Lama Bada Yathana (When My Love Began to Sway)... On the Medieval Arab Muwashah

Rich, complex, and beautiful — could describe someone to fall in love with. But I’m talking about an Arabic song, sometimes rendered in English as Lamma Bada Yatathanna, an ancient muwashshah, a genre of secular music from Al Andalus, Omayyad Spain, which means it’s from some time around the 10th to 11th century – that’s more than half a millennium ago!

Have a taste of Lama Bada before I say more about the Muwashahat:

Muwashah Lama Bada Yathana, reportedly composed around 1100:1200 CE

Muwashahat   is the plural of the name Muwashah, a poetic form that includes music and vocalization. It is a sophisticated musical genre that originated in Muslim Spain during the tenth century.   It is described as a strophic poem with repeated rondo-like returns to a musical refrain. The name muwashshah, it has been said, is in reference to the Wishah a (sash)  that women wore in Andalusia. It is described as being bejeweled in delicate workmanship which is similar to the muwashshah's intricate melodic, rhythmic and poetic structure, as well as the meanings it provoked in its use of imagery. The strophic lyrics of   the muwashshah directly expressed the poet's own thoughts and sentiments. The lyrics spoke of love, joy and sorrow. The use of imagery enriched this poetic form.

Lama Bada Yatathana by Harmonium Chamber Singers, 2014

In 1492 nearly half a million Arabs were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. They migrated to North Africa taking their cultural tradition with them. Musicians and singers carried with them their musical heritage of treaties, instruments, and different musical genres that included thousands of muwashshahat. Today, the classical form of the muwashshah remains popular in Morocco, Tunis and Algeria in North Africa, as well as in Syria and Lebanon. It remained prevalent in Egypt up to the early years of the 20 the century. Before the advent of musical notation the musical tradition of the muwashshah was transmitted orally from one generation of singers to the other. While many of the musical rendition were lost through the passage of time, much of the written poetry remains in archives in Andalusia and parts of the Arab world. By the mid 20th century numerous music historians and muwashashat lovers dedicated many years of hard work collecting and documenting and notating what remained of this musical tradition.

Muwashah "Ayuha El-Saqi" by Fadia Al-Haj (Orignially composed by ibn Zahr around 1100 CE in Al Andalus)

In Omayyad Spain, the land was filled with poets and musicians.  Music, song and dance were to found in the streets and in homes.  Musicians and singers entertained in public or were often hired to perform in the homes of both wealthy and poor. Dancing to the Muwashahat was also an intrinsic element of this culture. In the 1970's the famous Egyptian choreographer Mahmoud Reda presented the muwashah as a dance spectacle on a stage for the first time in modern history. 

A video that depicts one of Reda's famous muwashah choreographs (performed by Nesma Al-Andalus Company in 2011). This draws a sense for what this type of music and dance sounds and looks like.

Muwashahat are just a mere example of the artistic revival that the Muslim world introduced to the world. Many of modern day European and 18th century classical music are inspired from the beauty Arabs imposed in Andalusia. The colorful dances and cultural folkloric traditions of the Omayyad in Spain is just a brick in the wall of the Arabic and Islamic civilization throughout history. 

Sources:

• Benbabaali, Saadane, 1987, Poétique du muwashshah dans l'Occident musulman médiéval, thèse de 3e cycle, sous la direction de R. Arié, Paris 3, 1987.
• Benbabaali, Saadane "La plume, la voix et le plectre, avec Beihdja Rahal, Barzakh, Alger, Déc. 2008.
• Benbabaali, Saadane Bahdjat al-Nufûs fî Bahâ'i Djannât al-Andalus (l'Amour, la femme et les jardins dans la poésie andalouse) ANEP, Alger,2010
• Corriente, Federico (1997). Poesía dialectal árabe y romance en Alandalús: cejeles y xarajat de muwassahat. Madrid: Gredos. ISBN 84-249-1887-8.
• Emery, Ed (2006). Muwashshah: proceedings of the Conference on Arabic and Hebrew Strophic Poetry and its Romance Parallels, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, 8–10 October 2004. London: RN Books.