Bedouins

The barrier Beduin the Arabic language refers to one who lives out in the open, in the desert. The Arabic vocalize Badawiyinis a generic name for a desert-dweller and the English raillery Bedouin is the derived from this. In ancient times, just about people settled near rivers notwithstanding the Bedouin people preferable to live in the open desert. Bedouins mainly live in the Arabian and Syrian deserts, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and the Sahara Desert of North Africa.There argon Bedouin communities in many countries, including Egypt, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq in the Middle East and Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya in North Africa. Altogether, the Bedouin population numbers about 4 million. The Bedouins are seen as Arab cultures purest representatives and the Bedouins affect to be hailed by other Arabs as ideal Arabs, especi bothy because of their rich oral poetic tradition, their herding lifestyle and their traditional code of maintain.T he Egyptians refer to the Bedouins as Arab, but Bedouins are unambiguous from other Arabs because of their extensive kinship networks, which provide them with community support and the basic necessities for survival. Such networks create traditionally served to ensure safety of families and to protect their property. The term Araab has been synonymous with theterm nomad since the beginning of Islam. The Bedouins are recognized by their (nomadic) lifestyles, special language, social structures and culture. Only few Bedouins live as their forefathers did in camel- and goat haircloth tents, raising livestock, hunting and raiding.Their numbers are decreasing and nowadays there are approx. only 5% of Bedouins still live as pastoral nomads in all of the Middle East. Some Bedouins of Sinai are still half-nomads. Bedouins have different facial features by which they can be distinguished from other Egyptians and to a fault they slackly dress differently. The Bedouin men wear long djellab aya and a smagg (red white draped headcover) or aymemma (white headcover) or a white small headdress, some(a)times held in arrange by an agall (a black cord).The Bedouin women usually wear brightly coloured long dresses but when they go outside they dress in an abaya (a thin, long black finishing sometimes covered with shiny embroidery) and they forget always cover their head and hair when they leave their housewith atarha (a black, thinshawl). Traditionally a womans introduce was hidden behind a highly decorated burqaah but this is now only seen with the older generations. The younger generations cover their face simply with their tarha (shawl).The Bedouins have a rich culture and their possess Arabic Bedawi language, which has different dialects depending on the area where they live. In asheser days they emphasised on the strong belief in its tribal superiority, in return to the tribal security the support to survive in a hostile environment. The Bedouin is aristocratic and they tend to perceive the Arabian country as the noblest of all nations, purity of blood, way of life and above all noble ancestry. They often trace their lineage back to the times of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and beyond.The first-year converts to Islam came from the Bedouin tribes and therefore (Sunni) Islam is embedded and deeply rooted in the Bedouin culture. Prayer is an integral part of Bedouin life. As there are no formal mosques in the desert, they implore were they are, facing the Kaaba in Mecca and performing the ritual washing, preferably with water but if not available they wash with sand instead. The Bedouin is generally open-minded and interested in what is going on in his close and far surroundings since this kind of knowledge has always been a vital tool of survival.At the same time, the Bedouins are quite a suspicious and alert keeping a low profile about their personal background. Modern Arab states have a strong tendency to regulate their meandering(a) lifes tyle and modern society has make the traditional Bedouin lifestyle less attractive, since it is demanding and often dangerous, so many Bedouins have settled in urban areas and continue to do so. The Bedouin people are faced with challenges in their lifestyle, as their traditional Muslim, tribal culture has begun to mix with western practices.Men are more likely to congeal and interact with the modern cultures, but women are bound by honour and tradition to stay within the family dwelling and therefore lack opportunity for advancement. like a shot unemployment amongst Bedouin people is precise high. Only few obtain a high school degree and until now fewer graduate from college. However, for most people the word Bedouin still conjures up a much richer and more mysterious and romanticimage.. THE ORGANIZATION OF BEDOUINS SOCIETY Until today the clan organization is the basis of the Bedouin society.Every Bayt (tent) represents a family and the connected families form a clan (Aela). A llmembers of the same clan consider each other as of one blood (Dam) and the spirit of the clan demands unconditional truth to fellow clansmen. A number of kindred clans form a tribe (Qabilah) with its own land. The clan is represented by an elder or the eldest, choosen by its members, who is sinewy but has no absolute authority. In major affairs he must consult with the tribal leader The Shaykh.In most of the Bedouin tribes, the leaders (Shaykhs) are picked for their scholarship and judgment. In others, such as the Allegat and the small Hamada tribe, leadership passes from father to eldest son. You could say, that the Bedouin is a born democrat who meets his Shaykh with respect but on equal creation The Quabilahis a union of extended familiesand is the major family unit. It is a kinship structure of some(prenominal) generations that encompasses a wide network of blood relations descended through the priapic line.In the past, the Quabilahprovided its members with economic secu rity and protection (land, labour and water are tribal property), but today with the loss of the Bedouins traditional livelihoods, the Quabilah is less able to take all these functions but it still serves as a major source of identity,psycho-social support and social status. The Bayt and the Aela are the basic social and economic unit of the Bedouin society, but the leaders of these units generally form a council of elders, directed by the head of the Quabilah.The smallest family unit of parents and children and the tribe are closely bound by extensive uncouth commitments and obligations, such as Hamula, the bringing of gifts. This social network of the Bedouins is underpinned and maintained by a deeply ingrained system of set and expectations that govern the behaviour and the relationships of the members. In practice, age, ghostly piety, and personal characteristics such as generosity and hospitality, set some men above others in the organization of the group. The Shaykh tradit ionally exercises authority over the allocation of pasture and the arbitration of disputes.His condition is usually derived from his own astute reading of the majority opinion. He generally has no power to enforce a conclusion and therefore has to rely on his moral authority and the concurrence of the community with his point of view. In asense, the Bedouins form a number of nations. That is, groups of families are fall in by common ancestry and by shared territorial allegiance. The exploitation and defence of their common territorial area is effected through a universally accepted system of leadership.For centuries, these nations of Bedouin tribes and their leaders operated in the ecologically and politically shifting landscapes of the Middle East and North Africa. Only in the course of the twentieth century has their traditional flexibility and mobility been checked. Factors foreign to their universe have damaged the territorial mainstay of their societies, necessitating the adoption of new bases of identification with their nations and its leaders. THE KEY VALUES The key values of the Bedouin society are harmony, kinship solidarity, honourand hierarchy.The Bedouins emphasize cooperation, adaption, accommodation and family cohesion. Individuals are pass judgment to show loyalty and responsibility to the collective, to place its good above their own and to follow the rules and commands of those above them in hierarchy. The Bedouins have a collective attitude to just about everything work, money, family, feuds you name it and the Bedouins will take a collective position because of their highly developed sense of community and tribal loyalties. Family comes first, second and third for them blood is definitely thicker than water.Their strict code of honour dictates proper behaviour for all members, men, women (see MARRIAGE AND FAMILY ) andchildren and to live according to its (many) rules, like a healthy person always stands upto greet an older person, the yalways greet all start with the person on their right sink and moving on against the hands of the clock to the rest, they always start serving the person on their right hand first(even if this is a child) and then the rest moving against the hands of the clock, etc. Breaking any of these rules meansreal trouble.The (semi)nomadic lifestyleis demanding and thats why thechildren are expected to assume a considerable amount of responsibility in order to help their families survive. Although modernization has changed their lifestyle somewhat, emphasis is placed on teaching children to operate on traditional ways of life and the advancement of modern technology is so far not considered important to childrens education. The Bedouin people are cognize to be very polite and honest. They prefer not to say bad things or be the bearer of bad news. MARRIAGE Marriage for Bedouins has both religious and social significance.FromanIslamic perspective, marriage legalizes sexual relations and provi des the framework for procreation. From a social perspective, it brings together not only the bride and groom but also their families. Womenare protected in the Bedouin code of honour. A man who is not closely related to a woman is not allowed to 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 dishonour her. Likewise, in some tribes, if a woman brings dishonour to herself, she shames her family because honour is held not by individuals but by the whole family.The loss of a womans honour, her ird, is extremely serious amongst the Bedouins. Bedouin men and women enjoy the freedom of choosing their partner. Nevertheless,parents can put decent pressure on their children to arrange their marriage. If there is no father to speak for the girl/woman, a brother or other male relative will speak for her. If a male from the family doesnt agree with the choice of a spouse for his daughter, sister or even cousin, he is able to stop the wedding according to Bedouin Law.There is an engagement period for about a year or more, during which the Bedouin boy/man can visit the girl/woman at her family (and most rarely they will be alone) where they can talk, share views and expectations and get to know each other. If the engagementdoes not work out, the ending of the engagement should be through in a way, that there is no shame or blemish on the other (family). Therefore pressure from parents or family should be handled very sleepless and tactful. BEDOUIN FAMILY he three-generation extended family is the ideal domestic unit.Although this group, averaging between nine and eleven persons, may sleep inmore than one tent or in more than one house, its meals are generally taken together. The newly formed nuclear family of husband and wife tends to remain with the larger domestic unit until it has satisfactory manpower and a large enough income (herd) to survive on its own. On occasion, a combination of brothers or patrilineal cousins will join forces to form a single domestic unit. Children and infants are raised by the extended family unit.Parents, older siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all take part in the rearing of the young. By the age of 6 or 7, the child begins to take on simple household tasks and soon thereafter becomes a full working member of the family. Adolescence is hardly recognized by the early teens, at the age of 16 or 17, the individual is accepted as a fullmember of Bedouin society. The Bedouins are patrilineal. Their names consist of a personal name, the fathers name,the agnatic grandfathers name and the great grandfathers name.Women retain their name and fathers family name unchangedafter marriage. There are distinctive terms for kin on the mothers side and kin on the fathers side. All terms indicate the sex of the person designated. The smallest residential unit (Bayt) is named after its senior male resident. However, unlike settled peoples,most Be douins are also members of larger patrilineal descent groups which are linked by agnation to form even larger lineages and sometimes even tribal confederations. RELIGION AND TRADITIONSThe Bedouins (and Islamics in general) variously believe in Jinn (the presence of spirits), some playful and others malevolent, that interfere in the life of humans. Hasset (the envious, evileye) is also very real to the Bedouins and children are believed to be particularly vulnerable. For this reason, they often had protective amulets attached to their clothing or hung just about their necks. In Islam the existence of ogresses and monstrous super naturals is postulated, cognize as Maleika Al Ard (Kings of the Earth) and Bedouins believe they are sometimes met by lone travellers in the desert.There is no formal clergy in Islam and no centre of priests. Every Muslim has its own direct relationship with Allah. Bedouin societies have no formal religious specialists. They traditionally arrange for relig ious specialists, called Shaykh or Sjeikh, from adjacent settled regions to spend several months a year with them to teach the young to read the Quran. A rural or settled religious specialist that Bedouins seek out for curative and load measures is called a Gatib. This is not the same as the Hakim, which is a Bedouin doctor/healer is, who specializes in herbal and traditional healing. ) In addition many Bedouins tend to have ceremonies and rituals including elaborate celebrations of weddings, ritual naming of newborn infants and the circumcision of children (boys universally, girls frequently but this is less common nowadays because in the mosque is preached that this is in contradiction with the teachings of the holy Quran). According to IslamBedouins ceremonially slaughter a goat or a sheep when a child is born.Bedouins call this Foo-ela and their family is invited to eat the prepared meat together. Bedouins of southern Sinai who are influenced by Sufism (Islamic mysticism) also celebrate the Prophets birthday and carry out pilgrimages to the tombs of (local) saints. They onlyworship Allah and these journeys are more important to consolidate the ties to the tribe and the tombs serve as a showdown place. Death and traditions Islamic tradition dictates the practices associated with death. The body is buried as soon as possible and always within 24 hours.Among some Bedouin groups, an effort is made to bury the dead in one place (Maghebr), although often it is impossible to reach it within the strict time limit imposed by Islamic practices. Funeral rites are very simple and Bedouins mark their graves with exeptional simplicity, placing an ordinary stone (or unmarked board) at the head of the grave, where family regularly place a fresh hitchhike of a palm tree. When they visit the graves, they take off their shoes and say a prayer, after which they sit around the graves and eat fruit.Children playing around the cemetery always get a (sweet) treat from the visi tors. Healing HOT SAND BATH They put their selves in the sand when theyfeel pain in their swot up or the whole body, to let the sand lick the pain and bad fluids out of the body CAMEL MILK The Bedouins take camel as their friend. They have Camel Milk to bring to diseases like Hepatitis C, stomach pain, sexual disability, digestion and immunresistancy. Half il bar are herbs from the desert cleaning the kidneys Handal is a kind of fruit from the desert we put for some time under your heel. It helps against rheumatism.