Photos: Sharjah Heritage Festival brings back days of old

Twenty-nine countries are taking part in the three-week Sharjah Heritage Days (SHD), which opened curtains on Saturday at Heart of Sharjah's heritage area. On the first day, visitors immersed in the venue's spectacular sights and sounds adorned with the national flags of participating countries. Simultaneously, the central courtyards came alive with colourful performances of traditional Emirati Ayyala and Andima arts and dances and folk shows from Belarus, Kazakhstan, India and Lebanon.

Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage and Chairman of the Higher Committee of Sharjah Heritage Days, said, "This year, Sharjah Heritage Days is being held under exceptional circumstances. The festival's theme 'Cultural heritage gathers us' seeks to emphasise that heritage is a bridge between peoples and plays an especially vital role in shaping the intellects and experiences of younger generations as they forge their way into the future."

The event will also provide an ideal opportunity to cultural institutions in the emirate and the country to connect with their regional and international counterparts and forge partnerships with artists, creatives, artisans and intellectuals, whose expertise can be beneficial to Sharjah's plethora of cultural events," the Chairman concluded.

Folk dancers from the BJ Lucky & Band group, hailing from the Indian city of Ludhiana, Punjab, brought the stage alive on the second day of the Sharjah Heritage Days (SHD) with their rendition of Bhangra and other dances. The audience clapped along to the lively beats and soaring music as the dancers did the typical bhangra moves along to the music of Punjabi folk instruments like the ‘dhol’ and ‘chimta’ in brightly coloured costumes.

Tunisia’s DIY drum-making stand a big visitor attraction at Sharjah Heritage Days. Visitors to the stand, run by artists and handicraft preservers Kalthoum Treki and Bachir Laswad, can learn how to make musical instruments, mainly drums or “tablas” of many shapes and sizes. Aiming to promote both Tunisian and Middle Eastern musical heritage at the event, the stall stocks dried goat hide and twine in a multitude of colours, to fashion the drums with.

“We show visitors how to create three types of drums: professional, amateur and miniature,” says Laswad. Bagpipes, a Zurna pipe, different kinds of flutes, babies’ rattles or darbouka and an assortment of tablas are strewn around the stand, offering visitors a glimpse of the sheer variety of the instrumental music heritage of Tunisia.

Vibrant folk performances from Belarus, Macedonia, Bashkortostan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Montenegro, will introduce visitors to new cultures while eight Emirati traditional arts and dances – Ayyala, Nuban, Andima, Razif and Rawahh, Harbiya, Liwa, Habban, and Daan – will highlight the heritage and rich culture of the country.

Traditional Arab heritage will be showcased through 22 activities, including seminars and workshops. The exciting cultural agenda will also feature 67 crafts inspired by the UAE's four diverse natural environments: the mountains, desert, coastal and agriculture.

Maldives is one of the eight nations showcasing their unique arts and crafts at the ‘World Heritage Village’ pavilion at Sharjah Heritage Days. Here, visitors can watch as Ibrahim sculpts a piece of wood to the desired form, then coats it with layers of different coloured laquer and polishes the finished work with dried palm leaves to give it a smooth, glossy finish.

Carefully sculpting a piece of wood on a rudimentary hand-powered machine, Ibrahim Solih, a 50-year-old Maldivian artisan, demonstrates the dexterity and skills involved in the crafting of wooden lacquerware – a distinctive handicraft of the island nation.