Malloul … Jerash Youth Singing Its Heritage

Young singers and instrumentalists performed four selected local songs, which they had practiced with Tajalla Association for Music and the Arts in collaboration with PSI, as part of Malloul project, supported by the American Center for Research (ACOR) through the Sustainability of Cultural Heritage Project and with the Participation of Local Communities (USAID SCHEP) Funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

The celebration kicked off by youngsters from the “Ana Sawti” project from Irbid and Madaba singing three songs from their regions. Following that, the young men and women of Jerash ended the ceremony with another set of songs in three melodies, all of which were composed by senior people in Jerash who recalled harvest seasons, wedding songs, and other occasions, amid exceptional crowd engagement.

Dina Majali, Marketing, and Promotion Officer commented on behalf of the (ACOR), “Our project’s message is critical since this legacy symbolizes a cultural and popular stock that is a source of pride for us. That’s what inspired us to combine the civilizational openness and vast technical growth we are experiencing with our intangible legacy. Our popular pulse and traditional folk lyric lines continue to echo and vibrate in the soul and society.”

According to Project Manager at PSI, Eng. Hussein Al-Sarayrah, Tariq Al-Nasser, musician Tariq Al-Nasser, supervised the performance of the songs by the youngsters over successive weeks, during which the participants were able to know and develop their vocal abilities to suit the required performance of the songs of their city, while the assistant coaches in “Tajalla” focused on providing the lyrical content in conformity with what was quoted from the grandparents.

Tajalla has been working on investigating, documenting, and reviving the Jordanian lyrical heritage since 2017, through several projects in Jordanian cities, in order to achieve the revival and re-spread of the heritage in a way that preserves what is original and presents the heritage in a modern way that suits the times, according to the project manager at Tajalla Baqa’ al-Din Muhaidat confirmed.

Tajalla, PSI, and ACOR had agreed on the need of continuing to work on recording intangible heritage in order to connect individuals to the memories of their place and cultural identity held in audio and visual heritage. Thus was the name “Malloul”, in reference to Jordanian national tree that is rooted in our land to provide an environmentally balanced and diverse character at the vital level, just as it is in Jordanian artistic and cultural affairs, which constantly require rooting and rooting heritage and transmitting it from generation to generation, in order to preserve the community’s identity.