THE BEDOUINS

The Bedouin

The Sinai Desert has played an important role in the history of mankind since ancient times. Pilgrims, merchants, foreign armies and natives from the earliest days have known it as a rugged, wild, arid land, difficult to traverse and almost impossible to live in. Its population is scanty, made up mainly of some tens of thousands of Bedouins. In fact, the Sinai Desert is one of the lowest populated regions in the world.

In former days Bedouins who roamed the dry wadis (valley) and mountains of the peninsula acted as guides and protectors to Christians making pilgrimages to the monasteries in the southern Sinai and the Holy Land. With the advent of Islam, they began to escort Moslim caravans from Western lands making their pilgrimage to Mecca and trading trips.

The Bedouins of Sinai belong to several tribes. The Tarabins, the Mazaiin, to name but a few. Each tribe lives independently on its own land which it guards jealously, and each has a rich and varied folklore. Relations between men and women are governed by old traditions. The man is the master and the woman runs the household, tends the stock, and moves the camp. Children move the animals about in search of green and water.

The Bedouins live unencumbered by material possessions - bound by kinship and livelihood to the desert. They are PASTORAL NOMADS - pastoral, because they raise goats, sheep and camels - nomads because they move these animals to wherever rain has fallen and pasture sprouted. They have no fixed dwellings - home is a goatskin or camel wool tent pitched with sturdy wooden poles. Screens of dead plants are occasionally fixed to protect them from the wind.

Crime is unknown amongst the Bedouin, with complete honesty governing their behaviour. During the winter and spring when rain has fallen upon certain favoured spots and most of the population has migrated to them, one frequently comes across trees from which bundles, mats, boards, sticks and materials of a tent house hang. The owner has left the neighbourhood for the grazing period, and not wishing to take his entire house with him, merely leaves the materials out of reach of the goats. He is sure to find them untouched on his return two or three months later.

Most Bedouins perceive their desert as "the centre of the universe". This sense of security in the desert wilderness is influenced by the kinship system and tribal solidarity. Although the men often work in towns and nearby villages, they go back as soon as possible to their wives and children in the desert. All Bedouins identify themselves by the patrilineal descent system.

A tribe or qubiila is divided into clans. The clan is subdivided into households or bayt. Co-operation between households of the same lineage forms the basis for most economic and social activities. For example, before men leave their families for extended periods of time, several households gather together to hunt, harvest, work or shop.

Marriage reflects a desire to maintain the integrity of membership in the patrilineal descent system. Marriages are arranged by the spouses' families and with few exceptions unite members of the same tribe. The groom pays a dowry and both sets of parents present the newly weds with household necessities and livestock. The bride moves to the groom's camp to establish a new household. One or more married sons continue to live with their parents to ensure their security and welfare in old age.