Al-Alwaniya Music: Ahwazi Art Resisting Iranian Persianization

Al-Alwaniya is a renowned style of Ahwazi music, playing a significant role in preserving the Arab culture and heritage of the Ahwazi people amidst Iranian attempts to erase their identity through discriminatory policies. It is a musical mode based on the Hijaz maqam, founded by the Ahwazi singer Alwan Al-Shue’a in Ahwaz.

Al-Alwaniya music is believed to be around 100 years old. It is especially known for performing “Al-Abudiya” poetry in the local dialect, a form of verse unique to Ahwaz and southern Iraq. In Al-Alwaniya, the musician often integrates the poet’s name within the lyrics, a tradition started by Alwan to honor local poets. This custom has been maintained by those who have followed his musical style.

During the rule of Emir Sheikh Khazal bin Jaber Al-Kaabi, Al-Alwaniya music flourished in Ahwaz, as he invited musical groups from Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, along with Ahwazi artists, to perform in his palaces. This musical tradition helped foster a sense of Arab identity and preserve Ahwazi culture. Despite Iranian efforts to suppress this heritage through various discriminatory measures, Al-Alwaniya music has been essential in maintaining both the Arabic language and cultural identity for generations of Ahwazis.

Al-Alwaniya is an art form attributed to Alwan Al-Shue’a, an Ahwazi singer and composer born in a village near Susa in northern Ahwaz. He passed away on August 18, 1980. Alwan was deeply drawn to melancholic musical styles and modernized the “Al-Buniya” mode, using a simple homemade instrument, the *rabab*, crafted from a can and a strand of horsehair. He would play this somber instrument while singing the poetry of Ahwazi poets.

The Al-Alwaniya style, initially called “Al-Buniya,” was sung widely but was not formally recorded in its early days. Alwan later adapted it to the Hijaz maqam, creating Al-Alwaniya as his own unique contribution, a style now named after him. Alwan left an enduring legacy in the history of Ahwazi music.

The primary instrument of Al-Alwaniya is the *rabab*, which has a single string. When performing Al-Alwaniya, the musician sings Al-Abudiya poetry in the Hijaz style and includes the poet’s name, preserving the legacy of Ahwazi poets in popular memory. Al-Alwaniya has thus provided a long list of Ahwazi poets, whose work might otherwise have been lost due to a lack of formal publication.

In addition to notable figures like Alwan Al-Shue’a and Hassoun Mashouri, other prominent artists such as Hassan Kazzar, Wada’a Al-Brehi, Ali Al-Rashdawi, and Thamer Al-Zarqani have carried forward this traditional Ahwazi musical genre, with many Ahwazi performers singing Al-Alwaniya today.