Culture of Saudi Arabia (Essay Sample)

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1 Introduction
Culture is described as the total sum of all learned behavior of a group of people. The people consider those behaviors as their tradition and are transmitted from one generation to another. Saudi Arabia has an enriched culture contributed to the heritage of the Islamic religion, its past function as the center of old trade and the tradition of the Bedouin. This country has maintained a constant development for the last few decenniums. Its culture varies from handicrafts to costumes to ethnic dishes (Long 76). The people of Saudi Arabia have incorporated the traditions, values, hospitality, customs, and even their way of clothing, and they have preserved them up to now. Its location at the center of the old trade route helped the people of Arabia to be enriched by various civilizations. This essay will discuss the Arabian culture in details.
2 Dress
Saudi Arabians favors traditional clothes over western dressing styles. The location of the kingdom in a hot and windswept climate and this makes loose flowing traditional garments practical in this region. These garments also help to keep the Islamic ideal of modesty (Intercultures). The standard clothes for men include a shirt that touches the ankle made of cotton or wool. In the head, they put on a big square fabric (ghutra) that is usually diagonally folded over a head cap (Kufiyyah). A cord-like circlet (igaal) holds it in place (Vassiliev 147). The outfit is completed by the cloak worn on the outside (bisht) that is mostly made of camel hair or wool. In the past, the Arabian men also utilized it as a traveling blanket.
Women mostly put on a black outer cape (abaya) on top of their dress that can also be a current fashion. The women of Saudi have a tradition of putting on a Shayla, which is a black transparent scarf that they wrap around their head and secure it with jewelry, circlets or hats on their heads. They use sequins, coins or brightly colored fabric materials to decorate their dress (Long 98). Most women also put on veils that are made of thin materials. The practice of wearing veil is an old doctrine that backs nearly three millennia ago before the coming the of Islam religion. In the hostile desert environment, a thin veil proves to be conducive to protecting the women from constant exposure to the sun. The sun can damage their skin and eyes. Currently, the veil represents a sign of modesty and virtue (Long and Sebastian 129). Jewelry forms a significant part of the Saudis’ clothing for several years. Apart from decoration jewelry represents economic and social status.
3 Language
The Saudi Arabians use Arabic as the official language although English is also widely spoken. They use it in businesses, and it’s a compulsory second language in school teaching curriculum (Al-Saggaf and Kirsty 17). Many non-Saudi populations speak Urdu, which is the official language in Pakistan. They also use other Asian languages such as Turkish and Farsi. Around 200 million people speak the Arabian language in more than 22 countries. It’s believed to be the authorized language of the sacred book of Islam the Quran, and Arab literature and poetry (Al-Rasheed 145). The spoken Arabic differs from states to states, but there is no change in the initial Arabic for many centuries. There exist differences in the spoken dialects in town and that spoken in the countryside. The Saudis utilization of their language represents the value they place on their culture.
4 Religion
People of Saudi Arabia for many centuries have maintained a strong identification with the beliefs of the Islam. Saudi Arabia is a contemporary country that follows Islam and it respects its Arab tradition and heritage (Countries and Their Cultures). It also strives vigorously in the service of Islam as it fights for the wellbeing of its occupants. Islam, represent one of the globe’s greatest atheistic religion that has its heartland in Saudi Arabia. Islam followers known as Muslims believe in God called Allah and they also believe that Mohammed is His prophet. Currently, the people who embrace Islam as their religion worldwide which represents many cultures and races are over one billion in number. In history, this country has occupied a significant place in the world of Islam (Long 123). The main reason is that it houses Makah, and the shrine of Islam believed to be the most sacred (kaabah). It's situated in the holy mosque that Muslims worldwide turns devoutly in prayer five times a day.
5 Relationships
Cultural homogeneity represents a high degree characterization of the Saudi Arabian population. This cultural homogeneity is found in the interaction of attitudes and values illustrated in the setup of the family and the society tribe of the Arabian. In specific, these beliefs and values were demonstrated by the good relation with the family members and the other community members. The most significant institution in Saudi Arabia was the family (Long and Sebastian 144). Family formed the basis for identification of a person, and it was also the next focus of the personal loyalty. There was the formation of alignments among families that shared common lifestyle and interests. Socialization of the individuals was supposed to take place within the circle of the alliances that were formed by the family.
In Saudi Arabia, the structure of the family was in line with that of the lineage of the tribe. The Saudis’ families were supposed to be patrilineal which meant that the limits of the membership of the family were drawn to the descent line from males (Al-Saggaf and Kirsty 21). The relationship with the maternal relatives was significant, but the family identification remained linked to the man. The children belonged to the man and not to the woman. At its lowest level, the family can, for this reason, be described as consisting the father, his children and the children of his children via patrilineal descents.
6 Marriage.
Marriage is a respected institution in Saudi Arabia. The patrilineal family structure is in line with and regulated by the laws of the Islam. They viewed marriage as a civil contract but not as a sacrament. It had to be signed by witnesses, and the husband paid a specified amount of money to the wife to act as the bride price (Long 132). It also sometimes included an additional amount that was supposed to be paid at the time of divorce if at all it happened. The agreement could also add other conditions such as reassuring the woman the divorce right should the man think of marrying another woman (Al-Rasheed 289). The issue of divorce could only be initiated by the man as he is the owner of the children. It was legally right for a wife or a mother to detach from her children if the husband wished that.
Married women could be accepted into the man’s household but not into the family of the man. A married woman could not take the name of her man but kept her father’s name as legally the woman belonged to their birth family throughout their lives. Women were allowed to retain their maidens name and take control over their personal property by the Islamic law. It also served as the indicator of woman’s independence from the husband’s control (Long and Sebastian 213). It was legally right for the woman’s closest relatives such as her father or her brother to support her if she was widowed or divorced. Divorce was the order of the day. Men could marry up to four wives. Because of the husbands divorce rights, polygyny, child custody, women in Saudi Arabia appeared to be disadvantaged in the marriage.
7 Food
The Saudi Arabians local cuisine relies heavily on the style of food that is very popular in many of the Middle East countries. It originated from the traditional diet of the Bedouin nomads that was prepared using the readily available ingredients such as vegetables, beans, wheat, rice, yogurt, dates, chicken and lamb (Vassiliev 178). It reflects the preferences of food by the Muslims. Modern Arabic food also gets a lot of influences from Lebanon and Iran as well as from the trading partners such as India. International food such as French, American, Chinese and Italian are also available at restaurants in the bigger towns and cities (Marger 467). Just as it is with other Muslim countries, pork and pork products are never served as it’s considered an unclean meat. The accepted meats should come from animals that Saudi Board in accordance with the Muslim law. Going back from the Bedouin times, Saudi people traditionally eat lightly in the morning and at midday with a larger meal in the evening. This pattern has changed slightly with the modern world. For many people, the meal following the Friday prayers is the week’s family gathering.
8 Government
The Saudi’s government is a monarchy. The King tops the government, and he is also the commander in chief of the military. Due to the many duties that the King performs, he appoints a crown prince to help him (Al-Saggaf and Kirsty 19). The crown prince occupies the second line on the throne. The king is assisted by the council of ministers also referred to as the cabinet to rule. There exist twenty-two ministries of government that form section of the Muslim. Each ministry performs a unique function in the government
A body of legislation known as the Consultative Council helps in advising the king. It forms new laws and help in amending the current ones. Its membership is around 150 whose the king appoints for a term of four years that can be renewed. The kingdom has 13 provinces, with a governor and his deputy in each one (Marger 474). All the provinces have their councils that give advice to the governor and address the development issues in the pr...