What is "mawwal"

In Arabic music, the mawwāl (موال; plural: mawāwīl, مواويـل) is a traditional genre of vocal music that is usually presented before the actual song begins. It is characterized by spelling vowel syllables longer than usual.

Mawwal is sung in colloquial rather than classical Arabic. The genre has links to historical forms of Arabic poetry and music and the singer demonstrates his skill with non-metrical melodic improvisation on a poetic narrative text and melody.