Souad Khalil | Libya

This article explores the vision, cultural dimensions, artistic program, and human values embodied in the first edition of Cyrene Theatre Days. Held in the historic city of Shahhat, ancient Cyrene, the festival seeks to establish a unique cultural experience that connects theatre with heritage and transforms historical spaces into living arenas for creativity, dialogue, and the preservation of collective memory.

Through these three articles, the reader is invited to discover the festival’s intellectual foundations, its diverse artistic and cultural activities, and its commitment to honoring the individuals who have contributed to preserving heritage and enriching cultural life. Together, they present a portrait of a cultural project that draws inspiration from the past while looking confidently toward the future

At a time when cultural transformations are accelerating and the need to reclaim memory and safeguard identity is becoming increasingly urgent, initiatives that seek to reconnect people with their place and history emerge as projects that transcend the limits of ordinary cultural activity to become a civilizational act carrying profound intellectual and human dimensions. It is from this perspective that the first edition of Cyrene Theatre Days is launched in the city of Shahhat, a city that embraces within its landscape one of the most significant historical centers of the Mediterranean region. The festival seeks to establish a new artistic experience based on heritage as a source of creativity and a point of departure for dialogue with the present.

The festival is held under the slogan “Dramatizing Heritage in Open Spaces,” a slogan that reflects far more than an artistic orientation. It embodies an integrated cultural vision that seeks to move theatre beyond enclosed halls into the vastness of historical and natural sites, where the place itself becomes part of the theatrical performance and an active element in shaping its aesthetic and intellectual dimensions. Ruins, temples, and ancient squares are not used merely as silent backdrops to events; rather, they become living partners in the creation of meaning and the evocation of memory.

The importance of this experience stems from the unique character of Shahhat—historical Cyrene—which stands among the most prominent archaeological cities in Libya and the world. It preserves a rich human and civilizational legacy that reflects the succession of civilizations and the interaction of cultures over many centuries. Through this festival, heritage becomes part of contemporary artistic practice, while archaeological sites are transformed into spaces for contemplation, creativity, and human interaction.

The festival’s mission extends beyond presenting theatrical performances in open-air settings. It seeks to establish a cultural project that promotes awareness of both tangible and intangible heritage and highlights its role in shaping national and cultural identity. The festival also aims to invigorate cultural and tourism activity in the region and to open new horizons for artists and researchers to engage with history as a source of inspiration and creativity.

The vision of the festival is to become a leading cultural platform that connects performing arts with heritage and contributes to the rediscovery of historical sites through a new cultural and aesthetic perspective. It also aspires to become an annual gathering that brings together theatre practitioners, researchers, and those interested in culture and heritage from across Libya and the Arab world, thereby strengthening the presence of Shahhat and Cyrene on the regional and international cultural map.

Believing in the role of culture in preserving collective memory, the festival administration has chosen the writer and researcher Daoud Hallaq as the Personality of the First Edition, in recognition of his long-standing contributions to national culture, the documentation of popular memory, and the preservation of local heritage. This choice serves as a tribute to one of the figures who devoted his efforts to safeguarding the city’s cultural identity and to fostering awareness of the value and historical significance of place.

The launch of the first edition of Cyrene Theatre Days is not merely an addition to Libya’s calendar of cultural festivals; it is a serious attempt to establish a sustainable project that restores the relationship between art and heritage, and between people and place. It is a project that draws upon the past not to remain captive to it, but to transform it into a bridge toward the future, offering younger generations an opportunity to discover their history through the language of art and creativity.

Amid the ancient columns of Cyrene and the open spaces of Shahhat, the story of a festival begins—a festival that believes in memory as a force for life and in theatre as an art capable of reviving place and granting it a renewed presence within contemporary cultural consciousness.

Between Theatre and Heritage… A Cultural and Artistic Program Enriching Cyrene Theatre Days

Cyrene Theatre Days is not limited to presenting theatrical performances in open spaces. Rather, it seeks to establish a comprehensive cultural event that brings together art, knowledge, and heritage, offering audiences the opportunity to engage with diverse forms of creativity in one of the most historically significant cities in Libya and the region.

With this vision in mind, the festival administration has designed a rich cultural and artistic program that accompanies the theatrical performances and provides them with an intellectual and educational dimension. The program is based on the belief that theatre does not exist in isolation from its cultural environment but is nourished by history, memory, and the various forms of artistic expression.

The intellectual component occupies a central place within the activities of the first edition. Through a series of thematic discussions, the festival explores the relationship between theatre, heritage, and collective memory. These sessions address issues such as the incorporation of cultural heritage into dramatic writing and the delicate balance between documentation and artistic creativity in dealing with traditional sources. Such themes open the door to stimulating intellectual debates that contribute to the development of theatrical practice and enrich its expressive tools.

Within the same framework, the festival hosts a scientific conference under the title “Cultural Heritage Sites Between Awareness, Development, and Intangible Heritage.” The conference aims to highlight the importance of heritage sites as an essential component of cultural identity and to emphasize the necessity of preserving and investing in them as resources for cultural and tourism development. It also provides an opportunity for researchers, specialists, and cultural practitioners to exchange experiences, ideas, and perspectives.

Among the festival’s most notable intellectual activities is the public seminar “Cyrene Without a Museum,” which raises a highly significant issue concerning the state of local heritage and the need to establish a museum that reflects the historical and civilizational importance of Cyrene. Such an institution would enable younger generations to discover the extraordinary cultural and human legacy preserved within this ancient city.

Recognizing that cultural engagement should extend beyond theoretical discussion, the festival has organized a series of training workshops aimed at artists and theatre enthusiasts. One workshop focuses on acting in open historical sites, exploring the unique relationship between performer and place and examining how natural and archaeological elements can become integral parts of a performance’s dramatic structure. Another workshop, dedicated to heritage-inspired playwriting, encourages participants to draw upon historical and folkloric sources in creating contemporary theatrical texts.

Alongside its theatrical and intellectual activities, the festival embraces the visual arts through a variety of exhibitions featuring painting, sculpture, photography, and traditional crafts. These exhibitions seek to showcase the cultural and aesthetic diversity of the region while providing artists and artisans with a platform to present their work in an environment where art and heritage meet.

Traditional heritage also finds a strong presence through the “Cyrene Market,” which features handmade crafts, herbs, honey, sculptures, and a wide range of artistic products. The market serves as a window onto local heritage and reinforces the role of traditional crafts as an essential element of the community’s cultural identity.

The evening events add a special festive and human dimension to the festival. As night falls, the city transforms into an open space for art and dialogue through cultural and artistic gatherings that bring together music, poetry, cultural testimonies, and open discussions with artists and theatre makers. Folkloric performances inspired by the spirit of the place further enrich the program, reflecting the features of its collective memory and cultural heritage.

The diversity of these activities demonstrates that Cyrene Theatre Days is far more than a festival of theatrical performances. It is a comprehensive cultural project that seeks to foster interaction between art, knowledge, and heritage while transforming the historic city into an open space for creativity and cultural exchange. Through this integrated program, the festival lays the foundations for a new experience that views culture as a bridge connecting past and present and giving heritage renewed life within the consciousness of individuals and communities.

Honoring Memory and Celebrating Achievement… Tributes and Awards of the First Edition of Cyrene Theatre Days

The value of cultural and artistic festivals is measured not only by the performances and activities they present, but also by the human and cultural messages they convey—messages that affirm the importance of honoring those who have contributed to building awareness, creating beauty, and preserving collective memory. From this perspective, the first edition of Cyrene Theatre Days has given special attention to recognition and tribute, inspired by the belief that great cities are preserved not only through their monuments and archaeological treasures, but also through the efforts of the men and women who devoted their lives to knowledge, culture, and public service.

The selection of the writer and researcher Daoud Hallaq as the Festival Personality of the First Edition crowns a long journey of cultural and scholarly contribution. His name has become closely associated with documenting local memory and preserving popular heritage. Through his writings and initiatives, he has played an important role in strengthening awareness of the value of place and reinforcing a sense of belonging to the historical and civilizational identity of Shahhat and Cyrene. This choice reflects the festival’s commitment to celebrating figures who have made culture a mission and memory a lifelong project dedicated to safeguarding history for future generations.

In keeping with this vision, the first edition pays tribute to a number of distinguished individuals whose contributions have left a clear mark in the fields of historical research, archaeology, culture, the arts, and community service. These recognitions represent an acknowledgment of their efforts in advancing knowledge, preserving heritage, and strengthening the cultural presence of both the city and the nation.

Honoring researchers, historians, university professors, and archaeological experts is far more than a symbolic gesture. It affirms the central role of scholarship and research in protecting collective memory and safeguarding cultural identity. Likewise, recognizing artists and cultural practitioners reflects a deep appreciation of the role that the arts play in fostering awareness and promoting the values of beauty, belonging, and cultural continuity.

The spirit of gratitude is not limited to living contributors. It also extends to a number of departed figures who remain deeply present in the memory of the city and its people. Their recognition serves as a tribute to their efforts in the fields of heritage preservation, archaeology, culture, and community work. This human dimension adds a profound significance to the festival, emphasizing that genuine creativity cannot be separated from memory and that honoring pioneers is part of the responsibility that each generation bears toward its cultural history.

The festival administration has also dedicated special recognition to individuals whose service to society has left a lasting and positive impact on the lives of others. Through this gesture, the festival affirms that culture is not an isolated elite activity but an integral part of everyday life and of the values upon which communities are built.

Alongside these tributes, the festival has established a series of awards bearing the names of distinguished cultural, artistic, and academic figures. This initiative combines the encouragement of theatrical creativity with the preservation of the names and legacies of pioneers within the cultural memory of society. The awards cover a variety of categories, including Best Performance, Best Playwright, Best Director, and Best Actor, in addition to awards recognizing theatrical costume design and the creative use of place within performance. The program also includes an award for scholarly research in Greek theatre, reflecting the festival’s broad vision that unites art and knowledge.

These awards acquire particular significance because they are closely aligned with the festival’s philosophy of drawing inspiration from heritage and integrating historical spaces into the theatrical experience. They reward not only artistic excellence but also innovative approaches capable of creating a dynamic relationship between theatre and place, and between contemporary creativity and historical memory.

What distinguishes the first edition of Cyrene Theatre Days is its ability to balance a commitment to the future through the encouragement of emerging creative talents with a deep respect for the past through the recognition of those who have contributed to cultural awareness and heritage preservation. It is a message that affirms that authentic culture is built not on separation between generations, but on continuity, accumulation, and acknowledgment of those who have paved the way.

Thus, the tributes and awards are not merely one component of the festival’s program; they are an essential expression of its cultural and human vision. Through them, the festival seeks to make art a means of preserving memory, strengthening belonging, and highlighting the inspiring individuals who have served their nation and its culture. When the festival honors its pioneers and creators, it is, in reality, celebrating the history of an entire city and reaffirming that memory is the bridge through which nations cross toward their future.

The first edition of Cyrene Theatre Days represents more than a cultural event; it is an invitation to rediscover the relationship between people, history, and place through the language of theatre and the arts. By bringing performances into open historical spaces, encouraging dialogue between heritage and contemporary creativity, and celebrating those who have dedicated their lives to culture and knowledge, the festival lays the foundation for a promising cultural tradition.

In the ancient landscape of Cyrene, where the echoes of civilizations still resonate among columns and ruins, theatre becomes a bridge connecting memory and imagination, past and future. Through this vision, Cyrene Theatre Days affirms that culture remains one of the most powerful means of preserving identity, inspiring creativity, and strengthening the bonds between communities and their heritage.

Read: The Human Being, Before the Artist

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Souad Khalil, hailing from Benghazi Libya, is a writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

The post Between the Theatre and Heritage first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By: Raphic Burdo

Once upon there was Karachi, a city called ‘city of lights’, ‘a jewel in the British crown of Queen Victoria, on whose empire never set. At the edge of this city’s harbour, where the Arabian Sea exhales its salt-laden breath onto stone and steel, there stood tall, with all its grace and magnificence, the Mules Mansion. The city has withered, has lost its shine and shimmer. Its beaches are more known for fishing than beach games, bars and music. The way Karachi limps on, so does the Mules Mansion. Karachi and Mules Mansion reflect each other’s image and tell each other’s story.

Mules Mansion stands not merely as a building but as a survivor. Its weathered façade rises above a landscape that appears determined to erase the very idea of beauty, elegance and grace. Around it swarm container trucks, oil tankers, handcarts, and motorcycles. All emitting smoke like chimneys. The air vibrates with horns, engines, and the metallic groan of commerce. Nearby lie heaps of garbage left to ferment beneath the tropical sun. Walls are stained by graffiti that unworthy of the walls if a great city. Oil slicks shimmer upon stagnant water. Nearby water bodies and mangroves smell no better than cesspools.  Drug addicts, paan chewing loafers, and weed paddlers wander through neglected streets of famed Jackson Market and around. Informal settlements crowd against decaying infrastructure. Dust and soot settle upon every surface human and non-human.

Yet amid this disorder, Mules Mansion retains extraordinary dignity. Like an ageing aristocrat who has outlived both fortune and family, it stands elegantly dressed in the fading garments of another age. Its stone arches still frame the sky with grace. Its balconies still face the sea. Its proportions still reveal a belief that architecture should elevate the human spirit rather than merely shelter human activity.

One cannot look at Mules Mansion without sensing that it has become more than a building. It has become a question: what happened to the city that built this? And perhaps more importantly: what happened to the society that stopped caring for it? These questions are not really about architecture. These are questions about memory, governance, public policy, culture, society and civilization itself. For buildings are never merely buildings. They are frozen expressions of what a society values. They are policy cast into stone. They are philosophy translated into public space. And when they decay, they reveal far more than cracks in masonry. In fact, they reveal cracks in the collective priorities.

Mules Mansion has watched more than a century unfold before its arches and windows. It has witnessed ships arriving from Bombay, Basra, Zanzibar, London, Muscat, and Singapore. It has watched sailors descend gangways carrying stories from distant worlds. It has observed merchants negotiating fortunes, migrants seeking futures, soldiers marching toward wars, and laborers carrying the burden of empire upon their shoulders.

Very few structures in Karachi occupy such a privileged position within the city’s historical imagination. Standing near Karachi Port, it has occupied a front-row seat to one of South Asia’s most fascinating urban transformations. Before Karachi became Pakistan’s largest metropolis, before it became a megacity of more than twenty million people, before it became synonymous with traffic congestion and unplanned expansion, it was a coastal town of modest scale and remarkable openness. The harbour was its heart. The sea was its horizon. Trade was its bloodstream. And Mules Mansion stood near that beating heart.

Whether you agree or not, buildings possess memories.  Not in the manner of human beings, but they remember through endurance. Each layer of paint, each repaired crack, each scar left by weather, or conflict, becomes part of an accumulated narrative. Buildings become archives that cannot be shelved inside libraries. The historian reads documents. The architect reads structures. The citizen reads neither and yet feels both. Mules Mansion is therefore not simply an object of heritage. It is a repository of urban memory.

A city remembers through its streets, parks, monuments, public squares, libraries, theatres, markets, and buildings. When these disappear, memory itself becomes fragmented. The result is not merely physical loss. It is cultural amnesia.

There was a time when Karachi was celebrated as one of Asia’s most cosmopolitan cities. The phrase “City of Lights” was not merely a slogan. It reflected an urban culture distinguished by openness, aspiration, and confidence. The Karachi of the early twentieth century was a city of merchants, sailors, financiers, civil servants, industrialists, dockworkers, teachers, artists, and migrants. Its population included Sindhis, Balochs, Parsis, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, Jews, Goans, Armenians, Gujaratis, Memons, and many others. Languages overlapped. Cultures intersected. Ideas travelled.

The port connected Karachi not only to trade routes but also to intellectual and cultural currents. This cosmopolitanism was not accidental. Ports have always produced openness. Cities connected to oceans learn early that diversity is not a threat but a necessity. Trade requires trust. Trust requires coexistence. Coexistence generates culture. And culture produces confidence. Mules Mansion emerged from that confidence.

The builders of Mules Mansion were not constructing a structure merely to fulfil a functional requirement. They were participating in the creation of a city. This distinction matters.

Modern development often concerns itself with outputs: roads built, housing units delivered, kilometers paved, square feet constructed. Civilizations concern themselves with meaning. A city becomes memorable not because of the quantity of concrete it consumes but because of the quality of life it creates. Paris, Istanbul, Rome, Kyoto, Prague, Isfahan, and Samarkand are not admired because they built the most structures. They are admired because they built identities. Identity is the invisible infrastructure of civilization. And heritage buildings are among its most visible manifestations.

One of the great tragedies of the modern world is that development is increasingly measured through indicators that are easier to count than to understand. Governments celebrate GDP growth. Administrations report kilometers of roads. Planning agencies publish statistics about housing, transport, and investment. Of course, all of these matter but they do not tell the whole story.

A society may become wealthier while becoming culturally poorer. A city may become larger while becoming less livable. An economy may expand while public beauty contracts. Development, when reduced to economics alone, becomes incomplete. Renowned English intellectual and writer of “Culture and Anarchy”, Matthew Arnold warned against precisely this tendency in the nineteenth century. He observed the enormous material achievements of industrial society while simultaneously recognizing the dangers of spiritual and cultural impoverishment. For Arnold, culture represented a counterbalance to narrow self-interest. It represented humanity’s pursuit of excellence, harmony, and collective refinement. His concerns remain surprisingly relevant.

What happens when societies become preoccupied with economic growth but neglect cultural inheritance? What happens when budgets allocate billions for infrastructure but little for restoration? What happens when heritage is viewed as a luxury rather than a public asset? The answer can be seen in many postcolonial cities. Historic districts have been allowed to crumble. Public spaces led to deterioration. Architectural treasures designed to vanish. And yet development reports continue to celebrate progress. Mules Mansion challenges this logic. It asks whether a city can truly be called developed while allowing its historical memory to decay.

Heritage preservation is often misunderstood. Many policymakers treat it as a niche concern. Or consider it as an issue for historians. An interest of architects. A hobby for cultural enthusiasts. This view is profoundly mistaken. Heritage preservation is fundamentally a public policy issue. It intersects with tourism, education, urban planning, economic development, civic identity, environmental sustainability, and social cohesion. Cities that preserve heritage generate economic value. Visitors travel to experience authenticity. Creative industries flourish around cultural assets. Property values often increase. Public spaces become more attractive. Investment follows quality. Yet the strongest argument for preservation remains neither economic nor aesthetic. It is, for all practical purposes, civic.

Heritage provides continuity. It allows citizens to understand themselves as participants in a longer story. Without continuity, societies become vulnerable to fragmentation. People cease to feel connected to place. Neighborhoods lose meaning. Public life weakens. Citizens become consumers of urban space rather than custodians of it. The preservation of Mules Mansion is therefore not simply about saving a building. It is about preserving a relationship between Karachi and itself.

Every city is ultimately a physical expression of governance. Roads reveal priorities. Parks reveal priorities. Libraries reveal priorities. Schools reveal priorities. And neglected buildings reveal priorities as well. Urban landscapes are policy documents written in concrete, steel, stone, and asphalt. When one examines the surroundings of Mules Mansion today, uncomfortable questions emerge: how does a structure of such significance come to exist amid such neglect? Why do areas of immense economic importance often suffer from environmental degradation? Why are heritage districts frequently treated as afterthoughts? Why does restoration remain episodic rather than systematic? The answers lie not in a single institution but within broader systems of governance.

Fragmented authority. Weak enforcement. Inadequate maintenance. Short political time horizons. Insufficient coordination. Competing priorities. All contribute to urban decline. Yet governance failure should not be interpreted solely as administrative incompetence. Often it reflects something deeper. A failure of imagination. Great cities are built not merely through engineering but through vision. Vision requires asking what kind of city future generations should inherit. Management concerns today’s problems. Statesmanship concerns tomorrow’s inheritance. The difference is enormous.

Human beings are uniquely aware of mortality. We know we will die. Perhaps this awareness explains our desire to build. Buildings become extensions of memory. They allow individuals and societies to leave traces behind. A monument says: we were here. A library says: we learned here. A university says: we thought here. A heritage building says: we lived here. The destruction of such places therefore carries emotional weight beyond their material value. Something intangible disappears. A thread connecting generations is severed. Mules Mansion embodies this tension between permanence and impermanence. For more than a century it has resisted weather, politics, economic upheaval, demographic transformation, and urban chaos. Yet even stone has limits. No building lives forever.

The question is not whether buildings die. The question is how they die. Some perish through natural ageing. Others through disaster. Still others through neglect. Neglect is perhaps the saddest form of death because it is preventable. It reflects not inevitability but indifference. And indifference is a moral choice.

Modern governments devote considerable attention to the future. Economic growth. Technological advancement. Infrastructure expansion. Digital transformation. These are necessary pursuits. But governments also possess obligations to the past. Not because the past is sacred. Not because history should be frozen. But because continuity matters.

Nations are conversations across generations. The dead contribute to those conversations through institutions, traditions, ideas, and physical structures. The living inherit them. Future generations will inherit whatever remains. Public policy therefore operates simultaneously across three dimensions of time. It must serve present needs. It must prepare for future challenges. And it must steward inherited assets.

A government that ignores the future is irresponsible. A government that ignores the past is equally shortsighted. Heritage preservation is not nostalgia. It is stewardship. The distinction matters enormously. Nostalgia seeks to return. Stewardship seeks to carry forward. One looks backward. The other creates continuity. Mules Mansion deserves preservation not because Karachi should return to 1917 but because the city of Karachi deserves access to its own memory.

Cities, in their own right, possess personalities. Some are disciplined. Some are energetic. Some are contemplative. Some are restless. Karachi has always been restless. Its energy comes from movement. People arrive. People depart. Money flows. Ideas circulate. The city constantly reinvents itself. This dynamism is among its greatest strengths. Yet dynamism without memory becomes instability.

A city requires anchors. Heritage buildings perform this function. They provide continuity amid change. They remind citizens that they belong to something older and larger than themselves. Remove enough of these anchors and a city risks becoming interchangeable with any other urban agglomeration. A collection of roads, buildings, and transactions. Functional perhaps. Profitable perhaps. But forgettable.

The world’s greatest cities are memorable precisely because they preserve layers. Ancient and modern coexist. History and innovation interact. Memory and aspiration reinforce each other. This balance remains one of the central challenges of urban policy in the twenty-first century.

Ultimately, Mules Mansion in Karachi functions as a mirror. When we look at it, we see more than architecture. We see ourselves. We see our priorities. We see our successes and failures. We see what we value. We see what we ignore. The building reflects both Karachi’s greatness and its vulnerabilities. It reflects the ambition that once created extraordinary public spaces. It reflects the governance failures that allowed deterioration. It reflects the resilience of heritage. It reflects the fragility of memory. And it reflects the choices still before us. For the story of Mules Mansion standing on the harbour of Karachi is not finished. Its future remains unwritten. Restoration remains possible. Revitalization remains possible. Renewed civic pride remains possible. The building has not yet surrendered. The question is whether the city has also no surrendered.

As evening descends upon Karachi Harbour, the stone walls of Mules Mansion absorb the last light of the setting sun. Ships move across distant waters. Cranes continue their labor. Traffic roars. The city rushes onward, impatient as ever. And there, amid noise and neglect, stands the old mansion. Watching. Remembering. Waiting. Waiting for a city to decide whether memory matters. Waiting for policymakers to decide whether heritage belongs within the vocabulary of development. Waiting for administrators to recognize that cultural assets are not ornamental luxuries but strategic resources. Waiting for citizens to understand that every lost building diminishes not only a skyline but a civilization.

In my view, the ultimate lesson of Mules Mansion in Karachi is that urban decline rarely begins with buildings. It begins with ideas. It begins with the gradual abandonment of stewardship. It kick starts with the belief that development can be measured solely in economic terms. The decline, more often than not, begins with  the assumption that culture is secondary, heritage expendable, beauty optional, and memory negotiable. The fate of Mules Mansion therefore raises a final and unsettling question: is this merely the story of an old building overlooking Karachi Harbour? Or is it a story about governance that forgets inheritance, planning that neglects meaning, development that confuses growth with progress, administrations that prioritize transactions over civilization, and societies that slowly lose sight of the difference between building cities and merely expanding them?

If Mules Mansion ultimately falls, the greatest loss will not be measured in stone, timber, or architecture. The greatest loss will be the realization that what disappeared was not merely a building. What disappeared was a fragment of memory, a piece of civic identity, an expression of cultural confidence, and a reminder that cities, like nations, are judged not only by what they create, but also by what they choose to preserve.

Read: Life After Che – Short Story

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Raphic Burdo is a student of Literature, Psychology, Public Policy and Entrepreneurship. He writes on the subjects where all four intersect.

The post The Mules Mansion of Karachi first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• The provincial government should immediately review Education City’s activities, halt the destruction of fertile lands, and renew the leases of the indigenous people who have guarded this land for centuries.

Farooq Sargani

​The price of so-called “development” may soon claim hundreds of species of trees and wildlife. Some are rare endemics found only in the Malir region, taking decades to reach maturity. Furthermore, during the monsoon season, the rivers that once carried fresh water are being choked by pollution from encroaching housing schemes and institutional complexes. Eventually, these lifelines will be reduced to sewage drains (nullahs). Today, locals still sit on the riverbanks to graze their livestock and enjoy the sounds of nature; however, in the near future, the Sukhan and Malir seasonal rivers risk becoming flowing graveyards. The morning chorus of birds will be silenced, and the peaceful solitude of the night will vanish like a fading scent in the air.

​This project has sparked deep resentment among indigenous communities whose ancestral farmlands have been cleared. Residents of Deh Chuhar recall a time when the region was a lush, fertile haven for mangoes, sitaphal, falsa, guavas, chiku, eggplants, and gourds. Even now, local men and women continue to toil in these fields, proving the soil’s enduring vitality. Yet, under the guise of progress, this green belt is being sacrificed for concrete structures.

​The Genesis of Education City

​The provincial government’s push for “Education City” gained formal momentum in 2001 through a provincial cabinet decision, though the vision dates back to 2000. While land was steadily allotted to various institutions, a comprehensive master plan remained unfinished for years. In 2006, the Sindh cabinet officially designated Deh Chuhar for the project. As urban property rates skyrocketed, reputable national and international institutes sought land within the proposed city. By 2021, construction was in full swing.

​Today, over 50 educational and health institutions are slated for Deh Chuhar. While the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) projects a 2050 completion date, critics argue the report overlooks several devastating social and ecological consequences.

​The Critique of “Development”

​“The development of Education City serves only the elite; ordinary people cannot afford these fees,” argues local environmental activist Hafeez Baloch. “Capitalists are building these institutes for commercial gain, not for the community.”

​Baloch emphasizes that the land seized for the project is prime agricultural soil—”more valuable than gold.” He laments that the provincial government has encouraged investors to ruin this heritage, creating a concrete jungle while displacing indigenous families without a plan for resettlement or compensation.

​Amar Gul, a poet and translator, echoes this heartbreak. “I once wrote poetry about the lush greenery of Malir with a delighted heart; now, I write about its destruction,” he says. For the native population, the economy is inextricably linked to the earth. Many are neither mentally nor physically prepared for a transition from cultivation to urban labor. Furthermore, the displacement threatens the traditional independence of local women, who hold a deep, working connection to the land—a system that currently bolsters Karachi’s food security.

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Akram Jokhio’s Resistance

​In the cool November winds of Malir, the contrast between the old world and the new is stark. Near the Dumlottee Wells—historic British-era structures intended to supplement the city’s water—the landscape is changing.

​Akram Jokhio is a man who refused to let his ancestral heritage disappear quietly. When the local administration arrived with bulldozers to demolish his huts and fields, claiming his 1992 lease had expired in 2023, Akram stood his ground. Armed with British-era documents and the power of a viral social media video, he managed to save one-third of his land. However, ten acres were still confiscated for the Education City office.

​When asked about his loss, Akram laughs bitterly. “If a person becomes upset when a donkey dies, how should I feel losing ten acres? They didn’t give me a single penny. They build high-rises while we are pushed out of our small homes.”

​Ecological and Historical Erosion

​The region’s biodiversity is staggering. Photographer Salman Baloch notes that the area is home to 70 butterfly species, 193 bird species, 12 species of snakes, and 15 mammal species. Residents like Muhammad Murad Baloch report seeing wild animals wandering near the newly acquired Aga Khan University sites at night. As their habitats are fenced off, these species face displacement or extinction.

​Beyond biology, the project threatens history. The region contains five archaeological sites and sits on the path of the legendary heroine Sassui. Historians Gul Hassan Kalmati and researchers from the University of Karachi have traced Sassui’s route across the Sukhan River—a vital medieval trade link between Sindh and Balochistan. The construction also threatens two historical carved graveyards, erasing physical links to the past.

​A Stolen Generation

​The youth of Deh Chuhar and Dharsano Chhano face a future as a “stolen generation.” Within decades, their cultural norms will be subsumed by mega-technology zones and housing schemes. Ironically, local students—often limited to matriculation or intermediate education—will likely be ineligible for the high-level jobs these international institutes provide.

​Their language, ancient graveyards, and traditional celebrations are being replaced by a sense of alienation. Twenty-nine villages face destruction as land grabbers and developers encroach further. Despite the involvement of local political figures in these provincial decisions, many residents still hold onto the fading hope that their representatives will intervene.

​To save Karachi’s green belt and ensure future food security, a collective effort is required. Civil society, environmental activists, and progressive political parties must organize alongside local communities. The provincial government should immediately review Education City’s activities, halt the destruction of fertile lands, and renew the leases of the indigenous people who have guarded this land for centuries.

Read: Port Qasim Occupies More Islands, Creeks

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The author is freelance writer. He has graduated from Karachi University

The post Malir: Farmlands, Heritage at risk first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Abdullah Usman Morai | Sweden

Every year, the month of February in Sweden is a month of intense cold and snowfall, where snow-covered trees, frozen lakes, and extremely chilly winds prevail. In this very month, a special week begins that is eagerly awaited by both children and parents. In the Swedish language, it is called Sportlov (Sports Holiday), which means a holiday for sports. During that week, schools remain closed, but it is not merely a school vacation. Rather, it is an activity that has become an important part of Sweden’s social and physical culture, in which parents participate in winter sports together with their children.

The Beginning of Sportlov, Its Benefits, and Importance

Sportlov began in the 1940s. At that time, due to severe winters and shortages of fuel such as oil or kerosene, schools were temporarily closed in order to conserve fuel for heating. Gradually, this one-week break transformed into a social and cultural tradition. The government and local municipalities encouraged people to go outdoors during this week and take part in physical activities.

Today, Sportlov is not merely a holiday but a week of family togetherness, healthy activities, and closeness to nature. Children and parents ski together, skate on ice, go to the mountains, or engage in other winter sports in local parks.

Its benefits are numerous. For example, it provides an opportunity to strengthen family relationships. When parents and children play together, trust, love, and communication between them become stronger, and closeness increases. Winter sports improve physical health and strengthen the body, removing laziness and creating agility. They improve heart health and develop balance and coordination. Nature, natural light, and physical activities, meaning engagement in sports, create mental peace in children and reduce psychological stress. The most interesting aspect is that it also builds courage and endurance. For example, falling during a game and getting up again is one of the important lessons of life.

Childhood Memories: When We Too Were Players

When I see children engaged in sports here in Sweden, my mind automatically travels back to my own childhood and to the streets of Moro where we grew up. I remember how active we were in games, and how long our list of games was. There was no snow in our games, but there was dust, sunshine, and laughter.

I used to be an expert at playing marbles (bloor or chida). Spinning tops, cricket, badminton, ludo, and carom board were part of our daily routine. Sometimes we also played hockey and football. I remember trying to fly kites, but I never became skilled at it; nevertheless, the joy of it is still fresh in my memory. One of our famous games was Sat Kut, which we played a lot. In that game, if the ball was in your hand, you were considered powerful and could target everyone else.

Besides that, we played Itti Dakkar, Lik Lakoti, and the game of placing seven stones and knocking them down with a ball; until those seven stones were stacked again one over the other, players would hit each other with the ball. Playing with dolls and Pikli Peer with my sisters was also a beautiful part of life. We only heard about Wanjhwatii; we never actually played it. However, we got many opportunities to play video games. As a child, I also rolled motorcycle tires with a wooden stick many times, and it felt as if I were driving a bullet train. Those days were simple, yet full of happiness.

The Modern World, New Games, and Research behind Them

In developed countries, games are not merely a way to pass the time. On the contrary, extensive research is conducted behind the invention of new games. Sports experts consider what impact a game will have on a child’s mind and body. What should the rules and regulations of a game be so that every child gets an equal opportunity? What type of physical balance will the new game require? Which game will enhance children’s physical abilities? How should the balance between competition and cooperation be maintained?

Here, new games are continuously developing, keeping children physically active even in today’s digital era. In other words, game designing has now become a scientific process that includes aspects of psychology, physical training, and social development.

Should We Also Create New Games?

Keeping our old and traditional games alive is extremely important. However, in my opinion, along with preserving them, it is also the need of the time to invent new physical games. To address modern challenges such as the fact that children today have fewer open playgrounds and increased screen usage, being confined to mobile phones and tablets, and sitting in one place, this sedentary lifestyle is harmful to health.

New and attractive physical games should be designed according to these conditions. For example, to increase physical activity, new engaging and mentally challenging games can help bring children outdoors. When children or young people design games themselves, their creativity and decision-making skills improve. Just as languages and cultures evolve, games too should take new forms over time and they should.

From Traditional Games to Family Gatherings: A Step toward a Healthy and Strong Society

In marbles, spinning tops, carrom board, cricket, and other traditional games, the memories, values, and simplicity of our society are hidden. They are not merely games but also a means of gathering.

If a concept like Sportlov were introduced in our society as well, where one week is dedicated to parents and children spending time together playing both new and old games, then surely society could become healthier and stronger.

Conclusion

In conclusion, whether it is Sportlov in the snowy fields of Sweden or the childhood games in the dusty streets of our villages and cities, play is a natural language. Sweden’s Sportlov teaches us that games are not merely entertainment but a way of living. Play gives strength to the body, peace to the mind, and brings hearts closer together.

We should keep our traditional games alive and at the same time invent new ones, so that the laughter, energy, and togetherness of future generations continue. Let us bring our children back to the streets and playgrounds, teach them new games, and become part of their childhood. Because play is not merely a way to pass time, it is an essential part of life.

Read: From Wells to Mineral Water Bottles

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Abdullah Soomro, penname Abdullah Usman Morai, hailing from Moro town of Sindh, province of Pakistan, is based in Stockholm Sweden. Currently he is working as Groundwater Engineer in Stockholm Sweden. He did BE (Agriculture) from Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam and MSc water systems technology from KTH Stockholm Sweden as well as MSc Management from Stockholm University. Beside this he also did masters in journalism and economics from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. He is author of a travelogue book named ‘Musafatoon’. His second book is in process. He writes articles from time to time. A frequent traveler, he also does podcast on YouTube with channel name: VASJE Podcast.

The post Sindh’s Heritage Games: Forgotten Childhood Echoes first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Souad Khalil | Libya

Heritage remains one of the richest sources of artistic inspiration, particularly in theatre, where it intersects with collective memory, identity, and lived experience. Rather than being confined to the past, heritage continues to resonate within contemporary cultural practices, offering creative possibilities that bridge tradition and modern expression. In theatrical work, engaging with heritage is not a matter of imitation or nostalgic revival, but a process of reinterpretation that allows inherited forms, stories, and symbols to speak to present concerns. This article reflects on the role of heritage in theatre and explores how it can be creatively employed to enrich theatrical expression while preserving its cultural depth and human significance.

Art is considered one of the most important aesthetic manifestations of culture within any social entity. It is also an expression that is directly related to prevailing cultural trends and embodies a creative perspective through which societies, in all their strata, articulate their vision.

In this sense, art is a living presence in which the experiences of a given social entity accumulate, allowing it to express its culture and interact with it through a distinctive and unique existence.

Heritage in art is regarded as evidence of authenticity and of adherence to the emotional roots of peoples. It also represents an affirmation of the self, through attachment to identity and to a particular creative originality that distinguishes it from other human creative expressions. This specificity does not contradict others; rather, it seeks to contribute to the enrichment of the human conscience and to participate positively in the creativity of others through a distinct, singular, and authentic creative act. This is what I mean by authenticity in heritage.

When we speak of heritage, we encompass everything related to this cultural legacy: from folk tales to oral narratives, from myths and ancient religious rituals to the storyteller (ḥakawātī), the puppeteer (Aragoz), shadow theatre, and others. All these forms confirm that, as Arabs, we were familiar with religious drama or ritualistic performance. What was known as the Abydos Passion Play, dating back to the second or third millennium BCE, was practiced in ancient Egypt, as mentioned in the book Drama in the World by the researcher Ardais Nikoll.

This heritage represents an essential element in human development. If we reflect upon our culture, customs, lifestyles, and beliefs, we will find that we are indebted to previous generations who passed down these traditions and beliefs to us. Human beings are distinguished from other creatures by the phenomenon of folk heritage—that is, tradition. This heritage is transmitted from ancestors to descendants, from generation to generation.

Folk heritage is an oral legacy transmitted by word of mouth and preserved by oral memory. In other words, it is intangible heritage, encompassing beliefs, myths, and forms of verbal expression. This intangible cultural heritage is inherited through memory, which performs this preservative function. Through this memory, which has safeguarded this oral and intangible heritage, we can identify major historical events that were documented and preserved through poetry, sung arts, folk proverbs, and beliefs. These means once served to preserve the prevailing culture of their time.

These remarks constitute a brief clarification of some of the concepts related to heritage, which is the subject of this article, and how it may be employed in theatrical works—whether as oral heritage or other forms abundant in our cultural legacy.

In a study by Professor Mohamed Abu Al-Ela Al-Salamouni, he explains that a theatre practitioner—especially the creative playwright—cannot afford to ignore or overlook the heritage of theatre from the Greek era to the present day. He argues that it is a significant advantage that we did not historically experience theatre in its contemporary form; therefore, we are not bound by a traditional theatrical structure, as is the case, for example, with Arabic poetry. Perhaps the difficulty our poets faced in liberating themselves from the constraints of the traditional poetic form, and the literary battles that accompanied this struggle for years, explains why Arabic poetry did not effectively keep pace with contemporary movements.

Conversely, in another artistic form with which we had no deeply rooted tradition—namely the novel and the short story—our writers, benefiting from their freedom, were able to draw from world narrative art. This freedom allowed creative talent to flourish, and the fruit of this achievement ripened when world literature recognized our narrative art through Naguib Mahfouz’s receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Adherence to heritage in art must be approached with profound study, so as not to fall into what some call formalism or chaotic formalism, where theatrical performances rely heavily on heritage-based visual elements while neglecting the dramatic text as theatrical substance. In other words, we should not focus excessively on spectacle and heritage motifs—overloading performances with musical and performative elements—at the expense of the theatrical text, which is fundamentally the basis of what is presented in terms of a coherent dramatic structure.

Heritage is merely a means to create a bond with the audience’s collective consciousness and to attract them through popular spectacle and artistic enjoyment. Ultimately, the performance must convey a respectable message that reaches the intellect and conscience of the audience. We are not clowns, fashion models, or nightclub singers.

Therefore, we must strive to avoid falling into this kind of heritage-based formalism, and ensure that the theatrical text remains central, protecting us from the temptation of dubious aesthetic superficiality. These are among the crucial issues we must avoid when presenting theatrical works that draw upon our heritage.

These lines are drawn from a study written by Mohamed Abu Al-Ela Al-Salamouni on heritage in theatre.

Arab theatre exerts great effort in exploring the depths of the human unconscious, searching for the characteristics of its formation and exposing the pains that shaped it—writing them down to avoid daily confrontation with them. It affirms that contemporary human beings are nothing but psychological, social, and intellectual outcomes of a vast civilizational heritage. Such a human being will not be able to conquer the future unless armed with a serious scientific stance toward heritage, reality, and the future.

In response to a question posed to Dr. Hoda Wasfi regarding how to benefit from modern theatrical forms in drawing inspiration from heritage, she states:

“Heritage is lived reality in some of its aspects, as we live through active motifs that accompany us in daily life. Drawing inspiration from heritage does not mean looking back to the distant past; rather, it means viewing it as something capable of being effective in the future. We seek addition from heritage. Our connection to heritage is not archaeological; it is a connection that searches for living components in order to reshape and benefit from them. This makes heritage a protector of identity, capable of safeguarding the individual’s character against the overwhelming invasion of modern lifestyles, which tend to become homogenized through mass media. This challenge can only be met by searching for effective elements that help individuals sustain a more refined life.”

The benefit of theatrical performance inspired by heritage lies in the integration of text, scenography, body language, and visual arts that reflect the era we live in. This is achieved through scenography, which constitutes a philosophical vision, as well as through visual writing on stage. All of this must remain connected to the specificity of global forms, which are themselves the products of particular peoples and individuals.

The use of heritage in our theatrical works must occur within a sound framework. All genuine creativity and renewal must be linked to the historical moment and deserve preservation. If we are to draw inspiration from heritage, we must plant it in soil capable of absorbing and embodying it.

Cultural elements derive from diverse heritages. Theatre, like all cultures, is a cumulative source of identity elements and an affirmation of human and historical characteristics. When we present a theatrical work inspired by heritage, we attempt to retrieve it and grant it renewed vitality in harmony with the contradictions of the era and prevailing tastes.

The playwright who seeks to employ heritage in their work must first reread heritage—not for the sake of merely presenting it, but through a detailed and analytical reading that enables deep engagement with its roots. Only then can they offer a creative vision that is serious, innovative, and distinct from traditional approaches.

Reviving our heritage in a new form constitutes a method of new creativity with new meanings. It offers subtle connotations that cold, fragmented, direct writing cannot convey.

Thus, heritage is a great legacy that we must invoke in our works, activating its illuminating methods and diverse concepts, so that we affirm our identity within our theatre.

Reviving heritage in our theatrical works while keeping pace with the contemporary era represents one of the most crucial issues amid the congestion of modern cultural transformations, so that our culture does not fade in the face of others. We must highlight its role in foundation, authenticity, and pride in its originality and antiquity. It is a national and cultural duty, as heritage is a criterion of a nation’s authenticity and is directly linked to the depth of its civilization. Therefore, we must present it in our works while updating it through contemporary mechanisms of treatment and encouraging its presence, as it forms our identity and history.

The vitality of heritage in theatre lies in its ability to remain alive through renewal and creative transformation. When approached thoughtfully, heritage serves as a means of connecting audiences to their cultural roots while opening spaces for dialogue with contemporary realities. Its function is not to dominate the theatrical form or reduce it to spectacle, but to support meaningful dramatic content and authentic artistic vision. Reviving heritage within modern theatrical practice thus becomes an act of cultural continuity and creative responsibility, ensuring that theatre remains a living art capable of expressing identity, memory, and change in a constantly evolving world.

Read: The Philosophy of the Arts

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Souad Khalil, hailing from Libya, is a writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

The post Culture: The Heritage in Theatre first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• Preserving heritage must be a national priority since it reflects the authenticity of nations, reveals the depth of civilizations, and works as an indicator of cultural survival

Souad Khalil | Libya

Reviving heritage is considered one of the most critical issues amidst the overwhelming contemporary cultural changes, especially those that threaten national and regional identities and attempt to marginalize them within dominant global culture, rejecting cultural diversity and undermining ethnic legacies. From this standpoint emerges the importance of reviving Arab heritage and highlighting its role in establishing, grounding, and shaping a collective cultural identity among world cultures.

Heritage, as widely known, is one of the most significant aspects of national identity for peoples, particularly in the Arab world, as Arabic is among the oldest branches of Semitic languages. Its heritage extended across civilizations throughout history, influencing other cultures—for instance, the impact of Arabic maqāmāt on Hebrew, as well as the translations of Arabic works into Latin and Castilian through the School of Translators in Toledo, involving Jews, Arabs, and Spaniards. This reflected the humanitarian nature of Arab heritage, which expanded its sphere of influence and established historical interaction with its surrounding cultures. Thus, heritage remained a core component shaping the Arab personality and protecting it from extinction, making it a future developmental project safeguarding the nation intellectually and culturally.

It is therefore necessary to preserve our heritage, disseminate it, and translate it, so that others may recognize this invaluable cultural inheritance that we—Arabs and Muslims—possess. Yet the question remains: how can it be protected, and how can it be introduced to others?

In a study on safeguarding national cultures, Dr. Abdel Azeem Mahmoud Hanafi emphasized that Arab heritage did not advocate intolerance, nor did it emerge from an isolated or closed cultural environment. Instead, those who belonged to this heritage engaged with foreign intellectual approaches, examining, researching, analyzing, and uncovering its depths. Without such openness and intellectual pursuit, much of what we possess today would not have survived for us to study and exchange discourse about.

Silence regarding our lost heritage, neglecting its revival, or abandoning efforts toward renewal represents a mistake that history will hold us accountable for. One must learn from medieval translations of Arab works into Hebrew made by Jewish scholars such as Saadiah Gaon, Maimonides, and others. These works have subsequently become part of Jewish intellectual legacy, while originally belonging to the body of Arab civilization. It is thus our responsibility to reclaim what is part of our heritage and identity, even after centuries of displacement.

There are many topics considered essential within the fabric of heritage due to their articulation in the Arabic language and development through Arab scholars. These topics remain foundational and require deep investigation, critical study, and preservation.

Arab heritage belongs to a rational and humanistic nation that contributed knowledge within numerous scientific, philosophical, and intellectual fields—an achievement that no biased observer can deny. Heritage represents the living memory of this nation and documents the continuity of its intellectual contributions, despite historical devastations, including the Mongol invasions of Baghdad during the 7th century AH, which nearly obliterated Arab heritage and erased intellectual identity. Nevertheless, great scholarly efforts ensured the continuation of its enlightened mission.

Among these efforts were those supported through the printing of heritage at Bulaq Press, the National Coptic Press, the Charitable Press, and the Azhar Press. Scholars engaged in transcription, verification, and editing, often without profit, driven purely by dedication to the intellectual mission.

Manuscripts continue to occupy an enormous portion of Arab heritage, constituting testimonies of Arab civilization. Many remain unedited, unindexed, or unpublished. Their retrieval and cataloguing are urgent necessities, especially since numerous European libraries possess looted manuscripts during colonial and wartime periods. Some collections were reproduced and indexed, including those held by the Egyptian National Library, which contains more than fifty thousand manuscripts, and Al‑Azhar Library with approximately thirty thousand manuscripts. Many additional priceless manuscripts exist in Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Oman, and Mauritania, in addition to collections in Istanbul, Rome, London, Madrid, Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Oxford, Cambridge, and the Library of Congress.

This heritage remains a trust passed down generation after generation—a vast cultural asset that has illuminated humanity for more than fourteen centuries. No other intellectual corpus has sustained similar continuity or preserved its essence in the same magnitude.

Therefore, preserving heritage must be a national priority since it reflects the authenticity of nations, reveals the depth of civilizations, and works as an indicator of cultural survival. Cutting the link between a nation and its heritage threatens its identity and collective memory. Modernity does not necessarily require suppressing heritage but rather engaging with it critically, benefiting from it, and adapting its intellectual value to contemporary realities.

The fields of heritage remain vast and multidimensional—spanning social knowledge, philosophical thought, literature, natural sciences, and more. Our civilizational history is filled with pioneers whose contributions remain foundational to global knowledge. It is sufficient to recall outstanding figures such as Jabir Ibn Hayyan, Ibn al‑Haytham, Ibn Nafis, Al‑Biruni, Al‑Khwarizmi, Al‑Razi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Al‑Farabi, Al‑Kindi, among many others. Their works formed identity, theory, and experimental science for centuries.

Thinking today of establishing an academic institution dedicated to heritage revival is far from unusual, considering the legacy of Bayt Al‑Hikma (House of Wisdom) established during the Abbasid era, through which sciences of predecessors were compiled and translated.

Currently, the revival of heritage requires expanding verification efforts and benefiting from both Arab and Western scholarly methodologies. Organizing international conferences dedicated to manuscript studies is essential, similar to those previously held in Europe and earlier by the Arab League in Baghdad.

Thus, turning attention toward heritage, studying its foundations, critiquing its interpretations, and employing its knowledge within modern contexts is essential. There is no contradiction between embracing heritage and modernity; the two are mutually sustaining if approached through critical understanding and re‑articulation.

Re‑examining Arab heritage philosophically, methodologically, and comparatively alongside Western heritage ensures its survival within globalization. Arab heritage is rooted in values of justice, spirituality, and human dignity. Preserving it means protecting cultural diversity, strengthening intellectual dialogue, and ensuring historical continuity between past and present.

Read: The Literature as Genres

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Souad Khalil, hailing from Libya, is a writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

The post Heritage as the National Culture first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• In every nation, proverbs represent the essence of its experience, the product of its knowledge, ideas, and aspects of life

 Souad Khalil | Libya

Popular proverbs are a form of cultural heritage, widely circulated on people’s tongues, and considered one of the most important means of preserving experiences and wisdom and transmitting them across generations. At the same time, they are also employed in narrative, reflecting lived experiences.

In every nation, proverbs represent the essence of its experience, the product of its knowledge, ideas, and aspects of life. For this reason, the study of popular proverbs has attracted literary research for the benefit and wisdom they contain.

Many writers, scholars, thinkers, and linguists across the ages have addressed popular proverbs, their study, and the historical periods in which they were coined. Within this article on popular proverbs in the Arab narrative tradition, as a secondary literary form, I was particularly intrigued by what Dr. Luay Hamza Abbas wrote.

Perhaps understanding the literariness of the old narrative text was influenced by many factors, among them significant scholarly efforts, in the field of Arabic narrative studies. These focused on specific forms that, according to their orientation, played a central role in exploring narrative and examining its effectiveness within the framework of Arab-Islamic culture. This, in turn, contributed to deducing the narrative structures of the Arab storytelling heritage, within specific conditions, while excluding those narrative legacies that, to varying degrees, had helped prepare for the emergence of fictional genres which scholars later sought to analyze and identify their structural features—even if indirectly, through the treatment of issues of authorship and the degree of presence of the imaginary.

Dr. Abbas states:

Declaring the existence of major fictional genres and complete narrative works by contemporary narrative scholars logically requires that Arab culture, in its early formative stages, must have contained secondary, incomplete types. These, from the perspective of later narrative structures and their dynamic components, exhibited narrative features in a simple form, separated in their presence and in the organization of their elements from the realities of their own age and cultural contexts. Two major aspects of Arab culture played a decisive role in their production:

The Historical Aspect

This stems essentially from the sensitive historical position of these texts between the eras of pre-Islam and Islam, with all their diverse contexts and their religious, ethical, or social contradictions. Such a context opened the way to evaluating the sincerity of their attempts and the truths they contained in expressing glimpses of presence—most of whose features and traces were reoriented to align in some way with the realities of the new age. In the process, they were subjected to many pressures, displacements, and exclusions that transformed them from their original oral form into a second written form, one that responded to the requirements of documentation and, in another sense, to the strategies of the new era that embraced them for multiple purposes and aims.

Thus, the historical reception of proverbial texts was confronted with two opposing critical perspectives, shaped by decades of studying heritage texts and seeking to build a scientific, methodological vision of the problems they posed:

The first perspective: Expels proverbs from Arabic artistic prose and relegates their study to philological inquiry. In this view, proverbs serve as a measure for studying language, short-sentence structures, and particularly the creative play of peoples with words and meanings. Yet this perspective restricts their literary study, given the difficulty of verifying the authenticity of pre-Islamic proverbial texts.

The second perspective: Regards proverbs as a distinct form of pre-Islamic prose and considers them a valuable source for studying Jahili literature, especially prose. Compared with pre-Islamic poetry, proverbs were less subject to alteration and distortion, and their anonymity made them less tempting for fabrication. Although meager in volume—a “meager treasure,” to use Blachère’s expression—they reveal many secrets about the mentality of that period, often overshadowed by the resounding voices of poets.

Both perspectives influenced the study of proverbs. As a result, the artistic aspect did not receive the attention it deserved, in contrast with historical, linguistic, psychological, and social studies that sought to trace the objectivity of the proverb, to establish its authenticity, and to determine its role in its dialectical relationship with its society. Proverbs, thus, played a dual role: as a mirror reflecting reality, and as an active agent directing the course of that reality. In both cases, studies focused on the external manifestations of this relationship, whereby the text, with all its elements, was seen merely as a screen reflecting events.

The Expressive Aspect

This aspect is connected to the rise of literary authorship. The compilation of early books of proverbs, beginning in the mid-second century AH, contributed to the production of the first models of Arabic literary writing. These works were preceded throughout the first Islamic century by records that were not yet considered literary compositions but provided suitable raw material for these later books. They drew on pre-Islamic oral traditions and opened the way for their effectiveness to be recognized within the broader cultural context of the new era, giving secondary and marginal themes and genres the opportunity to appear in dedicated works.

Although primarily intended to serve the Arabic language—such that the study of proverbs was considered the starting point for the classification of Arabic lexicons—they played a vital role in the recording of words and their arrangement in early compilations.

The compilation of books of proverbs in its earliest stages represented an important opportunity for the Arab-Islamic cultural system to embrace a distinct type of work. These were not primarily concerned with analyzing written records in depth, but rather, under the efforts of linguists, focused on collecting proverbial expressions and working to codify them. This prepared the ground, under purely linguistic aims, for nurturing “literary” seeds by preserving exemplary proverbial forms. According to the classification of Dr. Safa Khulusi, proverbs during their periods of production developed along three main directions:

1. Popular proverbs, which ended in the pre-Islamic era.
2. Newly created (muwallad) proverbs, which emerged during the Abbasid period.
3. Mythical and formulaic concise proverbs, which extended from the pre-Islamic period into the Abbasid period.

I add my own perspective based on what I have read and studied in the expressive aspect.

This mythological dimension of proverbs, as manifested in the stories associated with them, played a vital role in the continuity of the Arab narrative heritage. By embracing mythological and symbolic features, proverbial texts not only preserved fragments of cultural memory but also enriched the literary imagination of later eras.

These tales, often brief and formulaic, formed bridges between oral and written traditions, helping transform fleeting popular proverbs into more elaborate narrative forms. They also demonstrate how proverbs operate on multiple levels—linguistic, cultural, social, and literary—while embodying the collective consciousness of Arab society across different historical stages.

The presence of myth, metaphor, and imaginative narrative in proverbial narratives highlights their contribution to the development of Arab narrative forms. They were not merely records of wisdom or linguistic products, but rather dynamic cultural expressions that contributed to shaping and reshaping the Arab narrative heritage over the centuries.

This framework invites us to consider the theme of the popularity of proverbs and their specificities within one of the main directions of Arabic proverbial forms. Since meaning changes with time and experience, there are ancient meanings alongside new or innovative ones. Yet popularity has remained a significant feature, preserving an essential aspect of proverbs across all stages. These differ in their sources and causes of origin, whether they are intellectual proverbs rooted in wisdom and maxims, derivative proverbs drawn from poetry, or Qur’anic proverbs.

Perhaps, in Dr. Khulusi’s classification, popularity takes on a particular meaning, especially when he points to its end in the pre-Islamic era. This reveals the features of the second direction—mythical and formulaic concise proverbs—which continued into the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. These provided an important moment of transformation, when orally transmitted proverbs were gradually turned into written records that gave attention, to some extent, to their textual space. Such compilations combined prose and verse, highlighting both the narrative dimension and the storytelling function of proverbs. They often included tales attached to proverbs, which contributed—at varying levels—to nurturing the mythical model and creating a suitable context for amusing tales, whether through transmission and recording, intuition and conjecture, or the invention of fictional and mythical stories. These narratives sought to lend credibility to the occurrence of the proverb and to elevate it from being merely abstract expressions to fully formed narrative structures, rich with sensory imagery.

The process of reviving myth or embedding it within proverbial texts helped preserve part of the narrative heritage and carry it through secondary and marginal genres during the first and second centuries AH into later stages that witnessed significant narrative maturity. During this period, the narrative model developed noticeably, supported by multiple factors that allowed the expansion of its imaginative worlds and the diversification of its textual levels within their historical contexts, foundations, and narrative systems.

The mythical features of proverbial stories can be summarized as follows:

1. Stories about animals.
2. Tales of vanished peoples.
3. The mythological roots of certain characters.
4. The contrast between the moral and physical traits of well-known figures, whether in their transition from one text to another or in the extension of their proverbial forms within a single text.
5. The reliance of many texts on anonymous characters, without names or attributes, and without precise temporal or spatial references—except what is suggested by the story of the proverb itself, where the character becomes “the daughter of the event,” or the human embodiment of the proverbial form.

We observe the importance of the presence of myth within proverbial texts—not as an independent narrative genre in itself, but through its contribution to the formation of narrative types that deviate from strict truth-telling, instead engaging with the imaginative and the fanciful through stories and accounts. These did not necessarily provide themselves with the authoritative framework of attribution, where a statement is linked to its original speaker. Rather, they relied on a pre-Islamic tradition to justify their appearance and their transition from early records to written books, through their close association with proverbial forms. In this way, myth became a central pillar of the proverbial story.

Perhaps proverbial forms received particular attention in early records and books precisely because of their connection to tales that carried mythical features and echoes, making them suitable material for ‘asmaar’ (nightly entertainment gatherings). Later compilers of proverbial books, however, became increasingly aware of the presence of myth in earlier works and adopted a strict stance toward it. Their approach reflected a methodological orientation, attentive to the demands of scholarly classification, selection, and organization.

For example, al-Maydani, in his discussion of the sources of his work ‘Majma‘al-Amthal’ (“The Collection of Proverbs”), mentions that he borrowed material from Hamzah ibn al-Hasan’s book into his own, except for what was narrated as akhrazāt al-raqqī (embellished fables) and the myths of the Bedouins, without, however, providing a precise definition of the discarded “myth.”

Even before al-Maydani’s reference, there were indications that reports contradicting reason and logic were considered fabrications. This is seen in al-Mubarrad’s book ‘al-Kāmil’, where he devoted an entire chapter under the title “From the Falsehoods of the Bedouins.” In it, we find some tales that originally contained proverbial forms, and which also appear in collections of proverbs—particularly those connected with characters of mythological origin.

Read: Eastern Influence on the Western Literature

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Souad Khalil, hailing from Libya, is a writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

The post Popular Proverbs in Narrative first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Souad Khalil | Libya

Popular heritage is a true mirror that reflects the identity and collective memory of peoples. It represents the essence of life experiences, beliefs, customs, and arts that generations have inherited over the ages. Through this heritage, societies remain connected to their roots despite the rapid transformations of time.

In both the Arab and African worlds, popular heritage showcases a rich diversity in cultural expressions, reflecting the multiplicity of environments, languages, and beliefs. At the same time, it reveals a deep unity in human values, such as generosity, heroism, and a sense of belonging to the land and community. Folk tales, proverbs, dances, traditional crafts, and other forms of expression form bridges of communication between Arab and African peoples, embodying a shared spirit despite apparent differences.

In this article, we will highlight the importance of popular heritage, ways to preserve it, and its role in enhancing identity and cultural unity in the face of globalization.

Popular heritage, as defined, encompasses the collection of customs, traditions, knowledge, and arts passed down from generation to generation informally. It reflects the lifestyle and beliefs of people in their local environments. This heritage is characterized by the diversity of its elements, which include stories and legends, folk proverbs, songs and dances, traditional music, clothing, food, handicrafts, and even daily rituals such as weddings and religious occasions.

In both Arab and African cultures, popular heritage appears as a vast reservoir of wisdom and human experience, where each dance or folk proverb carries a story that expresses social realities and establishes collective identity.

This is the widely recognized definition of popular heritage. However, in a study written by Helmy Shaarawi on the diversity and unity in Arab and African cultures.

“And due to the length of this study, we will divide it into two articles for those interested.”

He begins with a reflection on how humanity had barely recovered from the specter of the Cold War and the threat of weapons of mass destruction before facing the horrors of renewed regional conflicts. While we may have exaggerated the ideological dimensions of the former, we are once again suffering from a scale of disruption in dealing with the ideal cultural references, ignoring their potential for accepting the “Other” while respecting their diversity.

Moreover, we often push our policies toward forms of exchange and unity through this very diversity, instead of viewing diversity as a form of fragmentation and division. It is noteworthy how much is written about the dialogue of cultures and civilizations at a time when mechanisms and narratives of conflict and tension are being exported.

In this context, it may be easier for us to trace forms of tension back to the dynamics between the North and South or the complications of central hegemony. However, this is not the focus of our discussion here. Instead, we will adopt a more optimistic approach to examining cultural relations within the South-South framework, as I am confident that the future of humanity will ultimately be shaped in this arena.

The potential for encounter at different cultural levels, particularly in the realm of popular culture, is crucial. If we explore some elements of this culture with deeper understanding and goodwill, we may avoid being trapped in the hellish culture wars that are currently unfolding. This serves as the introduction to Helmy Shaarawi’s research.

First: Globalization and Major Cultures

One of the most significant effects of the centrality of globalization is the refusal to accept human diversity. The center of Western culture, which we have known to be linked to modernization or change by European standards, has shifted. This shift is also connected to the export of Orientalist and colonial anthropological narratives, which have often shaped judgments about our heritage and cultural elements. As a result, we now find ourselves within the framework of American centrality, which seeks not dialogue but imposes the inevitability of Americanizing the world.

Consequently, we remain in a strenuous struggle and a state of confrontation rather than in dialogue or consensus. Within the concept of Western culture, at least, discussions of modernization and the roles of the middle classes have taken place. National culture and popular heritage emerged as unifying and dialogical elements, whether under the framework of the nation-state or in the context of movements such as the Arab, African, Islamic, Slavic, or Indian unions, among others.

This was a period when powerful forces confronted the negation of national cultures and the severance from national histories, as attempted by certain well-known colonial schools. In this atmosphere, culture defended national unity or opposed Western influences, with a liberatory stance confronting conservative ones.

Amid these dynamics, elements of conflict sometimes emerged between certain intermediate cultures—if we may call them that—and surrounding subcultures. For instance, the issues surrounding Arab culture in relation to some African cultures or the challenges faced by Swahili and Hausa cultures with their neighboring cultures, and so on.

The waves of national challenges that emerged after World War II were able, to some extent, to confront the Western globalization of modernization. Although they did not contradict the projects of the nation-state during that period, we can identify major propositions put forth by this revitalization movement in its engagements with Western culture—sometimes against it and at other times against the North.

The concept of popular heritage and popular culture evolved significantly beyond the frameworks of anthropology and Orientalism. The centers of this heritage multiplied across the Arab world and Africa in direct response to the established centers of anthropological studies. Regional and international conferences were held based on the principles of national cultures, culminating in UNESCO’s involvement, which elevated this issue to the forefront during the National Cultural Policies Conference in Mexico in 1982. This event prompted a French minister to address cultural imperialism, much to the astonishment of a representative from the Third World.

We also witnessed a development in the discourse surrounding national languages, particularly African ones, in response to the marginalization of these languages by major European languages. The series of African language conferences held on the continent marked the beginning of efforts by the Organization of African Unity in the cultural field, resulting from a wave of recognition that national languages should be considered working languages in several countries that had gained independence (such as Swahili in East Africa, Hausa, Wolof, and Fulani in West Africa, and Arabic in the Maghreb, among others).

As a result, important centers for African heritage languages were established across the continent (in Zanzibar, Libreville, Congo, Niger, etc.). This was also supported by UNESCO, reflecting a clear acknowledgment from Africans of the need for cultural development within the framework of the ongoing scientific dialogue surrounding these issues.

It is no coincidence that the cultural field became one of the primary elements around which Arab-African cooperation revolved. The first cultural dialogue seminars regarding Arab-African relations were held in Khartoum and Sharjah in 1976, prior to the establishment of the Arab Bank for Africa and various technical and financial cooperation funds. I recall the intense discussions in Sharjah about the issues in these relations, from representations of Blackness in Arab literature and arts to the history of the slave trade, and even regarding European educational books that persisted until that time.

Perhaps it was this serious dialogue, which transitioned to Amman, Dakar in 1982-1983, Rabat, Cairo, and Cape Town in 1996, that led to the publication of the General History of Africa, financed by Arab-African contributions from the early 1980s. This dialogue also prompted the Arab Organization for Education, Culture, and Science (ALECSO) to seriously collaborate with the Organization of African Unity in establishing cultural agreements, the most significant being the agreement for the establishment of the African-Arab Cultural Institute (AACI), which was signed in 1984, although it did not commence operations in Bamako until 2002.

I liked this documentary study and wanted to share it with readers for its detailed information and dates. We will not stray from our topic about African and Arab heritage and their connection. I just wanted to highlight globalization and how North-South forums have emerged, sponsored by prominent national figures like the late Julius Nyerere and Ahmed Ben Bella. Additionally, Arab-European dialogue forums and the European-Arab-African trilateral dialogue have all aimed to achieve a new global system that respects the rights of Southern countries in development while serving the rights of their cultures in expression

Tensions in Arab-African Cultures

We can begin by stating that popular culture has succeeded where official culture has largely failed in fostering Arab-African relations. At the level of official culture, we still find echoes of historical and contemporary tensions between Arab and African cultures reflected in various forms of intellectual production on both sides.

In this context, we can observe the fields of history, media, and political thought, which are marked by hegemony and mutual perceptions. In the field of history and media, the African perspective often portrays the arrival of Islam in Africa as an Arab or Moroccan invasion, imposing religion and language, and sometimes enforcing certain social conditions and sectarian divisions.

There are prominent scholars, such as the renowned anthropologist Kwesi Prah, who consider Hebrew to be an African language. This topic has sparked significant debate, particularly since the establishment of the Organization of African Unity and has intensified during the drafting of the more recent constitution of the African Union.

Similarly, historical narratives often depict the destruction of African kingdoms by Arab Muslims, notably the destruction of the Ghana Empire to pave the way for the establishment of a pro-Arab and Islamic state, namely the Mali Empire, between the 11th and 13th centuries. Some argue that ancient history emphasizes the kings of Mali, such as Mansa Musa, who generously contributed wealth to the Islamic world, while glossing over others.

As for the issue of the slave trade, it is a topic that warrants considerable discussion. Arabs have faced accusations and vilification that at times surpass the criticisms leveled against the transatlantic slave trade. This criticism has persisted even during celebrations marking two hundred years since the prohibition of the slave trade. Much has been written about the Atlantic slave trade and its destruction of African communities and economies, as well as the dire conditions faced by slaves in the Americas. Nevertheless, this did not prevent the African side from holding a special conference in Cape Town in 2002 focused on the Arab slave trade from the establishment of the Arab state until the rise of Ottoman Islamic authority. The studies presented at this important conference provided both aggressive and objective assessments of the phenomenon, but we did not find the same level of objective explanation and analysis.

Regarding the image of Arabs in history books and educational materials for African generations, as well as in African media—both of which were established during the colonial period—there is much to observe; however, we do not wish to delve deeply into these details here. The methodological issue faced by this topic is the nature of the Arab cultural stance toward African narratives. Modern historians have often struggled to maintain the objectivity necessary to present a scientific analysis in collaboration with their African counterparts. Instead, they have taken a noticeably defensive stance throughout.

Additionally, it can be objectively noted that much of the Arab literature in history and literature continues to insist on addressing elements of these topics while adopting a defensive view aligned with the notion of a civilizing mission, particularly regarding the spread of Islam and Arab culture in Africa. This often reminds African thinkers of the legacy of European writings about the “civilizing burden” of the white man.

As for the spread of the Arabic language and its legitimacy in the continent, Arab researchers have not treated it as a social reality for the peoples living in the continent, who have mingled with other peoples on the same land. This has turned the sociology of language into studies of cultural hegemony.

The reality is that this study is extensive and contains historical points and references that illustrate the relationship of heritage and the convergence of Arabs and Africans. We will now transition to the next section of the study, which discusses representations of reconciliation in popular culture. (Continues)

Read: Eastern Influence on the Western Literature

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Souad Khalil, hailing from Libya, is a writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

The post Arab and African Heritage Confluence first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Souad Khalil | Libya

Heritage is an essential part of the cultural identity of any nation, as it combines elements of the past with features of the present and contributes to shaping the future. Societies engage with their heritage in various ways, ranging from preserving old traditions to adapting to contemporary changes. In this context, this article explores the ongoing struggle between the old and the new, and its impact on the cultural identity of individuals and communities, while emphasizing the role of heritage in shaping values and meanings in a rapidly changing world. We will also examine the views of several thinkers, such as Dr. Aoun Sharif Qassem, who addresses in his book In the Battle of Heritage the significance of this struggle and its effects on Islamic and Arab societies in light of contemporary challenges.

The conflict between the old and the new is an ongoing struggle that will not end until life itself does, as it is a path to development and progress. However, this conflict takes on a different form in underdeveloped societies compared to advanced ones.

The gap between people’s past and present in these living societies is not of the kind that leads to a disintegration of the community’s identity. Thus, the struggle between the old and the new in their lives is one of interaction and integration, resulting in a new that carries within it the best of the old. This renewal of life and ideas occurs without causing upheaval in society or disturbing the people.

However, the situation differs in traditional societies that have been touched by the civilization of the twentieth century, as they live two lives and think about their affairs with two mentalities, revealing a disintegration in the identity of individuals and communities.

Thus, there appears to be a struggle between the old and the new, as if it were a conflict of opposition and contradiction between two alien elements, where the survival of one depends on the downfall of the other. In both cases, sterility and stagnation are the ultimate outcomes. The stagnation that has clouded this past and turned many of its aspects into historical relics makes it, in many respects, alien to the lived experiences of people, which are generally shaped by incoming currents from Western industrial civilization. Often, colonialism has facilitated this by occupying the land and controlling culture. People have no dominion over the old because its antiquity and rigidity leave only the faintest impact on their conscious lives, and they have no authority over their present, which is imposed upon them from the outside, a present that derives its effectiveness and vitality from the dynamics of the twentieth century or the twenty-first.

The danger of this effectiveness lies in its significant ability to impose its material and formal aspects on people’s lives, making them live outwardly in the last third of the twentieth century, even while inwardly they exist in the depths of ancient epochs. However, these material manifestations of Western civilization, in general, are expressions of defined spiritual and philosophical foundations, and thus they strive diligently to change people’s minds and souls after altering their appearances and material lifestyles. Thus, the formal struggle between the two lifestyles transforms into a civilizational battle, reaffirming the authenticity of the nation rooted in the depths of its heritage, which is invigorated by the clash and mingling of influences. Then begins the phase of seeking identity, a return to heritage, to clarify the nation’s civilizational character within it. This return is guided by the influence of the present, with all its complexities, momentum, and turmoil, from which the nation returns having equipped itself to engage in the march of progress and contribute to building civilization.

On this topic, we will take a brief reading from the book In the Battle of Heritage by Dr. Aoun Sharif Qassem. He states in his book, concerning the past and present: When people talk about inner revolution and the resulting civilizational emergence, most of them read the article that claims that those who have no past have no present, often envisioning the present as a bridge between the past and the future.

The past shapes the present and paves the way for the future. From this significant importance of the past in civilizational construction arises its danger. This danger, in fact, comes from the nature of this past and the differing perceptions people have of it. This leads to pitfalls that may turn it from a blessing into a curse in the path of progress.

It is evident that the relationship between the past and the present is a developmental one, meaning that the present is born from the womb of the past. This subjugation occurs as a result of a significant struggle in which the new asserts its ability to adapt to the conditions of new life at the expense of the old, which has failed to fulfill its vital function in the cycle of evolving life. However, the triumph of the new over the old in this manner does not imply a sharp separation between them, whereby the new replaces the old that is thrown into the wastebasket as having exhausted its purposes. It is true that the wastebasket of history is filled with ancient artifacts that no longer attract people except for their historical value alone. Yet, this does not mean that all that is old is worthless. True development carries within its structure all that humanity has accomplished throughout its long history. This means that all of humanity’s past lives on in every new achievement realized in the present. The present is, in reality, an extension of the past, and more than that, it is the present that controls the past and determines for us what we choose from it. One can even argue that what can be revived from the past is usually alive or ready for life in the present. When people’s lives are dynamic and active, their living past becomes an integral part of their present, and there is no duality or fragmentation between the dreamy view of the past and the bleak vision of the present.

In another section of the book, the author discusses the revival of heritage: The thinker in this part of the world, standing just steps away from the dawn of the fifteenth century of the Hijri calendar, needs to reflect deeply on the status of the Islamic world in comparison to the rest of the contemporary world. Despite the fact that this Islamic world still retains many of the elements of its Muslim identity, it does not, in reality, move under the inspiration of this identity nor does it derive its lasting strength from its inherent power. Rather, in many aspects of its life, it moves in a mechanical, traditional manner, regurgitating the memories of the past and dreaming daydreams, submissively receiving whatever is offered by the creativity of others and their principles. It lives, for the most part, at the mercy of circumstances, lacking the ability to refuse or choose except within very narrow limits.

Returning to the book, since I am particularly interested in the artistic and literary aspect, I consider heritage as one of the most important issues raised amidst the tumult of contemporary cultural changes, especially those that threaten national cultures and attempt to marginalize them in the face of global culture and reject cultural pluralism.

The importance of reviving Arab heritage must be recognized to highlight the role of our heritage in rooting and establishing the culture of our nation, so that it becomes part of the cultures of the world. Our pride in it and our acknowledgment of its antiquity and authenticity is essential, as we Arabs know that our heritage has extended to all cultures throughout the ages of history. This is similar to how translations into various languages were facilitated by translators from Jewish, Arab, and Spanish backgrounds, where the humanity of Arab heritage and its historical impact and interaction with everything around it were manifested, allowing this heritage to remain significant and distinctive.

We return to another section of Dr. Aoun Sharif’s book about the intellectual and duality of identity: Perhaps one of the most prominent features of our modern era is the disorientation from all that has passed in human history—the speed and power with which transformations occur in all fields of life. What humanity has achieved in the past three centuries, especially in the realm of scientific discoveries and the drastic changes they have brought to the map of human existence, is almost unparalleled compared to what humans have accomplished throughout their entire history on Earth. It is enough to recall that humanity’s transition from its primitive phase to hunting, then to herding, agriculture, and trade took thousands of years. This enabled humans to adapt, harmonize, and adjust to the new conditions created by these transitions, while the transition to the age of science, then to industrialization, and finally the atomic age occurred within just a few hundred years.

This means that what humanity had to adapt to over thousands of years, they now must respond to, in a much more complex manner, within just a few decades. This poses significant challenges due to humanity’s inability to adapt socially to the rapid transformations occurring in their material and intellectual environments. It is no wonder that many individuals in various societies face the challenges of modern life with the values and norms of agricultural and pastoral eras, rejecting the logic of this new life even as they benefit from all its material and intellectual contributions. Hence, duality of identity arises, and a split occurs within individuals, expressed as fragmentation, alienation, and lack of belonging, among other phrases that summarize the rift between the values of inherited traditional societies, which remain entrenched in many souls, and the values of modern life that impose their existence on people with vitality, force, and insistence. This succinctly encapsulates the essence of the current civilizational crisis that encompasses the entire world: advanced and backward, modern and ancient. We now stand on the brink of a new era in human life where development does not stop at the limits of quality and quantity but also takes on new forms that address type as well.

These are just a few excerpts from Dr. Aoun Sharif’s book, In the Battle of Heritage, which discusses heritage and its battle between the past and the present in light of technology and progress, and the events and transformations faced by the Islamic and Arab nations—topics not fully explored in the book, of which I have chosen only a summary of some pages.

We return to the notion that, by human nature, individuals do not live in a flat environment but rather within a surrounding circle. They are emotional beings in addition to being rational. The nature of ancient societies, if we were to delve into it, necessitates that one understands community life and the lives of people through exploring their ideas, myths, magic, art, and science. This means that the social and cultural components of any people reveal the underlying human constants behind these components. The civilization or culture of any society forms a whole, and there are inseparable ties between what can be termed economic and what can be termed cultural. Heritage, with its mentalities, myths, and supreme ideals in spiritual life, necessitates that we observe the relationships between artistic or literary works and the environment in which they emerged. The writer, author, poet, and artist respond to both material and moral influences, as society demands and expects them to achieve new forms, and they must take this into account.

Read: Visual Art and Poetry: A Dual Vision

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Souad Khalil, hailing from Libya, is a writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

All images provided by the author 

The post Heritage between the Past and Present first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Abdullah Usman Morai | Sweden

The history of Sindh is not only found in ancient relics, inscriptions, or the tales of kings, but a significant part of it is also preserved in folk songs and folk tales. These folk songs, passed down through generations, still echo today with their original truth and charm. They are not merely music or melody, but living evidence of Sindh’s past, its social life, ethics, and cultural heritage. In these songs, one can see the reflections of the joys and sorrows of Sindhi people, their daily struggles, and their dreams. These are not just verses of poetry but the very language of the people’s hearts and their history.

Historical Glimpses and Folk Songs

There are many periods in Sindh’s history for which no formal written records exist. In such cases, folk songs help us understand the difficulties and social conditions of those times. For example, many folk songs from the eras of the Soomra and Samma dynasties speak of the bravery, loyalty, and generosity of their rulers. These songs beautifully narrate the legendary tales of heroines like Sassui, Sohni, Marui, Noori, and Leela, which still remain fresh in the memory of Sindhi people.

Take Marui’s story as an example; it is not merely a romantic tale, but a great symbol of truthfulness toward one’s culture, homeland, and honor. Through folk songs, we learn of Marui’s courage, patience, and love for her land. Similarly, other songs acquaint us with the wars, social tensions, and humanitarian events that occurred throughout different periods of Sindh’s history. Every word within these songs becomes a medium to understand that era’s historical context.

Social Values and Moral Lessons

Sindhi folk songs are built on the foundations of humanism, truth, and moral values. They teach the youth about good social conduct and encourage them to live meaningful lives.

Love and Loyalty

Folk songs present love not just as an emotion, but as a profound human value. The tale of Sohni and Mehar teaches us about great sacrifice and the truthfulness of love. Likewise, the story of Noori and Jam Tamachi breaks through class differences, offering an example of pure and genuine love.

Compassion and Unity

A strong sense of compassion for the poor and oppressed is evident in Sindhi folk songs. These songs have long raised their voice against growing injustices in society and have taught people to stand together. Ideas such as “walking together” and “being one hand” are repeatedly emphasized in these songs, highlighting the importance of unity in Sindhi society.

Nature and Simple Life

Many folk songs describe the beauty of Sindh, its river, riverbanks, and birds. These songs reveal the deep bond between humans and nature, teaching respect and care for the environment. For instance, songs related to the River Indus/ Sindhu daryah not only provide a sense of cultural identity but also instill environmental awareness.

The Heartbeat of the People

The greatest quality of folk songs is that they are a mirror of people’s lives. They do not glorify kings or rulers but present the real images of ordinary life. These songs are sung at weddings, festivals, and joyous occasions, as well as during times of grief and hardship. Their simple and honest language touches every heart.

Through them, we also learn how Sindhi people lived, what clothes they wore, what foods they ate, and what customs they practiced. In this way, folk songs become a valuable source for history, sociology, and anthropology.

Preservation and Future Efforts

In today’s age of globalization, where everything is fast and instant, preserving folk songs is a major challenge. The younger generation is often drawn toward modern music and culture. Yet, we must take steps to safeguard this priceless heritage. Cultural institutions, schools, and media should promote folk songs. Television programs featuring them should be produced, and schools should include them in their teaching. Young artists should be encouraged to present these songs in modern styles so that the new generation develops an interest in them.

Folk songs are not only a part of our past but also an important element of our present and future. The messages hidden within them can make our society more prosperous, peaceful, and progressive. That is why we must continue our efforts to keep them alive.

Read: Fragrant Frontiers: The World of Flowers

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Abdullah Soomro, penname Abdullah Usman Morai, hailing from Moro town of Sindh, province of Pakistan, is based in Stockholm Sweden. Currently he is working as Groundwater Engineer in Stockholm Sweden. He did BE (Agriculture) from Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam and MSc water systems technology from KTH Stockholm Sweden as well as MSc Management from Stockholm University. Beside this he also did masters in journalism and economics from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. He is author of a travelogue book named ‘Musafatoon’. His second book is in process. He writes articles from time to time. A frequent traveler, he also does podcast on YouTube with channel name: VASJE Podcast.

The post Sindh Heritage in Folk Songs first appeared on Sindh Courier.