"Wings of Civilization" tells a story full of history and originality
Sheikh Zayed Festival.. UAE heritage in its best form
The heritage village mediates the festival site and takes the visitor on a journey between the vocabulary of Emirati heritage.
Photography: Eric Arazas
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In addition to its interest in the civilizations and cultures of peoples from all over the world, the Sheikh Zayed Festival - whose activities continue in the Al Wathba region in Abu Dhabi under the slogan "The Emirates Forum of Civilizations" until next March 18 - pays great attention to the Emirati intellectual and cultural heritage, revealing its rich values and traditions. Inherited in society, the extent of its diversity, and introducing visitors from citizens, residents and tourists from countries of the world to it, through different pavilions located in the heart of the festival, and based on showing this heritage in the best way under the title: “Wings of Emirates Civilization.”
Among the most prominent pavilions is the heritage village that mediates the festival site, and takes the visitor on a journey among the vocabulary of Emirati heritage, to introduce it, as the “village” represents a unique art exhibition and showcases the story of the Emirates through a variety of environments that include wild, mountainous, marine and agricultural environments, as it includes a group of shops that Each of them specializes in displaying one of the handicrafts that embody the fragrant history and ancient heritage of the state, such as pottery, palm fronds, talli, al-Sadu, sewing, henna drawing, and other crafts.
The shops also display traditional and ancient products, and employ a group of craftsmen and craftswomen who practice different professions and provide sufficient information about them for visitors of different ages and nationalities.
It also organizes workshops to introduce these crafts and pass them on to new generations.
Various events
The activities of the Heritage Village are not limited to introducing handicrafts and traditional industries related to the local heritage, as it witnesses many activities that embody aspects of the customs and traditions that have long characterized the UAE community, most notably the group wedding that included 51 young Emiratis, organized by the Ministry of Community Development and supported by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, with the aim of reviving the approach of fathers and grandfathers, values and traditions inherited in the UAE society.
The Heritage Village also witnesses the organization of a number of heritage competitions derived from the crafts of the past, as well as from the popular games that children and adults used to play in the past.
Such as competitions: “putting down”, “pulling the rope”, “crabbies”, “putting out the sitting”, “mustrah”, “barrels” and others.
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The pavilion of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi at the Sheikh Zayed Festival, which was designed in a traditional architectural style that simulates the castles and forts of the past that were built in the country in general, and the city of Al Ain in particular, celebrates several aspects of the UAE's heritage, as it focuses on highlighting the elements of originality adopted by the United Nations. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is included in the representative list of the intangible heritage of humanity, such as: the art of Al-Ayyala, falconry, the art of Al-Azi, the palm tree, Arabic coffee, Al-Sadu, camel racing, Al-Taghrooda, and the art of Al-Razfa, in addition to Arabic calligraphy. one of these elements.
The pavilion also hosts folklore bands that perform dozens of live performances from Al-Ayyala, Harbiya, Al-Rababa and Al-Shalat throughout the festival.
Workshops
The Department's pavilion is not limited to introducing Emirati heritage to the elements on the UNESCO list, as it also includes a group of workshops through which visitors learn about traditional handicrafts, with the aim of preserving these crafts, introducing festival guests to them, and linking new generations to their heritage and devoting it to them. And encourage them to practice it, in addition to the falconry corner, which introduces them to how to deal with the falcon and provides them with sufficient information about falconry as a sport that was inherited from parents from grandparents.
The pavilion also includes a coffee corner to introduce the public to Arabic coffee and the values of generosity, hospitality, hospitality, and kindness that are associated with hospitality rituals.
While the heritage neighborhood brings together a large group of shops that are designed with a traditional character, during which a large number of productive families and owners of crafts and small projects display their products such as clothes, perfumes, smokes, household tools, handicrafts, accessories, and others.
• Next March 18, the closing date of the festival, which was launched on November 18.
• The activities of the Heritage Village are not limited to introducing handicrafts, as it witnesses activities that embody aspects of the traditions that have always characterized the UAE community.
Message
The Sheikh Zayed Festival, in its current session, offers its visitors more than 4,000 events, in addition to about 750 public performances over 120 days of suspense. The festival, which started on November 18, will conclude on March 18.
The activities aim to focus on presenting the festival's main message represented in preserving the national heritage, confirming the depth of Emirati civilization, and transmitting it to future generations, as well as its role in strengthening Abu Dhabi's position as a leading tourist and cultural destination in the region and the world.
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