{"id":2205,"date":"2011-09-20T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-20T19:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/?p=2205"},"modified":"2014-07-10T19:21:38","modified_gmt":"2014-07-10T19:21:38","slug":"dabke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/dabke\/","title":{"rendered":"Dabke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dabke<\/strong> (\u062f\u0628\u0643\u0629) is an Arabic folk dance. It is popular in Palestinian Territories and several Arab countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. A line dance, it is widely performed at weddings and joyous occasions. The leader of the dabke<\/em> heads the line, alternating between facing the audience and the other dancers.<\/p>\n

Dabke<\/em> in Arabic is literally \u201cstamping of the feet.” The leader, called raas<\/em> (“head”) or lawweeh<\/em> (“waver”), is allowed to improvise on the type of dabke<\/em>. The leader twirls a handkerchief or string of beads known as a masbha<\/a> (similar to a rosary), while the rest of the dancers keep the rhythm. The dancers also use vocalizations to show energy and keep up the beat. The dabke<\/em> leader is supposed to be like a tree, with arms in the air, a proud and upright trunk, and feet that stomp the ground in rhythm. At weddings, the singer begins with a mawwal<\/a>. The raas<\/em> or lawweeh<\/em> takes the lead. Everyone does a basic 1-2-3<\/em> step before the song kicks in. At weddings, the dance is sometimes performed by a professional troupe dressed in costume.<\/p>\n

The “dabkeh” originated in the Levant where houses were built from stone with a roof made of wood, straw and dirt. The dirt roof had to be compacted which required stomping the dirt hard in a uniform way to compact it evenly. This event of cooperation is called ta’awon<\/em> and from here comes the word awneh<\/em>, meaning “help.” This developed into the song Ala Dal Ouna<\/em> (<\/em>\u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062f\u0644\u0639\u0648\u0646\u0627<\/em>)<\/em>, or roughly translated “Let’s go and help”. The dabke and the rhythmic songs go together in an attempt to keep the work fun and useful.<\/p>\n