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{{Palestinians}}
The '''music of Palestine''' ({{langx|ar|الموسيقى الفلسطينية}}) is one of many regional subgenres of [[Arabic music]]. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively [[Palestinians|Palestinian]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Palestinian National Song:A Personal Testimony|author=Rima Tarazi|publisher=This Week in Palestine|date=April 2007|url=http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=2099&ed=139&edid=139|access-date=2007-04-30|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525231828/https://www.webcitation.org/67OhddPDD?url=http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php%3Fid=2099|archive-date=2024-05-25|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Dalia |url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo3534672.html |title=Palestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in Practice |last2=Katz |first2=Ruth |publisher=University of Chicago Press |series=Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology |location=Chicago, IL |language=en}}</ref>

==Pre-1948==
In the areas now controlled by both [[Israel]] and [[Palestine]], multiple [[ethnic group]]s and [[religion]]s have long held on to a diversity of cultures. [[Demographics of Mandatory Palestine|Mandatory Palestine population]] with Arabs (including urban and rural Muslim classes, [[Arab Christians]], [[Druze]] and Muslim [[Bedouin]]) constituted the largest group, followed by [[Jews]] (including [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]]m, [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahim]] and [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]]m), [[Samaritans]], [[Circassians]], [[Armenians]], [[Dom people|Dom]] and others. [[Wasif Jawhariyyeh]] was one oud player, famous for his post-1904 diary.

===Folk music===
Early in the 20th century, Palestinian Arabs lived in cities and in rural areas, either as farmers or as nomads. The [[fellah]]in (farmers) sang a variety of [[work song]]s, used for tasks like [[fishing]], [[shepherd]]ing, [[harvest]]ing and making [[olive oil]]. Traveling storytellers and musicians called ''zajaleen'' were also common, known for their epic tales. [[Wedding]]s were also home to distinctive music, especially the [[dabke]]. Popular songs made use of widely varying forms, particularly the mejana and dal'ona.

==Post-1948==
{{See also|Music of Israel#Israeli Arab music}}

===Folk music===
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 4796 flautist.jpg|thumb|Palestinian shepherd flutist in traditional dress, c.1910–1920]]After the creation of Israel in 1948, large numbers of Arab Palestinians fled to, or were forced into, [[refugee camp]]s in the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip]]. The most popular recorded musicians at the time were the superstars of [[Arab classical music]], especially [[Umm Kulthum]] and [[Sayed Darwish]]. The centers for Palestinian music were in the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] towns of [[Nazareth]] and [[Haifa]], where performers composed in the classical styles of [[Cairo]] and [[Damascus]]. A shared Palestinian identity was reflected in a new wave of performers who emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning [[nationalism|nationalist]] sentiment.

In the 1970s, a new wave of popular Palestinian stars emerged, including [[Sabreen]], [[Mustafa Al-Kurd]] and [[Al Ashiqeen]]. After the [[First Intifada]] (1987), a more hard-edged group of performers and songwriters emerged, such as [[al- Funoun]], [[songwriter]] [[Suhail Khoury]], [[songwriter]] [[Jameel al-Sayih]], [[Thaer Barghouti]]'s ''[[Doleh (song)|Doleh]]'' and Sabreen's ''[[Mawt a'nabi]]''.

In the 1990s, the [[Palestinian National Authority]] was established, and Palestinian cultural expression began to stabilize. [[Wedding]] bands, which had all but disappeared during the fighting, reappeared to perform popular [[Egypt]]ian and [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] songs. Other performers to emerge later in the 90s included [[Yuad]], [[Washem]], [[Mohsen Subhi]], [[Adel Salameh]], [[Issa Boulos]], [[Wissam Joubran]], [[Samir Joubran]], and [[Basel Zayed]] with his new sound of Palestine and Turab group founded in 2004 with the CD ''Hada Liel''.
[[Image:אמל מורקוס.jpg|thumb|right|[[Amal Murkus]] is a Palestinian singer.]]

The Diaspora Palestinian [[Reem Kelani]] is one of the foremost present day researchers and performers of music with a specifically Palestinian narrative and heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalrhythm.net/WorldMusicCDReviews/MiddleEastNorthAfrica/ReemKelani.cfm |title=Middle East & North Africa Reem Kelani World Music at Global Rhythm - the Destination for World Music |access-date=2014-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311194619/http://www.globalrhythm.net/WorldMusicCDReviews/MiddleEastNorthAfrica/ReemKelani.cfm |archive-date=2014-03-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her 2006 debut solo album ''Sprinting Gazelle – Palestinian Songs from the Motherland and the Diaspora'' comprised Kelani's research and arrangement of five traditional Palestinian songs, whilst the other five songs were her own musical settings of popular and resistance poetry by the likes of Mahmoud Darwish, [[Salma Khadra Jayyusi]], [[Rashid Hussein|Rashid Husain]] and Mahmoud Salim al-Hout.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reemkelani.com/album.asp |title=Reem Kelani |access-date=2014-04-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207110028/http://reemkelani.com/album.asp |archive-date=2013-12-07 }}</ref> All the songs on the album relate to [[Mandatory Palestine|pre-1948 Palestine]].

A large part of Palestinian music comprises wedding songs and dances. Due to the large amount of weddings in Palestinian culture, wedding singers have been able to maintain the tradition of Palestinian songs whilst incorporating modern vocals and rhythms. Wedding singers draw from a repertoire of ceremonial material including henna songs sung at the [[henna ceremony]], wedding processionals (zeffat), and popular debkah and dance songs.

===Classical music===
Before 1948, the Palestinians formed a part of the Arab cultural mosaic in the Levant, and it was difficult to separate them from the cultural and musical composition of the Syrian people. Although the popular music was limited to the genre of folk music that served the needs of ritual and social events varied, but the beginnings of a serious musical phenomenon began to form in Palestine with the presence of profound composers of the first generation, such as [[Augustin Lama]], [[Yousef Khasho]], [[Salvador Arnita]] and others. the second generation of composers included among others: Patrick Lama,  Amin Nasser, Nasri Fernando Dueri, and Saleem Zoughbi,. The third generation includes younger musicians such as Habib Touma,  Mounir Anastas, Bichara El Khail and Sam Gebran, etc.. The Israeli occupation, the transfer of the identity of the Palestinian society from the sphere of integration and near-total identification with the Syrian identity within what was called Greater Syria to the formation of the Palestinian identity within the context of confrontation existential and cultural and political with the Zionists.
From this confrontation with the occupation emerged the movement of the poetry of the resistance, and with it emerged national Palestinian song against the occupation.
During the occupation, Palestinian classical music continued to rise, with new names in the realm of classical music along with the founding of many symphony orchestras (such as the [[The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music|Palestinian Youth Orchestra]], and [[West–Eastern Divan Orchestra|West-Eastern Divan]], founded by [[Daniel Barenboim]] and [[Edward Said]]) as well as string quartets and quintets, which gave the Palestinian Territories the highest number of orchestras among Arab countries.

Names of Palestinian composers:
Salvador Arnita (1914–1985), [[Habib Hasan Touma]] (born in Nazareth, 1934, died in Berlin 1998), Nasri Fernando Dueri (born 1932), François Nicodeme (born in Jerusalem 1935) and his brother William Nicodeme, Amin Nasser in Ramleh 1935, Patrick Lama, Abdel-Hamid Hamam, [[Saleem Zoughbi]].

=== War songs ===
Palestinian [[war songs]] prominently feature references to resistance against the occupation of Palestine, calling on Palestinians to fight the occupation and stay in their land, and describing historic events.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-08 |title=New Hamas music video threatens to rain down rockets on Israel |url=https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/new-hamas-music-video-threatens-to-rain-down-rockets-on-israel-480917 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0792-822X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brehony |first=Louis |date=2023-03-23 |title=Exile Songwriters of the Palestinian Revolution (and the Problem with Sugar Man) |url=https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.45.1.0034 |journal=Arab Studies Quarterly |volume=45 |pages=34–60 |doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.45.1.0034 |issn=0271-3519|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Benari |first=Elad |date=Dec 26, 2011 |title=PA Glorifies Terror Group that Murdered Minister |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/151077 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=israelnationalnews.com}}</ref>

== Music and identity ==
[[Image:Mohamamd Assaf.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mohammed Assaf]] is a Palestinian pop singer.]]
Palestinian music reflects Palestinian experience.<ref>Regev Motti (1993), ''Oud and Guitar: The Musical Culture of the Arabs in Israel'' (Institute for Israeli Arab Studies, Beit Berl), {{ISBN|965-454-002-9}}, p. 4.</ref> As might be expected, much of it deals with the struggle of living under Israeli occupation, the longing for peace, and the love of the land of Palestine.  A typical example of such a song is ''Baladi, Baladi'' (My Country, My Country), which has become the unofficial Palestinian national anthem:

<blockquote>
Palestine, Land of the fathers,<br />
To you, I do not doubt, I will return.<br />
Struggle, revolution, do not die,<br />
For the storm is on the land.<ref name=Babnik>{{cite book|title=''Musical View on the Conflict in the Middle East''|editor1=Babnik |editor2=Golani|year=2006|publisher=Jerusalem: Minerva Instruction and Consultation Group|isbn=978-965-7397-03-9}}Lyrics by Ali Ismayel.</ref>
</blockquote>

"Zareef et Tool" is one of the most popular Palestinian songs of today and can be traced back decades. The song encourages Palestinians not to leave their homeland:<ref name="barghouti.com">{{Cite web | url=http://www.barghouti.com/folklore/songs/ |title = Palestinian Popular Songs}}</ref>

يا زريف الطول وقّف تاقلك ... رايح عالغربة و بلادك أحسنلك <br />
خايف يا زريف تروح و تتملك .. و تعاشر الغير و تنساني أنا <br />

O, elegant and tall one stop so I can tell you<br />
You are going abroad and your country is better for you<br />
I am afraid you will get established there<br />
And find someone else and forget me<br />

One of the biggest moments in Palestinian music is when Mohammad Assaf (born 1989) won the competition Arab Idol in 2013. With one of the biggest voter turn outs of all time he earned support from Palestinians and the Arab world. He would go on to make huge records such as "Ana Dame falasteenee" (my blood is Palestinian) a national and international treasure.

Mohammad Assaf would go on to be one of the highest selling Palestinian artists of all time.

==Forms of traditional Palestinian songs==
[[Image:Armure Hijaz 01.jpg|thumb|260px|Armure Hijaz 01]]
[[Image:Armure Hijaz 02.jpg|thumb|200px|Armure Hijaz 02]]
[[Image:Armure Hijaz 03.jpg|thumb|220px|Armure Hijaz 03]]
Unlike many other cultures, traditional Palestinian songs have no set lyrics but rather a set rhythm. The singers are usually family members or close friends who make up the lyrics on the spot. At modern Palestinian events there may be a professional singer, but the forms mentioned below, still very popular today, were created before the popularization of professional singers. Therefore, the song lyrics differ from city to city. Many types of Palestinian songs, including Atab/Mejana and Dal'ona, have transcended time. Due to the relevance of the subject matter and the need to maintain tradition and culture, traditional types of Palestinian songs can still be heard at events of today, such as weddings or gatherings. They still remain extremely popular throughout the Palestinian culture. Among the forms:<ref name="barghouti.com"/>

* [[Ataaba]] is the most popular type of song in Palestine. It is often sung by farmers, workers, and shepherds as a work song. However, weddings are the main environment for the songs. As with the other forms of songs, Mejana is based on poetry. Usually the singer starts with the long sound of "Ooaaaff". Then the verses of ataba follow. Ataba is composed of four verses of poetry. The first three end with the same word in sound but different meanings. The fourth verse ends with a word that usually ends with a sound like "Aab or Aywa!"<ref name="barghouti.com"/>
* Dal'ona is the second most popular type of song in Palestine. It is easier to compose than ataba because it does not require the similar sound of the ends of the first three verses. However, like ataba, dal'na has four verses of poetry, where the first three have similar endings and the fourth usually ends with a sound like "Oana". Dal'ona is the sound of the Palestinian popular dance, dabka, where the dancers sing it along with the sound of the shubbabah (flute), yarghool or mijwiz.<ref name="barghouti.com"/>
* The Sahja is another popular form of Palestinian song usually sung at weddings. It may be done by men or women and involves clapping to the rhythm of the song that is being sung to the bride by women, or groom by men. The men gather in two lines facing each other, or surround the groom. Then the zajal leads the sahja. The zajal is a talented singer or close family member who sings the sahja on the spot. The zajal leads the sahja with a verse, and the entire group repeats. The sahja done by women carries out the same process but with many women leading (usually older women) while the young women repeat. Also, the women may add a loud, "Lolololeey" during and at the end of the sahja. There is no female zajal.
* Zaghareet (pl), one of the oldest forms of Palestinian song, is another important form of song during Palestinian weddings.  The zaghreet is traditionally sung by women at weddings or important events. One woman starts the zaghroot with a loud "Heeey Hee..." or "Aweeha...". She then continues with a short poem or few rhyming words. After the women are done, they all join with a loud, "Lolololoolololoeeeey" sound. Unlike the women's sahja, the zaghroot involves no clapping, and only one woman must take turns to offer a zaghareet.

==Palestinian hip hop==
{{main|Palestinian hip hop}}
[[File:DJ Khaled 2012 (cropped).jpg|thumb|American radio personality and record producer [[DJ Khaled]], of [[Palestinians in the United States|Palestinian descent]]]]
Beginning in the late 1990s, Palestinian youth forged a new Palestinian musical subgenre – Palestinian rap or [[hip hop]] – which blends Arabic melodies and Western beats, with lyrics in Arabic, English and even Hebrew.

Borrowing from traditional rap music that first emerged in the ghettos of Los Angeles and New York in the 1970s, "young Palestinian musicians have tailored the style to express their own grievances with the social and political climate in which they live and work."<ref>{{cite journal|title= Israeli-Arab rap: an outlet for youth protest|author=Amelia Thomas|journal=Christian Science Monitor|date=21 July 2005|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0721/p11s01-wome.html?s=widep}}</ref>

[[DAM (band)|DAM]] were pioneers in forging this blend. As [[Arab citizens of Israel]], they rap in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, often challenging stereotypes about Palestinians and Arabs head-on in songs like "Meen Erhabe?" ("Who's a terrorist?")

More peculiar is the West Bank group [[Ramallah Underground]], found by the two brothers Boikutt and Stormtrap. Their sound is a mix of hip hop, trip hop, and downtempo alongside traditional Arab music. There are many rappers who defend Palestinian nationalism, an example being, Ortega (Alhasan) who caused a sensation in the Israeli media in 2012 because of his songs' hostility to Israel. Ortega (Alhasan) is considered a better performer of Palestinian rap in the [[Persian Gulf]] region, because he was born in the United Arab Emirates.

In the diaspora are the Abu-Ghaben brothers, who founded [[Jaffa Phonix]] in Cairo, Egypt. They blended big-beat, hip hop, and vocal punk elements.

==Opposition to music==
According to the human rights organization [[Freemuse]], Palestinian musicians feared what was going to happen in the Palestinian territories where [[Islamic fundamentalists]] have become increasingly assertive since the militant Hamas group scored political gains in the Palestinian Authority local elections of 2005.<ref name="freemuse">{{cite web |url=http://www.freemuse.org/sw10095.asp |title=Palestine: Taliban-like attempts to censor music |work=[[Freemuse]] – The World Forum On Music And Censorship. |date=17 August 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807211707/http://www.freemuse.org/sw10095.asp |archive-date=7 August 2011 }}</ref>

In 2005 an outdoor music and dance performance in [[Qalqiliya]] was suddenly banned by the Hamas led municipality, for the reason that such an event would be forbidden by Islam. The municipality also ordered that music no longer be played in the Qalqiliya zoo, and mufti Akrameh Sabri issued a [[fatwa|religious edict]] affirming the municipality's decision.<ref name="freemuse"/><ref name="barel"/> In response, the Palestinian national poet [[Mahmoud Darwish]] warned that "There are Taliban-type elements in our society, and this is a very dangerous sign".<ref name="freemuse"/><ref name="barel"/><ref name="darwish">"Palestinians Debate Whether Future State Will be Theocracy or Democracy". [[Associated press]], July 13, 2005.</ref><ref name="newhumanist">[http://newhumanist.org.uk/937/gaza-taliban Gaza Taliban?] by Editorial Staff, The New Humanist, Volume 121 Issue 1, January/February 2006</ref>

The Palestinian columnist Mohammed Abd Al-Hamid, a resident of [[Ramallah]], warned that this religious coercion could cause the migration of artists, and said "The religious fanatics in Algeria destroyed every cultural symbol, shattered statues and rare works of art and liquidated intellectuals and artists, reporters and authors, ballet dancers and singers – are we going to imitate the Algerian and Afghani examples?"<ref name="barel">[https://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/afghanistan-in-palestine-1.165006 Afghanistan in Palestine], by Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz, 26.07.05</ref>

==Musicians and instruments from Palestine, anno 1860==
<gallery mode="packed">
Image:Mode of playing the ´Ood, p. 578 in Thomson, 1859.jpg|Palestinian [[Oud]] player
Image:Kamanjeh, and performer on it, p. 578 in Thomson, 1859.jpg|[[Kamanjah|Palestinian Kamanjah player]]
File:Jerusalem Muscians.png|Musicians in Jerusalem, late 19th century
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of Palestinians#Musicians|List of Palestinians: Musicians]]
* [[Palestinian Arabic]]
* [[Palestinians]]
* [[Louis Brehony]]

==References==
<references/>

==Books==
* Morgan, Andy and Mu'tasem Adileh. "The Sounds of Struggle". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'', pp.&nbsp;385–390. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. {{ISBN|1-85828-636-0}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Palestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in Practice|author=Cohen, Dalia and Ruth Katz|year=2005|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-11298-5}}
* {{cite book|author=Mashmalon, Micah|title=Palestinian Folk Songs |series=Morris Moore Series in Musicology, 4 |publisher=Shazco|year=1988|oclc=17918259|lccn=88011605}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/78223 Smithsonian Jerusalem Project: Palestinian Music]  Winter 1999, Issue 3, ''[[Jerusalem Quarterly]]''

{{Middle Eastern music}}
{{Music of Asia}}
{{Palestine topics}}

[[Category:Music of Palestine| ]]
[[Category:Arabic music]]
[[Category:Palestinian arts|music]]