Fashion Dreams - The Exquisite Gowns of Hana Sadiq

Last night, Boston's Center for Arabic Culture held a fundraiser featuring a fashion show of gowns by Iraqi fashion designer Hana Sadiq, entitled "The Many Names of Love". Held at Boston's elegant Taj Hotel, the show was part of a special fundraising evening that featured the fashion show as well as a silent auction, and dancing. The Center for Arabic Culture is based in Somerville, near Boston, and has a full and expanding slate of activities.

But back to the fashion show. A bit spent from finishing a major writing project, I was thrilled to be in the audience for the show. It was such a balm to my spirit to feast on the sumptuous gowns. Sure they were couture-priced, but they were of exquisite couture quality too. Each worthy of Sheherazade herself, they had gaspingly gorgeous detailing, brilliant colors, fanciful cuts and dreamy fabric. Many featured embroidery of Arabic calligraphy. It is hard to bring the beauty to you - but here is a close-up of a gown that shows some of her amazing ideas - combining color, calligraphy and embroidery.

Most gowns were accessorized by fantastic headpieces and hats. All the models also wore five pearl or silver sequins above each eyebrow, to interesting effect. The Fashion Doctors blog has posted several photos of the show - link below. Here is one of the photographs showing a closeup of a model with the eyebrow sequins and embroidered hat. Lovely!

The models were professionals from Boston's Dynasty Agency. Since I went on my own, I didn't socialize, but left quickly after the show, my mind filled with Ms. Sadiq's fantastic creations. The guests, so elegant they could have done their own fashion show, clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves. They auctioned off one of Ms. Sadiq's gowns right after the show. There were many photographers there, and if I see any of the photographs from the show I'll post them. In the meantime, here is a link to Hana Sadiq's website . Bravo, everyone at the Center for Arabic Culture, especially director Farrah Haidar. Well done! 

In a blog called Fashion Doctors, there are several photos of the show. You can link to them here.
And if you're in the DC area, Hana Sadiq will be presenting her fashions at a benefit for the ADC in Washington very soon.

In Apricot Season

The Arabs have thousands of wise sayings and proverbs. I studied Arabic in college and lived in the Middle East for several years and have come across lots of them. Here are some of my favorites.

Bukra Fi Mishmish – “Tomorrow, in apricot season” – This is the equivalent of westerners saying ‘when hell freezes over,’ in other words, ‘never’. Apricots ripen in summer but their season lasts only about a week. So when you want to put something off to an unlikely time, you can say, ‘in apricot season.’

Ibn al-Batt `Awaam – “The son of a duck is a floater” This one, from the Gulf country of Bahrain is akin to ‘the acorn never falls far from the tree.” A British resident in Bahrain wrote a book of Bahraini sayings using this one as its title.

Al-Jaar Qabl ad-Daar – “Choose your neighbor before your house.”  The Arabic version of ‘location, location, location,’ it’s a wise view of how any dwelling place is enhanced by good neighbors.

Misr Umm ad-Dunya ­– “Egypt is the Mother of the World.”  Yes, Egyptians really do think that, and they say it too. 

‘Ala khashmi - “On My Nose” You say this in the United Arab Emirates when someone has asked you to do something, and you want to say, ‘With pleasure, I’ll do what you ask.’

Laa shukr ila waajib – “There is no thanks for doing one’s duty” You hear this across the Arab world from merchants, from friends and in the workplace.

Fawg in-Nakhl – “Above the Palms”. A way of saying, ‘I feel great’. There’s a famous song of that title, popular in the Eastern part of the Arab world. I’ve heard that it’s originally from Iraq.

In Morocco, you say Waakha for ‘OK’. Baghdadi’s say Aku Maku for ‘How ya doin’. (I confess I’ve never been to Baghdad, but an acquaintance from there told me this.) Literally, it means, ‘there was, there wasn’t’. it reminds me of the Lebanese greeting Shoo Fee Maa Fee, or ‘what’s up, nothing much’. In Morocco they greet each other saying, La ba’as, or ‘not bad.’ You can say this both to greet someone and to respond to their greeting. Kuwaiti’s and others from the Gulf say hello with Ya halaa.  All over the Arab world, the expression ya’ani means ‘means’. Confused? OK, it also means, ‘in other words’, and ‘um…ahhh.’, as well as ‘like’ (Valley Girl style). You often hear it stretched out in a sentence while the speaker is stranded mid-thought.  It also has another meaning ---- ‘sort of’ or ‘not exactly’.

My friend Addi Ouadderrou, who owns Moroccan Caravan in Somerville, (http://www.moroccancaravan.com/) taught me a great one last year. Here it is in English. “You’ll find different things when you search in the river than when you search in the ocean.” (The words for river and ocean rhyme in Arabic). Do we have an equivalent of this? I don’t think so.

And last but not least, Abla, a Palestinian friend, told me, “Time is like a sword. If you don’t cut with it, it will cut you.”

Saudi Female Wedding Singers

Arab News feature writer Rima al-Mukhtar has written a lovely article about female singers in Saudi Arabia today. The article is pasted in below, along with a wonderful illustration.

WEDDING SINGERS - TAGAGAT

 By RIMA AL-MUKHTAR, LIFE.STYLE@ARABNEWS.COM

Published: May 25, 2011 19:19 Updated: May 25, 2011 19:19

When one thinks of a traditional Saudi wedding, a Tagaga always comes to mind. Tagaga is the Arabic word for a woman singer that only sings in weddings and women gathering nights. This profession has been around in Saudi Arabia for more than 50 years, but it used to be limited to certain people who have beautiful voices.

However, according to 28-year-old singer, Jehan, it takes more than just a beautiful voice to be a Tagaga in the Gulf region. “A true Tagaga has to be fluent in more than one Arabic accent. She has to be professional in Egyptian, Syrian, Moroccan, Gulf, Yemeni and Lebanese because people have different tastes in music. A Tagaga is an entertainer: she has to put in mind that people get bored easily, so she has to keep them interested by performing different kinds of music and sometimes dances with them,” she said.

Tagagas don’t have their own songs, but rather perform popular songs. Furthermore, they only use an Arabic drum in their songs to influence the Gulf rhythm in their music.
“Tagagas usually perform for four to five hours a night at a normal wedding,” said 24-year-old Tagaga, Jowhara.

Saudi weddings usually start at 11 p.m. and end at around 4 a.m. “We arrive at the wedding at around 12 a.m. and start singing until Fajer prayer or sometimes, according to the bride’s orders, until 7 a.m. We take five-minute coffee breaks every 30 minutes to give attendees a chance to catch up,” added Jowhara.

Some Tagaga bands are accompanied with a male singer to make their music more appealing. “I believe that I’m one of the first men to sing in women-only weddings. We usually sing in a room separated from women and coordinate with them by telephone,” said Mohammed Hashem, a male singer. “I have my own band of seven women singers and a sound manager. Furthermore, we use more than just Arabic drums as tempo; we also use an organ and DJ mixing.”

Tagaga bands nowadays charge up to SR20,000 a night. “I believe it’s fair to charge a lot of money because you are paying the whole band and not just one person. This band will guarantee you a night filled with entertainment,” added Hashem. “A Tagaga who just started her business will charge between SR3,000 and SR5,000 while a singer who has been in the business for more than five years will charge between SR15,000 and SR20,000. Well-known Tagagas charge more than SR20,000 because people already know her and she has been in the business for a long time.”

According to Cinderella, a lead singer in a band, most of those music bands fake their names to avoid trouble. “Most of those Tagagas come from very traditional backgrounds where if they mentioned their family names, they might get into serious trouble with their distant families. We heard about many female singers from Bedouin tribes who later got into trouble with their relatives for going on stage and singing for other women. Those tribes see that it as shameful and disgrace if they did such a thing,” she said.

When it comes to a traditional Saudi wedding, a wedding planner has to put specific things in mind, considering that weddings in Saudi Arabia are women only weddings. “Preparing for a wedding event can be hectic because many young women demand a modern wedding; yet it’s hard for them to let go of their old traditions. Brides never want modern music bands; they always demand the best Tagaga with the best crew of drummers. It’s hard to book those Tagagas because they are always on demand. I have to book them two or three months before the wedding just to make sure they make it on the same day,” said Randa Basha, a Saudi wedding planner.

“They are not your typical singers who just get on stage and perform. Those singers have to have their own place in the wedding ballroom and have to be provided with chocolate, dates, coffee and tea. You can say they are spoiled when they come to work and people pay them up to SR30,000,” added Basha.

According to Basha, some brides even book Tagagas from other cities around the Kingdom. “Brides always look for the best wedding performers and entertainment. I have arranged many weddings where the bride pays the Tagaga to come from Riyadh to Jeddah and pays the plane booking, hotel, accommodation and the wedding fees. Furthermore, those Tagagas don’t come alone, they come with a whole team of drummers, dancers and assistants. So, the bride pays all of them for their services,” she added.

Touha is a legendary name in the world of singing in Saudi Arabia. She has been working as a Tagaga for 30 years now and is considered one of the oldest Tagagas around and the one who started this form of art in the Kingdom.

“Nowadays, music is different and the music industry is going down. This profession is turning into a humiliation because the person who doesn’t find a job turns herself into a Tagaga,” said Touha. “This job became random because many people from different nationalities joined it and ruined it too. Those amateur singers are asking for too much money and for what? Three or four hours of singing?”

“Back in our days, we used to charge up to SR3,000 only, but singers now ask for SR15,000 and more! This does not make any sense and only shows only that they are greedy and not doing it for the sake of enjoyment like we did before,” she added.

It is interesting to note that Saudi families don’t approve of this kind of job, claiming it’s not classy and doesn’t match their religious beliefs. “I wouldn’t endorse the idea of one of my daughters working as a Tagaga for this job has one of the worst reputations,” said business man Saleh Shaheen. “I think many Saudi families would agree with me because this job requires the singer to stay out all night singing and dancing, which does not match our Islamic tradition or our closed society’s way of thinking."

Publication Party for Kate Whouley's "Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words"

Yesterday, Kate Whouley held a publication party for her latest book at Titcomb's Bookstore in East Sandwich on Cape Cod. Kate's book, Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words, is a heart-warming memoir about how she, as a single woman, dealt with her mother's final years in a struggle with Alzheimer's. While the story might sound grim, it reads like a frank conversation over a soothing cup of tea. Treating the reader as a trusted friend, Whouley shares her decisions and dilemmas, as well as moments of grace and humor, and the deep compassion that ultimately saw her and her mother through.

The book launched on September 6, 2011 to much fanfare, including a glowing review in USA Today (read it here), and a great review on Shelf Awareness (read it here). In addition, an excerpt appeared in Salon.com, and an essay about her mom's birthday (which is 9/11) appeared in Obit Magazine. So...the only way Kate could top all this was to throw a bang-up pub party. Which she did.

Kate having a word with the 'Titcombs Man' - a statue outside the bookstore. He has good taste in books too!

The day was perfect - sunny, and slightly cool. Titcomb's Bookshop is located on a picturesque stretch of Route 6A on the Cape. The traditional Cape-style cedar shingle building was swathed in lush plantings, offering plenty of room for Kate's readers and fans to gather both inside and out. Throughout the event, readers waited in line to get their books signed. In addition to a delicious cake, guests sipped wine and nibbled cheese and crackers. Kate read from the book, admitting this was her first time reading it aloud, except when she read to herself or her cat in the editing process. Attendees wore buttons indicating whether they were a character in the book, from Beacon Press, or a member of the Cape Cod Conservatory Band, which also plays a big role in the book. The buttons were great conversation starters. Helene Atwan, the book's editor and Director of Beacon Press, as well as Beacon's Associate Publisher Tom Hallock, and Senior Publicist Caitlin Meyer were also on hand to cheer Kate on.

Photographer Anne Sweeney, known to television audiences as a friendly WGBH-TV fundraiser, took photos. Check out Kate Whouley's author page on facebook if you want to see them. Above, some of the book's characters, including Anne, joined Kate around the Titcomb's Man.

You can order a hard copy or e-book on-line from Titcomb's (link here). If you'd like a signed copy, call them at: 508-888-2331. If you are lucky enough to be on Cape Cod, stop by Titcomb's. In addition to a captivating collection of new and used books, they have a wonderful selection of greeting cards.

Congratulations, Kate! Obviously, I highly recommend Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words.

Habibi Magazine - Archives on-line

My first published writing was a series of essays that appeared in a Habibi, a newspaper/magazine from California. The series was called "Arabian Journal". In it, I wrote about my adventures living as a young wife and college grad with my American husband in Jeddah in the late 1970's. I wrote about exploring the folk dance scene and some of the interesting characters I met in the process of trying to learn about the traditions there.

Habibi served the burgeoning belly dance scene in the 1970's, and was originally published by Bob Zalot. Later, in the 1990's, Shareen El Safy revived it, and during that time I wrote a stand-alone article for the magazine, a kind of summary of what I'd learned about the folk dances of the women of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf. Just recently, Shareen digitized the articles from the years 1992-2002 and put them up on a website. I highly recommend this as a research tool if you're interested in the Middle Eastern performance arts. You can search by author or keyword. Some of the best writing about Middle Eastern dance was published in Habibi, and it's worth a serious browse. The link is here.


Here is the link to my story from the Fall, 1997 edition, Loosening their tresses: women's dances of the Arabian Gulf and Saudi Arabia

Eduardo Paniagua and the Music of al-Andalus

One of the projects that occupied me this last winter and spring was writing a profile of the musician and producer, Eduardo Paniagua of Madrid. It just came out in the July-August Saudi Aramco World Magazine. This story was quite an adventure, and it opened my eyes to many things, and brought me to Spain for the first time. Eduardo Paniagua is possibly coming to New York to perform this September at the World Music Institute. I'll follow up with details if he's coming.

Here's the link to the story:  Listening for Al-Andalus

Helicopter wife or writing buddy?

Thwop thwop thwop.....the sounds of a helicopter hovering. Is that me... am I being a helicopter wife?

My husband is under the gun with an important writing deadline.  Ideas are floating around in his head, and he's at last sitting down to do his draft. It's slow going, but I know how his mind works, and am confident that the result will be logical, thorough and clear. But that doesn't mean it's not hard to watch him go through the process.

Usually I'm the one who is wrestling with writing deadlines. I've had a busy spring, with two magazine articles that involved many interviews and hours of transcriptions, followed by days of drafting, polishing and editing. With my stories submitted, I'm taking a breather and am about to turn to a novel project. I'm hanging back though, until he's met his deadline.

So what am I doing to help? Not much. I try not to ask him how it's going too often, though I worry that perhaps talking things out might help. I help him research things when asked. Mostly, though, I cook for him, top up his coffee mug, and try to keep things quiet so he can concentrate.

I just can't imagine what it must be like for the parents of a teenager....wondering if the college application essay is complete, how the term paper's going, whether all the deadlines are being met. Not having had children, I've little experience with all of this.

So am I a helicopter wife? Is there such a thing? I google it and find there is a term for a 'helicopter spouse' but I don't think it fits me, because I know his results will be stellar. In fact when we were in college, we both were going for an honors degree and had to write a senior thesis. His was elegant and focused - on how medieval Arab grammarians argued over the adverb. In Arabic, it's called a Haal. So we joked that he should title it, "What, the Haal?" Anyway, mine was a more amorphous and larger topic - on the lives and literary patronage of two aristocratic Arabian women in early Islam. I cried tears over retyping mine. He only had to change the spelling of 'genitive'. (This was before personal computers you see).

So we often laugh at the kind of writing we do. He, always the succinct, clear, and logical. Me, the big, amorphous, messy, emotional and dramatic. I try to make my stories more focused and imitate his clarity. He helps edit my short stories, helping crisp them up most elegantly.

So instead of a helicopter wife, I'm trying to be a good writing buddy. My biggest fear is that I'll jinx him by telling how excited I am to see how his work is going to blossom on the page. I know it's going to be good, I'm just impatient for my first look at his draft.