Heritage theme unites tribes

A special international reunion takes place each year during Dubai Shopping Festival.

Members of the Shehe tribe of Oman and the UAE gather in the Heritage Village, in a house designed as a replica of the tribe's traditional mountain homes.

In a corner of the Heritage Village stand two traditional Shehe houses where members of the tribe sit together and demonstrate their customs and traditions to visitors from all over the world.

Members of the tribe are known across the UAE and many other Gulf states for their superb metalwork and pottery. Samples of their knives, swords and pottery, some bearing traditional engravings, are on display outside the houses.

One of the houses is a winter home, made of stones from the mountains around Ras Al Khaimah. It is double layered, with mud between the stones, helping to keep the house warm in winter.

The other is a summer house, with a thinner layer of stones and palm leaves for a roof to keep it cool in the summer. A clay oven also sits by the houses, where members of the tribe demonstrate their traditional art of making pottery.

The man responsible for building the house, Zaid Saeed Rashid Al Shehe, said: "The houses were built ten years ago when the head of the Heritage Village contacted the leader of the Shehe tribe in Ras Al Khaimah and asked us to help build a replica of our traditional houses. We were proud to do so. It gave us a chance to honour our grandfathers and great-grandfathers by displaying examples of their work with metal and clay, which they struggled to master for so many years."

"DSF and the Heritage Village have helped bring members of our tribe together, some of whom have even come from Oman. For us, there is no difference in nationality. Our Shehe tribe is one, whether our kin hail from Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Oman or any other place. We are Arabs, and we have all originated from the same place. These houses prove it."

During the evenings a fire burns outside the Shehe houses. Hasan Harez Mohammad Al Shehe sits with his back towards the wall, waiting for visitors to stop by, relax and try the tribe's famous coffee. "I have been coming to the Heritage Village for three years now, from Oman," he said. "My son, Mohammad, who lives in Ras Al Khaimah, sits with me and my nephew. We enjoy showing the people our metal work. I have been working with metal for over 43 years now."

When Hasan was asked about his age, he laughed and replied, "I cannot tell you. In the mountains, we did not have birth certificates."

Hasan's nephew, Ali Sulaiman Ali Al Shehe, usually sits indoors and explains the interior of the houses to visitors.

"Visitors can examine examples of the large pots [we would use to store] dates [and other] foods. Food which needed to be kept cool was stored in compartments under the sleeping area."

Each house is no more than 3 by 3 metres. Ali said: "I am not sure how long it took to build these houses, but in the mountains, it would not take us more than a month. You see, we do not worry too much about personal space in our architecture.

"In the mountains, we practically live in each other's houses. One day we would gather in my house, and the next day it would be yours."

"People come to see the wonders of our country, our customs and traditions that we all hold so close to our hearts.

"DSF allows us to fulfil our duty to our country - we can teach others the traditions and customs of our culture. Our country is not all high-rise buildings, but a country known for its traditional values, too," he said.

Ali said: "It pleases me to say most of our visitors are non-Arabs.

"Our houses allow them to understand the ways of the mountain people, which you cannot learn by reading books, or from television."