Al-Razfa, a traditional performing art | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

Al-Razfa is a traditional performing art practised throughout the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. It is performed by men of all ages and classes during social occasions, such as weddings and national festivals. Male performers form two facing lines with dancers filling the space between. Led by the main singer, the two rows create a dual chorus, singing chants in an antiphonal manner to the accompaniment of drums and other instruments. Many chants are verses of traditional Nabati poetry, carefully selected to match the occasion. The dancers perform choreographed movements to the music while holding wooden replica rifles in their hands and in some cases, young girls swing their hair in time to the music. Originally performed as a communal celebration of victory, Al-Razfa is now widely popular as a form of entertainment. Practitioners have adapted musical instruments and...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: United Arab Emirates, Oman
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: United Arab Emirates, Oman
Countries: United Arab Emirates, Oman

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid629a762c-88d9-445a-a48e-1baf55e0ec26

ich_public_ref1078

inscription_year2015

title_enAl-Razfa, a traditional performing art

title_frL’Al-Razfa, un art traditionnel du spectacle

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesAE, OM

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/01078

concepts_primary_namesChoir singing, Dance, Oral tradition

concepts_secondary_namesChoreography, Family, Percussion instruments, Plucked string instruments, Poetry, Stick, Wedding

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/09362-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enAl-Razfa performance at the Janadriya Festival in February 2014 attracted a large turnout of citizens of Saudi Arabia

main_image_copyrightAbu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, 2014

main_image_authorNot supplied

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/gCU1BLYcWpE

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Choir singing Dance Oral tradition Choreography Family Percussion instruments Plucked string instruments Poetry Stick Wedding UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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