Nadbah

The nadbah war cry of mountain tribes is called for three reasons: to announce a family’s arrival, to frighten the opponent and to give thanks for food. A nadeeb, or caller, leads the war cry, shrieking his tribe’s name to a huddle of male relatives who answer with grunts and guttural chants. Once a fearsome warning to warring tribes, the nadbah is now called at weddings and National Day celebrations as a sign of unity and welcome.

NAMLET

Namlet, the UAE’s first soft drink, was introduced through trade with India in the 1920s. It originally came in three flavours: lemon, orange and rose. The drink, which is named after a corrupted form of the word lemonade, came in green Codd-neck bottles, which had a marble stopper that often caused the drink to foam when opened. Bets were placed on whether the drink would foam or not – with the winner taking the prized first swig. Few could easily afford the drink. It is thought to have disappeared after the mid-20th century. Fortunately, Namlet is being reintroduced to the country by Al Koufa and Dahleez Services, which has added a few more flavours including Vimto, cola, grape, grenadine, and jallab – a syrup made of grape molasses, dates and rose water. NAMOOS

A word of congratulations reserved for camel pageants and races, and races including those for dhows and falcons. Namoos is the pride of victory and it is what drives men to spend thousands of dirhams and hours on their camels or falcons. “It’s an honour,” said Shafi bin Nasser, the son of a Saudi entrepreneur and camel tycoon. “It’s an honour to win a contest like this and have camels.” For competitors, the cry of namoos is priceless. “The namoos means more to me than Dh100,000 million,” said Sheikh Ali Al Athba, a Qatari owner at this year’s Al Dhafra camel beauty pageant. “What is worth more, Dh100,000 million or my family’s happiness?” NABATI

As integral a part of modern Arabian life as it was for the traditional Bedouin, nabati poetry is more than a matter of literature, it is also a proud matter of ethnicity and identity. Thanks to Million’s Poet, the bi-annual competition broadcast live across the Arab world from Abu Dhabi’s Al Raha Beach Theatre, nabati is undergoing something of a renaissance. When it was first broadcast, Million’s Poet scored higher ratings than football, and was hailed as one of the most successful Arab TV shows ever. In the West, the show was hailed as the Arab world’s answer to The X Factor. Part of nabati’s continued appeal is that it provides a forum for the discussion of social and political concerns, and more traditional themes. As the renowned nabati expert Marcel Kurpershoek has said, the poetry acts like “an artist’s blog for critique and satire, as well as for the affirmation of society’s values”. Unlike classical Arabic poetry, which is written according to the rules of literary Arabic, the “people’s poetry” has its own idiom and rules, and is performed in the dialects spoken by the nomadic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. The origins of nabati are obscure, but some believe its name may stem from the ancient Nabataeans who lived in Petra and other parts of pre-Islamic, north-western Arabia. Whatever its origins, nabati was already centuries old when the renowned medieval historian, Ibn Khaldun, quoted it in his 1377 work Al Muqaddima (The Introduction).