Over time, parts of history tend to be left aside, perhaps lost, when we are constantly trying to live in the future. In this case, the Bedouin Society in the 14th Century seem to experience a loss in existence in the modern times. Inequality comes into play due to factors like colonial impacts, new cultural influences, low valuation of traditions, change of living among people etc.
inequality factor
Where had the bedouin society go in the current time? is it disregarded? Is it not the face of Arab Peninsula now as the way of living, historically, socially and economically?
As stated in my recent proposal
"Often I find topics related to European, English and Asian culture for instance. Not often do we know of these cultures that exists in the Arabic culture."
Had the Bedouin Identity and culture disappear due to foreign impacts?
Bedouin traditional clothing. (n.d.). https://www.raqs.co.nz/me/clothing_bedouin.html
Project, S. H. A. (2021). People of the Desert: Bedouin clothing. Syrian Heritage Archive. https://syrian-heritage.org/people-of-the-desert-bedouin-clothing/
Vogelsang, W. (2020, November 28). 4. The Bedouin. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-digital-exhibition/index.php/from-kaftan-to-kippa/item/55-04-the-bedouin
"Bedou" is the Arabic word for "Inhabitant of the Desert" also known as the desert dweller. For Centuries, the Bedouin tribes of Arabia migrated form oasis to oasis, wadi to wadi in the deserts of Arabia. They moved about in a land in which every element of survival - food, water, soil, energy - was devastatingly rare. And yet culture that emerged from these extremities could hardly be called arid.
Instead, from a deep understanding of the harsh realities of the land grew protectiveness of territory, an agro-pastoral lifestyle and a rich tradition of vernacular tent dwellings.
Historically, the Bedouin engaged in nomadic herding, agriculture and sometimes fishing in the Syrian steppe since 6000 BCE. By about 850 BCE, a complex network of settlements and camps was established. The earliest Arab tribes emerged from Bedouins.
Factors that led to the declining culture in the Bedouin Society
_socioeconomic and sociopolitical change among Bedouin form Algeria to Saudi Arabia
_Colonial Impacts, commercialization of patoral production, occupation change and sedentarization
_Bedouin involvement in tourism and manufacture of bedouin heritage for sale as a commodity and as a component of some Arab national heritages
This leads to the coexistence of segmentation, markets, states and class divisions are now becoming more predominant.
"Bedouin" is not an occupation recorded on national identity cards or passports. It's simply a society group that is just part of culture.
Educated urbanites in Saudi Arabia in 1968-70 mentioned that the Bedouin were all gone
They had become taxi drivers, traders, worked for the Arabian American Oil Company, served in the National Guard, low-level government employees and such.
Families settled in, boys going to school, yound and middle-aged men put aside old-fashioned styles of Bedouin clothing in favor of a new homogeneously national style. bedouin never came to town anymore on camelback but in red Ford pick-up trucks
In reference to Fieldwork(Cole 1971, 1975) observation said otherwise, where a vigorous nomadic pastoral production system still existed.
The first issue is the socioeconomic transformation the Bedouin have experienced-both at home on the range and in new occupations in villages, towns, and cities.
The second issue is change in sociopolitical relations between and among the kin-based identities and groupings strongly associated with the Bedouin and the wider state systems within which they exist.
The third issue explores a relatively newfound role of the Bedouin in the manufacture of cultural heritage consumed as a component of national identity, or authenticity in some settings and by local and global tourism in others.
The meaning of "Bedouin" have changed during the past century and before and continue to change. "Bedouin" previously denoted a way of life that was specialized and revolved around steppe-based herding. Today, "Bedouin" refers less to a "way of life" than to an "identity." The way of life was grounded in ecology and economy, the identity in heritage and culture.
The bedouin have often been treated as if they were separate from the rest of the population and somehow ouside of history.
The Bedouin have also been essentialized as a principal representative of what Abu-Lughod calls "homob segmentarius," (1989: 280-287). In her critique of Middle East anthropology's classic concern with "segmentation, segmentary lineage theory, or tribalism," Abu Lughod raises the important question: "Why privilege this aspect of society and say it accounts for the whole?" (ibid:284)
Colonialism
It wasn't an issue of descent, honor, violence or warfare but from its role in the mundane every context of herding in the open country, mainly in the past. The existence of markets, states and Islam is stressed: these institutions were as much part of Arab culture, society and politcal economy as were the genealogies and the segmentary lineages the Bedouin constructed.
Socioeconomic change on the range, Colonialism
The Bedouin were strongly linked to the livestock they raised and took care of and which were dependent on the Bedouin, who themselves depended on their animals for much of their own lifelihood and sustenance. This was a central feature of the old Bedouin economy where in the livestock constituted a person's and a family-household's capital. Animals were owned individually as private property, commonly by inheritance or purchase. Tents, kilims, blankets, saddlebags and other woven items were the private property. They also act as a currency. Bedouin livestock, and sometimes their products,"paid" for the armanents, herding and household equipment, cloth and clothing, at least some food items, coffee and tea, and incense that constitued basic and luxury needs of Bedouin in the steppe.
The socioeconomic system was complex and multifaceted. No single mode was dominant. The system changed in the early 19th Century. Since 1830, Arabic speaking people, especially the Bedouin had predominated in Algeria's well-watered plains. European colonists took over the great lands where Bedouins and settled Arabs worked as hired hands for the colonists and were pushed off the better lands into more marginal areas. With population increase and limited land of poor quality, land degradation set in, poorer yields were obtained and greater poverty was created. The privatization of landownership in the 1860s also facilitated the sale of land to European colonists. These changes introduced modern transportation, increased monetarization of the economy, development of oil industry with new employment opportunities and high wages, rapid population growth and stagnation in traditional farming. This affectly drastically on the 'nomadic way of living'.
Algeria is an extreme case due to the 132 years of French colonialism from 1830 to 1962.
Colonialism led to the decline in the Bedouin culture as Arab governments and Saudi Arabia called for sedentarization of the Bedouin. The focus moved from livestock to crop production. Oil became increasingly important in the 1950s where new infrastructure was built, new urbanization emerged and this led to more money in the economy.
Conclusion
In the case of Bedouin culture and traditions, it will always deteriorate due to foreign influence, tourism, impact of colonialism to name a few. It dials down to a matter of preserving the original ways of living.
Well, upon analysing the findings, Arabic culture decline due to it's own economic growth and external influence. The moment Algeria was colonized by the French, there had to be changes to the Bedouin system. Monetary reasons and foreign influence led to tourism and devaluation of the Bedouin tradition and lifestyle. Leading to segementation of working class, society etc.
Cultural representation and heritage, Tourism
Overtime, the real identity of an actual Bedouin is nowhere to be found. Reason being, the bedouin identity had become a pulling factor for tourism. Bdul, Bedouin residing in Petra, Jordan, have a long history of residing in Nabatean caves in the area of Petra whrere they also formerly raised goats. With this idea, a tourist site was presented " a rather atypical image of a Bedouin Tribe: No tents, no camels, few sheep, clothed in skins and living in caves."
Bdul have shifted from goat-herding into new occupations associated with the tourist industry and perceive that they become more prosperous as a result of tourism. Eventually, some Bedouins would consider themselves a "Bedu" but not "real Bedu". Simply also because over the years, traditions start to fleet, lifestyle of a Bedouin changed, no longer wearing the Bedouin Dress, no longer taking the goats, not once in life. It became a "heritage/ancestry".
"shifting self-perceptions" are heard in Bdul statements such as "its like we are almost fellahin." Bedouin are becoming more like Europe people, living in houses, with television and refrigerator. Tourism changed the course of direction.
Within Petra, tourists encounter "Bedouin motifs" in decoration, "Bedouin tents" where they can drink "Bedouin Tea" and smoke water pipers and huge plates of rice topped by a whole goat or sheep. Bedouin performances in relating to songs, tales were told as well. Tourism has also commoditized the image of Bedouin.
Some sources mentioned that, some mainly settled and found in dispersed communities and oases in the steppe, in villages, small towns and such. Some continue to be mobile and are still out on the range. Some Bedouin and many who have settled own livestock as well, however the livestock are most likely herded by hired sheperds or by one or two sons rather than by a whole family household as before. The maintenince of herds is influenced by considerations of tradition and consumption, but livestock are also seen as capital and their raising is now oriented towards and toa. large degree oranized by the market.
Struggling to maintain the pastorial traditions in the modern time, bedouin had to adapt to the modern ways to make a living.
Sons of the bedouin woman, Ohm, in the footage turned to working for real estate development companies instead to make a living while she remain and continue the bedouin lifestyle of herding goats.
Here, it captures the moment of Ohm dealing her goats by recycling garbages along the Red Sea to earn some income.
Though in the process, she has given up the safety of her nomadic life for an uncertain future.
Nomadism declined in the 20th century for economic and political reasons, including the spread of systematic agriculture, the growth of industry, and the policies of governments that view nomadism as incompatible with modern life. Irish Travellers are among the few remaining semi-nomadic groups still living in modern, industrialized communities.
Today in current times, Bedouin is referred less to a "way of life" than toan "identity".
Since in the late 1900s, when tourism, sedentarization and socialeconomic changes and such were introduced, cultural activities increases indicating form of entertainment. Camel and horse races, staging of Bedouin marriage performances for public audience, museum exhibitions, cultural radio programmes featuring Bedouin topics. Activities relating to heritage production have acquired further dominance, in that Bedouins all over the Arab world are increasingly represented as embodying ancestors of the present nation states.
Identities are now translated through vairous media like tribal history books, nabati poetry compilations and slams, internet blogs and such.
It is also mentioned that, the writing of Middle Eastern history, including that of Bedouins, has solely been in the hands of Western Historiographers, orientalists and Arab Scholars with a sedentary background.
