Music
Yemeni music is strongly influenced by the musical elements and genres of the Arabian Peninsula and Yemeni music is known abroad thanks to popular Pan-Arab musician and Yemeni Jews who became musical stars in Israel during the 20th century. In the Arab world, Yemen has traditionally been considered an important musical center.
Yemen’s national anthem is the United Republic, written by Abdallah “al-Fadhool” Abdulwahab Noman.
UNESCO proclaimed the tradition of Sanaa’s poetic songs, called al-Ghina al-San’ani, a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity on November 7, 2003.
Folk music Yemeni folk music is usually a part of the home, played and sung in a room surrounded by windows high up in the house called the mafraj, usually while chewing qat (leaves from a local bush with similar stimulating and psychoactive effects to amphetamines). This kind of interpretation based on poetic intonation is called homayni; and its tradition dates back to the fourteenth century. Two of the most famous Yemeni musicians, Ahmed Fathey and Osama al Attar now reside in the United Arab Emirates. The Homayni style of Sana’a, the Yemeni captain is the most popular today.
There is a large Yemeni community in Cardiff and other cities in Wales. In recent years Yemeni music has become part of the Welsh music scene.
Yemeni Musicians
- Abubakr Salim Balfaqih
- Ahmad as-Sunaydar
- Ahmad Qasim
- Ahmed Fathey
- Ali al-Aanisi
- Ali as-Simah
- Ayoob Tarish Absi
- Faisal Alawi
- Fouad al-Kibsy
- Jamil ghanim
- Muhammad Hamood al-Harithi
- Muhammad Murshid Naji
The song of Sana’a
It is an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yemen, registered as such in 2008. The Sana’a song, also known as al-Ghina al-San’ani, designates a set of songs that belong to a rich musical tradition practiced throughout Yemen. This song, which is rooted in various poetic traditions dating back to the 14th century, constitutes an important part of a number of important ceremonies and social activities, such as the wedding evening (samra) or the magyal, a daily meeting between friends and companions who takes place in the afternoons.
The songs are performed by a solo singer accompanied by two ancient instruments: the qanbus (Yemeni lute) and the traditional sahn nuhasi, a copper tray that the musician balances on the tips of both thumbs and taps gently with the others. eight fingers. There are many different melodic types. The modulation of one to another during the same performance is not frequent, but the artistic talent of the singer is judged by his ability to embellish a melody by emphasizing the meaning of the text and captivating the audience. This music can also accompany different traditional dances.
The poetic repertoire, composed in various Yemeni dialects and in classical Arabic, contains many elegant puns and is imbued with deep emotion. These texts constitute the most revered and frequently cited collection of poetry in Yemen. Although these songs are directly associated with the city of Sana’a, the historical capital of Yemen, they are widespread throughout the country, even in rural areas. In fact, the poetic repertoire often draws on the dialects of the different regions of the country. In addition, performers of other genres are often inspired by traditional melodies, particularly for country dances and contemporary music.
Although Yemenis continue to be very proud of the Sana’a singing tradition, the audience for concerts has decreased and today’s musicians, although more and more numerous, only know a few songs that they intersperse in their concerts before moving on to a lighter contemporary repertoire. Only some musicians of previous generations have preserved all the tradition and subtleties of the performance of the Sana’a song.
Religion
The Islam is the official religion. The majority of Yemenis are Muslim except for a small Jewish minority.
Education
Since 2000, the Yemeni government has introduced an educational project that aims to introduce significant changes in the education system, reducing illiteracy to less than 10% by 2025. [4] Although the Yemeni government offers free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 15, the US Department has reported that the compulsory nature is not enforced. The government has developed in 2003 a Basic National Educational Development Strategy that aims to provide education to Yemeni children between 6 and 14 years old and also reduce the differences between men and women in rural and Rubanian areas.
According to andyeducation, a seven-year project has also been designed to promote gender equality and the quality and efficiency of secondary education, focusing on girls in rural areas, which was approved by the World Bank in March 2008.
