Bahrain's Ramadan drummer adds coronavirus message to pre-dawn call

Awakening the faithful for their pre-dawn meal, Yasser Al Samak also calls on people to stay safely at home

Yasser Al Samak, left, walks through the streets of Bilad Al Qadeem, a suburb of the Bahraini capital Manama, to awaken people for the Ramadan pre-dawn meal. AFP

The tradition of musaharati – Ramadan drummers who awaken the faithful for their pre-dawn meal –may be dying out across the Muslim world, but Yasser Al Samak has become a social media hit by adapting age-old songs for the time of coronavirus.

The silence of the darkened streets of Bilad Al Qadeem, a village outside Bahrain's capital Manama, has been broken during the holy month by the voice of the 50-year-old accompanied by the pounding of a drum.

In a distinctive Bahraini accent, Mr Al Samak sings of life in the pandemic, extols the benefits of social distancing, and gives thanks to medics and first responders for their sacrifices on the front line.

"Oh quickly the time of suhoor arrives, but this time it is different from all the years before.

"Stay home with your family, and blend your suhoor meal with hope, because those who rely on God, he will protect them," he sings.

"Make yourself strong with prayer and wear the mask as a shield against the pandemic," go the lyrics, which mix religious blessings with standard health advice.

Mr Al Samak also humorously plays on the word "corona" urging people to still eat "macarona" – macaroni – rhyming in Arabic to say that life must go on and that the faithful should not lose their resolve in the face of the crisis.

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Ramadan around the world

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In a centuries-old tradition, the musaharati was once a key element of the day-long fasting during the month of Ramadan, but the practice has become rarer across the Muslim world now that people have alarms and smartphones to rouse them from their sleep.

In the village where Mr Al Samak roams from street to street, with a lockdown in force, only a few residents are out and about buying basic necessities. Traffic is light and the stray cats mostly have the pavements to themselves.

Video clips of Mr Al Samak reciting his timely messages have circulated widely on WhatsApp and Instagram.

The veteran musaharati said he hopes to raise awareness while also spreading hope and maintaining a sense of continuity during the crisis.

"We had poems specifically written this year about coronavirus and they have been popular. I sing them alongside traditional ones," he said as he walked the streets of Bilad Al Qadeem.

"I have been doing this for 30 years, but it's not like before when we had a lot of children taking part," he said of the youngsters that used to come out and trail behind him.

"Now because of the coronavirus situation we are limited to a maximum of five people."

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Coronavirus in the Middle East