As-Suwayda.. Multiple vocabulary from the folklore at the Heritage Festival

As-Suwayda-Sana

Multiple elements and vocabulary from the tangible and intangible heritage in Jabal Al-Arab were evoked by the Seventh Folklore Festival, whose activities were launched today at the Culture Palace in the city of Suwayda, as part of the celebration of the Syrian Culture Days, held under the title Culture, Authenticity and Renewal.

On its first day, the festival included a traditional theatrical performance entitled The Intruder presented by the Zaman Group for Heritage and Art in cooperation with the Syrian Scheherazade Dance Theater Company, written by the writer Mansour Harb Henedy, directed by Tayseer Al-Abbas and supervised by the head of the Folk Heritage Department in the Directorate of Culture, Rabia Ghanem.

The work highlights, according to Henedy’s author, the custom of protecting the tenant as an immaterial element, which is one of the most important traditions known in the governorate and Syria in general, retracing two historical events, namely the arrest of the Ottoman and French occupations of Prince Sultan bin Rashid and Mujahid Adham Khanjar, who were seeking refuge in Sheikh Waked Zahreddine and the Mujahid Sultan Pasha al-Atrash.

The theatrical performance was accompanied by artistic, lyrical and dance performances from folklore and folk poems that reflect the authenticity of those customs and traditions.

The festival activities also included an exhibition of collectibles from the material heritage of Ghazi Hamza University, including agricultural tools, copper utensils, pottery, old glass, traditional clothes, a group of traditional art paintings depicting the heritage scene and its rituals, a number of symbols of the national struggle and others.

The festival was also accompanied by a workshop for a group of women in traditional dress making their traditional crafts in front of the audience directly to introduce their product and display it from handicraft and mystical works in addition to recycling fabrics in which Janan Kamal El-Din, Warda Sabbagh, Faiza Faisal, Faiza Al-Safadi, Nihad Awwad, Ibtisam Awwad, Nihad Zain El-Din, Adalat Al-Nimr and Wafa Abu Khalil and Karam, during the opening ceremony, a number of people interested in the governorate's folklore.

As-Suwayda Culture Director Basil Al-Hanawi explained in a statement to SANA reporter that the festival confirms the Ministry of Culture’s interest in folklore and cultural heritage and the need to preserve and preserve it, adhere to the noble noble civilizational and human customs and values, and highlight the importance of heritage and keep it present in the memory of generations as one of the components of the national cultural identity of the Syrian people and an important part of the heritage humanitarian.

Rabia Ghanem, head of the folklore department in the directorate, pointed out that the festival is rich in various elements of the ancient intangible and tangible heritage that are revived and evoked in various artistic forms for three days.

The festival will continue its activities tomorrow with a heritage day saluted by the Society of Folk Literature and Friends of Heritage, highlighting the late popular poet Issa Asfour, with the participation of a number of popular poets and a folk singing group, in addition to a heritage symposium entitled the dialectical interrelationship between the concepts of customs and traditions, and a lecture on the characteristics of folk poetry in the governorate.

Ghassan Khiou