By Malak Hasan
RAMALLAH, October 9, 2012 (WAFA) - If you happen to pass through the village of Taybeh on October 6 or 7, make a small detour and follow the marching crowds, the sound of music and the smell of the finest food, or else you will miss an opportunity to witness one of the most distinctive Palestinian festivals around.
You will be greeted by a talking white parrot, and giggles of young kids chasing after the poor man in a tiger's custom and hear people welcoming each other in so many languages you will lose count.
If you keep walking you will reach the main stage on which a group of energetic youth in the traditional Palestinian custom is swaying to one of the most famous Palestinian songs in the opening ceremony of the annual Taybeh Oktoberfest.
Taybeh, a Christian Palestinian village located north of Jerusalem, annually holds the two-day Oktoberfest to celebrate the Palestinian heritage and Taybeh’s well-known beer, which attracts both Palestinians and foreigners who enjoy the unique taste of the one and only beer made in Palestine.
Maria Khoury, wife of Taybeh’s mayor and owner of Taybeh Brewing Company David Khoury, said the first Oktoberfest was held in 2005 as an attempt to boost the economy by using Taybeh’s good name so people would come to the village and buy its other products such as honey, soap and other locally produced goods.
She pointed out that not only the festival helped boost the village’s economy but also opened doors for cultural exchange with many other countries.
Booths displaying all kinds of honey, olive oil, woodcraft, books and Palestinian traditional costumes were stationed in every corner at the festival offering the visitors a sneak peak to the village’s great industrial potentials.
Linda, a resident of Taybeh, said that the importance of this festival is not only entertaining, but economic and political. “The festival aims to promote local Palestinian products and emphasize the Palestinian identity,” she said.
What is so special about the festival is that one minute you are singing along with the lively Palestinian traditional songs and the next you are dancing to a mix of Italian, Brazilian and German music performed by several foreign bands that came especially to Palestine to be part of this festival.
Standing next to a group of German tourists who came specifically to attend the festival and enjoy the delicious beer, Thomas and Konard joyfully expressed, “What a great beer! It tastes even better than Goldstein’s!”
Taybeh Brewing Company is a unique and successful investment, but in order to maintain the progress the Khoury’s struggle on daily basis to keep producing and exporting their products to the world.
Ruefully, Khoury says that their company faces many obstacles starting from getting export permits from the Israeli authorities, which controls movement in the occupied West Bank, long Israeli military checkpoint stops to having to go to the port numerous times before the product is finally on boat ready to be shipped to its destination.
She explains that it is hard to encourage investment and boost the village’s economy while three illegal settlements are surrounding it, restricting its growth and preventing people of Taybeh from having a normal life.
Khoury described Taybeh festival as a form of “beautiful resistance” by “presenting Palestinian heritage and who they are to show the world they deserve freedom as any other nation on this planet.”
M.H./M.S.
