Home UNESCO Lists Intangible Cultural Heritage Intangible Cultural Heritage in Oman Al-Bar’ah, Music and Dance of Oman Dhofari Valleys

Al-Bar’ah, Music and Dance of Oman Dhofari Valleys

Al-Bar’ah, Music and Dance of Oman Dhofari Valleys

Al-Bar’ah is a Bedouin musical tradition from the Dhofar Mountains in southern Oman. It takes the form of a war dance performed in a half circle of ten to thirty men and women to the rhythms of drums and chanting of poetry sung in the dialect of the local tribes.
As they chant and clap, two male dancers holding daggers perform organized dance movements, waving their daggers above shoulder level. Each tribe has its own Al-Bar’ah, which differs from other tribes in terms of drum rhythms and dance movements, and is generally performed outdoors, on occasions such as weddings, circumcisions, and religious feasts, and is a true embodiment of the spirit of chivalry, strength, courage, generosity and hospitality associated with the Bedouins.
Most of the Al-Bar’ah performers come from the Dhofar region, where they contribute to the preservation and practice of its poetic diversity and its transmission from generation to generation.
Al-Bar’ah, Music and Dance of Oman Dhofari Valleys was inscribed in 2010 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Oman.
by Juozas Šalna (cropped), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Al-Bar’ah, Music and Dance of Oman Dhofari Valleys

Date of Inscription

2010