Nubian Music and Weddings
Published: 08/26/2009
Nubian Music has spread far beyond the Nile. Played on traditional instruments such as the oud (a pear-shaped guitar) and douff ( a shallow drum), the music is characterized by a softly rolling, undulating rhythm, with a kind of swaying lilt. Melodies are simple and voices dry, twangy, and soulful. It’s like an Egyptian form of the blues. One of the biggest names is Aly Hassan Kuban, a septuagenarian former tiller man from a small village near Aswan. He grew up playing at weddings and parties, but he is now a regular fixture on the international world music scene. Almost as well known was Hamza al Din, a Nubian composer born in Wadi Halfa, the Sudanese town at the southernmost end of Lake Nasser. He was widely respected in the West for his compositions written for the oud. He died in 2006 in Oakland California, where he'd been a long time resident.
Visitors to Aswan are usually able to experience Nubian music as part of a floor show at a local restaurant or hotel, performed by troupes wearing gleaming white galabiyyas (gowns) and embroidered waistcoats. It is also not uncommon to see a wedding, particularly on a Thursday, which is the big wedding night throughout Egypt.
Visitors to Aswan are usually able to experience Nubian music as part of a floor show at a local restaurant or hotel, performed by troupes wearing gleaming white galabiyyas (gowns) and embroidered waistcoats. It is also not uncommon to see a wedding, particularly on a Thursday, which is the big wedding night throughout Egypt.
The Nubian wedding festivities last three days. On the first night, the bride and groom celebrate separately with their respective friends and families. On the second night, the bride takes her party to the groom’s home and both groups dance to the traditional music until the small hours. Then the bride returns home and her hands and feet are painted in beautiful designs with henna. On the third day, the groom and his party walk slowly to the bride’s house in a procession, singing and dancing the whole way.
Women visitors who want to get a taste of Nubian culture can have their hands “tattooed” with henna at some of the villages around Aswan.
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Nubian Music
Nubian Music
