Yemen Society and Culture

Yemen is one of the oldest countries, which have a distinct cultural tradition of its own. Yemen society and culture reflect the lifestyle of Yemen people and their traditional aspects. The culture and tradition of the country has been mainly guided by Arabian principles and laws. Yemen society and culture is slightly different and more liberal than the conventional Arabian countries.

The language and culture of Yemen is predominantly guided by the Arabian laws and customs. There are many tribal and religious distinctions in the Yemeni society, which is based on location. For instance, the people of Tihamah coastal areas are of mixed African and Arabian descent, while some others are of Arabian origin. The Zaidi tribal group comprises of Shi’ite Muslims mainly, who live in the northern mountainous region and have different culture and political view. On the other hand, the southern lowland regions are mostly inhabited by the Shafi community of Sunni Muslims, who again have a different culture than that of Shi’ite Muslims.

Yemeni culture is very rich and has an ethnic appeal. Waddah al-Yaman is the national poet of Yemen who is one of the most refined Immayyad poets and has a distinctive style of his own, which is very amusing. Yemeni music has a rich cultural past and is extremely varied. Yemeni cinema also has an everlasting impact on the Arabian cultural scenario.

Yemeni society and culture has played a major role in the shaping up of Arabian music and art and it still continues to dominate the Arabian cultural scenario.