Al-Mas: Reviving Kuwait's Folk Memory

Maraf Al-Shammari As part of the events of the 18th edition of the “Summer Cultural Festival,” organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, the Al-Mass Folk Band presented an evening at The Avenues Mall that transported the mall’s audience back to a time when folk songs were an integral part of Kuwaiti customs and traditions.

Set to the rhythms of “Al-Ashori,” “Al-Sawahli,” “Al-Sout,” and other Kuwaiti art forms, the band took the mall’s audience on a journey through traditional genres that remain vivid in collective memory, evoking the atmosphere of the sea, evening gatherings, and social occasions with which these art forms have been associated over many years.

From the outset, Al-Mass chose to open the evening with the “Al-Ashori” genre, performing “Salam Yalli Hami Al-Dar, Sheikh Hukm Fi Zaman” before transitioning to “Al-Sout,” accompanied by “Al-Zafn” and clapping, transforming the space around the stage into an interactive scene in which the audience participated through presence and rhythm.

The program featured a variety of pieces, including “Al-Bista” with “Ya Nawakhidh,” “Al-Sawahli” with “Ah Ya Al-Asmar Ya Zein,” and “Ya Maniti,” alongside traditional songs such as “Wa’if ‘ala Babikum” and “Ghazil Fala,” adding diverse colors and moods to the evening.

As the rhythms intensified, the band continued its journey with the audience through songs such as “Allah Akbar Ya Hamam” and “Sabouha,” culminating in “Qulu Bism Allah,” where the atmosphere reached its peak amid clear and enthusiastic audience engagement at The Avenues Mall.

Al-Mass succeeded in turning the evening into a space where the present meets the past, demonstrating that folk arts do not live only in books and memory, but can reclaim their voice and movement before today’s audience, provided there are those who carry them with love and present them in their original spirit.