There is a culture of laughter and entertainment, and this is the most traditional culture among people. We can say this type of culture is found around the world, without any society claiming any credit for creating it. As I lived in Japan for a while, I found two types of entertainment methods in the Japanese society that are similar to what we have in our Arab societies. In Arab countries, the "storyteller” is a character embodied by many over many years, and it is a profession known in countries of the Levant since the start of the 19th century, and gained major popularity, making them part of the popular heritage in these countries.Damascus was famous for its many storytellers, as there was not a café in old Damascus without a storyteller. Also, other Arab countries like Egypt, Morocco and Gulf countries had such a tradition. Kuwaiti actor Ibrahim Al-Sallal succeeded in embodying the storyteller character in Bint Al-Khabbaz (Daughter of the Baker), in the famous Kuwaiti series Al-Aqdar (The Fates). In Japan too they have the culture of storyteller, and it is said this started during the Edo era (1603-1868) and continues until now in general without change.The storyteller sits on a square cushion called a zabuton, wearing traditional Japanese attire, on a simple stage. He holds a paper fan to knock at the table to draw the audience’s attention or for sound effects suitable with the scene he talks about. The entertaining story he tells is often ramified and has many characters, but the storyteller is the one who says all dialogues between the various characters using his skills in changing the tone of his voice to take the role of the characters, and the story ends with a moral the storyteller wants to deliver to people. In Japan, there is a type of comedy, similar to what we have, which is the "manzai”.It began a long time ago, going back to the Heian era (794-1192), and evolved over time to become during the ‘30s of the last century as it is now, where two persons stand in front of the audience wearing modern fashionable attire with a microphone between them and exchange funny conversations, and during the dialogue between them, each one plays a role that is different than the other. One of them called "boke” and his role is to say stuff that is strange, abnormal, unexpected or imagined in an answer to his colleague’s questions, or commenting on what he says in order to make the audience laugh.The other is called "tsukkomi”, and his role is to bring back his colleague to the right path and correct what he says or draw his attention to the wrong things he says in a sarcastic and humorous manner. This Japanese comic style was successfully used in some Arab countries, particularly in Egypt, as one creates stories that are far from reality, and the other objects and become excited over the lies he hears.The most famous people who performed this style are actors Hamad Ahmad, known as Abu Lamaah, and Mohammad Fuad Ratib, known as Al-Khawajah Bijou. Abu Lamaah goes too far in exaggerating, so Al-Khawajah Bijou explodes with objection, so both get the audience to laugh. The culture of entertainment is similar between us Arabs and the Japanese, and we hope that serious work culture also becomes similar between us and them.local@kuwaittimes.com
Opinion - Others
Arab culture, entertainment
July 31, 2023 08:58 PM