Kuwaiti Pearl Diving Music
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- event type:WOMEX 24 Conference Session
- date:24 Oct 2024
- time:16:15 - 17:00
- city/area:Manchester
- venue:Conference Room 1, Manchester Central
- country:United Kingdom
- event posted by:Piranha Arts
Chaired by
Ghazi Al-Mulaifi (Kuwait/United Arab Emirates), New York University Abu Dhabi;
with
Hamad Ben Hussain (Kuwait), Ben Hussein Ensemble;
Bill Bragin (USA/United Arab Emirates), The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
Kuwaiti pearl diving music was influenced and occasioned by the sea trade spanning Zanzibar to Bombay (now Mumbai) to Kuwait and the coastal civilisations in between. This hybrid, cosmopolitan music was born from trade and cultural exchange. As a music of the Indian Ocean civilisations’ trade, it is also extra-Khaleeji and extra-Arabic. It changed with each pearling and trading season as sailors and divers played music with locals as they waited for monsoon winds to change direction before sailing home, eager to share the new sounds and instruments upon their return. What happens to this tradition as it is appropriated into the realm of heritage performance as static national capital? How does this music exist today as a dialogic and fluid expression of the pre-national past?
The views and opinions expressed during this session are solely those of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of WOMEX.
Please note that this session and all conferences held in Conference Room 1 at Manchester Central will include auto-captions (in English) for improved accessibility.
