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A Matter of Honor
| Article
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15116 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1989 |
3,531 Words |
| Author
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Longina Jakubowska
Longina Jakubowska teaches anthropology at the University of
the Pacific in Stockton, California. |
The world modernizes: Technology and consumerism spreads: a nomad hauls his herd in a truck; television antennas stick through tent roofs; a Walkman covers the ears of a shepherd. And today, no one is surprised. The Bedouin--pastoral Arab nomads who have roamed the deserts for centuries--hardly exist as such anymore. Most live in cities today.
The word Bedouin is derived from the Arabic bada' (desert). The Bedouin derived their livelihood from herding animals--camels, goats, sheep. Their life-style was a direct adaptation to the desert ecology; their movements and activities determined by the needs of their animals. Scarce reserves of underground water and sparse, unpredictable rainfall obliged movement over a large territory to ensure that herds had enough pasture and consequently people enough food. Nomads rarely consumed meat, considered a luxury, since doing so would deplete their capital. They mostly lived off animal by-products (predominantly, processed milk), as well as dried fruits, dates, and some grains. There was a time when most of their needs were fulfilled by animal products--tents were woven from camel and goat wool, and gear was made from leather.
Given the limited resources of the desert, the nomads faced the constant challenge of maintaining a precarious balance between water supplies, pasture, and animal populations. Depletion of either meant demise. The land was sparsely populated and the lonely black tents of small Bedouin groups dotted the desert. Space and freedom of movement were essential to the nomadic existence, but the Bedouin nomads did not wander aimlessly; their movements were calculated, conducted seasonally, and limited to a territory they claimed as their ancestral tribal land. Territorial rights
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