Talamus

Shehhi music refers to the traditional and contemporary musical practices of the Shihuh (Shehhi) people from the Musandam Peninsula and the northern Emirates, especially Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. It is rooted in seafaring, mountain life, and communal celebrations, and carries a distinct Shehhi Arabic dialect identity within the wider Gulf (Khaleeji) soundworld. At its core are choral, call-and-response songs led by a song-leader, robust unison refrains, and tightly interlocking handclaps and frame‑drum patterns. Melodies often draw on Arabic maqam practice (e.g., Bayati, Hijaz, Kurd) with microtonal inflections, and are accompanied by percussion such as rahmani and kasir drums, as well as regional instruments like oud, rebab, and, in some contexts, the Gulf bagpipe (habban). Repertoire spans work songs tied to fishing and pearling, war- and display-dances (razfa/razfah, ayyalah), and festive songs performed at weddings and communal gatherings.