In Jordanian culture, joy finds its expression through various mediums: singing, music, dance, and the traditional art of Zaghareed.
Yes, Zaghareed, the focus of this article.
“Zaghareed” is a traditional method of expressing Jordanian joy. It originated in Jordan and was developed as a means to honor travelers, celebrate weddings and has been a part of music festivals.
“Zaghareed” is not considered exclusive to Jordanian society, as most Arab countries use “zaghareed” to express joy.
Not all women are good at doing this. “Zaghareed” is like any other artistic talent, it needs training and mastery, as if you were using your mouth and tongue instead of an instrument. You may be wondering how the “zaghareed” sound is made, here’s how.
What is Zaghareed?
When we can not describe our feelings and words, we fall short of expressing our appreciation for the joyful moments or we need to commemorate any happy occasion. It’s when our tears start to well up. That’s when you can hear “Zaghareed”. It’s a sound from the mouth that requires a specific technique: moving the tongue inside the mouth with quick movements, all while hitting the edges of the mouth right and left, up and down, while the mouth is half-closed. If you can attend any party, especially weddings, zagroda will echo everywhere through the halls.
These rapid movements emit sounds bearing tone in the form of “Lu-Lu-Lu-Lu-Lu”. The long “zagroda” is more beautiful than the short one, and the lady who made it is more skilled in “zaghareed”.
The lady ends the previous movements of the mouth and tongue with a word “eeeeeeeeeesh”, to become the final voice of zagroda, “Lululeeeeeesh”
However, we’re talking about Jordanian culture, but zagroda is also well-known in Egypt.
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