In spite of its rapid economic development, Bahrain remains, in many respects, essentially Arab in its culture. Football is the most popular modern sport, while traditional pastimes such as falconry, horse riding, and gazelle and hare hunting are still practiced by wealthier Bahrainis. Horse and camel racing are popular public entertainments.
Traditional handicraft industries enjoy state and popular support. The Bahrain National Museum in Manama contains local artifacts dating from antiquity, such as ivory figurines, pottery, copper articles, and gold rings, many of which reflect various cultural influences from outside Bahrain. There is also a small but flourishing avant-garde art community.
Religion
While Islam is the main religion, Bahrainis have been known for their tolerance, and alongside mosques can be found churches, a Hindu temple, a Sikh Gurudwara and a Jewish synagogue. The country is home to several communities that have faced persecution elsewhere.
Language
Arabic is the official language of Bahrain, although a large number of Bahrainis also speak Persian. The two main dialects are Baharna Arabic, spoken by the indigenous Baharna Shia, and Gulf Arabic spoken by the indigenous Sunnis. Persian, Hindi/Urdu, English and Malayalam are also spoken by sections of the population.
Social Conventions
Traditional beliefs and customs are strong influences and people are generally more formal than Westerners. Attitudes to women are more liberal than in most Gulf States. Homosexuality, however, is illegal. Video cassettes will be withheld on arrival at the airport. It is illegal for Muslims to purchase alcohol from retail outlets. It is acceptable to sit cross-legged on cushions or sofas in people’s homes but it is still insulting to display the soles of the feet or shoes or to accept food or anything else with the left hand. It is polite to drink two small cups of coffee or tea when offered.
Guests will generally be expected to share a bedroom since guest bedrooms and privacy are almost unknown. Smoking is very common and cheap by European standards.
Clothing
There are two distinct types of women’s clothing in the region: one for locals, the other for expatriates. Outside the home, most Arab women dress according to religious custom, which means that they must cover most of the body, from head to foot. The traditional black overgarment (abaya) is ankle length with long sleeves and a high neckline, and the hair is covered. Some Arab women are totally covered, including their face and hands, especially Saudis and those with strictly religious husbands. This is meant to protect women protection from unwanted attention, and in Saudi Arabia even foreign women must wear an abaya outside the home; the relgious police will stop any woman who has her head uncovered and direct her to cover her hair immediately. In the other states, foreign women may wear western clothes but should always dress conservatively.
The region’s hot climate and customs call for informal but smart dressing. Arabs frown on clothes which reveal the shoulders, arms and legs, and any woman dressing provocatively will be regarded as being of ‘easy virtue’ or perhaps even as a prostitute. In the home, however, when not entertaining close friends or relatives, Arab women often adopt western dress, particularly younger women, and there are no restrictions on the way foreign women may dress in private. Sports clothes may be worn in the street and short dresses are acceptable; however, revealing clothing should be avoided.
Traditional Dresses
The typical Bahraini woman dresses conservatively, usually the Abaya, a long loose-fitting black gown, is worn. However, there is no formal dress code in Bahrain, and foreigners as well as local women are seen wearing modern outfits as well.
Bahraini men usually wear the Thobe and the traditional headdress which includes the Keffiyeh, Ghutra and Agal. The Thobe, sometimes called Dishdasha, is a loose, long-sleeved, ankle-length garment. Summer Thobes are white and made of cotton and winter Thobes can be darker and made of wool.
The Ghutra is a square scarf, made of cotton or silk, folded in a triangle and worn over the Keffiyeh. In Bahrain, it is usually red and white checked or all white. There is no significance placed on which kind the man wears.
The Keffiyeh is a white knitted skull cap worn under the Ghutra. The Agal is a thick, double, black cord that is worn on the top of the Ghutra to hold it in place.
In some occasions, Bahrainis wear a Bisht, which is a cloak made of wool, over the thobe. Unlike the thobe, the Bisht is soft, and it is usually black, brown, or grey.
Greetings
The most common greeting in the Gulf is Salam alaykum (‘Peace be upon you’), to which the correct reply is Wa alaykum as-salam (‘And upon you be peace’). You should always shake hands when greeting and parting from Arab men. In the case of Arab women, you should be guided by the woman’s behaviour: many Arab women won’t shake hands with non-Arab men, although educated women might. This is normal even with close friends whom you meet frequently. If the handshake you receive when leaving somebody is longer than the one you received when meeting him, it indicates that you’ve made a good impression. Incidentally, newcomers should note that refusals or protracted reluctance to meet people are frowned upon. Note also that you shouldn’t approach Arab women, look at them or talk to them unless you’ve been properly introduced.
After handshaking, it’s customary to enquire after the other person’s health and other matters, and you should expect similar enquiries to be directed at you. (Don’t enquire after the health of the female members of an Arab’s family, however, but restrict your questions to those regarding the family in general or the sons.) This can take a long time, as neither party wishes to be the one to draw matters to a close. Foreigners aren’t expected to know or use all the subtleties this ritual involves, but you will make a good impression if you learn at least some of the standard expressions and use them in the correct way. Whether in face-to-face conversation or speaking to people on the telephone, don’t talk business straight away; if you do so, Arabs will assume that you’re impatient or not interested in them personally.
Arts, Music & Dance
Arts include readings of the Quran, ceremonial dances accompanied by flat drums, and storytelling. The poets of Bahrain are famous for their poetic verses and carry on established traditions while also exploring new themes. Births and marriages call for wide-scale celebrations in Bahrain, which often are a pleasure to take part in. Apart from this, the people of Bahrain are also known for their artistic skills, the boats used for fishing and pearling, being an example of this craftsmanship. The traditional jewelry also speaks volumes about the intricate designs that the people of Bahrain can come up with.
Khaleeji is a style of Persian Gulf-area folk music, played in Bahrain with polyrhythms. The style is strongly influenced by the music of Africa. The Bahraini male-only pearl diving tradition is known for the songs called Fidjeri. Fidjeri is a musical repertoire performed traditionally by male pearl divers of Bahrain. It involves singing, clapping, drums and dances with earthen water jars.
The music of Bahrain follows the traditional Arabic mode. It is elaborate and repetitive. It is played on the oud (an ancestor of the lute) and the Rebaba (a one-stringed instrument). Bahrain also has a folk dance tradition. The Ardha is a men's sword dance, which is accompanied by traditional drummers and a poet, who sings the lyrics.
Belly Dancing
"Belly dancing", as it is most commonly known, has many other names. Often it's referred to as Oriental dance and in many Arabic speaking countries it's known as "Raks AI Sharki" (dance of the East). Most people are familiar with the name but contrary to what many people believe. belly dancing did not originate as a dance of seduction done by concubines to titillate the Sultan.
For centuries, the role of belly dancing in Middle Eastern society has been that of a folk dance for joyous occasions such as weddings, the birth of a child, community festivals, and other events that brought people together to party. It was performed by women - for women and was one way that the mothers of marriageable young men could get to know the eligible young women of the community. For Arabian women, the dance was considered to be sacred, and not intended to be seen by men at all.
The dance was originally taught to girls from an early age in order to strengthen their abdominal muscles in preparation for childbirth. The muscle isolation techniques require practice and control, and this type of exercise is believed to mitigate pain, so the dance was born through abdominal movements like pelvic rocking and the belly roll.
It also involves every other major muscle group in the body by working them in isolation or in opposition to other parts of the body. Through isolating lower body moves from the upper body, it causes a noticeable and continuous movement in the mid-section. Hence the term "belly dancing", as to the observer the belly looks as if it dances during a performance!
Traditionally the dance is performed with bare feet with smooth, Flowing, sensual movements incorporating many techniques from different parts of the Middle East: Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq. and Morocco to name a few, and each country has its own style.
Some dancers think Egypt is the source of belly dancing, but despite much research nobody is sure for certain. What is not disputed is that the 'belly dance' is at least 2,000 years old, if not older. AIl though there are different variations and styles of the dance, music. and costume, the basic movements appear to have remained virtually unchanged throughout the centuries. One of the biggest changes to the dance was during the twentieth century and this helped to reshaped the role of the dance In Middle Eastern society.
Clay Art
Deep in the heart of Bahrain, amidst 4,000-year-old burial mounds, seven family units in the village of A'ali practice a craft that is just as ancient. Bahrain's potters believe that the craft originated in the country, during the time it was known as Dilmun. True or not, what is certainly beyond question is that people from the Dilmun era - which dates back to 2300 BC - loved beautiful pottery.
Amazingly enough, this craft is today still being practiced in almost exactly the same way it used to be, with little or no resort to modern devices. The skills have been passed down, generation by generation, and although the number of craftsmen has declined, the potters still in the trade have remained true to their tradition. The potters still use the old fashioned wheel, operated by foot, and the finished pieces are often baked in kilns built into nearby burial mounds.
The actual process of preparing the clay has barely changed. The clay must first be carefully chosen and mixed. Bahrain's potters use a mixture of one part yellow clay, or asfar, and three parts red clay (ahmar). The clay is left immersed in a large outdoor trough for two days, to sift out small stones or other objects, then it would be filtered. After that, it is left to dry completely - three to four days in the summer, a week or more in the winter. The clay is then moulded, first by stomping all over it with bare feet, then by hand, thus eliminating all the air bubbles in the mixture. Finally, the clay is ready for the wheel.
The potter's wheel is as rudimentary a device as you can imagine - little having changed over the past hundreds of years. It consists of two horizontal circular plates, spaced apart and held together by a vertical stake driven through their centres and into the ground. The potter uses his feet to spin the bottom, large wheel, which generates enough torque for him to be able to mould the clay on the upper wheel. It is fascinating to watch a master potter at work, as he shapes the clay with his hands. With the wheel spinning furiously, he repeatedly moistens his hands as he encourages the lumpen clay with softly contoured palms, gently pushing up, goading, until there appears almost magically before your eyes an object of pure beauty. On average it takes about five minutes to make a medium size piece, larger pieces can take several hours and may even need two people, one to turn the wheel, the other to shape the pot. The freshly-made pots are left to dry in the shade for two days. Drying in the sun is avoided as the pots could develop cracks.
Next, the pots are placed in the kiln, usually built into one of the nearby burial mounds, though of late, gas kilns are becoming more widely used. The pots are baked for 10-12 hours, after which they are placed in a pool of water to cool off.
The potters of A'ali create pots of virtually every size, and in a wide variety of styles. Until the early 1970s, they would not use any paints; now with decorative pots becoming increasingly popular, colourful pots are evident everywhere.
Sheesha
The traditional Sheesha (hookah), containing sweetened and often flavored tobacco, is smoked by many Bahrainis. The sheesha is served in most open-air coffee shops, where local men can be seen whiling away time enjoying the sheesha, and sharing interesting conversation. Nowadays, members of the expatriate population are also found to smoke sheesha in the cafés.
