Question: How do the Ghinnawas mediate social relations?
Per the reading, Ghinnawas are known as lyric poems and can express a great deal of emotions.
Some say it is even better to use lyric poems than your own words because the poem can express
it better. So how exactly does Ghinnawas help us in mediating? These lyrics poems help us by
using metaphors or even similes to give us an understanding of complex thoughts and feelings.
They give and teach social and emotional skills which are a vital part of living every day. The
Ghinnawa is clearly distinguishable in form, context, and content from other genres of Awald
‘Ali poetry and song (pg. 178)
Not all Ghinnawas are to be happy though. Some can be performed with madness and anger and
that can open up an entirely different can of worms. At weddings, it is rare to see men sing
Ghinnawas because it is the province of the women. The bride's family and friends sing songs
bidding her farewell, wishing her well in her new home, warning her not to put up with poor
treatment, and bemoaning their loss. So, in this way, we can see that the family is expressing
excitement and loss by singing Ghinnawas at weddings.
I think that in this day and age, we see more men coming to sing these lyric poems mainly
because we have made it known that men can be more sensitive and show how they truly feel
compared to how it was back then when men never sang these lyrics poems. Ghinnawas show a
truer intimacy and although some women see men who sing ghinnawas as someone who stole
something from their womanhood, many love the fact that men now come into play with this.
How ghinnawas help families is by expressing how they feel whether it be mad, happy, or
melancholic. When a message needs to be sent but talking it out might not help, ghinnawas do
the trick. It can express multitudes of emotions. People tend to sing about themselves and their
situations in life, and, in the context of conversations, the poems they recite are usually either
comments on the situation being discussed or concise, and often poignant, expressions of their
sentiments about the situation. (pg 185) Because of this poetry of intimacy, we can get a better
understanding of how they feel and can plan our next step on how to make it better.
I believe Veiled Sentiments teaches that our emotions and words can become one to express how
we are and how we feel about situations that arise. That is how I think Ghinnawas mediates
social relations. In short, the Ghinnawa is the poetry of personal life, the poetry of intimacy. (pg.
185)
Abu-Lughod, L. (1999). Veiled sentiments: honor and poetry in a Bedouin society. Updated ed. with a new
preface. Berkeley, University of California Press.