Smithsonian - Perishable Pundit

THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMThe 200s Smithsonian Folklife Festival programon Oman features over ioo musicians, dancers,craftspeople, and cooks representing culturaltraditions trom the desert, oasis, and sea. Thedate-leaf baskets and decorative wool carpetsmade tor easy transport by nomadic desertpeoples provide a striking contrast to theheavy copper vessels and elaborate silverworkproduced by craftsmen in the oases, while proudshipbuilders demonstrate skills that have madeOmani ships renowned throughout the IndianOcean. The fabled frankincense that in someways represented to the ancient Mediterraneanworld what oil does to modern economies isstillgrown in the south and used throughout Oman.A section ot the program features a variety ofOmam adornments including aromatics suchas frankincense, as well as textiles and jewelry.Most Omam music accompanies dance andis present at celebrations ot all kinds around thecountry. People rejoice with music and danceat births and weddings, use them sometimesfor healing, and celebrate with them at timesof victory. Men's and women's dance is accompaniedby musical instruments that display thecultural influences ot the region—stringedinstruments trom India, wind instruments tromPersia, drums trom Africa, and even bagpipes(originally from Egypt but more recently playedby British military troops in residence in Oman)are allpart ot the sounds of Omam music.The 2005 program is the first to feature anArab nation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.Arabs and Arab Americans have participatedin past Festivals, but this program provides anopportunity to tocus on an Arab culture at atime when the Arab world isunfortunatelymuch misunderstood here. We hope the Omanprogram will dispel some myths about theregion and even include a tew pleasant surprisestor those knowledgeable ot the region.[65]NOTE ON TRANSLITERATIONArabic words that have been incorporated into English,including place names found in Webster's Dictionary, areprimarily written in their English form. Transliterationsof other words from the Arabic to the Roman alphabetare usually guided by Library ot Congress usage. Inmost cases, transliterations are made from ModernStandard Arabic words, not from words in Omamdialect(s). Diacritical marks are omitted unless they arean integral part ot the language. Readers will notice thefollowing two marks:(')An apostrophe to indicate the break in soundthat occurs in the middle of some Arabic words(') A single, inward-facing quote to represent the'ayn consonant which does not occur in EnglishSUGGESTED READINGAgius, Dionisius. 2003. Seafaring in the ArabianGulf and Oman.The People of the Dhow.London: Kegan Paul International.Callan, Lou, and Gordon Robison. 2000. Oman &the I 'titled Arab Emirates. Melbourne: Lonely Planet.The Journal ot Oman Studies, 1 bis. 1-12.197S-2002. Muscat: Ministry of Heritageand Culture. Sultanate of Oman.Ministry of Information, Sultanate ofOman: http://www.omanet.omOwtram, Francis. 2004. A Modern History of Oman:Formation of the State since 1920. London: I.B.Tauris.Stevens, Andre, 1990. Oman: Citadels between Sandand Sea. Winksele. Belgium: Terra Incognita.Wikan, Unni. 1991. Behind the I HI in Arabia: WomeninOman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.RICHARD KENNEDY isthe curator ofthe 2005 Festival program on Oman andDeputy Director ot the Smithsonian Centerfor Folklife and Cultural Heritage. He has cocuratedFestival programs on the Silk Road.Tibetan culture, the Philippines, Russian music,Thailand, Indonesia, and Hawai'i. His Ph.D.isin South and Southeast Asian Studies fromthe University ot California at Berkeley.Hawley, Donald. 1984. Oman & ItsRenaissance.Second edition. London: Stacey International.All photographs courtesy oj the Omani Craft HeritageDocumentation Project unless noted otherwise.OMAN: DESERT, OASIS, AND SEA