It’s playtime at this traditional Emirati games exhibition
abu dhabi — Commissioned artworks by six UAE artists and popular national pastimes are attracting people to the Emirati Traditional Games Exhibition, which ends early this week at Al Qattara Centre in Abu Dhabi.
Celebrating traditional heritage elements, the exhibition displays artwork inspired by the games Emirati children created to entertain themselves in the past. With time, these traditional games bec-ame a crucial part of the heritage of the country.
Launched by the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi, the exhibition highlights six of the most popular local games: Al Teela, Habil Al Zaibal, Al Dusays, Al Zubout, Al Karabi and Al Miryhana.
Several artists each selected one game and adapted a work that merged their unique technical skills with the traditional themes of the games.
Saudi artist Ayman Zedani presents an artwork inspired by Al Teela. Al Teela refers to a small glass ball and is considered one of the collective games particularly popular among boys.
Pakistani jewellery and accessories designer Areeb Masood presents an artwork on Habil Al Zaibal, which is also one of the collective dynamic and vocal games known for its diversified performance. This game consists of a rope of two or three metres long, tied around a board fastened and mounted on the ground or fixed to a large pebble.
Roudha Al Shamsi presents an artwork on Al Dusays, which means “hiding” or “disappearing”, as the Arabic verb “indass” means hide. This hide-and-seek game is played by three or five players, with the number of players reaching 20 at times.
Emirati artist Ayesha Al Mheiri’s work is based on Al Zubout — or “whirlpool” — another popular collective game, which involves a conical piece of wood that pivots on an iron tip from the bottom, as well as a thread with one end tied to a small piece of wood that all-ows it to be connected between the player’s little and ring fingers during the game. The purpose of the game is to spin and weave the longest zubout or remove any other ones.
UAE-based Irish artist Michael Rice has created an artwork on Al Karabi, a game involving team play. This game depends on the player’s ability and skill to maintain balance, and thus elicits plenty of cheering and encouragement from the bystanders.
The artwork of Miryhana created by Emirati interior designer Maryam Al Suwaidi is based upon one of the oldest and most popular games among women and girls, involving movement and lyrical sounds. Al Miryhana is usually played during the days of Eid, in the afternoons. In the days of yore, women used to play this game in the time before the noon prayer, after they were done preparing the Eid feast.