Dancing Belonging: Contesting Dabkeh in the Jordan Valley, Jordan
2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 32; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/13691830500487431
ISSN1469-9451
Autores Tópico(s)Diverse Musicological Studies
ResumoAbstract Ritual performances of dance (dabkeh) and music by Palestinian refugees on the East Bank of the Jordan Valley (Jordan) involve negotiation of public sphere and a rare occasion of exhibition of criteria of belonging on a tense borderland. These musical events have become crucial sites of encounter of the heterogeneous communities living in this liminal region. Besides, they constitute a place of reproduction, and at the same time contestation, of ideas of belonging, of solidarity as much as of difference and exclusion, in a context of political censure and a general lack of public places. The agency of the body and embodied identities in music and dance have become highly political in displacement. Through the analysis of some cases, I will show the public markers of status, the display of gender identity and the criteria of belonging and difference, which are otherwise censured or implicitly silenced. In synthesis, the paper explores a way of making home and place through dances and music 'out of place'. Keywords: Palestinian RefugeesJordanRitualDance Dabkeh Belonging Notes 1. The research is based on fieldwork in the central region of the Jordan Valley, in Dair Alla region, conducted from 1997 to 1999. The fieldwork was financed within a larger research programme on UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in the Near East) and Palestinian refugees, conducted by IFPO (Institut Français du Proche-Orient, ex-CERMOC) of Amman, Jordan. 2. Ghor is the local name for Jordan Valley, therefore Ghawarneh or Ghorani stand for the 'inhabitants of Ghor'. 3. UNRWA was parallelled by USAID and the World Bank, as the main donors of development schemes implemented through the Jordan Valley Authority, a powerful regional authority whose power was mainly based on the control and management of irrigated water and land. The development intervention was set up as a refugees' resettlement scheme in the 1950s but was put in place in intensive stages mainly after the conflict period of 1967–71. 4. I will take into account mainly men's parties organised for the bridegroom, since women's parties generally, but not always, censure and avoid male guests, exept for close family members. 5. The history of dabkeh 'stamping' is connected to a labour practice and to a specific rhythm of work: 'in the olden days, before tiled roofs were installed on Lebanese homes. Their flat roofs were made of tree branches that were cemented with mud. When the change of season came, especially in winter, the mud would crack and start to leak and would need to be fixed. The owner of the house would call his neighbours for help and the neighbours would gather on the roof. They would hold hands, form a line and start stamping their feet while walking on the roof in order to adjust the mud'(www.lebanon-online/culture/folklore3.html). I was also told that the act of stamping was related to the old traditional practice in the Jordan Valley and Palestine of stamping the mud with straw in order to prepare the material for mud brick, afterwards desiccated and used traditionally in house construction in the valley. 6. The Yarghoul is probably the most famous Palestinian instrument. Like the mijwiz, it requires continuous breath. Mijwiz, in contrast, has a smoother and sharper sound and is generally easier to play than the yarghoul. Al-shibbabeh is made from a brass, copper, or sometimes plastic tube or ditch reed. It can be made—and played—easily, often by children, and does not need a continuous breath. 7. Interestingly, lawih is also called 'qawwad' which means protector of prostitutes, in vulgar and mocking terms. According to Granqvist, 'the word qawwad includes also the meaning of repayment. A gift received creates a debt, from which the receivers must try to free themselves by giving a similar gift, or a gift of the same value or more, to the donor, at some ceremonial visit. It may take a year, or even more, before they have the occasion to do so. It remains a debt until repaid' (Granqvist Citation1975: 91). As we have seen before, these roles are connected to the reciprocal network of exchange in which symbolic and material resources circulate. 8. The non-predictability of performance is well analysed by Schieffelin: 'Performances are a living social activity, by necessity assertive, strategic and not fully predictable' (Schieffelin 1998: 198). 9. Visibility has been emphasised in the last decade by the use of video-making, now an essential part of the performance. The mijwiz and firga (music band) performances of the hafla are often recorded live on tapes, mainly when the family of the bridegroom has invested in mobilising a good music group, or good singers. In this case, the tapes are often reproduced by the music shops that have developed lately in market centres. People may buy a copy of the music of a specific hafla. This is significant of the memory that a good hafla produces. Everyone will remember the hafla of a certain family for its music and dancing, which links to the enhanced status of the family concerned. Tapes will also be continually re-listened to and taken to parents or friends outside the valley or outside Jordan. Communication and memory take the form of music. 10. What is generally called Egyptian music is raqs, the individual dance that in local perception is connected to higher-status urban settings. The act of setting up a stage for dabkeh, or organising a marriage party in a rented venue for raqs (Egyptian dance), are alone powerful exhibitions of status. 11. Marriage parties take place generally between April and September, when the weather is warm and even extremely hot, agricultural work decreases and migrants may come back home, and therefore be present at these gatherings. 12. Music amplification, chairs, lights, and expenses for offerings of tea, cake, cola or juice. A different setting of hafla has recently developed, following urban fashions, by renting a hall (sala) and relocating the music performance indoors and in urban centres out of the valley. 13. Interestingly, an unsuccessful or bad hafla is called a 'tafi', a soundless and empty party. This may be due to the low capital investment and consequently the bad quality of the music. Additional informationNotes on contributorsMauro Van Aken Mauro Van Aken is Researcher in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Milan-Bicocca
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