Palestinians were very concerned to inherit their folk and popular heritage from one generation to another fearing it being obliterated and lost, and to preserve their identity from being destroyed.
Dabkah (Arabic folk dance) is one of the most important images of this heritage, which is based on a long-standing cultural and artistic heritage throughout history.
Hands are bound together during their performance as evidence of unity and solidarity, beating legs to the ground as a sign of courage and manhood, accompanied by songs expressing the depth of belonging to the Palestinian land they love and welcoming the return from travel, the child's fondness, the memory of the lover, his descriptions, beauty and qualities, and pride and enthusiasm.
Despite the invasion of different cultures and arts, both regional and global, of Palestinian culture, including attempts by the Israeli occupation to obliterate the Palestinian identity in all its expressions.
Dabkah maintained its continuity and presence on all occasions; there is hardly any Palestinian wedding, and young men who do well often take the initiative to participate in this type of art during festivals, national events and special ceremonies.
Prior to the occupation, Dabkah took on the characteristic of the occasions, and after the year 1948 it became a form of national struggle, which made Dabkah to take a specially structured form since the early 1980s
Work on this kind of heritage is carried out in a coordinated manner with the aim of transmitting the civilization and heritage of the Palestinian people to international and international forums.
Dabkah signifies hope, struggles, and history of the Palestinian people- making it one of the most important cultural forms of art in their culture. During Palestinian dabkah, women wear 'thobes' (embroidered long dresses) and men wear pants with wide belts and leather shoes.
Men cover their heads with a "keffiyeh" (a scarf), and women cover their heads with a veil hanging loose down their backs. Dabkah not only joins us in times of happiness and celebration but also in times of struggle and political resistance.
*** These images used in the Photogallery news have been taken by the Palestinian photographer Alaa Mahdi Kudaih
