Hessa al-Rifa'i

Hessa al-Rifa'i (Arabic: حصة الرفاعي) (born 1947) is a folklorist and poet from Kuwait.

Since 1982, al-Rifa'i has worked as a professor in the Department of Arabic Language at Kuwait University.

[1] Al-Rifa'i is an expert in the culture and history of sea-songs and shanties, from Kuwait and the Persian Gulf region.

[8] As well as the musical heritage of sea-shanties, al-Rifa'i has studied the cultural practices that go alongside: for example women performing rituals, such as placing a bar of hot iron in the sea, to ensure the safe return of fishermen.

[6] In addition, al-Rifa'i studies comparative folk literature, including the Cinderella narrative in Kuwaiti tradition.