Ghinnawas (literally "little songs") are short, two line emotional lyric poems written by the Bedouins of Egypt, in a fashion similar to haiku, but similar in content to the American blues.[1] Ghinnawas typically talk of deep, personal feelings and are often an outlet for personal emotions which might not be otherwise expressible in Bedouin society. Ghinnawas may also be sung. Lila Abu Lughod - the Arab Americananthropologist, who studied the Awlad Ali Bedouins in Northern Egypt in the late 1970s, and collected over 450 ghinnawas, has published the most comprehensive work on ghinnawas to date.[1]
Ghinnawa is a form of folk poetry, in the sense that anyone in Awlad Ali society could author a ghinnawa. In a broader context, ghinnawas may be looked upon as non-standard discourse which are a means of coping with social reality, similar to other discourse forms in the Arab world like the Hikaya folktales of Tunisia, or the Gussa allegories of the Bedouin of the Sinai.[2]
Ghinnawas usually have sad themes - typically being the lament of lost love, unless sung at celebrations like a circumcision or a wedding. Ghinnawas are sung by women, boys and also on rare occasions by men.[3] Ghinnawa semantics are well-defined only in context, because of their personal nature. Contents of ghinnawas are considered personal, even sensitive to the extent that Lila Abu Lughod was warned "never to reveal any women's poems to men".[4]
Social expressionedit
The Awlad Ali do not have a strong history of public displays of emotion. Modesty or deference and boasting or anger are typically the most commonly expressed public emotion. Most other forms of expression take place through ghinnawas.[1]
Delivery and structureedit
Ghinnawas may be written down, which is often the case for intergender communication, but can be spoken as substitute to normal conversation, or sung. The structure of the ghinnawa is very different in written and oral forms.
Structurally, ghinnawas are approximately 15-syllablecouplets. They can be broken up into 2 hemistiches. If the written form be represented as :
^ abcdVeiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society, by Lila Abu-Lugodh, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1986
^Between segmentation and desegmentation: Sound expressions among the Berbers in the Sous region (Southwestern Morocco), by Horiuchi Masaki, Cultures Sonores d'Afrique (ed. J. Kawada), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, 1997
^The Ghinnawa: How Bedouin Women's' Poetry Supplements Social Expression by Martha Blake
^Songs from the nomadic heart, Literary Review of Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin society by Lila Abu-Lughod; by Inea Bushnaq; New York Times, February 15, 1987
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ghinnawa, literally, little, songs, short, line, emotional, lyric, poems, written, bedouins, egypt, fashion, similar, haiku, similar, content, american, blues, typically, talk, deep, personal, feelings, often, outlet, personal, emotions, which, might, otherwis. Ghinnawas literally little songs are short two line emotional lyric poems written by the Bedouins of Egypt in a fashion similar to haiku but similar in content to the American blues 1 Ghinnawas typically talk of deep personal feelings and are often an outlet for personal emotions which might not be otherwise expressible in Bedouin society Ghinnawas may also be sung Lila Abu Lughod the Arab American anthropologist who studied the Awlad Ali Bedouins in Northern Egypt in the late 1970s and collected over 450 ghinnawas has published the most comprehensive work on ghinnawas to date 1 Ghinnawa is a form of folk poetry in the sense that anyone in Awlad Ali society could author a ghinnawa In a broader context ghinnawas may be looked upon as non standard discourse which are a means of coping with social reality similar to other discourse forms in the Arab world like the Hikaya folktales of Tunisia or the Gussa allegories of the Bedouin of the Sinai 2 Contents 1 Themes 2 Social expression 3 Delivery and structure 4 External links 5 NotesThemes editGhinnawas usually have sad themes typically being the lament of lost love unless sung at celebrations like a circumcision or a wedding Ghinnawas are sung by women boys and also on rare occasions by men 3 Ghinnawa semantics are well defined only in context because of their personal nature Contents of ghinnawas are considered personal even sensitive to the extent that Lila Abu Lughod was warned never to reveal any women s poems to men 4 Social expression editThe Awlad Ali do not have a strong history of public displays of emotion Modesty or deference and boasting or anger are typically the most commonly expressed public emotion Most other forms of expression take place through ghinnawas 1 Delivery and structure editGhinnawas may be written down which is often the case for intergender communication but can be spoken as substitute to normal conversation or sung The structure of the ghinnawa is very different in written and oral forms Structurally ghinnawas are approximately 15 syllable couplets They can be broken up into 2 hemistiches If the written form be represented as 123456789 the oral form unspools into 16 lines as follows 78 78 789 78 6789 78 78 6789 78 78 781 1234 78 78 56 56789 Each ghinnawa typically has many variations and may even be sung with minor variations in a single singing 1 External links editRecorded ghinnawas at the Lawrence University websiteNotes edit a b c d Veiled Sentiments Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society by Lila Abu Lugodh University of California Press Berkeley 1986 Between segmentation and desegmentation Sound expressions among the Berbers in the Sous region Southwestern Morocco by Horiuchi Masaki Cultures Sonores d Afrique ed J Kawada Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Tokyo 1997 The Ghinnawa How Bedouin Women s Poetry Supplements Social Expression by Martha Blake Songs from the nomadic heart Literary Review of Veiled Sentiments Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin society by Lila Abu Lughod by Inea Bushnaq New York Times February 15 1987 nbsp This poetry related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about ethnology is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ghinnawa amp oldid 1120161155, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
