The inhabitants of the desert
The term Bedouin refers to a nomadic population from the Arabian Peninsula living in the desert. Literally, bedu means "desert dweller" in Arabic. The Bedouin are divided into several tribes that can be found throughout the Near and Middle East as well as in the countries bordering the Sahara. While the Bedouin population has become heterogeneous through migration, they share a specific culture, social structure and dialects. The total population is estimated at about 25 million, of which a little over 6 million live in the Near and Middle East. For some, it is enough to be from a Bedouin tribe to claim membership, for others, the tradition of nomadism is an indispensable condition. Traditionally, the Bedouin are pastoral tribes who live by raising goats, sheep and camels. They live in desert areas and move regularly in search of food and water for their livestock. But the upheavals that occurred in these regions during the 19th and 20th centuries profoundly changed the Bedouin way of life. The establishment of borders, the entry of these countries into the globalized world, and government policies of integration have contributed to the sedentarization of the Bedouin. In Jordan, the population is estimated at 1,300,000 people, of whom only about ten thousand are still nomadic. There are about ten Bedouin tribes in Jordan, the largest and most influential of which is the Sakher tribe, which is mainly present in Amman and Madaba. The Bedouin living in the Wadi Rum desert belong to the Howeytat tribe, while those living on the eastern bank of the Jordan River belong to the Hasan tribe. The Bedouin are predominantly Muslim, although there are a few Christian tribes, especially in Jordan.
At the origin of the Bedouins
The Bedouin originated in the Arabian desert and trace their lineage back to Adnan, the ancestor of the northern Arabs, grandson of Ismail, or to Qahtan, the mythical ancestor of the southern Arabs. However, it is known that they occupied the Syrian steppes around 6000 BC, well before the birth of Adnan, estimated at 122 BC. The Bedouins of Syria were already practicing nomadic pastoralism. By 850 BC, they had a well-established social and geographical organization. They were divided into tribes occupying vast territories within which they moved. They derived their income from the taxation of caravans passing through their territories or drove caravans themselves carrying goods and people across the desert. The early history of the Bedouin is, however, poorly known and few facts are known before the Ottoman period. It seems that the grammarians in charge of standardizing the Arabic language in the High Middle Ages referred to the Bedouins when in doubt about the pronunciation of a word and its exact transcription. The nomads had the reputation of practicing the purest Arabic. The Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta mentions them in his travel diary while traveling to Gaza from Sinai in 1326. He reports that the border post of Qatya is guarded by Bedouins who are responsible for collecting taxes for the Egyptian authorities.
The Ottoman period
The Ottoman Empire, if it relied on the Bedouin tribes at first, was quick to turn its back on them when it began to lose its power. The looting of the Hajj caravan in 1757 marked a turning point in their shared history. That year, Qadan al-Fayez of the Sakher tribe massacred a caravan of pilgrims returning from Mecca, killing 20,000. This attack came against the backdrop of the Ottomans' alleged failure to pay the tribe for its services in protecting pilgrims on the roads to Mecca. A century later, as the power of the Turkish Empire began to crumble, the Sultan undertook a series of reforms. One of these reforms was a law requiring the registration of land, in order to improve the collection of land taxes. The Bedouins were reluctant to submit to the procedure for several reasons. Many of them are illiterate and do not understand what is at stake in such a reform; others refuse to pay tribute for land they have always occupied; and more generally, they do not have a written record or title to prove that the land belongs to them. The land then fell into the hands of the empire and the Bedouin had to obtain a lease called tapu in order to dispose of it.
From nomadism to sedentarization
By making the Middle East a major geopolitical issue, Great Britain and France contributed to the sedentarization of the Bedouins initiated by the Turks. The First World War led to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the takeover of the Middle East by the two great European victors of the war. Borders were drawn to form countries from scratch, limiting the traditional nomadism of the Bedouins. However, they still have some possibility of cross-border travel, as is the case for the Rwala tribe, which continues to transhume annually between Syria and Saudi Arabia. The advent of motorized vehicles also contributes to the collapse of the Bedouin economy. The need for camels to ply the caravan routes disappeared. Goods were transported by boat up the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The independence of the countries of the Near and Middle East obtained at the end of the Second World War completed the sedentarization of the Bedouins. The new governments set up needed more than ever to control their population, while the survival of the Arab world was at stake in the face of the creation of the State of Israel and the antagonisms between Sunnis and Shiites were growing stronger.
The family at the heart of the tribe
Bedouin society is based on blood ties. The societal organization starts from the individual and expands in concentric circles according to the apothegm "I am against my brother, my brother and I are against our cousin, my cousin and I are against the stranger". The man constitutes the core and integrates in his first circle his parents, his brothers and sisters, his wife and his children. The second circle includes aunts and uncles, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and parents-in-law. The third circle forms the clan, where family ties can still be traced. The aggregation of clans forms the tribe. Each clan or tribe recognizes the authority of a sheikh. This is not a chief as such, but a wise man who gives advice. Members of the same tribe defend a common code of honor. Women are in possession of theird, a virtue that can be lost through sexual transgression. Theird goes beyond virginity, as it involves an emotional and moral dimension. Thus, a woman can lose her ird without violating her virginity, for example by having a platonic relationship. Similarly, when she marries, she loses her virginity without damaging the integrity of her ird. Once theird is lost, it cannot be regained. Men follow a code of honor called charaf. It involves the protection of theird of women in the family, the territory and the tribe. Charaf and hamasa are inseparable. The second refers to the courage that every man must show in his daily life and in defending the honor of the clan or tribe. Finally, diyafa, the obligation of hospitality, is one of the virtues linked to the Bedouin moral code. The Bedouin are obliged to house and feed a stranger, even if he is an enemy. Poverty is not a reason for exemption.
Ordination and the Law of Talion
The traditional Bedouin judicial system differs from tribe to tribe. The administration of justice predates the advent of Islam. However, since the assimilation of the Bedouin into the state structures, they have been subject to the Sharia or the penal code in force. The traditions of trial by ordeal and the law of retaliation have fallen into disuse. Ordination was only applied to the most serious crimes. It involved testing a suspect for the truth by inflicting particularly severe punishment. The custom of the bishaa was the most frequently applied. It consisted of passing a white-hot spoon over the suspect's tongue. If the suspect passed the test without a trace of burning, he was considered innocent. The ordeal could only be administered by a special court composed of hereditary judges. The judicial administration could count from 1 to 3 levels depending on the tribe. In case of a blood crime, the law of Talion was applied, without even waiting for a court decision. Cousins up to the5th degree were obliged to avenge the victim. If the murderer could not be found, another member of his tribe was targeted. In the absence of prisons, crimes were usually punished by corporal punishment or even death. Minor offences against the code of honour were punished by fines. The rule of solidarity applied, and if the offender failed to pay the money due, it was then demanded from members of his close circle.
Customs and traditions
The Bedouins have few possessions. It is limited to their tents, their herds and the jewelry worn by the women. The tents are made of large blankets woven from mixed goat and sheep hair, which makes them waterproof. They are divided into two parts, separated by a removable decorative partition called a gata. The first part is for men and guests; the second for women, children and cooking. The women manage the essential tasks, such as supplying water and wood, cooking, weaving, raising children, milking animals; the children watch over the herds; the men plan the tasks and provide the social link between the different members of the tribe. The Bedouin diet is essentially based on dairy products: fresh milk, butter, cheese. Unleavened bread or rice is added when stocks permit. Meat is reserved for weddings and big parties or in the presence of a guest. The Bedouin move more frequently in winter, during the rainy season. They position themselves on the edge of the desert in the summer. The Bedouin culture of the tribes of Petra and Wadi Rum are listed as Intangible Heritage by UNESCO since 2008.
