Mirath:Music – Music inspired by Arab Al- Rashayda tribes
Pride

Tribes, clans, pride, history, values and norms. Zaid Hilal was inspired by al-Rashayda tribes who live on top of the mountains near the Dead Sea, to take us on a journey to record this piece accompanied by many other international artists.

Palestinian society in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is characterized by three types of family structures: tribes, clans, and notable families. While all three share similar extended family attributes, behavioral obligations (especially males,) and informal networks and honor-shame cultural systems; they are also quite distinct in their origins and ongoing importance.

Tribes are not as economically or politically involved in Palestine as they are in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan. However, marriage habits and norms still stem strongly from tribal roots.

I have been inspired by Arab al-Rashayda tribes. They live on top of the mountains near the Dead Sea; and use the pentatonic scales mixed with the Arabic Maqams “modes.“ I was astonished at how proud they are and at how they think of their history and social norms. That's the reason behind naming the track “Pride.”

Many artists around the world have joined me on the journey of recording this track. Collaborating with Hussein Zahawy from Erbil (Iraq) has added great value to the track by his amazing talent playing percussions. Our idea was to use the African grooves flavored with the middle eastern grooves so we have a mixture of both worlds since the tribe’s origins descend from Africa. Therefore, we used the groove called “Karachi” which is famous by African Arabic tribes in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Amazigh; then flipped the groove to be “Laf” which is famous and used in the Middle East.