The book From Our Folk Songs — Songs of Joy from Mandan (Aghani Al-Farah Al-Mandawi), compiled by Khayriah Shinnawi, documents part of the musical memory and folk heritage of the Galilee region, with special focus on the "songs, chants, and ululations" that accompanied weddings and social occasions in the village of Kafr Manda, passed down from generation to generation.
اضافة اعلان
The book, published by Sohail Issawi Publishing House, is an attempt to preserve this oral heritage and document it in book form, out of fear it might otherwise be lost or fade away, especially since many of these songs are tied to people's memory and the details of their social lives, forming an essential part of joyful rituals and celebrations.
In compiling the book, Shinnawi draws on a personal experience spanning decades, during which she lived alongside folk song, memorizing, performing, and composing, and took part in bringing weddings and celebrations to life, which allowed her to collect hundreds of "songs, chants, and ululations" that have remained fixed in her memory since childhood.
Preparing the book took many years of research, work, memory retrieval, and gathering heritage material, ultimately presenting testimony to a time when folk song was present in the details of celebrations, a means of expressing people's feelings and festivities, as well as a vessel for preserving folk memory and passing it on to future generations.
In her introduction to the book, titled "My Life's Journey with Wedding Songs and Heritage," Shinnawi recalls the beginnings of her relationship with singing and playing the darbuka, noting that she loved singing from her earliest childhood, and learned to play the darbuka while in fourth grade.
She said: "I would come home from school and gather the neighborhood girls and teach them the new songs and chants I had learned or heard. The darbuka was my constant companion, and whenever it wore out or broke from heavy use, my family and siblings would bring me a new one, encouraging my love of singing and heritage."
The author added that as the years passed, she grew older, and her passion for folk wedding songs grew alongside her, so she began taking part in celebrations and occasions both inside and outside the village, singing and playing the darbuka, while people repeated the songs after her, until she became well known at weddings and celebrations.
Shinnawi notes that her late husband encouraged her to continue on this path, as he saw in folk singing a message of joy and happiness, one that helped bring delight into people's hearts.
Since childhood, Khayriah Shinnawi made a point of preserving folk and heritage songs; whenever she heard a song she liked, she would write down its lyrics on paper, then memorize it by heart to sing at weddings and celebrations. Over the years, her memory came to hold hundreds of folk songs, chants, and ululations, passed down generation after generation.
Shinnawi recalls that period, saying: "I would sing for long hours without feeling tired, while those present repeated the songs behind me." She explained: "I wasn't singing behind anyone, everyone was singing behind me and sharing the joy with me."
She notes that weddings back then would extend for seven days or more, during what was known as "Ta'alil," where people would gather every night at the house of celebration. She says: "They would wait for her arrival if she was late, ask about her, and sometimes even search for her, having grown used to her being an essential part of their celebrations."
She added that her absence from any occasion would raise questions among those present, who would check on her and ask why she wasn't there, noting that it was not easy for anyone to take her place in bringing those occasions to life.
The author explained that she still remembers, to this day, some scenes from old weddings she witnessed as a seven-year-old child, noting that the bride would ride a purebred mare, her face covered with a white kerchief, her hand tied with another white kerchief, raising her right hand upward, while a relative led the mare and people walked around her singing and ululating.
Shinnawi recalls one of the songs that was sung at those moments, saying that, more than seventy years later, she still remembers its words: "Ala al-heila al-hai'a al-heila / Wa Mas'ad ya rajul al-zeena / Ma tala'at illa bi-namous / Wa ma rikbat illa kuhaila."
The author explained that this song, and other heritage songs, have remained fixed in her memory to this day, and that she would sing them at weddings generation after generation, like many of the songs included in the book.
Shinnawi didn't limit herself to preserving heritage songs, but also composed a number of wedding songs she performed at various occasions, expressing her joy for the bride and groom and their families. She says: "I felt a great sense of responsibility toward every celebration I took part in, and made sure to plant joy in people's hearts, and to be a reason for their happiness."
The author said: "Although God did not grant me children, at every wedding I took part in, I felt that the bride or groom was one of my own children; I rejoiced in their joy and wished them well from my heart. What made me happiest was that, over many years, I was able to bring joy into the hearts of young and old alike, and share with people the most beautiful moments of their lives."
She added that she feels great nostalgia for "the old days," when life, as she describes it, was simpler and calmer, full of love, cooperation, and giving.
People shared food among themselves and helped each other in various aspects of life, while hearts were pure and free of envy and resentment.
Shinnawi believes that atmosphere gave weddings a special flavor that remains etched in memory to this day, affirming her pride in the role she played in bringing folk weddings to life and preserving their musical heritage. She said: "People held love and respect for her, because she devoted a large part of her life to serving this heritage." She notes that she has previously published two books, while preparing this book took a full year of work, research, memory retrieval, and gathering what her memory holds of folk wedding songs, chants, and ululations.
She explained: "Every word in it is part of an experience I lived myself, sang at weddings and celebrations, and carried in my heart and memory for decades."
She expresses her happiness at gathering this heritage in a single book, so it remains preserved for future generations, bearing witness to a beautiful time she lived among people, "a time filled with love, giving, and joy."
Shinnawi closes her introduction by expressing her hope that readers will find, in the book's pages, something of the fragrance and beauty of the past, and that these songs and chants will remain alive in memory, just as they have remained alive in her heart throughout her life.
The book aims to document the folk songs that people passed down and performed at weddings and occasions, particularly in the Galilee region and the village of Kafr Manda, and to preserve this folk heritage from being lost or forgotten, contributing to safeguarding an important part of the region's cultural and social memory.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Aziza Ali
