Many members of the Marginalized group practice the profession of playing drums, tambourines, and leather table at wedding occasions in Lahj and many regions of Yemen. Therefore, they travel long distances, as is the case in Mudharaba Lahj, in order to hold parties in exchange for sums of money they receive from the families of those celebrating the occasion. Marginalized people inherit this hand drums profession, which brings joy to people, from father to grandfather.
As soon as Fayez Al-Manqah, 50 years old, hears that a wedding party is being organized, he travels to the place of the celebration, carrying his drums with him, and continues to beat it throughout the hours of the wedding, until its sounds reach the people of the neighboring villages, so they know that there is a wedding and rush to the place to celebrate and congratulate the wedding family.
Today, beating the drum has become a signal and notification of the presence of a wedding in these areas, unlike what was used in the past, where the drum was beaten during the pre-dawn meal of Ramadan to inform people that the time for the pre-dawn meal had begun. However, this popular custom has almost disappeared from the areas north of Lahj due to changing lifestyles, so that the tradition of beating drums remains associated with weddings and Eid holidays celebrations.
Throughout the wedding day, and all over the hours of the day and night, dozens of bridal celebrants gather around the drummer Fayez Al-Manqah, asking him to beat the drum with several rhythms to which they dance their popular dances, in exchange for a little money that is placed on a piece of cloth that has been spread out in front of the drummer. Regarding the remuneration that Fayez receives for celebrating these events, Fayez says that it is small and uncommon in light of the current high prices and the seasonality or scarcity of these events.
The drummer Fayez stated to Khuyut that he is fluent in different drum-beating rhythms that suit different types of popular dances, and each dance has its own fees, as it depends on the timing or the difficulty of its rhythms. Among these dances are: Al-Sharh, Al-Zardi, Al-Raqsa, Al-Badawiyah, Al-Baraa, Al-Shami and Al-Lahji, which are the common types of dances that Al- Al-Manqah is good at with his peers from the marginalized group who have been practicing it for thirty years.
Regarding the leather drum that he plays during wedding occasions, Fayez Al-Manqah said that he did not buy it, but rather inherited it from his late father, who died more than 25 years ago, so that he could continue after him in this profession, which is almost the only common profession among the members of the marginalized group through which they gain little money as an income.
According to Fayez Al- Manqah, the prices of handmade leather drums are usually high at the moment, and they are usually sold in some areas of Taiz close to the Al Mudharaba area. Additionally, his companion in this profession believes that the drum which is made of natural leather is the best in terms of durability and quality. However, the disappointing thing in this profession, according to Fayez Al-Munaqih, is that weddings in these areas are mostly seasonal and concentrated on holidays, and wedding parties disappear after the end of the Eid period, in which family visits usually abound, and are used to commemorate wedding occasions.
Regarding the role of marginalized women in celebrating weddings, Fayez says that they also practice playing the tambourine at women’s weddings, and they collect some donation money in a blanket. After the wedding, they distribute the money they earned equally among them. They get most of this earned money from the hostess of the wedding, and some as wedding guests' donations, and it is popularly called the prize here. What must be noted here is that wedding owners exploit the needs of these marginalized drummers and pay them small amounts of money in exchange for beating drums and tambourines at the wedding.
The tambourine and drum remain one of the many means that marginalized people adhere to as a profession passed down by women and men, generation after generation, in a society that views this profession as inferior, despite the joy it brings to the souls at weddings and festive occasions, and for its sake, they endure many troubles of discrimination and belittlement.
