Tsawwar… Sara Saad

Firing up the drums

“It all starts with firing up the drums. Samri is more than a dance: it’s the heartbeat of Najd – a centuries-old tradition where poetry and percussion blend into a shared rhythm. The men don’t just move to the beat, they become part of it, their steps echoing a history passed down through generations. I captured this moment on a recent trip to North Najd, where tradition remains deeply rooted, even as Saudi Arabia evolves. Watching the men dance and hearing the beat, I felt the pull of the rhythm—an unspoken invitation to join, an urge to put my camera down and step into the dance.”

Tsawwar is an ongoing visual series in Daftar that explores the stories behind a photograph, taken in the region or by an Arab photographer, written in their own words. Sara Saad (b.1998, Saudi Arabia) is a contemporary visual storyteller with an academic foundation in film production and direction. Saad’s main medium is photography and she specializes in portraiture. Her work is driven by an aspiration to tell the stories of Saudi narratives, focusing on the themes of vulnerability and human identity. Explore her work on @saraasaadx