[Shadow_Group] Palestinian Folklore

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

Palestinian Folklore

FROM: http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/<http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/>
The progress of nations does not come from totally
abandoning the old but by researching and uncovering
the old and taking what is best and building upon it.
When nationalist ideas surfaced, the movement towards
the revival of folklore started. Furthermore, as the
spirit of nationalism increased, each nation increased
its ties with its folklore because it is part of the
nation's identity.(Alqam, 1974)

According to Webster's dictionary (1983), folklore is
the "traditional customs, tales, sayings, or art forms
preserved among a people." In addition, "folklore of
any society anywhere is the humanity of people; it
unifies them and directs their wisdom towards the
benefits of the human kind." (Abu Hadba, 1994)

Folklore progresses as the society progresses, and it
moves from one generation to another. Therefore,
studying the folklore of a society helps in
understanding the development of this society over the
years.

Because of the importance of folklore in the life of a
nation, we as Palestinians carry a national duty to
revive and study our folklore. There are many
concerned Palestinians who set forth the efforts to
work in this field. The Palestinian universities are
helping in these efforts along with other specialized
organizations; for example, The Palestinian Folklore
Center in al-Bireh and The Center for the Revival of
Arabic Heritage in al-Taybah. Many individuals are
involved in folklore studies and published a number of
books and articles about different areas of the
Palestinian Folklore. From those individuals, Dr.
Abdellatif Barghouthi, Abdul Aziz Abu Hadba, Dr. Nimr
Sarhan, and Dr. Sharif Kana'na. On July 1, 1983, the
International Day of Palestinian Folklore was
announced inviting everybody in the world to celebrate
the Palestinian Folklore. This day is still observed
every year among Palestinians, especially those
interested in folklore.

The Palestinian Folklore covers many aspects including
the popular literature, customs, clothes and
embroidery, pottery, and others. In this humble
effort, I will introduce the Palestinian popular
literature by covering certain areas in this field.
The popular literature has been circulating among the
Palestinian generations vocally until books were
published and people were introduced to the written
form of this literature.
 
Songs:
http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/songs/<http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/songs/>

Proverbs:
http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/proverbs/<http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/proverbs/>

Stories:
http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/stories/<http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/stories/>

References:
Alqam, N.: "A Study in Heritage and Palestinian
Folklore", Society & Heritage, 1: 119, al-Bireh,
Palestine (April 1974). 
Abu Hadba, A.: Interview with Ali Al-Khalili, Society
& Heritage, 24: 194, al-Bireh, Palestine (July 1994). 
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, p. 479,
Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, MA, (1983). 

--------------------------
All contributions and comments are appreciated. Please
let me know about any mistakes in these pages either
in the translation or the material presented. If you
would like to contribute to the material, please
indicate what name and information you want to appear
along with your contribution. Please forward your
contributions and comments to BARGHOUTI at BARGHOUTI.COM<mailto:BARGHOUTI at BARGHOUTI.COM> 

© Copyright 1996 - 2004 by BARGHOUTI.COM - All Rights
Reserved.







-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/shadowgroup-l/attachments/20041123/f69c66a7/attachment.html>