Qatari Values through Local Food

For this blog, I will take a closer look at some of the traditional foods eaten in Doha and the Gulf Area, and how the traditions surrounding them reflect the values of the people of this area.

Some of the more popular foods that Arabs of the Gulf eat more often than others include Machboos and Biryani. If you ever happen to dine at an Arabic restaurant, you do not want to miss out on machboos rice with Hamour (species of fish) or Biryani rice with prawns. The pictures below feature these two exquisite foods.





Although it seems like forever ago, I remember a time when having lunch at home was not just about eating food. About ten years and before that, when lunch time came, my family members and I would all gather to eat at the same time from the same huge plate. Back then, lunch time was a special time for all family members to meet and communicate. This union of all family members to have lunch together symbolized our Gulf society’s emphasis on collectivism and the significance we put on our social groups, at least at that time. Nowadays, the only time my family members and I have a chance to eat lunch altogether is on some Fridays. Even when we do eat together, we no longer eat from the same huge plate like we did years back then.

After some thought, I realized that this shift in our behavior is the result of our different day-to-day schedules. Half of my brothers and I no longer go to school. We are all so occupied with our private issues and personal interests, such as academic or career-oriented matters, that we no longer have a chance to meet as a group like we used to. This marks a shift in our behavior from collectivism to individualism. However, this does not imply that I or anyone else necessarily prefers to be isolated and alienated from his or her family members. I see it as an effect of capitalism. We are merely doing what our age requires from us, as today’s capitalist society values economic activity, specifically that which allows a person to earn a better living, thus achieving social mobility and moving up the social status ladder.

Bollywood Movies Knowledge in Qatar

Movies have been dramatically evolving, starting from the silent movies ending up with the astonishing special effects. Many genres were established by creative writers who had the courage to write these movies, and then hand them to directors and producers to make them. Yet, Bollywood movies still have the same routine in every movie no matter what was its genre. What one find not shocking is that Bollywood movies use the song-dance routine in all their movies. Also the actors are mostly white with colored eyes, and they use this song-dance routine to break down the way they feel towards the other person or the society. The song-dance routine is a way for actors to express their feelings. Bollywood movies usually last for a long period of time and that is because of the climate. Because of the low wages and the hot weather, people tend to go to a 3 hour movie just to prevent being outside in the hot weather, and enjoy a nice movie from their culture. Are Bollywood movies the same as Indian movies? The answer would be no. India a country that has many different cultures and Bollywood is one of them.

In sociology, Bollywood movies are a way to convey a message to others using the song-dance routine, and as mentioned above it is a way to express the actor’s feelings without having a dialog. We can say it is a musical movie. Last Thursday, I grabbed my camera and went to the Student Center at Education City to interview some people and see what they know about Bollywood movies.

I was shocked that only few people thought that Indian movies are different than Indian movies, but one of them mentioned that Bollywood movies are what define India as a unique country with a unique culture. I think the people of Qatar are not really interested in Bollywood movies because the songs take a long time. People here tend to admire dialog and action scenes. Based on my previous experience, there was a cinema theater in Qatar – Gulf Cinema - that shows Bollywood and Indian movies or if I may call them Desi movies. One would go and see the theater jammed with workers who are fighting over to have an admission ticket. It might seem weird, but unfortunately the cinema theater was shut down for no specific reason. Every single one of us has a different taste of what movie they want to watch, and that what creates diversity among us.

Qatari Weddings

For this active blog, I chose to write about a traditional Qatari wedding I attended this weekend. The wedding was especially interesting because it had elements of tradition, but also introduced new concepts and broke through some cultural barriers.

Usually, Qatari weddings are segregated events. The males celebrate with the groom and his family in a “Majlis,” where they enjoy a variety of traditional dishes, desserts and endless supplies of tea and coffee. The males also preform a traditional dance with the swords, known as “Al 3ardah” to mark the marital celebration.

On the other hand, the females celebrate in a fancy hotel ballroom where they enjoy showing off their soiree dresses, taste in jewelry and beauty skills. Usually, the girls arrive wearing the traditional “abaya”, but once they are past the security check point and their smart phones are confiscated, they head to the nearest washroom to touch-up themselves and put away the abaya to reveal what’s underneath.

In the ballroom, one can expect to see catwalk of all the latest designer dresses and trends. Young girls, dolled up, gather with their girlfriends and strut their stuff. Meanwhile, older women are seated with their friends to enjoy some time together. This is every girl’s time to shine! Many mothers take this opportunity to scan the available bachelorettes for their sons, and the girls know it!

An array of beautiful, carefully selected flowers line the dance floor stage and
“Kosha” where the bride and groom will later be seated.

Another common trend seen in weddings is the presence of a male singer, who performs live, but is located in different room in the hotel. He sings traditional and new wedding songs that are simultaneously broadcasted into the ballroom. The girls take to the dance floor and perform.

One can argue, that weddings are the perfect opportunity for girls to demonstrate resistance through performance. They utilize this an opportunity to show their love for fashion and beauty. This is what one of the young girls attending the wedding had to say, “Weddings have become a fashion statement. Literally, girls will go all out and splurge so much to look good on this one night because they know everyone is watching and judging.” This is a perfect example of a situation where the performance takes place behind closed doors.

The wedding last weekend was different because the bride and groom entered the ballroom together and the groom stayed in the female-populated room for more than an hour. Although women are warned that a man is about to enter and do cover up, it was shocking that the groom stayed for that long. Also, a male band entered the ballroom and sang “Zafeh” songs to the bride. Some older women took to the stage and danced with them, while others showered them with 1 Qatari Riyal bills to request songs.

This scenario is not common in Qatari weddings, but with globalization and the modernization of the state, more and more girls are stepping out of their shell and trying to deviate from the parent culture.

Since the study of subcultures is usually dominated by men, making it difficult to find analysis on female interaction. This can be portrayed in the example of the wedding because all action takes place behind closed doors. Women tend to be more cautious in public, whereas they feel comfortable showing off their styles and dance moves in private spaces. Also, Ken Gelder argues that females are usually on the consumer end of the spectrum, and that can be seen in how they have created their own subcultures by adopting those that are more common and mainstream in the rest of the world, but not in theirs.


For obvious reasons, I couldn't take my phone or camera in to take pictures and therefore do not have any original photos to share.