The Culture, Traditions, and Heritage of Yemen

Being a Muslim-dominated country, the culture that pores out in Yemeni society is typical of what one would find in an Islamic country, women wearing veils, men sporting mustaches and people are more or less following the advices of their Imams. However, being also a republic as opposed to a theocratic one or a kingdom like its neighbors, other religions are permitted to be practiced openly. By law, women have equal rights with men but segregation of the sexes can obviously be noticed.

If one is new to the country, one would notice easily that people are commonly chewing leaves about the length of two fingers. This leaf is called qat (or khat). Almost everyone does this and qat can be noticeably be seen as being sold just about anywhere. Qat leaves are chewed as it is, in its natural state, and then spat out like it was a chewing gum. This habit of chewing qat leaves is not exclusive to the elderly or the males but is also common among the women. There are even saloons put up so women can chew qat in a decent manner and also so they could have qat with their husbands when outside the house.

When it comes to food, sheep and goat meat are the popular choices. As being predominantly Muslim, pork is, of course, forbidden. Coffee is also widely consumed by Yemenis but not as popular as qat leaves.

Social stratification is also commonly observed even though the constitution says all men are equal. If one sees a man wearing long robes with a white or green turban, more or less they are Sayyids or Qadis. They might have weapons with them and are usually greeted with a high regard by the community members. They usually also are landowners and are the ones who mediate disputes.