Music, dance and storytellingMiddle East
Fijiri
In its own language: الفجيري
Songs of the Gulf pearl divers: one lead voice, a chorus, a hand drum and a clay pot
Fijiri comes from the men who dived for pearls along Eastern Arabia's Gulf coast, above all in Bahrain and Kuwait, and it is carried by a lead voice, an answering chorus and clapping. A small double-sided hand drum and a clay pot struck by hand join in, and UNESCO listed Bahrain's Fjiri in 2021.
Fijiri is a singing tradition kept by the men who dived for pearls along the Gulf coast of Eastern Arabia, and it lives on above all in Bahrain and Kuwait. One singer leads, a chorus answers, and hands clap. Two instruments join in: a small double-sided hand drum and a clay pot played with both palms. In 2021 UNESCO added Bahrain's Fjiri to its Representative List.
What it is
Fijiri rests on the human voice. One singer takes the lead, the others answer him as a group, and clapping keeps the beat steady. Two simple instruments fill out the sound: a small hand drum with a skin on both sides, called the mirwās, and a clay pot, the jāhlah, which a player strikes with both palms. The singing is in Arabic and belongs to the working world of the Gulf, where men went to sea to dive for pearls.
Kinds of fijiri
Fijiri is not a single song but a set of named types, and eight of them appear in the sources. Bahri and adsani are the two main ones. Sanginni stands apart because of where it is performed: on the beach, never from a boat. The remaining names are mkholfi, haddadi, hasawi, zumayya and dan. Within that group, zumayya is treated as a branch of hasawi, and dan as a branch of mkholfi, so the eight are not all of the same weight.
Who sings it
A singer in this tradition had his own Arabic title: nahham. The role grew out of the work itself rather than from a stage or a concert hall, and a few men became known well beyond their own boat. The sources name two Bahraini singers among the best known of all, Salem Allan and Ahmad Butabbaniya, and audio samples of both are linked from the article. A group from a village near Muharraq in Bahrain was recorded performing a fijiri song in October 2009.
Recognition and recordings
UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity took in the tradition under the name Fjiri in 2021, during the committee's sixteenth session, with Bahrain as the state party and 01747 as the reference number. Alongside the listing sits a body of recordings and writing. UNESCO released a collection of Bahrain pearl diver songs in 2000, and a 1995 anthology of music from the Arabian Peninsula included pearl diver material. A 2002 book by Poul Rovsing Olsen about music in Bahrain is listed for further reading.
How Fijiri is kept
A performance needs a leader and a group. The lead singer starts and carries the melody line; the other men answer together and clap to hold the rhythm. Two instruments may join: the mirwās, a small double-sided hand drum, and the jāhlah, a clay pot struck with both hands. Where the group stands decides which type is sung, since one of the eight, sanginni, is performed on shore and not on the boat. The voice carries the tradition and the drum and pot support it.
When and where
No fixed date is given in the sources. The singing belonged to the working life of the pearl divers, on the boats during a voyage and on shore after the return, and one of its eight types, sanginni, is set on the beach rather than at sea.
Fijiri belongs to the Gulf coast of Eastern Arabia. The sources name Bahrain and Kuwait as the places where it is strongest, and Bahrain is the state party behind the UNESCO listing. Both singers singled out as best known, Salem Allan and Ahmad Butabbaniya, are Bahraini.
Questions people ask about Fijiri
What is fijiri?
It is a singing tradition from the Gulf coast of Eastern Arabia, kept by the men who dived for pearls. A lead singer, a chorus of other divers, clapping, a small double-sided hand drum and a clay pot make up a performance. Bahrain and Kuwait are named as its main homes.
When and where is it sung?
The sources give no fixed date. It belonged to pearl diving work, sung on the boats and, in the case of the type called sanginni, on the beach. It is strongest in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Bahrain brought it to UNESCO's list in 2021.
Who are the best-known singers?
The sources name two Bahraini singers among the most famous: Salem Allan and Ahmad Butabbaniya. Audio samples of both are linked from the article, and a group from a village near Muharraq was filmed singing fijiri in October 2009.
What instruments are used?
The voice leads, and the mirwās, a small double-sided hand drum, and the jāhlah, a clay pot played with both hands, go with it. The chorus also claps. The infobox lists the human voice as the instrument of the tradition.
Is the tradition recognised officially?
Yes. In 2021 UNESCO added it to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity under the name Fjiri, at the sixteenth session, with Bahrain as the state party and the reference number 01747.
See also
Eid al-FitrThe feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits homeDewaniyaAn evening gathering and reception central to Kuwaiti social, business, and civic life
HalayA traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Fijiri", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.
The same idea elsewhere
All of this kind
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandPoi
A Māori performing art of swinging tethered weights in rhythmical patterns.Performance
🇧🇷 BrazilBaião
A syncopated folk rhythm and partnered dance from northeastern BrazilPerformance
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура
A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay
A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance