Diversity

We all share diverse cultures and traditions, come from a different race or ethnicity and communicate through assorted languages. Last Thursday, I went to the cultural village, Katara, with my friends Rana and Ola to see an African band from Nigeria perform. Although I didn’t know exactly where the band was from, I knew they were African because their physical features indicated their race. They were obviously distinct from everyone else because of the language they spoke, the way they dressed and the way they looked.





I didn't understand any of the words they were singing, but I was into it because I could sense their passion. Their music was lively and vibrant and captured a big audience. The band was playing with enthusiasm and they were breaking it down with their dance moves. The audience was a mixture of different races. I saw Qataris, Indians, Filipinos, Americans and other Arab nationalities. It was easy to distinguish the ethnicity of all these people because of their social factors such as language, dress and physical appearances. The majority of the people were appreciative of the art they were performing, however others were more critical and showed prejudice towards it. For instance, there was a group of rowdy Qatari teen boys that were flocking around the main vocalist and being rude to him and mocking him when he was introducing his band. They made racial comments and were making fun of their dancing, singing and clothing. This lack of respect is a result of ignorance regarding another person's culture and traditions.




After we enjoyed their music, we spoke to them they asked were we from and they guessed that Ola was Brazilian. Although both Ola and I are Sudanese, he thought she was Brazilian because she had a lighter skin tone than him and curly light hair. When he found out that we were both Sudanese, he said to us, "You are my sisters." Being Africans, he believed we had the same ethnicity, deeming that "share national origin; a common ancestry; a place of birth; distinctive concrete traits; or socially important physical characteristics." This really got me thinking of my own identity and what I view myself as. The physical and social characteristics that I inherit from my parents and family are by chance. I very much consider myself as African, but only in terms of context meaning the only thing that I believe makes me African is geography. I regard myself to be culturally and ethnically Arab; therefore I am Arab by choice , culture and ethnicity.

Arabic Coffee within a Culture

Arabic coffee is a traditional drink that Arabs in the gulf serve to their guests as a welcoming drink, it is considered to be part of the Arab culture. Serving and preparing coffee embeds a number of cultural elements such as values and symbols that link directly to sociology, as well as remaining a focal point during social gatherings of all kinds. It is mainly derived from the Bedouin hospitality, but with new generations it is starting to change. The society values draw guidelines for how and when coffee should be served. When serving coffee strict rules are followed within the serving order. Age is a way to start serving the older than the younger, but when theirs a doubt a one can start serving with the person who is on the right. The coffee cups are only half filled and guests may have several refills, it is considered as an insult to fill up the coffee cup to the top. For the guest to indicate that he has finished and doesn’t want a refill he should jiggle the cup sideways. Refusing to drink the coffee either is considered impolite or the guest is trying to send a message to the host that he is here for something he wants. The guest may accept the cup of coffee but not drink from it, saying things like “your coffee isn’t to drink” meaning I will not drink your coffee unless you grant me what I came for. It is considered ashamed for the host to not grant them what they want. There are much more actions and body language during the ceremony of making serving coffee that sit on a rough surface of traditional and cultural meanings.


Nowadays with the new generation not a lot of them drink Arabic coffee since they are becoming more addicted to other types of coffee such as American, French, and much more types of coffee. It might be due to the availability of this product or due to global trends that are inherited from the west.

A link to a video I designed last year about Arabic coffee.

http://vimeo.com/20022199