The Marsh Arabs Project
In Partnership with the Arab American Educational Foundation and Rice University
With additional support from the Arab American National Museum, the Arab American Cultural Center in Houston, The City of Houston through the Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of International Tourism, The University of Houston, Baker Botts, Quan Law Group, Pennebaker LLC
Made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas
UPCOMING EVENTS
TALK
The Marsh Arab Story: Ancient Cultures, Modern Lives
Dr. Zaid Al Rawi, Project Manager, Lagash Archaeological Project, University of Pennsylvania
Two great rivers - the Tigres and the Euphrates - created the largest wetland ecosystem in Western Eurasia. In this vast fertile region, civilization was born 5,000 years ago, the first literate societies emerged, cities developed, and trade and complex state bureaucracies evolved. The Marsh Arabs, the Maʻdān, are descendants of the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians and are groups of tribal people who make their home in this lush environment. This group of people developed a unique culture in antiquity centered on the natural resources of the marshes. All of this changed in the 1990s due to warfare and environmental destruction. Today, this group is endangered. Cultural and environmental destruction threatens all of us, not only the Marsh Arabs. By working to preserve their culture, we are working to preserve a part of collective humanity and to discover lessons for solving future issues involving cultural and ecological destruction.
This is their story.
Thu May 4, 2023, 7pm The Brown Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
FREE ADMISSION with reserved tickets
FILM SCREENING
Miracle on the Marshes
Azzam Alwash, Founder of Nature Iraq
It's the largest and most ambitious habitat re-creation project ever known: to bring back to life one of the world's greatest marshlands. In the 1990s, Saddam Hussein drained the gigantic wetlands of Iraq and turned them into a desert, destroying a home to thousands of people and millions of birds. The BBC follows the work of Azzam Alwash, the visionary Iraqi engineer and CEO of Nature Iraq who will be present to introduce the film and give an update on current efforts of marsh preservation.
Fri May 5, 2023, 7pm Lynn Wyatt Theater, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
FREE ADMISION with reserved tickets.
MUDHIF OPENING
A mudhif is a large reed structure that is owned by the sheikh of a Marsh Arab village. It serves as a cultural center, court, site for religious ceremonies, and place for welcoming visitors. Archaeology Now and the Arab American Educational Foundation are harvesting a reed called phragmitis australis in the Gulf Coast area of Texas AND the Marshes of Iraq to create a mudhif that will serve as a cultural center during the month of May 2023. Music and dance performances, poetry readings, story telling, cultural events, and activities for children will take place.
Join us in the mudhif!
Sat May 13, 2023, 10am
Rice University, at the corner of University Blvd and Stockton
We are getting ready to begin construction of the mudhif in Houston at Rice University! Here are updates on our progress.
The same type of reed used to build a mudhif in Iraq - Phragmites australis - is also found in the Gulf Coast of the United States. Here in the US, phragmites is considered invasive and a pest. But, perhaps this material can become useful as a way of constructing structures that are environmentally friendly.
Reed gathering along the bayous of Houston
A master builder in Iraq helped harvest Phragmites australis from the marshes of Iraq and crafted all of the components that are needed to build an authentic mudhif in Houston. These components are being shipped to Houston — a “mudhif in a box” — to be assembled at Rice University for public programming and student use.
Reed gathering in the marshes of Iraq
Reed gathered in Iraq is loaded on a 40-foot trailer to then be placed on a ship “San Antonio” bound for the Port of Houston
