National day celebration extends to small villages

Villages across Oman have their different ways of celebrating the 52nd Oman National Day. On November 18, thousands of citizens took to the streets to express their pride and joy as the country marked another milestone.

Celebrations in Oman usually do not end after November 18 is over. In the coastal village of Yiti, the villagers in the surrounding area gathered for a celebration passing on to the children the important message of taking pride in the country’s accomplishments.

Attended by hundreds of kids accompanied by their parents, and in cases of others, the whole clan, the event was a demonstration that despite the fast developments happening within their locality, the villagers of Yiti still treasure their culture and traditions.

Starting at 4pm and organised by key members of the community, a public space was converted into an event place right at the heart of one of Yiti’s villages.

The celebration would see the villagers putting up temporary stalls to sell toys, food, and other household items while the walls and stage were decorated with flags, Oman colours as well as massive photos of the two Sultans — the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and His Majesty Sultan Haitham.

The event officially kicked off with the men of the villages, accompanied by drums, did a parade through the streets heading towards the venue while chanting their poem of pride.

The rest of the evening will see a cultural show where the kids from different villages performed different songs and dances.

For the said event, a local shared that by organising such an event on a special occasion they will be able to bring the whole community together and pass on the spirit of community and cooperation to the next generation.

“The kids are an important part of our country. By passing to them our culture and tradition, we can make sure that these practises survivethrough the years,” a local from the Al Jaabri clan shared.

For the said occasion, both adults and children were in their full traditional Omani attires the men donning the finest dishdasha with their ceremonial khanjars and musar while the ladies were donning their traditional dishdasha and sharwal accompanied by colourful waqaya on top of gold and silver adornments.

Traditional food was also sold in some of the stalls at the souq area while kahwa and halwa were shared among different villagers — a big part of the Omani tradition and hospitality.

Seeing the success of the event, the organisers said that they will try to create more cultural events to also allow other residents to visit and see their traditions.

The villagers said that they are looking forward to having another event in December creating something that everyone can look forward to.