناتِئاتِ الأشواقِ تَملأ دَربِي

شاخَ صَبرِي عَلى الجِراحِ وسَالتْ أدمُع مناحةِ الصَّبرِ تُنبِي

فحبَستُ الأنينَ عَن مسمَعِ النَّاسِ لئلاَّ يطولَ عذلي وعَتبِي

غيرَ أني أحسُ بالمرِّ يزدادُ ويختالُ ماردُ اليأسِ قربيِ

My alienation is alienation of feeling and soul even if I live between my family and companions…

I never sing bliss and I got whenever I go naughty near to me.

I plant friendliness and tenderness and water the oasis of love from the tributaries of my heart…

I see suspicion and ingratitude, and I see signs of longing filling my path.

My patience has grown old on the wounds and the tears of patience shed…

I locked the groans from people’s ears, lest my excuse and reproach be prolonged.

However, I feel the bitterness increase and distort does not prevent to be close to me.

As can be seen, the Arabic poems are our soul. For us as Arabs and Saudis in particular, they are our heritage, culture, identity and history. I hope we protect and preserve them forever. And I believe that in order to protect, we must inscribe the Arabic poems to UNESCO‘s intangible cultural heritage list.