Kuwaiti heritage alive and well

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KUWAIT: Kuwaiti history is long, but local tributes to it in the form of museums are few to nil. For the most part, Kuwaitis are unmoved by the idea of tradition represented in the form of a museum or a traditional heritage site.

Kuwait Times asked Kuwaitis if they take their children to heritage sites like the National Museum's old village display, the Maritime Museum, the Red Fort, or Falaika Island's traditional village. Many responded similarly to Ayman Faisal, who said, "We would go, but there is not much to see. It is boring for them, they want to go to Future Kids and play at the beach.

Hessa Raed said, "The schools take them and they don't want to go again... It is better to take them out for fun and let the schools teach them about the past. But more importantly, we want them to develop for the future and learn computers, engineering and such, not concentrate on a past that is long gone.

Laila Ghanim echoed Hessa's thoughts saying, "The future is what we are about, there is no sense focusing on the past. We want to teach them about what the new Kuwait could be if they are educated and look beyond the past.

Many Kuwaitis speaking to Kuwait Times believe their past is intermingled with their present in such a way that does not require a site set aside for remembrance. "We follow our traditions on a daily basis. Most of us wear traditional clothes, eat the same food as our forefathers and tell the same stories," said fifty year old Yusef Abdullah who continued saying, "If we want to know about our grandfathers, we ask them. My eighty-five year old father lives downstairs, so why do I need to ask a stranger when my history book lives in my home.

Saud Jasser said, "I was taught by my grandfather how to hunt birds in the old way. He took me to the desert as a small boy to learn how our forefathers lived and hunted. It was not a history lesson, it was a hunting trip to the desert and this is what I have done with my grandsons." He furthered saying, "We teach our history by example and by telling stories of our grandfathers, not by going to museums and exhibits.

Abu Talal reiterated Saud's thoughts saying, "Why do I need a display to show my grandson how falcons were hunted? I will teach him, why do I want a museum to show him how to cook in the old ways of the desert? I take him camping and show him what we Kuwaitis have always done. Shame on me if I do not teach our legacy to my grandchildren.

There was some support among Kuwaitis for a historical museum wherein children could actively participate in the ways of old. "An important part of heritage museums for children is activities. We lack that here in Kuwait. If we could arrange a traditional village similar to the small one on Falaika Island that would allow children to actually weave the old fishing nets or make a paper example of one...and stir the old cooking pots in a traditional village, this would keep a child's interest while teaching, said teacher Bashar Khaled.

Hands on children's activities is what we need to teach our history and while we keep fairly attached to our traditions which are inter-twinned with religion, we should still build such a museum to make certain nothing is forgotten-like what the Sadu House has done in keeping Bedouin weaving alive," said Muhamed Essa who went on to say, "The cell phone generation must be pushed to remember the past before they forget to teach their children.

When Kuwait Times asked high school student Nasser Bader what he thought about keeping Kuwaiti traditions of old alive via museums, he responded by saying, "I live in the same home as my father, grandmother and great grandmother. They tell me about the past constantly, my only escape from the stories of when they slept on roofs is to turn on my X-Box.

By Ahmad Al-Khaled

© Kuwait Times 2007