Tamari Readings

Reading through Tamari’s articles makes me really excited to hear him speak tomorrow! I like his writing style, it’s very easy to read and articulate, and I liked reading about Wasif’s life. It was also great to see a more modern perspective after reading Karen for so long, as well as to see a cultural/musical side of Jerusalem. Side note: I absolutely love listening to the Oud and I recommend it to anyone interested in string instruments! I took guitar this semester solely to get ready to learn how to play the Oud when I go back to Amman this summer. Baba can laugh at me all he likes, I’ll be a master at it.

There were two names in Musician’s Lot that I absolutely loved: Hussein Effendi and (the fact that his mistress was called) Persephone. Effendi (in Jordan at least) is kind of like an honorific term, but my taita always uses it sarcastically whenever she refers to my brothers or father/uncle, so that was kind of a hilarious surprise. And then just the fact that his mistress was named Persephone and the contrast it has to Hussein!

The leprosy article was more on the serious side. Leprosy doesn’t really sound like a real disease, it just sounds like it came straight out of the Bible or something. I did like reading that the ethnographers regarded the peasantry as the soul of the nation: they do tend to be less Westernised and more in tune with the culture even today and not in the 1920s/1940s. I don’t know if you count the Bedouins as peasantry or an entity unto themselves, but they’re kind of a prime example of this in that they keep to themselves (mostly) and stick to the old traditions. Sometimes it’s looked down upon, sometimes it’s respected, but either way you have to give them credit because it’s not an easy way of life.

Fun side note: check out the Oud!