UAE heritage alive through eyes of tradition women

UAE women cooks No matter how high the skyscrapers in Dubai get or how big the emirate's development becomes, traditional Emirati sweet makers Umm Hassan and Umm Humaid are ensuring that the future Emirati generations remain aware of their culture and traditions.
The two ‘Logaymat' (traditional Emirati sweet) makers, stationed at the Heritage Village during the Dubai Shopping festival (DSF) said they regularly visit colleges to educate Emiratis about their past.
In spite of the difficulties they faced during those times they said they still longed for their earlier life. Emirati Fahima Hassan (Umm Hassan) was married to her cousin when she was 12 years old due to a difficult time her family faced. She gave birth to the first of her nine children (seven daughters and two sons) when she was only 13 years old.
Umm Hassan said that girls in the past got married at a very young age and did not have a say about who they married and if they wanted to get married in the first place.
"I was a child and did not know anything. When I had my first baby, I would feed him, give him to my mother-in-law, then go play outside with the children.”
She also said it was socially unacceptable for a mother to visit her daughter after she has left for her husband's house. She remembers crying as a young girl because she missed her mother.
Umm Hassan who went back to school and studied until grade five because of her husband's encouragement, started making and selling logaymat 12 years ago out of love for her heritage and culture.
Although life now is much easier than in the past, she believes that problems have increased.
"Back then we were family-oriented. A mother knew everything about her child. Nowadays, unfortunately, everyone relies on maids.”
Today Umm Hassan embraces the development of her country and considers herself a modern woman who drives her own car and has educated children.
Despite all the changes the country is undergoing Umm Hassan said that she is not scared about the preservation of its culture and tradition because of the effort and care UAE leaders have given to these.
"We are regularly invited to schools and universities where we teach students how to make these traditional sweets and they get to interview us about life in the past. I do not hesitate to go to these events because I believe they are vital in preserving the UAE's identity.”
Emirati Mariam Mohammad Abdullah (Umm Humaid) who has been selling ‘logaymat' for the past 24 years, also contributed to educating the younger generations.
"Younger Emirati girls always ask for help with heritage-related issues and I make sure to educate them as much as I can. They usually come to me whenever they have heritage-related events and need traditional items like the Emirati ‘Burqa' (a traditional face cover), which I make by hand.”
Umm Humaid, who also married at the young age of 13 and has 11 children, said that young girls had to wear the ‘burqa'. She explained that not wearing it was unheard of, especially those who were married, because it was an indicator that they were married.
When comparing the past with the future, the Emirati said she used to live in houses made of mud but today she lives in a villa gifted by Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, because she was a widow.
Logaymat tastes better now than in the past because women then would barely put any saffron and cardamom as these were very expensive, said Umm Humaid.
"Just like the UAE, the logaymat changed and developed. It became richer in flavour and content,” she explained.
Source: Gulf News