Palestine has four types of traditional songs that are still used widely today for weddings, social gatherings, and everyday life. Traditional Palestinian songs have a strong rhythm; however, they do not have set lyrics. In fact, lyrics of Palestinian traditional songs differ from city to city. The four types of traditional songs are Mejana, Dalona, Sahja, and Zaghareet. Mejana is the most typical and common type of song. Mejana is sung by workers like farmers while doing their jobs. Mejana is based off of poetry and contains an Ataba. An Ataba is four verses of poetry and the first three verses end with the word being said in the same sound but with a different meaning. Dalon is the second most common type of traditional song in Palestine. Dalona songs are popular for Palestinian dances like the dabka. Dalona is made up of four lines of poetry, but the first three lines do not require the same sound like Mejana songs. Sahja songs are usually used for weddings. These type of songs require clapping by men or women to the beat of the song while the song is being sung to the bride or to the groom. Zahareet is the oldest and most traditional type of Palestinian songs. Zahareet is very common in weddings too Usually, it is sung by women and does not require clapping like Sahja songs.
Dabke is a very traditional dance in Palestine that is still done today and can be seen in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Turkey too. Usually, Dabke is performed at very happy occasions like weddings. Many people think this dance looks like a mixture of tap, circle, and line dancing. Overall, there are six main types of dabke; however, shamaliyya, sharawiyya, karassdiyyawhich, and niswaniyyah are the most common types in Palestine. All forms of dabke are performed in groups of at least ten dancers in Palestine. Traditionally, there is usually a flute player or an oriental drum that helps give a rhythm for the dancers to dance to. Every branch of dabake has its unique set of songs where the theme usually has to do with love. Al-Shamaliyya is the most common type of dabke. During this dance, there is a head man [the lawyer] for the group of males that hold hands and form a semicircle. The lead male dancer is the best dancer, is the lightest on his feet, and is able to improvise. Al-Shamaliyya is the most popular form of dabke dance because it is used for weeding, circumcisions, return of travelers, holidays, and the release of prisoners. In other words, Al-Shamaliyya helps illustrate Palestinians national personality.
Unfortunately, I was not able to come up with much information about Palestine and theater. I assume traditionally they used shadow theater which we already learned about. Theater in Palestine tends to hold strong political messages. Therefore, many productions are heavily censored or frequently shut down. The Palestinian National Theatre is known as the El-Hakawati Theater to most Palestinians and was founded in 1984. This theaters main goal is to have productions teach others about Palestine’s culture, history, traditions, and politics.
Sources:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/jerusalem/nightlife/233906#sthash.cdalaYUu.dpbs
