Khaleeghi

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Aisha Azar

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Khaliji

Dear Shanazel,
There are two good ones available from Sout Wa Soura:
The first is "An evening with Leila Abdulaziz", which is footage of a celebration in Kuwait that happened ion the 1980s. there is a lot of good traditional Samri on this vidoe, as well as a lot of other great stuff. This one is written in Arabic, but I have very reliable translators who have been reading the language since the first grade!

Another is called "Khaliji (Kuwaiti and Saudi) Folk Dances". This one is an episode of a Kuwaiti television show popular in the 90s, called, (if I am remembering correctly) "Ya Leila Dana". I watched this show with a Saudi friend of mine and she told me all about the band, infromation about the dancers, translated the speaker's narration for me and in general added to the interest of the video by sharing her knowledge of the dance, music and customs. For example, the two girls who are doing the main body of dances are Bedouin. She knows this because only Bedouion still oil their hair! Also, she was able to tell when the video was filmed because of the style of abayas the women were wearing. Other such tidbits of info made the video twoce as interesting. You will also see very specific versions of the dance done on this video.

Of the two, I like the first one best because it seems to be more natural.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Ludmilla

New member
Dear A'isha -- Of course, that's what was being asked......Sorry -- Your comments with detail are wonderful - Ludy
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Khaliji

Dear Shanazel and Ludy ( I LOVE that!!),
I should probably also mention that on my website in the library section are two articles on Khaliji. One is called "Are we confused yet?" and the other is called "Observations on Samri". (www.raqsazar.com). A fair definition and description of a couple of the dances that comprise Khaliji are in the articles.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Shanazel

Moderator
I knew I could count on A'isha to come through! Thank you, too, Ludy. I will start looking for those items immediately, if not sooner. Friends of mine lived in Oman off and on for many years, and Ann still speaks enthusiastically about Kalidji and the thobes the dancers wear. A'isha, as a costumer, do you know anything about traditional embroidery in the middle east, specifically for the thobes?

Oooh, I just love this forum!!! Ask and ye shall be educated.
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Khaliji

Dear Shanazel,
Most of the thobes we see here in the states are made in India, and machine embroidered. There is a book by an author named Heather Colyer Ross, I forget the exact name, but the book has examples of different types of clothing from the Middle East, and she shows some wonderful examples of embroidery and other work on thobes. The thobes are known by several different names. I have an excerpt from a pamphlet about Qatari crafts in one of the articles I mentioned,on my site, which talks very slightly about thobe embroidery.
In the late 1980s I went to an exhibit in Seattle called "Of Palms and Pomegranates". At the exhibit was one of the most amazing thobes I have ever seen. It is owned by Princess Nour of Saudi Arabia and the embroidery design is done is real gold and silver... and is CHOO-CHOO TRAINS!! The thobe was a commerative garment from when trains first came to Saudi Arabia. I think H.C. Ross might have a photo of it in her book.
Often, by the way, thobes have no embroidery on them at all and are made out of very mudane fabrics. Most of the time, women do not really wear thobes for dancing at parties and all that, but if you look on my site, that pink dress that I am wearing is a party dress that was given to me by a friend from the UAE, and it is sort of a modified thobe when you see it close up. The dress just makes me smile because it is practically every dress idea in the world, plus some Itialian drapery concepts (!!!), all rolled into one! Occasionally I do perform in it because it is just so fun.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Shanazel

Moderator
A'isha, have I mentioned lately that I love you as well as the forum? I will look up Ross's book and see if I can get it. I don't know if I ever mentioned that embroidery is one of my "things" and that I am planning to apply for a grant from EGA to study middle eastern embroidery- gotta pay for all those new books somehow. Many thanks!
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Khaliji, etc.

Dear Shanazel,
How awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you get the grant!! What a wondefrul thing!!
There is a booklet in which you might be very interested in that case. It is called, "The Ramallah Handi-craft Cooperative" , written by Christina H. Jones in 1962. It has a history of the cooperative, beautiful photos of embroidered shurusches (dresses) and veils, etc. AND specific traditional patterns used in Palestinian embroidery, and the names of the patterns.

If you find that this booklet is unavailable, please email me privately. I would ADORE to see you get the grant.

Regards,
A'isha
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Ross's book is on order from a local bookstore whose proprietor is used to oddball requests from me. I will see if I can find the booklet. The librarian at the local junior college is also used to my requests, so perhaps she can help me find a copy of Jones' booklet. (This is not nearly as odd as the time she searched for a copy of Barddas for me, a book last printed in 1868. She found copies, but they were all in rare books and couldn't be lent. I decided St. Louis was too far away for a visit to a library!) If I can't find Jones, I will certainly contact you, and many thanks for the offer.
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Khaliji

Dear Shanazel,
You are very welcome. I hope that you get the grant! If so, you will have to let us all know when your work is avaliable. I will be very interested.
Regards,
A'isha
 

Shanazel

Moderator
This is a whole new area of embroidery for me, so I am open to suggestions re: which way to look first and how to narrow the subject down to a manageable size. There appears to be a good deal of information of Palestinian embroidery and costume, for example, which spills over into other types. Thanks for cheering me on, A'isha. I am really looking forward to the research and learning experience.
 
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