Zaki Nassif

Born in Mashghara, in the southwest Bekaa region of Lebanon on July 4th 1916, Zaki Nassif was the son of Chaker Nassif, an industrial merchant, and Rashideh Ibrahim, a musically-sensitive mother who nurtured Zaki’s musicality in early life with her singing at home. Egyptian Sheikh Salama Hijazi’s singing of classical Arabic and both, Sheikh Mohamed Rifaat’s and Sheikh Mustafa Ismail’s reciting verses from the Holy Qur’an influenced his musical sensibilities that were further developed by his attendance of Syriac and Byzantine (Greek Orthodox) church services. His exposure to traditional dabkeh developed also his conviction that these Lebanese folkdances could be a true expression of collective celebration, of joy, and of solidarity, or “dalouna” . In 1920, during the early days of the French mandate in Syria and Lebanon, his family moved to the Beirut , the new capital of Lebanon. As the youngest of two girls and three boys, his childhood was happy during the years 1922 - 1933, despite the first family bankruptcy in 1925. During that period, he had his initial exposure to regional instruments, including the plucked-string “oud” and the “mijwez” flute. In 1933, a serious foot condition left him with a life-long handicap. It forced him to leave his high school studies at the French Lay Mission (presently the “Lycée Français”) at an early age and joined lat