Documenting Saudi Intangible Cultural Heritage : Women’s Dance

Alghamdi, Areej and Bennett, Bruce and Ghorbankarimi, Maryam (2025) Documenting Saudi Intangible Cultural Heritage : Women’s Dance. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is rich in intangible heritage that reflects its cultural diversity and deep-rooted traditions. However, cultural and religious beliefs, along with governmental restrictions, have prevented Saudi intangible cultural heritage from being robustly documented and archived, especially women’s practices. As a result, Saudi women’s traditional dance has received little academic attention and has rarely been studied, visually documented, or filmed. This thesis examines the intangible cultural heritage of women’s traditional dance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, specifically focusing on two dances: the Al-la’ib (اللْعِب) dance of Al Bahah and the Al-Jahli (الجَحْلِي) dance of Jizan. The thesis comprises two related components: a written thesis and a documentary film. By adopting a practice-based research methodology, this study combines documentary filmmaking, participant interviews, and critical reflection to record and analyse these dance traditions while navigating sociocultural and Islamic sensitivities around gender and visibility. The documentary film: The Path of Memory, Between the Lands of Jasmine and Basil (خُطى الذاكرة: بين بلاد الفُل والريحان). It was produced over the course of four years during multiple visits to the cities of Al Bahah and Jizan. It aims to document the traditional women’s dances of the respective regions. The written thesis works within broader debates on intangible cultural heritage (ICH), in the specific context of Saudi Arabia. Engaging with both UNESCO’s global safeguarding framework and national initiatives such as Saudi Vision 2030. It addresses the limited representation of women’s cultural practices in Saudi cinema and emphasises the urgency of visual documentation in a context where oral traditions are increasingly at risk. The findings reveal the historical depth and performative richness of Saudi women’s dances yet show that cultural significance alone does not guarantee preservation. Due to their ephemeral nature, the study argues that film offers a vital means of safeguarding these underrepresented traditions. By contributing original material not previously documented, the research positions documentary filmmaking as a powerful method for sustaining cultural memory and amplifying marginalised voices.