Middle Eastern and North African music traditions

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This is a list of folk music traditions, with styles, dances, instruments, and other related topics. The term folk music cannot be easily defined in a precise manner. It is used with widely varying definitions depending on the author, intended audience and context within a work. Similarly, the term traditions in this context does not connote any strictly defined criteria. Music scholars, journalists, audiences, record industry individuals, politicians, nationalists, and demagogues may often have occasion to address which fields of folk music are distinct traditions based along racial, geographic, linguistic, religious, tribal, or ethnic lines, and all such peoples will likely use different criteria to decide what constitutes a "folk music tradition". This list uses the same general categories used by mainstream, primarily English-language, scholarly sources, as determined by relevant statements of fact and the internal structure of works.

Contents

These traditions may coincide entirely, partially or not at all with geographic, political, linguistic, or cultural boundaries. Very few, if any, music scholars would claim that there are any folk music traditions that can be considered specific to a distinct group of people and with characteristics undiluted by contact with the music of other peoples; thus, the folk music traditions described herein overlap in varying degrees with each other.

Middle East and North Africa

CountryElementsDanceInstrumentationOther topics
Armenian keffolkliturgicalTashnakzootyoun tamzarakocharireligious dudukouddumbegsazbouzoukishvi
Algerian [1] medhmelhunraïzendani gashamandole - rabab - guellal berrahcheikhameddhahatesmehnawa'adat
Assyrian diwanehlilianaraweh baglamaÇifteliadavuldholdutartamburazurnasazwatariyat
BahrainiSee Persian Gulf region
Bedouin [2] [3] [4] zajal fantasia mijwismismaryaghul
Berber [1] [5] [6] [a] amargammussuastararitual musictabbayt aberdagahiduahouachahwash ajouagbendirghaitalotar (instrument)nakousneyrababt'beltindeviol amydazimdyaznlaamtrwai
ChleuhSee Berber
Coptic See Egyptian
Djiboutian balwo bowl lyretanbura
Egyptian [2] Saiyidisawahiliwedding music awalim mismar saiyidinahrasan
EmiratiSee Persian Gulf region
Eritrean folkliturgicalpopular keberokobarkraarlyre – wata
Ethiopian folkliturgicalpopular begenakeberokraarmasenqosistrumwashint
Georgian [7] Georgian polyphonykrimanchulinaduriorovelatable song accordionchanguichongurichuniriclarinetdudukpanduri
Hausa [8] Hausa Gummiganga (cylindrical drum, snared and double-membraned [9] ) – kakakidarbukatapsneeqlootambari (large, bowl-shaped drum [10] ) - goje - kalangu - Jaju umpho umpho (a flute)[ clarification needed ][ specify ][ further explanation needed ][ clarification needed ]
Iranian [11] dafdoholkarnayluteneyney-anbanzurna
Israeli and diaspora Jewish KlezmerSephardic musicMizrahi musicSecular Jewish music Israeli folk dancingHorah lutesoud
KabyleSee Berber
KhaleejiSee Persian Gulf region
KuwaitiSee Persian Gulf region
Kurdish [11] [12] epic Bloordafdholdoozeladudukkamancheneyoudsanturshimshaltabalaktartenburzilzurna chirokbejdengbêjstranbej
Persian Gulf region [13] Khaleeji musicsawt (music)-tarab-Adani-shela Ardha, dabkah duffteerannayoudrababamerwasstabla – binges – qanun
Lebanese [14] dabkah
Mauritanian al-baydaepic – fagu – l'-gnaydiyaal-kahlakarrlabyadlakhallebtayt dabkah ardindaghummatbaltidinit iggawin [15]
Moroccan [5] takht ait attaait Bodarait Bugemaz (ait bouguemaz)taskiwin aghaninbendirdarbukaduffgaragabghaitagimbriguedrakamanjehkanumnainakousoudrababtaarijatabltan-tantar moussem
Nubian [2] duff
OmaniSee Persian Gulf region
Palestinian [16] dalaunameyjana – Zaghareet – wedding music- AtaabaSahjazajal dabka duffmijwiznayoudrababashababitablayarghoul-oud-qanun zajaleen
Pashtun [17] [18] Afghan wedding musickiliwali chub baziatan dairehdholrubabtanbur landai
PersianSee Iranian
Pontic Greek [19] [20] folk - acritic - call and response - parakathi Pontic Greek folk dance, including serra, dipat, atsiapat, omal, etc. lyra - daouli - touloum - zourna - kemane - oud
QatariSee Persian Gulf region
Saudi Arabia Qasida ArdahMizmarDaha OudRebabTarNeyMizmar
Arabic, Islamic, Jewish music [21] canticacoplaendechasromanceSongs for Purimwedding music accordiondaraboukakanunoudtambourine
Somali balwo, qaraami, dhaanto batar drumoud
Sudanese Arab [22] haqiiba oudtambour
TuaregSee Berber
Yemeni [13] oud ghat

Notes

  1. Includes the music of Kabylie and the Tuareg; World Music Central Archived 2006-02-07 at the Wayback Machine

References

Citations

Works cited

 The Rough Guide to Music (various editions and volumes):