Bedouins Research Paper

Words: 660
Pages: 3

The Bedouins are a nomadic group of people that live in the deserts of the Middle East. The Bedouins inhabit parts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and Israel. They primarily speak Arabic, and have a population of about 4 million people. They are the descendants of the first settlers of Southwest Arabia, and the second settlers of North-Central Arabia. Their rivalry is one of the bloodiest to go on through the centuries. Bedouins are split into different related tribes depending on what type of animal that they depend on for life. The camel nomads are the biggest group, located in huge territories in the Syrian, Sahara, and Arabian deserts. Next are the sheep and goat nomads, who stay close to civilization in Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Cattle nomads are that smallest group and they live in South Arabia and Sudan. Bedouins typically work as blacksmiths, tinkers, artisans, or entertainers. The tribes are split into many levels. The smallest level is the single family, which is called a tent, or Bayt. The family consists of 3-4 adults, a married couple and their relatives, and all of the adults’ children. When there was an increased amount of resources, the tents would join with others to …show more content…
They had to follow all the laws, in which they had to give up raiding and feuding with villages that they lived near. Being under government rule almost completely put a stop to their nomadic way of life. Their tribes were driven together because of this and the fact that the climate wasn’t the same as it had been for centuries. “The enforced bringing together of disparate groups has triggered tribal rivalries, leading to violence and crime. One only has to recall the scene in Lawrence of Arabia when Omar Sharif's character kills Lawrence's guide for drinking from his well to see the inevitable problems that such a policy would bring”(Torr,