Bedouin

The Bedouin, (from the Arabic Template:ArabDIN (بدوي), pl. badū), are a desert-dwelling Arab nomadic pastoralist, or previously nomadic group, found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert, Sinai, and Negev to the Arabian Desert. Non-Arab groups as well, notably the Beja of the African coast of the Red Sea are sometimes called Bedouin.

Traditional Bedouin cultures

The Bedouins were divided into related tribes. These tribes were organized on several levels - a widely quoted Bedouin saying is "I and my brothers against my cousins, I and my brothers and my cousins against the world." The saying signifies a hierarchy of loyalties based on closeness of kinship that runs from the nuclear family through the lineage, the tribe, and even, in principle at least, to an entire ethnic or linguistic group (which is perceived to have a kinship basis). Disputes are settled, interests are pursued, and justice and order are maintained by means of this organizational framework, according to an ethic of self-help and collective responsibility *(Andersen 14). The individual family unit (known as a tent or bayt) typically consisted of three or four adults (a married couple plus siblings or parents) and any number of children.

When resources were plentiful, several tents would travel together as a goum. These groups were sometimes linked by patriarchical lineage but just as likely linked by marriage (new wives were especially likely to have male relatives join nealogies to take in new members).

The largest scale of tribal interactions is of course the tribe as a whole, led by a Sheikh (literally, "elder"). The tribe often claims descent from one common ancestor — as mentioned above, this appears patrilineal but in reality new groups could have genealogies invented to tie them in to this ancestor. The tribal level is the level that mediated between the Bedouin and the outside governments and organisations.

Bedouins traditionally had strong honor codes, and traditional systems of justice dispensation in Bedouin society typically revolved around such codes. The bisha'a, or ordeal by fire, is a well-known Bedouin practice of lie detection. See also: Honor codes of the Bedouin, Bedouin systems of justice

Bedouins are well known for practicing folk music, folk dance and folk poetry. See also: Bedouin music, Ardha, Ghinnawa.^[1]

Changing ways of life

Starting in the late 19th century, many Bedouins under British rule began to transition to semi-nomadism. In the 1950s as well as the 1960s, large numbers of Bedouin throughout the Middle East started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities of the Middle East, especially as hot ranges have shrunk and population levels have grown. In Syria, for example, the Bedouin way of life effectively ended during a severe drought from 1958 to 1961, which forced many Bedouin to give up herding for standard jobs. Similarly, government policies in Egypt and Israel, oil production in Libya and the Persian Gulf, as well as a desire for improved standards of living, effectively led most Bedouin to become settled citizens of various nations, rather than stateless nomadic herders.

Government policies pressuring the Bedouin into in some cases have been executed out of a desire to provide services (schools, health care, law enforcement and so on - see Chatty (1986) for examples), but in others have been based on the desire to seize land traditionally roved and controlled by the Bedouin.

Partial list of Bedouin tribes and populations

File:Bedouin04.jpg

A Bedouin man from United Arab Emirates.

A young Bedouin lighting a camp fire in Wadi Rum, Jordan

There are a number of Bedouin tribes, but the total population is often difficult to determine, especially as many Bedouin have ceased to lead nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles (see above) and joined the general population. Below is a partial list of Bedouin tribes and their historic place of origin:

Abbadi tribe found in Jordan.
al-Ajman, eastern Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
alatwy tribe (also known as Beni Ateyah), live in northwestern part of Saudi Arabia, Tabuk province.
Al Bin Ali
Al Buainain
Al Bu Romaih
Al-Matheel Also spelt Mathil, a prominent Yemeni tribe based in the Damt region of Yemen, most have spread to the capital Sana'a
al-Awazem, mostly located in Kuwait, with a small section in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
Aniza, Some Anizes are of Bedouin tribes that lives in northern Saudi Arabia, western Iraq, the Gulf States, and the Syrian steppe.
Bani Hajer (AlHajri) large and powerful tribe in Saudi Arabia and the eastern Gulf States
Bani Rasheed Rashaida in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Jordan, Gulf States and North Africa.
Bani Khalid, a large tribe spanning Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and other countries. Its said they are the descendants of prophet Mohammed's companion "Khaled ibn Al-Waleed".
Bani Truf in Ahwaz which is located in southwest of Iran near Iraqi border.
Banu Yam centered in Najran Province, Saudi Arabia.
Beni Sakhr in Syria and Jordan.
al-Da'ajah Bedouin of Balqawi Amman in Jordan
al-Duwasir, south of Riyadh, and Kuwait
Ghamid, large tribe from Al-Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia. Mostly settled, but with a small bedouin section known as Badiyat Ghamid.
Gil, A people group of Morocco; about 41,000 people.
Harb, a large tribe, centered around Medina, but also extending northwards towards Tabuk and eastwards towards Al-Qassim.
Hareeb 100 Miles South of Marib in Yemen
Howeitat in Wadi Araba, and Wadi Rum, Jordan
Hajaya in al-Qatarneh, and al-Hasa, Jordan
Al Jalahma
Juhayna, a large tribe, many of its warriors were recruited as mercenaries during World War I by Prince Faisal. It surrounds the area of Mecca, and extends to Southern Medina
Khawalid in Jordan, Palestine, and Syria.
Tuba-Zangariyye, Palestine near Syria^[2]
Al Mannai
al-Mawasi, a group living on the central Gaza Strip coast.
Dulaim, a large tribe in Al Anbar western Iraq.
al-Massaed tribe found in Jordan.
al-Murrah in Saudi Arabia
Al Muhannadi
Murad, a tribe living 150 miles south-east of the capital of Yemen.
Mutair, estimated at about 1,200,000 members;^{[citation needed]} they live in the Nejd plateau, also, many families from the Mutair tribe live in the Gulf States, especially Kuwait.
Muzziena in Dahab and South Sinai.
Al Nuaim
Negev Bedouins in Israel/Palestine.
al-Rashaydah, a large international tribe, originally centered around Medina, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait but also extending in Jordan, Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, Libya and Mali, see also Bani Rasheed
Rwala, a large clan from the Aniza tribe, live in Saudi Arabia, but extend through Jordan into Syria and Iraq, in the 1970s, according to Lancaster, there were 250,000-500,000 Rwala
al-Qatarneh Bedouin of Balqa Amman in Jordan
Shammar in Saudi Arabia, central, and western Iraq.
Subay', central Nejd, and Kuwait
Ubeidah, 150 miles west of the capital of Yemen
Utaybah large tribe in western and central Saudi Arabia.
Yahia, A people group of Morocco; about 96,000 people.
Zaab, a small tribe which live with the Al-Ajman, in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Zahran, large tribe from Al-Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia.
Riyalat, a large strong family lived through out the years and now their place is salt (a city in Jordan) in the mean time and it's said that they came from the hejaz (Saudi Arabia now)some say that this family comes from the largest Arabic tribe called as eenize ((عنزي))in Arabic.

References

^ More in-depth discussions on these topics can be found in Chatty (1996) and Lancaster (1997)
^ Info on Tuba from Flags of the World Website

External links

Introduction to Bedouin culture
The Bedouin: Culture In Transition
Bedouin Culture in Dahab, Sinai
The Beduin of Arabia
The Bedouin, Qatar
Bedouin Culture & Folklore
The Bedouin Nomads
Sinai Bedouin Women
Historic images of Bedouins from 1890-1920 from the American Colony Photography Department
Fuchsia a seven-minute documentary about Bedouin girls.
On Africans in the Naqab
Center for Bedouin Studies and Development of Ben-Gurion University
Bedouin photography
The Negev Bedouin, A Photographic Exhibit
UNRECOGNIZED Photo Exhibition: Stories of unrecognized villages, by Tal Adler
Neohasid Jewish organizing against Blueprint Negev
BUSTAN Jewish-Bedouin NGO which first broke the story on the Blueprint Negev
BUSTAN: Resources on Negev Health and Environment
BUSTAN Naqab Desert Socio-Environmental Timeline
BUSTAN: Resources on Negev Development

[1] More in-depth discussions on these topics can be found in Chatty (1996) and Lancaster (1997)

[2] Info on Tuba from Flags of the World Website

[1]

[2]

Bedouin

Contents

Traditional Bedouin cultures

Changing ways of life

Partial list of Bedouin tribes and populations

References

Further reading

External links

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Bedouin

Traditional Bedouin cultures

Changing ways of life

Partial list of Bedouin tribes and populations

References

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

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