Amman: “Oh my longing, come on, let’s go together... to the valley to plant orchards... let us plant three roses for the beloved, and water them with water from the spring.” “Go on, dark-skinned girl, go on, and set your intention right, go to the son of Hauran, the shepherd of the coffee pot.” “Get up, get up on your own, for we have put your father’s and uncle’s rights in place.” These are some of the folk chants and popular songs of Jordan that remain present at celebrations, from weddings and henna nights to graduation parties, carrying within their words and melodies stories from popular memory and details of Jordanians’ lives, customs and traditions.
اضافة اعلان
With the revival of old wedding atmospheres and henna nights, and the accompanying traditional costumes, folk songs and inherited chants, popular heritage has once again found its way into social life and back into the attention of young people.
Between the rhythms of heritage songs and their words, which may seem obscure to some, the journey of curiosity and discovery begins. These expressions prompt today’s generation to ask about their meanings, the stories they carry and the occasions associated with them, turning the song from a tune that is merely repeated into a “window” onto the lives, customs and traditions of their grandparents.
Heritage takes root across generations
Heba (32) is one of the young women who enjoy taking part in celebrations and singing the folk songs they know, as well as performing the mahahat. Heba said that what drew her to popular heritage and folk songs was growing up in an environment full of these traditions, in a popular neighborhood where these songs and mahahat were present at every occasion. Thus, heritage took root in her and she came to love it.
Heba recalls that older women, including her grandmother and neighbors, used to sing these songs at parties. She also had an aunt who was skilled at mahahat, whom she learned from her mother, and Heba then learned it from her.
Heba affirms that she loves taking part in wedding celebrations because folk songs and heritage chants have a special flavor there. She explains that while ordinary well-known songs may be played at any party, mahahat is distinctive because it is tailored to the occasion, whether a graduation, a wedding or a success.
Heba says: “The nature of the occasion determines what you say, so you give your own personal touch to the occasion you are attending. It is something beautiful that makes people happy.”
Heba stresses the importance of future generations inheriting this heritage. It is beautiful and distinctive, she notes, and if it is not preserved from one generation to the next, it will disappear, because people today deal with new things and learn whatever is available to them.
Preserving cultural heritage
But mahahat, according to Heba, is “easy yet hard to master,” which is why she encourages future generations to practice it, memorize it and keep it alive at their own occasions. She says: “Preserving archaeological heritage is no different from preserving cultural and folk heritage. Both are important, and each generation must pass them on.”
The return of these traditions has raised questions about the importance of preserving popular heritage and passing it on to new generations, and about the role of families, society, artists and those interested in heritage in protecting folk songs, chants and popular stories from being forgotten, and ensuring they remain part of the cultural memory and national identity.
Heritage expert Nayef Al Nawaiseh explains that a song, whether Arabic or in any other language, popular or not, consists of two important elements: the words and the melody. When the words are musical, the melody expresses their poetic meaning.
He continues: “Popular songs represent a vital aspect of intangible cultural heritage in any society. Through them, the author expresses feelings toward their homeland or toward themselves, or if they are in love, or if they want to convey a particular message through words organized within a specific melodic framework.”
Al Nawaiseh adds that most of these popular poems have melodic frameworks, such as the “Hijeini” or “Masḥūb” and similar tunes.
Songs carrying social meanings and messages
Al Nawaiseh explains that the words written by popular poets are usually sung, either improvised without any musical instrument or accompanied by music. The instruments most commonly known in popular circles were the rebab, the mugran, the shabbaba, or the simsimiyya in coastal areas, often accompanied by the drum.
He continues: “Modern music that has entered, especially the oud, although it is old, was rarely found in popular settings, such as old weddings or some occasions.”
Al Nawaiseh notes that the return of these songs today and their transmission from generation to generation show that this heritage is alive and able to renew itself and regain its presence through occasions such as weddings, school and university graduations, and many other events in popular society.
He adds that these words are sometimes no longer sung as they were originally, which shows the flexibility of oral popular heritage, since if it were not flexible, it could not have been passed on.
Al Nawaiseh says that what has moved these songs away from their authenticity is the introduction of instruments such as the organ and the piano, which do not belong to the original structure of such poems or songs.
Reproducing and employing heritage
Al Nawaiseh notes that these songs carry meanings that generally relate to aspects of human life history in popular society, social dimensions, and matters of sorrow and joy or popular sentiment.
He explains that these songs reflect people’s capacity to face life’s burdens through songs and popular forms of expression, such as songs performed at weddings, or through dabkeh and well-known folk ensembles.
The aim is to connect the current generation with future generations through historical bonds that demonstrate human authenticity and the ability to create something on this earth, according to Al Nawaiseh.
Al Nawaiseh says the current listener may not understand some of the words, but can discover, through research, that behind these melodies that move people to joy are many matters with historical and religious meanings.
He gives the example of the poem “Yatrush,” which was once sung by Frij and disappeared for a time. When music groups performed it again, it returned to life, and its meanings showed that honoring parents and caring for the elderly is more important than anything else in this world.
This is what the poet meant from the beginning. But through its beautiful melody, the song was able to reveal these meanings and bring them back to life.
Al Nawaiseh stresses that he and others interested in heritage, its preservation, reproduction and employment, are committed to transmitting folk songs from generation to generation by all means, whether in print or online.
He explains that they face great challenges related to the availability of these means and the ability to publish these songs, whether in print or digitally, but they remain determined.
Al Nawaiseh says they have published many books, especially through heritage researchers, and that this heritage is also transmitted through institutions such as radio, television and the Ministry of Culture, or through some private bodies concerned with this matter.
This proves that Jordan is able to connect with its heritage depth and keep pace with the times, according to Al Nawaiseh, whether by reaching these songs in their authentic depth or by using the latest modern means to transmit them, word for word, from one generation to the next.
Al Nawaiseh notes that the challenges are great, especially with modern digital progress that turns its back on many forms of heritage, but as those responsible for this matter, they want to show that our heritage has a capacity for endurance and continuity greater than some believe, including those who see it as dead heritage that has ended and should be abandoned.
Al Nawaiseh concludes: “We do not want to declare a break with our heritage. Our heritage carries our authenticity and identity, and we must stay connected to it through beautiful folk songs, which carry much positive emotion and historical, religious and cultural meaning.”
Source: Al-Ghad. Reporting by Rasha Kanakriyeh.
