Bedu

PRONUNCIATION: BEH-doo
ALTERNATE NAMES: Bedouin
LOCATION: Deserts of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt
POPULATION: 4 million to 5 million
LANGUAGE: Arabic
RELIGION: Islam

INTRODUCTION

The Western term Bedouin is actually a double plural; in their own language (Arabic), Bedouin refer to themselves as "Bedu" (also plural, but for simplicity it will be used here as both singular and plural). The definition of who is and is not a Bedu has become somewhat confused in recent times, as circumstances change and the traditional nomadic life of the desert herders had to adapt. Generally speaking, a Bedu is an Arab who lives in one of the desert areas of the Middle East and raises camels, sheep, or goats. The Bedu traditionally believe they are the descendants of Shem, son of Noah, whose ancestor was Adam, the first man. Bedu society is based on complicated lineages that govern the formation of tribes and family clans. Bedu introduce themselves by giving their name, then naming two generations of male ancestors, and then stating their tribe: for example, "Suhail son of Salem son of Muhammad of the Bait Kathir." Women are also known as the daughters of their fathers and grandfathers, and they keep their family names even if they marry into a different tribe.

Genetically speaking, the Bedu are Semitic in origin, of the Caucasian race. The Arabian Peninsula historically has been the crossroads for trade as well as war. Bedu tribes often took strangers into their system as mawali and offered them the tribes' full protection and identity, thus intermingling with other peoples. Where the Bedu have had little contact and, therefore, little intermingling with other races, their skin complexion is fair where it is not exposed to the sun. Bedu are considered the "most indigenous" of modern Middle Eastern peoples, meaning they lived there before anyone else. At the time when Arabs were first distinguished from other races, they were desert nomads. The first appearance of nomadic peoples in the Arabian desert can be traced back as far as the third millennium BC.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Bedu territory covers the Arabian deserts of the Middle East, including parts of the Palestinian territories and the modern states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt. Their entire range extends over 2.5 million sq km (1 million sq mi), which is about the size of western Europe. It is difficult to count the exact number of Bedu living within this huge territory. Most estimates figure that the Bedu population is about 4 million to 5 million, which puts the population density at less than 1 person per sq km (around 2.5 persons per sq mi). It is estimated that approximately 10% of all Bedu continue to live in a purely traditional way: nomadic camel herders who follow the scattered, sporadic rainfall to find grazing for their animals, live off the products of those animals (milk, meat, hair, and skins), and use them as their sole form of transportation. This article primarily focuses on the nomadic Bedu. Life for the other 90% of the Bedu is similar to that of other urbanized Arab peoples.

The desert environment is harsh and does not lend itself easily to the support of human life. Much of the Bedu territory receives only four inches of rain per year, and those four inches are scattered and unpredictable. Temperatures can go as high as 50¡C (122¡F) in the shade during the summer months, and as low as 0¡C (32¡F) during the winter. At night, the temperature drops dramatically, plunging as much as 30¡C (54¡F) from daytime temperatures. The beginning of summer is often heralded by violent sandstorms and scorching winds. The Bedu recognize four or five "seasons" that vary in length depending on the amount of rainfall. In a good, rainy year, spring can last as long as six weeks (during February and March), whereas in a dry year there may be no spring at all, with winter simply shifting right into summer.

Despite these harsh conditions, a great deal of life manages to exist in the desert. Wolves, foxes, wildcats, gazelles, hares, small rodents, reptiles, and many insects and spiders make their homes there, and flocks of migratory birds pass through on their way from summering to wintering grounds (and vice versa). A variety of plant species have also adapted to the extreme temperatures and lack of water, developing long roots and spiny leaves, water storage capacities, and seeds that will last hundreds of years in a dormant stage until conditions become right for sprouting. The Arabian deserts are not all sand, either, although they do boast the highest sand dunes on Earth, with some as high as 600 m (2,000 ft). Within Bedu territory are mountains, rock outcroppings, gravel and stony plains, wadis (dry riverbeds, which can become sudden torrents during a heavy rainfall), and stands of scrubby bushes or trees. A few days or weeks after a rainstorm, the desert floor is transformed into a carpet of grasses and brilliantly colored wildflowers. The Bedu travel in search of these green places in the desert.

LANGUAGE

The Bedu speak Arabic, but it is a very rich, stylized Arabic. Bedu Arabic is somewhat comparable to Shakespearean English. As is the case with many indigenous peoples, the Bedu language is filled with words that pertain to the details of their life, making distinctions that are difficult for others to comprehend. Just as the Inuit people have many words for snow, the Bedu have more than one word for desert, and the differences between them are hard to define in English. A badiya is something open and uncovered, a country in full view. A sahra is a vast open space that is generally level, defined in contrast to a "settled" area. The Bedu also have many words for water, which was historically far more important as a scarce resource in the desert.

FOLKLORE

The two main types of Bedu folk tales are realistic stories involving the familiar Bedu way of life and fantasies that tell of love and include a woman as a main character. These two types of folk tales generally fall into three categories: raiding stories, which celebrate heroism, strength, and courage; love stories, which revel in the emotional highs and lows of star-crossed lovers and struggles to overcome obstacles to true love; and stories about thieves of the desert, which tell of robbery, murder, and treachery.

Some Bedu are superstitious, putting great stock in amulets and charms, lucky numbers (odd numbers are usually considered lucky), and spirits. Stones and designs in jewelry have magical qualities. Triangles, which represent hands, called khamsa, ward off the evil eye, as do blue stones, such as turquoise or lapis lazuli; red stones will stop bleeding or reduce inflammation. Children, especially boys, are protected by charms hung around their necks or ankles and with ear studs containing magical stones. Many adult Bedu still have the holes in their earlobes from these magic ear studs. Animals that prey on the Bedu herds (e.g., wolves, wildcats) are considered the embodiment of evil, and in southern Arabia the camel is believed to be the direct descendant of the spirits of the desert.

RELIGION

Bedu are now Muslim. At one time there were Jewish and Christian tribes, but none of them survive today. For the most part, Bedu do not follow Islamic duties and rules strictly. Given the Bedu desert environment and demanding existence, many Islamic rituals are difficult to practice in the same manner as elsewhere. For example, ritual dry washings are utilized when there is insufficient water. The Hadj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is an important ritual for the Bedu, and most parents take each of their children on his or her first pilgrimage at the age of seven or eight. Some Bedu construct a place of prayer, called a masjid or mashhad, shortly after setting up their tents by enclosing a small piece of land with pebbles. The morning and noon prayers are usually considered the most important of the five daily prayers of Islam.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

The most highly regarded Islamic festival among Bedu peoples is Ayd al-Adha, the "feast of sacrifice," when the Bedu sacrifice a camel or sheep from their herd to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. (Because Islam uses a lunar calendar, the dates for Muslim holy days change each year on the Gregorian calendar.) Given the strong identification with lineage and kinship in Bedu society, the rite of honoring those who have died is taken very seriously.

Because many Bedu do not fast during the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which Muhammad received his first revelations, celebrated by complete fasting from dawn until dusk each day of the entire month), the festival of Ayd Al-Fitr (a three-day celebration to break the fast at the end of Ramadan) has little meaning. Bedu also do not pay much attention to the celebration of the prophet Muhammad's birthday or his hegira (Muhammad's flight from Mecca); in fact, some Bedu do not even know the dates for those holy days in any given year.

RITES OF PASSAGE

In some tribes, when girls reach puberty they must then cover their hair and wear a mask or veil over their faces when in public (which, in Bedu terms, means whenever anyone but immediate family is present). Girls look forward to wearing these head and face coverings as a sign of maturity, and many design them so as to be alluring and provocative. They use their masks and veils to great effect in flirtations.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Two things shape the interactions of Bedu people: the Arab tradition of hospitality and the Bedu code of honor, or sharaf. These things themselves are shaped by the extreme conditions of desert nomadism. Survival as small groups of wanderers in the unforgiving desert required tremendous cooperation. The guest fed in one's own tent today may be the one who can provide food tomorrow. Passersby traditionally exchanged formal greetings with the families in the tents they passed and were asked for any news. The polite reply was to say one has no news or only good news. The passersby were then invited into the men's side of the tent for coffee and tea, served in a ritual way. It is considered polite to drink at least three cups before wobbling your glass to show that you do not want it refilled. Guests were assured of food and shelter for three and one-third days and then protection for another three days after leaving the tent, that being considered the length of time it takes for all traces of the host's food to pass through the guest's body. (Before a guest departed, the host burned incense in a special crucible called a madran or mijmar, and the guest perfumed his headscarf and beard with the smoke.) Anyone who even exchanged greetings, whether they came into the tent or not, was considered a guest entitled to the host's protection for the customary three days.

Women are inviolate in the Bedu code of honor. No man who is not intimately related to a woman may touch her in any way, not even so much as to brush his fingers against hers while handing her something. To do so is to dishonor her, and the traditional punishment for that was death. Likewise, in some tribes, if a woman brings dishonor to herself, she shames her family, because honor is held not by individuals but by whole families. According to old Bedu custom, if a woman committed any shameful conduct, her father or brother traditionally had the right, and was expected, to kill her immediately. Even in wars or raids, women were not touched. Raiding parties left enough supplies in the raided camp to support the women and children there. The loss of a woman's honor, her ird, is extremely serious in the Bedu code.

Long-time warriors, the Bedu have developed a very clear idea of what constitutes a fair fight and have strict rules governing the conduct of wars and raids. Another important element of Bedu honor is as-sime, giving up something so that a weaker person will benefit. Children are trained in the code of honor and tradition of hospitality from a very early age. By the time they are seven or eight years old, boys and girls know well what is expected of them and can behave with adult dignity when called upon.

LIVING CONDITIONS

The traditional Bedu live either in tents made of woven goat hair, known as a bait sharar ("house of hair"), palm-frond shacks called barasti, or in the shelter of a few bushes or trees, on which they may drape blankets for more protection from the wind. Bedu adapted to more modern customs live more settled lives in villages or take advantage of technological items such as "portacabins."

Bedu tents vary in size, depending on the number and wealth of the people living in them. The smallest are two-room tents, about 4 to 5 m (12 to 16 ft) long, and the largest can be anywhere up to 45 m (150 ft) or more in length. Most tents are about 2 m (6 ft) high. Larger tents are harder to move, so nomadic Bedu tents tend to fall somewhere between those two extremes. A tent houses an extended family of around 10 people, and it is divided into at least two sections—the men's side, or al-shigg; and the women's side, or al-mahram. Cooking is done and possessions are stored on the women's side, unless the tent has a third section for those purposes. Guests are entertained on the men's side, and the coffee and tea utensils and a fire for heating the water are located there. The men's and women's sections are divided either by a woven curtain called a sahah or gata'ah, or by a wooden mat called a shirb held together by wool woven around the canes in geometric patterns. These tent dividers are frequently beautiful works of art.

Bedu families stay close to their permanent wells during the dry summer months, then migrate to better grazing areas during the winter. The Bedu can travel as much as 3,000 km (1,600 mi) or more in a year. Traditional Bedu ride camels, which move by lifting both legs on one side at the same time, giving them a seesaw motion that requires a great deal of balance to ride. Some modern Bedu have acquired trucks and other four-wheel-drive vehicles to replace the camel as transportation. Each tribe has its own territory, or dirah, but as modernization encroaches on their range, the Bedu have had to cross over each other's territories much more frequently, and now it is commonplace to do so. However, each tribe still knows its dirah and the boundaries of those of other tribes.

The life of Bedu in oil-rich Arab nations is not quite as harrowing, as tanker trucks often bring water to outlying areas. Mobile medical units have made Western medicine more available to the Bedu, but most only turn to them when folk medicine fails. Traditional Bedu beliefs held that physical health is related to the actions of spirits and devils. The Bedu traditionally put red-hot coals to their skin to open a door for an evil spirit to exit the body at a place where it was causing trouble (e.g., between the eyes in the case of headaches). Herbal medicine (teas, poultices, etc.) is widely used, as are charms and amulets. Today, herbal treatments are no more considered "magical" among the Bedu than acupuncture is in the West. If all else fails, including folk and Western medicine, the Bedu may turn to sahar, practitioners of alternative medicine who have been outlawed by most state governments but who continue to provide their services.

FAMILY LIFE

Bedu live in extended families made up of paternal cousins. A group of families who are related to each other make up a fakhadh (literally, "thigh"), which means a clan "of the same root" or "part of the whole." A group of fakhadhs constitutes a tribe, called a kabila or ashira, though these words may also refer to subsections of a larger tribe. A group of tribes is a "confederation." Tribes vary widely in size and are constantly changing through marriage or territorial needs for grazing. A small tribe that has to move into the territory of a larger tribe to feed its herds may become absorbed by the larger tribe. Later, if the original small tribe has gained enough members and/or wealth, it may strike out on its own again.

Every group of Bedu has a sheikh, or leader. The sheikh always comes from the same family line within each group, but it is not necessarily the oldest son who takes over when the father dies. The post is given to the male family member most qualified for the job. A sheikh leads by consensus, not by absolute will, so all members of the group must respect the sheikh in order for him to lead them effectively.

Marriage is more of a social contract among the Bedu than a love match, although love often enters into it and sexuality within marriage is greatly enjoyed and celebrated by both men and women. The bride and groom are usually first cousins. Women marry between the ages of 16 and 22, while men marry between the ages of 18 and 30. The wedding is accomplished without much ceremony. It is essentially a process of customary negotiations after which the bride is escorted to the groom's tent. Divorce is just as simple: a man simply states in front of witnesses that he wants a divorce. A woman can initiate a divorce by moving back to her parents' tent. If she refuses to return to her husband's tent with him, he will grant her a divorce. Women give birth without much fuss as well. Siblings are very close to and protective of one another; brothers in particular guard their sisters' honor fiercely. Incest is forbidden and is virtually unknown.

CLOTHING

The primary article of clothing for both Bedu men and women is the dishdasha, a long gown worn by most Arabs that covers the body from the base of the neck to the wrists and ankles. Men wear the dishdasha as an outer garment with baggy trousers called sirwal underneath (some modern Bedu men wear sweatpants now instead), while women wear the dishdasha as an underdress beneath a larger, looser dress called a thob, which is almost always black. Women also wear baggy trousers, which are tight at the ankle and embroidered, under their dresses. Bedu men wear some sort of headcloth, the design of which varies from tribe to tribe. Adult women wear veils over their hair and either veils or masks on their faces (in most tribes). Both men and women use kuhl (kohl, a black powder made from lustrous antimony) to accent their eyes. It reduces glare from the harsh desert sun and is believed to help repel flies as well. Bedu traditionally walk barefoot.

Women love jewelry and wear a lot of it; they may also wear the family's wealth as jewelry, which will then be completely safe since, according to the code of honor, women cannot be touched. Older women may have tattoos, which were believed to enhance their beauty, but that tradition is dying out, and very few younger women wear them. It is considered effeminate for a man to have a tattoo. Men wear silver or gold belts with elaborate curved daggers called khanja strapped to them. Belts designed for carrying bullets are now popular, and nomadic Bedu men are rarely seen without their rifles.

FOOD

Bedu cooking emphasizes quantity rather than style. The traditional Bedu diet consisted mainly of camel milk, served cold or hot, boiled with bread, or cooked with rice. Meat, usually goat's meat, was an occasional luxury. Bedu along coastal areas also eat fish. Thin, flat bread is cooked over the fire on a curved metal sheet. The Bedu also hunt for meat to supplement their diet. They traditionally used trained falcons captured in the fall and released in the spring to hunt desert hares and foxes or migratory birds. Many Bedu hunt with a breed of dog called saluki, which is somewhat like an elegant greyhound. Although herding dogs are considered unclean and are never allowed to enter the living area, salukis are treated with a great deal of affection and live in the tent with their masters.

EDUCATION

Traditional Bedu education consists of training in the skills necessary to live the life of the nomadic desert camel herder. It takes years to learn how to take care of a herd of camels and a family in the harsh desert environment. Although some Bedu parents are beginning to provide a more formal education for their children in schools, this makes it difficult for those children to learn their desert skills. These skills are hunting, rope-weaving, camel-herding, -riding, -milking, and -breeding, tracking, and the rituals of entertaining guests for Bedu boys and weaving of all sorts, embroidery, cooking, cleaning, setting up and taking down camp, tent-making, and herding for Bedu girls. Traditional Bedu society was largely oral, without much need for reading and writing. However, reading the Quran is very important, and there are always some members of the family, including women, who must know how to read and write. Bedu can recite poetry and tell stories by memory, however, and recognize all of the hundreds of wasm, the camel brands of their own tribe and neighboring tribes. They can also "read" the signs left on the hard desert ground by people and animals that have passed that way.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Poetry is considered the highest art in Bedu society; it is the outlet for emotional expressions otherwise restricted by the code of honor. The rabab, the one-stringed Bedu violin, is often played to accompany the recitation of poetic verse. Other literary genres, all oral, in the Bedu world are the qissa (folk tale), qasid (ode), riddles and proverbs, the murafa'a (pleading one's case before the magistrate), and the discussions of the majalis sessions (gatherings of family to pass on wisdom and traditions to the younger members).

Many Arab nations and even many Zionists within the modern nation-state of Israel regard the image of the Bedu as important to their cultural identity. For many, the Bedu shepherd is regarded as a bridge to the past. That link to the past is essential to nations that encompass ancient lands, peoples, and traditions but are relatively new as modern states.

WORK

Herding camels during the winter migration is a full-time job for at least two family members and usually requires two others part-time. Men and boys do most of the herding, but if there are not enough sons to do the job, teenage girls will help out. In a family with no sons, daughters take on all the work, including herding, entertaining guests, driving the vehicles (if they have any), and so on. Setting up and taking down camp is the women's job, plus all of the cooking, cleaning, weaving, and sewing. Pregnant women generally work right up to the time of delivery and then go back to work as soon as possible after giving birth. Nomadic Bedu life is a constant round of chores: collecting firewood, filling water drums, obtaining and preparing food, taking camels to pasture in the morning, and bringing them back to camp at night, milking the camels, moving camp, making and repairing tent cloths and clothing, and so on.

Many Bedu have given up full-time nomadic herding to take on wage-earning jobs. In many Middle Eastern countries, Bedu men form important elements in the military and are well compensated. In Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the armed forces are composed almost entirely of Bedu. In Israel, they have also been enlisted as trackers and wardens to protect endangered desert species.

SPORTS

Nomadic Bedu do not have much time for sports, but they do enjoy camel racing and spend quite a bit of time and energy breeding fast, light camels and even training them to pick up alternate feet, rather than both feet on the same side at the same time, to make them easier to ride at high speeds. Hunting is done purely for sport by wealthier Bedu, though it is a necessity for poorer families.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

Winter is a sociable time for the Bedu, with many clans and tribes gathered in good grazing areas, rather than stuck by their isolated wells in the dry summer. At night, they gather to recite stories in verse around the campfire. Other times, the women may sing to the men in an informal performance called a summejr. Given the harsh realities of nomadic Bedu life, there is not much time for more recreation than this.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

Textiles woven by Bedu women are the most important product and one of the oldest crafts of Bedu society. The ground loom used by Bedu women is shown in an Egyptian fresco dating to 2200 BC. The women weave sheep's wool, goat or camel hair, or cotton into geometric designs, sometimes including stylized representations of everyday objects such as coffee pots, scissors, or camels. The Bedu traditionally put no border on their designs, instead letting the design go all the way to the edge of the cloth to reflect the infinite horizon of the desert, which leads one's mind to reflect on the infinity of God. Natural dyes were traditionally used, producing muted earth tones, reds, and blues, but they are difficult and time-consuming to make, so many Bedu women now purchase commercial dyes that create brighter colors. Other Bedu crafts are basketry and weaving palm fronds into mats and bags.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The modern invention of national boundaries and the encroachment of cities and cultivated areas on the desert has reduced the Bedu range and forced many to become only seminomadic, settling in villages for part of the year and returning to their herds in the desert for only a few months, or to give up the Bedu way of life altogether. With the advent of trucks and planes, the Bedu services were no longer needed to transport goods and people along the Middle East desert trade route by camel caravan. The Bedu thereby lost their biggest asset and source of much of their wealth and power. Many of the Bedu themselves have purchased trucks and other four-wheel-drive vehicles for their own use or to cater to tourists as "taxis." Once the Bedu succumb to modernization, becoming dependent on motor vehicles and wells, they need cash to maintain this new lifestyle. When men take wage-earning jobs in the villages or cities, it separates them from their families and herds. Bedu parents see that their children will need formal schooling if they are going to succeed in this new modern life, so they settle near villages to take advantage of public education. The children then are divorced from their ancestors' traditional lifestyle and can no longer survive in the desert, so they must take wage-earning jobs. As the Bedu come into more contact with the industrial world, they also see that their sheikhs have little authority there, threatening the respect necessary for the sheikh's leadership.

These changes have undermined the traditional Bedu way of life and threaten their very existence as a separate people. Because of assimilation into the settled, technological world and the poverty (even death) of those Bedu who attempt to continue their nomadic ways, the Bedu as an identifiable group may soon become extinct. Yet, the Bedu are a proud people and have fought to retain their way of life. Arab nations and even many Israelis recognize the importance of the Bedu to their cultural heritage and have tried to accommodate the nomadic way of life. Efforts to incorporate the Bedu into modern nations have had varying degrees of success. Israel, for instance, tries to encourage the Bedu to give up their nomadic ways and to settle into modern Israeli society. Many Bedu resist this call because they prefer their nomadic, rural way of life. Other Arab nations such as Jordan have tried to build their national identity on the basis of their leaders' Bedu ties. However, the difference between the settled nature of modern nations and the wandering way of life of the Bedu is difficult to reconcile.

GENDER ISSUES

The rise of the modern nation-state has not been beneficial to Bedu women. The nomadic lifestyle was harsh, but it did give women a great deal of independence and authority. Bedu women typically supervised the domestic affairs of their clans. While men dealt with matters of herding, women ensured that the social relationships within a clan functioned. Divorce often was instituted by women who chose to express their displeasure with a spouse by moving back into their natal family's tents. As Bedu were forced to settle into planned communities, women lost a great deal of their autonomy. Their role became one not of supervising movement but of housecleaning and serving the male members of their clans. Many modern Bedu women have rebelled against the constraints that the new way of life imposes upon them and have often left their clans to integrate more fully with modern Arab society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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—revised by H. Gupta-Carlson