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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rawan Baybars in Tafilah

‘We searched for ladies over 70’: on the trail of Jordan’s forgotten folk music

Children stand in front of a mural of musical notes
The I’m My Voice choirs help to preserve oral culture and are based on the idea that arts and culture are vital to daily life. Photograph: Rawan Baybars/ifa.de

In the Jordanian town of Tafilah, a six-year-old boy softly hummed a song. His family were astonished, and his 82-year-old great-grandmother, Jawaher Al Ahmad, overheard and began to cry. She asked the child who had taught him the “hajini”, or Bedouin folk song, and said: “The last time I heard that song was at my wedding.”

Her great-grandson, Ahmad, had learned the tune as part of the I’m My Voice project run by Tajalla for Music and Arts, a cultural organisation founded by Russol Al Nasser.

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