Pre-Islamic Arab Music

Pre-Islamic Arabic Music

• Jahiliyah = pre-islamic period = “wrath”, “pride”, “impudence”, “ignorance”
• Music in nomadic encampments for every event, social meetings, inciting warriors, etc.
• Earliest songs: Huda (ghina’ dereived nasb, sinad and hazaj from it), for dancing
• Society was ruled by tribal union, tribal solidarity was supreme law
• Poetry source of musical life
• Qaynah = singer and servant (-> pouring wine, providing other sensual pleasures) (made up a lot of slave trade), they have impeccable knowledge of Arabic language and training in poetic arts
• In the markets of Medina, Taif and ‘Ukaz they held competitions of poetry and musical perfomances
• Many Qiyan lived in palaces: Harith of  Ghassan, Nu’man and Munthir of Hirah
• They entertained the king and his family with music, recited works by great poets
• Famous Qiyan like: Jadarah of ‘Ad, Mulaykah, Bint Afzar and Hurayrah lived and worked in: Medina, Mecca, Yamamah, Yemen and Hadramawt
• Two singing styles of the Jahiliyah were:
  • The Bedouin nomads: It is generally described as being simple and naïve because of its limitations to:
    • the genres Huda’ (the rousing song of the camel driver, its rhythm corresponds to that of the camel’s steps)
    • and Nasb (the general name given to the songs intoned by young beduouins riding through the desert on their camels and the dirges sung by the women)
  • The sedentary population (Ahl al hadar): it is characterised as viruosic and extraordinary, two categories with regard to form and content:
    • Sinad: a text that dealt with with more serious themes of dignity, fame, pride and arrogance, it was composed in the long classical metrical style of Arabian poetry
    • Hajaz: simple songs which were intended only for entertainment and amusement, composed in short classical metrical style and accompaned by lute, flude or hand drums
• Pre-islamic Arabs as well as other semitic and Hamitic people shared similar forms of music with common characteristics, many concepts were derived from the cultures of Babylon, Assyira and Egypt, where choral and instrumental ensembles wre part of religious worship
• Early pre-islamic music was performed mainly be female vocalists and caravan songs were the rule among bedouins

Category: Middle Eastern, Music