Arabia’s Cultural Diffusion Through Arabian Horses

By many, the Arabian horse is said to be a treasured part of the Arabian culture and heritage. Though essentially Arabian, this breed of horse is now found in all areas of the world. Sociologically, one can say that a huge subculture of Arabian horse enthusiasts is in existence because of the cultural diffusion that has occurred. The Arabian heritage and culture is spread to all parts of the world through this horse breed thanks to this cultural diffusion. Horse shows focusing on the Arabian horse are held in many Arabian and non-Arabian countries to showcase the breed’s beauty, athleticism and extraordinary movement to a large audience. The biggest shows are the Salon du Cheval that is held in France, the Breeders World Cup that is held in Las Vegas and the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show that is held in Arizona, among others.

I attended the Qatar 20th International Horse Show and I met some of these previously mentioned enthusiasts. I noticed that because of their love for this breed, many of them have visited the whole Middle East and have made an effort to learn about the culture of the region. Some have even put their time into learning the Arabic language. Some shows also feature some sort of majlis seating area, with traditional Arabic food served to the audience and judges. Furthermore, some shows even feature a class for traditional horse and rider costumes, like the one seen in the photo below.

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Even though cooperative links and division of labor are said to be in existent in art worlds, they can also be said to exist within the Arabian horse enthusiasts breeding farm and/or training facility. Just like some works of art, labor is divided to make things easier for the people doing the work. For example, there are grooms who take care of the horses, trainers used for training, veterinarians to make sure the horses are in good health etc... So even though division of labor and cooperative links are said to exist within art worlds, technically one can see that they also exist in the work place.

Qatari Majlis

The sight that caught my attention, and probably that of others who first arrive to Qatar, is the tents that are built outside of fancy villas. It is a tradition that many locals still hang on to tightly. It might look to us, outsiders, as nothing more than a tent, but for them it’s a whole different story. These tents are infused with traditions, norms and values that are strictly related to this culture.

The tent or what they call “majlis” is a separate and valuable part of the house. In the majlis people follow tens of norms, which have been embedded in their brains and bodies without even thinking. Generally, the males in the family and their male friends gather in the majlis. The reason they meet there is because it’s strictly forbidden that other male “outsiders” walk into the house, where there is the mother, daughter or daughter-in-law, unless they are closely related to the family (son, father, or nephew).

The majlis combines both the material and non-material culture, which have their norms stitched into them as well. For the material culture, you can see many traditional items that are commonly found in almost every Qatari house like the colored red and grey couches, the big silver or gold coffee pots, and the incents. Again for each of these items there are other norms connected to them.

For instance, when they are gathered in the majlis, they pass around a pot of incents and try to allow the incents’ aroma catch onto their traditional clothes, which is the thob. Another example could be that of the coffee, where the youngest of the members in the gathering caters coffee to the people in the majlis. Now, there is a specific ritual done. The caterer should stand waiting for the person drinking the coffee to finish it. If the person is still not done, he gives back the coffee cup, and the caterer puts coffee in it. But if the person is done, he has to shake the cup and then give it back.