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Approximately nine Bedouin tribes exist in the southern Sinai. The music and poetry practiced among the Bedouins are connected to some functional expressions, such as songs for watering animals, songs sung by caravan drivers to ward off evil desert spirits, and songs sung by fishermen. The songs among the Bedouin fishermen originated in the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen and are usually accompanied by the simsimiyya, a five-string lyre. Commonly called Yamania songs, these songs are said to have extraordinary power and are connected to the practice of exorcism.
"Yamania Song" from Bedouin Music of the Southern Sinai (Cat.# Folkways FE 4204) (p)1978 Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings. All rights reserved.