Sana’a – Arab desert dwellers bound by tradition and a distinct herding lifestyle, the Bedouin are a semi-nomadic ethnic group. Many of the Bedouin travel and settle as tribes in the Arabian and Syrian deserts. Even though they comprise only a small portion of the population, the Bedouin’s herding practices have brought them to many different places throughout the region.
Oases and Families
As a pastoralist group, the Bedouin can be found wandering from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara to the eastern coast of the Arabian Desert in search of the ideal oases fit for the nature of their work. They are descendants of the first settlers of southwestern Arabia (Yemen) who continually moved to find greener pastures, settle in the areas with the best resources, and gradually build their community within the comfort of desert oases.
Their mobile markets of trade are an important factor in preserving their traditions and culture. The Bedouin migrate throughout the years searching for both water and plant resources. This lifestyle brought about a unique division of tribes that follow a family-based system with several levels. The individual family unit living in a tent is called the bayt, and their community develops the core values starting from the practices and close instruction of the parents.
As the tents grow into a group of several tents known as goum, the tribe forms a distinct identity and organization among the other semi-nomadic Bedouin. They share the same ideas, values, traditions, and culture as the goum is formed with a focus on keeping parents, children, siblings, and cousins close-knit, with a great extension of the families. This system also establishes the people’s herds–the royal tribes take care of the camels while the others keep the sheep and the goats.
City Migration, Opportunities, and Dwindling Population
Throughout the decades, the Bedouin’s culture flourished, and their people worked their way across the desert. However, the strong and efficient pastoralist work of the Bedouin has decreased. At the beginning of the 1950s and 1960s, the people sought refuge in the cities of the Middle East.
The challenges of herding and the actual migration process in search of sufficient resources for nomadic families are difficult to follow and maintain. As a result, a number of them had to seek standard jobs. However, there is a huge difference of available opportunities between Bedouin men and women. The men are more likely to interact and even adjust to modern culture, whereas women remain bound by honor and tradition, keeping them within the family dwelling. The Bedouin are now exposed to a mix of Western practices as they stay in cities and leave the deserts, but this results in a lack of opportunity for advancement of the Bedouin women.
Aside from the difficulty of the work, having less abundant desert lands (i.e., oases) to settle in adds to the Bedouin’s struggles. The tradition and culture of the rich semi-nomadic tribes are gradually declining, as even the government discourages the younger members of society from living the traditional desert lifestyle. Still, many are hoping to preserve the rich and poetic traditions, herding lifestyle, and traditional code of honor of the Bedouin.
