The Ministry of culture has recently released a new book entitled “Fijri and the arts of work on board the ship”, which has been collected and prepared by the artist and researcher Mohamed Nasser Al Sayegh, and is expected to be available at the Doha International Book Fair in its next edition. The book is an important reference in the history of Qatari arts, specifically the folk arts and more specifically the arts of the sea or the arts of working at sea.
Muhammad Al-Sayegh expressed his happiness for the emergence of his first literary works to the light, pointing out that the book is the beginning of publications that will document ancient crafts arts, pointing out that each of these arts will be in a separate edition, and this series will be added to the Qatari and Arabic library. Al-Sayegh said: I am proud to be the first to document these ancient arts in the State of Qatar, and I aspire that this publication and the subsequent versions will serve as a reference for the local and Arab reader. Qatar is endowed with many folklores, which is an important part of our identity and culture.
He explained that the collection and preparation process took 4 years, stressing that the documentation of these arts needs a lot of accuracy and objectivity, considering their overlap with the folk arts in the Gulf region. Pointing out that the differences can only be noticed by those who are familiar with these arts, experienced by them.
He added: “I grew up in art, and I drank from it, and as the days passed, I began to collect rare materials, and the combination has helped me a lot in knowing the errors that exist in the references, such as the book” popular song in Qatar ” by Dr. Mohammed tab Al-doweik، which is the only book that dealt with the popular country song in general and not in detail.
And he continued: I tried to collect in detail so that the reader understands the songs and chants, and I was able to document more than 50 types of songs for Fajri, and the chants (Al-Mawwal and Al-Mawili), all the mawwals are Qatari, and that was intentional.
It is noteworthy that the book ” Fajri and the Arts of Work on Board the Ship” is displayed in a group of books at the Ministry of Culture’s pavilion at the Katara Festival for Traditional Bearings, such as the book of folk games in Qatar, a book about Saeed Al-Badeed, the poet Saleh bin Sultan Al-Kuwari, the book of Muhammad Al-Faihani, the book of Qatar Maritime Encyclopedia, and others. From the books issued by the Ministry.