The music of Saudi Arabia includes both Western and traditional music. The most distinguished musician in recent Saudi history is Tariq Abdulhakeem, who composed hundreds of famous Saudi songs for himself as well as for other singers; Saraj Omar has become a very prominent composer after writing the music for the Saudi national anthem; Mohammed Abdu, the most famous singer in the Arab world; Talal Maddah who died in August 2000 while singing in the summer festival on the stage of Al-Muftaha Theatre in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. The 1st Arab Pioneers Festival, which was held in Cairo under the patronage of the Arab League, honored four of the lead composers in Saudi Arabia: Tariq Abdulhakeem, Ghazi Ali, Mohamed Alsenan, and Mohammed Shafiq. Of the same generation are the oud virtuoso Abadi al Johar, Rabeh Saqer and Abdul-Majeed Abdullah.
Kuwait is well known in the region for its exploration of many different and new forms of music and dance. Kuwait is the birthplace of various popular musical genres such as sawt. Kuwait is widely considered the centre of traditional music in the GCC region.
The music of Bahrain is part of the Persian Gulf folk traditions. Alongside Kuwait, it is known for sawt music, a bluesy genre influenced by African, Indian and Persian music. Sultan Hamid, Ali Bahar and Khaled El Sheikh are among the most popular musicians from Bahrain.
The music of Qatar is based on sea folk poetry, song and dance. Traditional dances in Doha are performed on Friday afternoons; one such dance is the Ardah, a stylized martial dance performed by two rows of dancers who are accompanied by an array of percussion instruments, including al-ras, tambourines and cymbals with small drums. Other folk instruments include the oud and rebaba, both string instruments, as well as the ney.
Culture of Kuwait describes the cultural aspects of the Kuwaiti society and is part of the Eastern Arabian culture. Kuwaiti popular culture, in the form of dialect poetry, film, theatre, radio and television soap opera, flourishes and is even exported to neighboring states. Within the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, the culture of Kuwait is the closest to the culture of Bahrain.
Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering or attempting to recover pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the northern and north-western coast of Western Australia pearl diving began in the 1850s, and started in the Torres Strait Islands in the 1860s, where the term also covers diving for nacre or mother of pearl found in what were known as pearl shells.
Sawt is a kind of popular music found in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Saleh (1908–1986) and Daud (1910–1976) Al-Kuwaity were Kuwait-born Israeli musicians of Iraqi-Iranian ancestry who rose to prominence in the Arab world in the early twentieth century. The brothers had a pioneering role in the modern classical music of Iraq and Kuwait, especially the Iraqi maqam and Kuwaiti sawt genres. In 1951, the brothers immigrated from Iraq to Israel.
The Bahārna are an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs indigenous to the historical region of Bahrain. They are generally regarded to be the original inhabitants of Eastern Arabia. They inhabited the area even before the arrival of the Banu Utbah in the 18th century which the Bahraini royal family descends from. Most Bahraini citizens are Baharna. Regions with most of the population are in Eastern Arabia, with significant populations in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, and Hormozgan province of Iran.
Bahrani Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken by the Baharna in Eastern Arabia and Oman. In Bahrain, the dialect is primarily spoken in Shia villages and some parts of Manama. In Saudi Arabia, the dialect is spoken in the governorate of Qatif. In Oman, it is spoken in the governorates of Al Dhahirah and Al Batinah.
The culture of Bahrain is part of the historical region of Eastern Arabia. Thus, Bahrain's culture is similar to that of its Arab neighbours in the Arabian Gulf region. Bahrain is known for its cosmopolitanism, Bahraini citizens are very ethnically diverse. Though the state religion is Islam, the country is tolerant towards other religions: Catholic and Orthodox churches, Hindu temples as well as a (now-defunct) Jewish synagogue are present on the island.
Eastern Arabia (Bahrain), is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Eastern Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman. The entire coastal strip of Eastern Arabia was known as "Bahrain" for a millennium.
Khaliji music is the music of Eastern Arabia, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and it is popular across the Arab world. It is traditionally characterized by heavy use of the rebab, oud and other string instruments such as the violin, the occasional use of habbān, and the inclusion of percussion instruments such as the mirwas, tabl, and duff drums. Khaliji music first started as a bedouin tradition with poetry sung by a tribe's shaa'ir, which means poet, usually accompanied by a rebab, the lyrics dealt with tales of honor, love, camel riders, and glory warriors.
Khaled El Sheikh is a Bahraini singer. Married with 5 daughters. Honored in 12th Bahrain International Musical Festival on 14 October 2003. Honored by Culture & Arts Directorate, Ministry of Information for best music and sound effects for Akhbar AlMajnoon play on 6 July 2005.
Ardah is a type of folkloric group dance in the Arabian Peninsula, especially Saudi Arabia. It is also performed in other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The dance is performed with two rows of men opposite of one another, each of whom may or may not be wielding a sword or cane, and is accompanied by drums and spoken poetry.
There is a rich and ancient culture in Eastern Arabia. The culture in this region has always been oriented towards the sea.
The culture of Qatar is strongly influenced by traditional Bedouin culture, with less acute influence deriving from India, East Africa and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf. The peninsula's harsh climatic conditions compelled its inhabitants to turn to the sea for sustenance. Thus, there is a distinct emphasis placed on the sea in local culture. Literature and folklore themes are often related to sea-based activities.
Gargee'an, sometimes spelled as Gerga'oon, is a semiannual celebration, observed primarily in Eastern Arabia. It takes place on the 15th night of the Islamic month of Sha'ban for Shia Muslims and on the 15th night of Ramadan for all sects. It is celebrated by children and adults alike dressing in traditional attire and going door-to-door to receive sweets and nuts from neighbours, as they sing traditional songs. It’s more of a tradition than a religious affiliation so both Sunni and Shia celebrate it. The tradition has existed for hundreds of years, and is deeply rooted in some parts of the Gulf culture, especially in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Huwala also collectively referred to as Bani Huwala, is a blanket term usually used to refer to Iranian Arabs of tribal lineage who initially migrated to Iran in the 13th and 14th century and intermixed with the indigenous population of older Arabic-speaking background. Such migrations continued till around 19th century to the area which is now Iran's Hormozgan Province and Fars Province, mainly Bandar Abbas, Qishm, and the mainland near Bandar Lengeh. The Huwala follows Sunni Islam, as opposed the majority Persian Twelver Shia and similar to Sunni Peninsular Arabs. Most of the Huwala have remigrated back to the Arabian Peninsula between late 19th century and early 20th century. The imposition of restrictive economic policies by Reza Shah in the 1930s led to the migration of most of the Huwala back to the Arabian Peninsula.
Salem al-Allan was a popular Fijiri singer from Bahrain. He was born in Galali, a village in Muharraq Governorate.
