The Art of Al Hambura

One of the arts performed by women, peculiar to the Al Sharqiyah region. The "Al Hambura" dance is distinguished by being performed while the women sit on their haunches and move forward in a distinctive hop resembling a frog's leap; the dancer may support herself with the palm of her left hand on the ground so as not to fall. Among the traditions of the "Al Hambura" dance is that two dancers draw close — one to the other while squatting — and each touches the other with her forehead so that the two foreheads stick together, each pressing on the other's head with her forehead, so that they become like one body moving as a single mass. Young girls excel in this dance owing to their light weight and their ability for light, graceful movement. The singing and dancing movement of the hambura are accompanied by a rhythm from the two drums, the rahmani and the kasir, beaten by two men who also squat and move within the dance arena in an independent movement.