The Republic of Yemen
The republic of Yemen (RY) was established in 1990 and derived its name from Yaman a legendry leader of Arabic root (Mellor & Gilliat-Ray, 2015). Yemen has six economic and cultural zones characterized by several communities with different cultures. Yemen's population is ethnically Arabic with higher infant mortality rate. Yemenis speak Arabic language inherited from the semantic language society. However, English is the most common used foreign language for communication.
Yemen's Notion of Allegiance
Yemen's notion of allegiance continues to be shaped by the effective kinship, native land, shared culture, and faith with Jambiyyah as curved dagger being used for male honor. Consequently, the clan's tower located at the top of the hill symbolizes Yemen's lineage. According to Liñán, Jaén, and Ortega (2015), the Yemenis' generosity and hospitality to foreigners and locals is significantly expressed through making, serving, and sustaining of coffee. As a result, Yemen shares in several of the cultures, customs, and lifeway being found in Arab world and other nations across the globe. Therefore, the essay focuses on Yemen cultural awareness by considering many cultural traits and activities of Yemen people as described below.
Yemen Social Customs and Daily Life
Yemen shares in several of the cultures and life mechanisms being found in various parts of an Arabic world and other nations across world. According to Mellor and Gilliat-Ray (2015), Yemen culture is strongly patriarchal, and the households consist of the extended family residing in family compound with the eldest male as head of the family. Women are known to play secondary roles in running the family and raising children. Moreover, women assist in family farm. Though 67% of Yemen women get job outside their homes, women traditionally earn social status by bearing children (male) in his study Jafari (2014) outlines that child birth is the main essential event in Yemen communities and immediately followed by the circumcision ceremonies. Though illegalized by law since 2001, FMG (female genital mutilation) still occurs in Yemen (Mellor and Gilliat-Ray, 2015). The practice takes place primarily in varying private regions.
Marriages
–Yemen marriages are arranged and regularly undertaken at young age. The head of a family or household makes final decisions pertaining marriages despite the opinions from the groom or potential bride. Jafari (2014) argues that as part of the Islamic community, endogamy is a common practice in Yemen with the preferred marriage involving paternal first cousins of opposite sex. The mahr practice where the pride-price is offered by groom's father becomes part of the marriage celebrations. However, divorce is not common in Yemen and stigma is not associated with it. In Yemen, men marry as many as five wives, but in practice it is rare for men to obtain more one lady.
Yemen Community
Yemen community is ethnically and tribally based. The assurance and trust of Yemen society are often measured by the degree of consanguinity. Furthermore, Exell and Rico (2016) elaborate that families are closer and act as the main focus of a person's primary devotion. An individual's second allegiance is to his or her tribe. In the rural regions, the state authority is very weak , therefore, disputes between the societies are regularly solved through conflicts. Consequently, the feud art is still evident thereby making Yemen a gun culture with every household possessing at least a weapon with boys and men still carrying firearms and other weapons in public. However, Jafari (2014) argues that even when not having a rifle or pistol, majority of the Yemen males particularly from rural tribes carry a dagger (Jambiyyah).The choice of attire reflects traditional nature of the Yemen community.
Yemen Arts
Jaén and Ortega (2015) outline that despite the variation in dressing style between Yemen and other nations within the Arabian Peninsula, men wear thawb (full length dress) and traditional futah. Moreover, there are different types of dress for females, depending on a social role a woman plays and where she stays. For example, in south and North Yemen, females in towns and cities wear sharsaf that covers the whole body. While in countryside, women have utilitarian clothes. Working women commonly wear dhola (broad and brimmed straw) to prevent them from exposure to the sun. The traditional Yemen cuisine is significantly and broadly similar to those found in different regions of Arabian Peninsula. Yemen citizens consume food three times per day.
Yemen Cuisine and Celebrations
According to Exell and Rico (2016), common meats for Yemen people include mutton, goat, and chicken with the popular dish for Yemen being saltah (the stew of chicken or lamb spiced with herbs and fenugreek). Additionally, tea is the common drink, but coffee is the most popular. However, the alcoholic beverages are valued as religiously and culturally inappropriate, but are available. Khat party or khat chew is the distinctive and most essential social organization and type of recreation for the Yemen citizens. Khat chew is celebrated like other traditional Islamic events and holidays such as Ramadan. In their study Mellor and Gilliat-Ray (2015) assert that in Yemen, dances are performed in presence or absence of the musical accompaniment. Yemenis consider celebrating these events as source of unity and peace among the societies.
Yemen Arts and Architecture
Domestic architecture is the best practiced artifact of the Yemen culture. Bricks and stone blocks are used to construct buildings in mountainous interior. However, in areas such as deserts without these construction materials, mud bricks are used in constructing the multistoried houses. For example, shibam and Zabid towns are known for their efficient architecture, and have currently been listed as the leading UNESCO world heritage sites. Exell and Rico (2016) assert that the most used and traditional cultural form of communication is oral which occurs in the form of poetry, popular stories, and proverbs making Yemen an integral segment of the contemporary Arab culture in political easy, scholarly writing, and literature. As a result, past, present, and future Yemeni poets are the most esteemed within the Arab world. For example, the prolific poet Abd al-Aziz al-maqalih.
The Basic Economy of Yemen
The basic economy-Yemen derives 86% of its domestic products from agriculture. However, Yemen imports over 60% of food requirements, but still 20% of its population suffers from a severe malnutrition (Cole et al, 2017). With the higher importation of food, Yemen's economy is one of the most impoverished among the Arabic nations. However, with the increase support from developed nations, Yemen continues to improve the living standards of the citizens. Agriculture serves as the driving force for the economy as it employs over half of the labor force. The main crops include sorghum, cotton, garden vegetables, and dates.
Land Ownership and Cultural Institutions
According to Mellor and Gilliat-Ray (2015), land ownership in Yemen can be private, communal, or state. Traditionally, the state lands were for cultivation and public tasks. These lands were under state control as the private properties are used for agriculture and constructions. Tribal lands and Islamic endowments are set aside for grazing and act as regions of tribal responsibilities for the protected teams and travelers. Consequently, the laws, various practices, and customs concerning water and land allocations are mainly based on the Yemen Islamic and customary civil regulations.
Cultural Institutions
General organizations and museums administer the major cultural institutions. Many cultural firms are located in bigger cities. For example, the national museum in Sana town. Yemenis visit these cultural institutions for recreation and studies. In conclusion, Yemen is an Arabic nation with several cultural practices and customs. The country is characterized by many communities that speak different languages but observe common culture such as Khat Party. Therefore, Yemen cultural awareness is necessary and should be facilitated.
References
Cole, S., Kniivilä, M., Gisselman, F., Blanck, J., Hansen, N. S., & Fornbacke, E. (2017). Economic values from the natural and cultural heritage in the Nordic countries.
Exell, K., & Rico, T. (2016). Cultural heritage in the Arabian peninsula: Debates, discourses and practices. Routledge.
Jafari, A. (2014). Muslim societies in the age of mass consumption: politics, culture and identity between the local and the global.
Liñán, F., Jaén, I., & Ortega, F. J. (2015). Understanding the role of culture and economic conditions in entrepreneurship. In Entrepreneurship, Regional Development and Culture (pp. 53-73). Springer, Cham.
Mellor, J., & Gilliat-Ray, S. (2015). The early history of migration and settlement of Yemenis in Cardiff, 1939–1970: religion and ethnicity as social capital. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38(1), 176-191.
