Arts & Life

A day in the Omani life

Students were drawn by the unmistakable sound of middle eastern drumbeats coming from the University Dining Plaza yesterday.

As students followed the sounds and stepped down the stairs, they saw Omani students dressed in traditional garb, who were dressing others as well as dancing, feeding and teaching Cal State Long Beach students about their traditional culture.

The Omani Student Organization (OSO), recently became a club last semester. OSO President and sophomore electrical engineering major, Younis Alkharusi said they transformed this piece of campus into the Middle Eastern region for their first event.

He said that through this event, the organization hopes to reach out to the wider CSULB community.

According to OSO, Eid Al-Adha is an important three-day religious holiday that falls on the last three days of the last month on the lunar Islamic calendar. Alkharusi said that this event is comparable to Christmas for Christians.

Eid Al-Adha is celebrated by all Muslims in honor of the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. In this story, God intervened to provide Abraham with sheep to sacrifice instead.

Alkharusi said there are approximately 128 Omani students on campus, and that most students know each other.

“We are raised like this. We are used to [talking to each other] and asking each other about problems,” Alkharusi said.

Alkharusi said the students come from multiple regions in Oman, a country on the southeastern border of Saudi Arabia.

“People here are from different regions that’s why you see different activities and different things going on,” AlKharusi, who is from the Al-Bitanah region, said.

In brief passing during lunch time, students were drawn to the fringes of the dining plaza to watch a traditional Omani dance called “Barah,” which was from the Al-Sharqiya region of the country. Alkharusi said this as he motioned towards a large map of Oman, while other traditional dances come from other regions.

Barah was danced with two Omani men dressed in a white”thobe”, each carrying a dagger, or “khanjar”, the Oman national symbol.

Goodie bags, or Eidia were given to guests, and according to Alkharusi, money is usually given to evoke happiness on the day of the Eid festival.

Students could not stay on the fringes, however, as club members approached them and persuaded them to get a henna tattoo, model Omani clothing, or experience other aspects of the culture.

The clothing, some sequined with intricate stitching, was piled on a table and students were encouraged to dress up so that they could take photos in the traditional Omani attire. Clothing ranged from the formal white “thobe” to the “massah”, a formal headwear.

“When we wear pants with shirts it’s too much for us,” Najwa Alburaike, sophomore healthcare administration major said. “We dress like this every day.”

Students were invited to sit in an area shaded by a canopy that was made to represent the traditional Omani home. Low couches, mats and pillows surrounded the center of the mat, where OSO members sat traditionally with one knee to their chest and the other down, teaching students about household mannerisms for entertaining guests.

Students, such as freshman mechanical engineering major Issa Alhabsi, explained that the smoldering frankincense was intended to make the home a welcoming atmosphere for any guest.

“When you come into the house we ask you two questions, first, what is you latest news, and second, what is your condition,” Alhabsi said as he accommodated multiple guests.

From a silver and gold kettle, members, who served as the hosts would continue to pour coffee in a lifted cup as long as the guest wished. The guest was then instructed to shake the cup back and forth to let the host know they were finished.

Alhabsi said that dates are always offered with coffee, two of the most important offerings for a guest in the home. Student Ismael Algheilani, a freshman chemical engineering major said that the sweet dates compliment the bitter coffee and are the perfectly hospitable first gift.

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