Dubai: The people of the UAE are closely attached to poetry due to their Arabic roots that have strongly linked them to the desert and nature overall.
Nabati poetry means the poetry that has been derived, written and recited according to the daily dialect of the Gulf countries and considered a very popular literature style.
Nabati poetry is ancient and is known as Desert-Bedouin poetry and people's poetry, also known as "Bint Al Rimal — Daughter of the sands". But why is it called Nabati?
History attributes the given name to several sources. Perhaps the most trustworthy tale attributes the term "Nabati" to its Arabic verb "Yastanbit" which means in English "to derive from" or "to extract a word from another word".
This tale narrates the story of the nomadic tribes of Arabia that started to emigrate from their native lands, and the emigration has a gradual influence on their original language and changed it slightly from the classical Arabic to become a tribal dialect. Subsequently, their poetry adopted these dialects, producing what is known as Nabati poetry.
Importance
It dates back to the beginning of Islam, according to researchers. Since then it has always occupied an enormous space and captured the attention of different age groups due to its spontaneity, gracefulness and closeness to people.
Previous generations have always connected poets to wisdom and understanding and made sure they taught their children about it.
Such traits were passed on from one generation to another to insure its immortality. This is because it goes beyond just a joyful hobby. It represents an essential aspect of UAE heritage as well as that of the other Gulf countries.
Nabati poetry is spontaneous, simple and easily reaches the audience. It forms a direct artistic expression, it is expressed by depicting various topics and circumstances of any field of life exactly like the classic poetry where a poet can directly interpret his/her feelings through verse to mirror his/her point of view towards any issue.
It branches into common poetic styles such as description, narrative, chivalry, eulogy, riddles, love and admiration, pride and exaltation, advice and wisdom, proverbs, criticism and satire.
Epics are famously known in classical Arab poetry, but has been recently added to the Nabati style by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in his well-known poem The Epic of the Emirates.
