The Art of Bin Abbadi

One of the women's singing arts in the Al Sharqiyah region, especially in the Wilaya of Sur, Wadi Bani Khalid and Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan. There are six troupes specialised in performing this genre in the city of Sur, each with one or more poets who compose the singing's verse. The rhythm of "Bin Abbadi" is quadruple; its beginning is marked by a heavy phrase on the qarhaf, the kosh or the nial (sandal), followed by a pause of three phrases. There are three types of the "Bin Abbadi" art, agreeing in the singing melody and rhythm but differing in verse: Bin Abbadi Alwah, Bin Abbadi ya Salem and Bin Abbadi Daman. The singing of "Bin Abbadi" begins by intoning the phrase "yudan yudan", then the singing of the poem's verse follows. It is sung for entertainment and at weddings, and was sung — formerly — in joy at a ship's return from a long sea voyage. In the Wilaya of Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan they know "Bin Abbadi" by the name "Al Sharh", and in both the wilayas of Al Kamil Wal Wafi and Wadi Bani Khalid they know it by the name "Sharh Al Wadi".