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.

You call that a handshake?

Through many years the most known gesture was a handshake. It expressed respect and friendliness to the other person. Today, people managed to develop their gesture which mainly presented their cultural identity and individualism.

The functionalist theory suggests that symbols and practices surrounding popular culture brings people together by generating a shared sense of social solidarity. So, today, the way you greet someone expresses the society and culture you come from. In-fact, it could represent the subculture you belong to. For example, hip hop fans have certain gestures they understand and interpret in their own way. While on the other hand, Kings and Queens have very different gestures that expresses their belonging to a royal family.

 

But today, a gesture doesn’t only represent your society or culture it symbolizes individualism. People now greet each other with different gestures than the culture or society they belong to and no longer need to commit to their society’s gesture. For example, in many of the gulf regions men greet each other by nose. However, this gesture is not preformed by every member of the society, some people prefer to greet each other with a high five or just a hand wave! 

 

 

A hand shake is no longer the ultimate gesture and the most recognizable one.  Many high school and college students have created their own unique gesture to greet each other and most of them agreed that a handshake expresses formality. So, greeting someone with a handshake is now conceded a professional gesture used for strangers and older people!

 

While observing my friends way of greeting each other, I’ve noticed that each person greets in his own way. In the Arab regions, there is the confusion of kisses. In the gulf region girls greet each other with three kisses on one cheek while in other countries girls greet each other with one kiss on each cheek. Also, in most of the Arab countries, men don’t greet women which sometimes could lead to an embarrassment to both sides.