The Bedouin, the original Arabs, are the Arabic
speaking nomads of the Middle East who have proudly
maintained their pastoral way of life over thousands
of years, the vision of the family, their camels,
their herd of goats are firmly planted in our minds.
From the Arabian Peninsula,
their original home ,they spread out into other neighboring and fertile
lands in their never ending search for pasture and
plunder. They now live in the desert regions of
all countries between the Arabian Gulf and the Atlantic.
Traditional Bedouin culture reminds us of the
Old Testament stories of the Patriarchs. Through
the Islamic conquests it has infiltrated the cultures
of all Middle East groups and they and their lifestyles
are regarded as a model by all Arabic speaking
people. Throughout their long history, desert
Bedouin have survived on their herds. They controlled
the desert trade routes, escorted caravans, and
provided them with guides and drivers. Bedouin,
settled, semi-settled and nomadic, now comprise
less than 10 percent of the total Arab population.
Since Lawrence of Arabia first captivated the
west with his romantic image of the noble desert
Bedouin there has been a growing interest in this
people and in their culture accompanied by many
misconceptions and clichés.
According to Arab tradition they are descendent
from two main stocks. The first settled in the
mountains of Southwestern Arabia (the Yemen),
and claim descent from Qahtan (Yoktan of the Bible)
and became known as Yemenis. The second settled
in North-Central Arabia, claimed descent from
Ishmael and are called the Qaysis.
Even
now every Bedouin tribe still claims descent from
one or the other group. There are also “ancestorless“
vassal tribes living under their protection who make
a living by serving them as blacksmiths, tinkers,
artisans and entertainers.
Bedouin
lifestyle involved migrating with their herds in search
of pasture, supplying their produce to the oases markets,
raiding the settled communities and the trade caravans
that crossed the desert and levying tolls from them.
There
was no private ownership of land as each tribe
held its pastures and water sources communally.
Bedouin society was characterized by a fierce
loyalty to family, clan and tribe. They had
a rigid code of honor in which the chastity
of their women was very important and which
included hospitality and generosity.
In
some places, until quite recently, the
Bedouin had remained completely out of
touch with the outside world.The Bedouin
of the southern Sinai region, the poorest
an most isolated of all, had to learn
to make do with whatever little they had,
and it was very little, or move to a more
sedentary way of life. Through trial and
error, they learned where to build their
dwellings, where and how to tap underground
water depending on the geological formations
of the area, how to cure themselves using
plants and shrubs of the High Mountain
Range and how to protect themselves from
other invading tribes. Now they too are
experiencing the influence of the west.
Poetry was their greatest artistic
attainment. Their poems celebrated heroic
deeds of the tribe and its warriors
and were recited around the camp fires.
They were passed down orally from generation
to generation.
At the turn of the 7th century, Muhammad had succeeded in converting most Bedouin
tribes to Islam. After a brief rebellion
his successor, the Caliph Abu Bakr,
reunited them, and this new unity, coupled
with the missionary zeal of their new
religion and a desire for plunder, motivated
their expansion out of the Arabian Peninsula.
(Arabs & Islam )
The Bedouin had made a deep and lasting
impression on all nations subjugated
by the Arabs, coupled with the conviction
that their lifestyle was the model for
all Muslims at all times. Bedouin culture
infiltrated local customs and tradition
in all the conquered areas, and Arabic
became the main language of the Middle
East, supplanting Syriac, Greek, Copt,
Persian and Berber.
Because they are often on the move,
the Bedouin traditionally had few material
goods, their main possessions being
their animals and their tent. The Bedouin
are excellent trackers, recognizing
animal and human tracks and are able
to find their way without compass or
map in the desert. This made them valuable
as scouts for various armies.
The
largest social unit amongst the
Bedouin is the tribe (Qabila) which
is divided into clans. Each clan
owns its own wells and grazing grounds
and it was the raiding unit of past
generations. Clans are divided into
family groups (Hayy) or (Khamsa)
which consist of all those related
back to five generations (having
the same great great grandfather
in the paternal line). The Hayy
is the herding unit, its member
families camping together most of
the year. It is divided into kin
groups, (extended families), which
consist of the relatives through
three generations. The kin group
is responsible for all its individual
members in matters of morals and
honour, including blood vengeance.
Bedouin
society is patriarchal, all members
of a tribe claiming descent by male
line to a common ancestor. The Sheikh
as leader of the tribe has considerable
power but is limited by custom,
precedent and advice of the council
of tribal elders. He is elected
from a noble family, any member
of that family being eligible for
the position when he dies.
The Bedouin have kept their lifestyle
through the centuries, controlled
by a strict code of rules. It
stresses the values of loyalty
to the tribe, obedience, generosity,
hospitality, honor, cunning and
revenge. In the past they spent
much time raiding, hunting and
war in the pursuit of which they
were capable of enduring severe
physical hardships. Today smuggling
often is a substitute for these
forbidden ‘manly’
activities.
In Arabia and the adjacent deserts
there are around 100 large tribes
of 1000 members or more. Some
tribes number up to 20,000 and
a few of the large tribes have
up to 100,000 members.
