When I attended folklore festivals and events several years ago, I had the opportunity to watch international folklore groups comprising performers of different ages. I enjoyed watching the groups perform their national dances with flags, traditional costumes and incredible musical instruments.

This critical analysis seeks to shed light on the characteristics of imaginary and symbolic anthropology and legends through contemporary cultural studies. In particular, it focuses on the study of imaginary and symbolic anthropology by the contemporary French anthropologist Gilbert Duran. In an attempt to highlight this aspect of anthropology, we read critically the anthropological text related to myths, based on Gilbert Duran's book, ‘Les structures anthropologiques de l'imaginaire’.

This study reviews the Ministry of Heritage and Culture’s efforts to preserve intangible cultural heritage in the Sultanate of Oman through focusing on three main aspects.

Documentation of intangible cultural heritage internationally:

As part of the Sultanate's efforts to document Oman’s intangible cultural heritage, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture has had seven examples of Oman’s intangible cultural heritage added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

The story of ‘Hayy ibn Yaqdhan’, written by the Andalusian writer, physician and philosopher Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Tufail, is one of the most influential ancient literary texts in Arabic literature. Characterised by profound ideas and symbolic power, the philosophical story has a creative narrative structure and artistic values.

Folklore texts are characterised by the flexibility with which they can be re-interpreted based on the symbols they reference. Due to this flexibility, these texts transcend historic, geographic and ideological boundaries. In Egypt, early Christians fleeing Roman persecution in Palestine used the Pharaohs’ tombs in Kharga Oasis as shelters, living separately from the inhabitants who followed an ancient Egyptian religion.

Games for children and adults have always been part of Islamic civilisation; they arise naturally from a society’s different activities. These games were influenced by cultural and environmental factors, which makes them a true mirror for society; they teach and instil traditions and values including leadership, cooperation, determination, will, vigour, courage and speed.

This study includes the following points:

1) The study proves that the dancing and singing of Jubi is a Persian art form that made its way to Iraq through the southern cities, especially Basra and Amara. It gained southern rural qualities over time, and Jubi became a vital part of Iraqi folklore.

This paper is an attempt to collect ancient texts with references to the music of an instrument that emerged in Andalusia before finding its way to Morocco and then to countries in North Africa. The music made with this instrument has evolved into the music that we listen to today.

This paper is based on the results of field collection in the summer of 2009; in which the researcher recorded interviews with artisans. The researcher used the observation approach and documented the craft with photographs and transcripts of the recordings, which are in the archives of the Department of Folklore at the University of Khartoum’s Institute of African and Asian Studies.

The Tunisian carpet, which is made of woven fabric or thick wool, is one of the most important applied arts in Tunisia. The carpets are handmade with yarn, with ornamentation and colours that reflect the tangible and intangible elements of people’s lives.