Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The 3ar6'a




The Saudi Arabian 'Ardha is a dance (I guess).
It's basically a bunch of men jumping up and down holding swords.
Last night I was at a party and they had traditional dancers who did a 'Ardha.
I think the 'Ardha is barbaric. Absolutley barbaric.
And it's horribly disturbing! (Not to mention dangerous)
Especially the part where there's some poor guy in the middle jerking around like he's possessed.
It's also quite awkward, in my opinoin. And it looks like a satanic rain dance of some sort.
But what I find truly appaling, is that it is a turn-on for most girls, and guys are impressed by it, for some reason.
But then again, we Arabs have always been violent, ay Westerners?
(I was being sarcastic with that last question.)


ubergirl

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

sara7atan i didnt find the fact that you called the ardha barbaric as hilarious as when you stated that some girls find it a turn on..i mean how the hell does a girl get turned on by such a dance?!wallah i feel really sorry for those of us who do find it the least bit amusing leana men jed they have no sense of taste la bil rages w'la bil music:)

Anonymous said...

Tell me more about this dance plz. Well in SOuth Africa we also have like Zulu dances where they dance with spears and shields

Anonymous said...

I am not from KSA but i watched them on tv yesterday and actually found it interesting!It realy is a symbolic thing, it may not mean anything to you now,because you're young, but to those who are more wiser and older than you, this reminds them about their past, in this generation nobody cares about anything historic!
--Old fag No more

ubergirl87 said...

A sword may have been a symbol of strength, it still is.
But when a country's official dance is that of a bunch of grunting men with weapons, it does not symbolize stregth.

Anon: Madry 3annohom. Ilnass thoog'hom 3'areb, man.

Anon from South Africa: There is really nothing more to tell.

Old Fag No More: Nevertheless, it is in my opinion barbaric. 200 Years ago it might have been a dance of glory. But let's not kid each other, what was cool back then is not cool in 2006.

Anonymous said...

I guess its jus some ppl like tradition and others dont, depends wat tickles ur fancy and blows ur mind.
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Anonymous said...

Traditions are just that, and you may like them or not. Back home we have a wonderful dance (i'm being sarcastic) called "Sardana". For me it's the most boring dance in the world but had to learn it when i was a kid. And there's no way i can speak badly about it at home: OUTRAGE!!!! my parents just find it an attack against our culture if i say how much i dislike it!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, and speaking about barbaric traditions... in most parts of Spain there's still bullfights. what can i say... disgusting, i'd rather see men jumping with swords

Anonymous said...

Well, I agree with Nuri
If tradition and culture symbols like this dance are subject to change like everything in our lives, what do we have left to characterize us?
Why do Scottish men insist on wearing kilts for their formal wear? We might see it as a skirt, but to them, it is tradition.
Why do Saudi men wear White Dishdasha?
Why do Japanese women wear Kimono when it is the most difficult piece of clothing ever?
It is tradition. You don't have to like it but I think that accepting is a part of belonging to one's own country ..
In Jordan, we have a similar dance but we call it De7eya .. and it is very nice and we love to watch it and it quite amazing how they all move in a uniform motion .. I think it is Art!

Anonymous said...

Kalidah, I think most traditions are ok as long as they aren't cruel: bullfighting and other harmful traditions to animals or people should belong to the past

ubergirl87 said...

The 3ar6'a might be symbolic, hell maybe it's even art, I wouldn't know.
But I still think it's horrible.

Jo said...

I absolutely LOVE the 3ar'6a AND I found Boody and all those men such a TURN ON ;P

ahmed said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ahmed said...

we 7ejazis we have other traditional dances like mezmar and yanba3awi..and i like both of them..people here have started to have these concerts in the weddings and stuff..

uber..3ar9'a,mezmar,yanba3awi...etc are our tradition,..u may not like them and thats fine..but many of us do ;)

zahrat ilma6ba5 said...

I like the outfits :D! but I find the dance itself a turn-off

Anonymous said...

Just be glad you don't have the traditional rite of men standing around in skirts and heaving large poles like the Scottish. =)

Anonymous said...

The Masai jump up and down holding spears. I haven't seen their dances, but I hear there's some skill involved. ;-)