Bedouin is a nomad of the desert

In order to understand who are the Bedouins, it is necessary to penetrate into the history, way of life, the way of life of these people. By the way, their name does not serve as a designation of a certain nationality, but only indicates a free way of life. Bedouin is the inhabitant of the desert, wandering from place to place. That's how it was accepted by Europeans to call all the inhabitants of the Arab world. In Arabic, "Bedouin" is a "nomad" or "inhabitant of the desert".

"Children of the Desert" have never been tied to one place, regardless of their nationality or religion. The nomads mastered territories with rather severe climate conditions.

History of development and creed

The Bedouin is, as a rule, a native of the places of the Arabian Peninsula. It is this land that is considered their primitive homeland. Subsequently, the nomads spread across the Egyptian and Syrian deserts. And after the conquest of Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century, the Bedouins settled over the Sahara Desert, and as a result these lands became the second homeland of the nomads. As warriors, the Bedouin tribes gradually conquered new territories. And by the end of the 7th century the lands of nomads increased considerably and extended from Persia to the Atlantic Ocean.

In order to understand who are the Bedouins of the faith, it is necessary to return a few thousand years ago. As is known from historical sources, originally they were pagans, but later, approximately in the fourth century, Bedouins began to profess Christianity. Three centuries later, the nomads converted to Islam and began to speak Arabic.

Ways of self-management

The Bedouins, like most of the tribes, have a hierarchy where the sheikh appears as the head. This person is considered the eldest of the clan, it is he who deals with all organizational issues of the tribe and solves various conflicts. It is interesting that this title is passed exclusively on the male line.

Also in the Bedouin society, not the least role is played by the "qadi", (a person of spiritual rank, military commander and judge). His duties also include the process of marriage.

Bedouin is a nomad of the desert

The main place of residence of the Bedouins is the Syrian and Arabian deserts, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Sahara Desert, located in North Africa. Nomads always preferred to live in arid regions, whereas most other peoples chose areas with a milder climate, settled near rivers and ponds.

Desert dwellers live in many countries of the world, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan. And also in such states as Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and others.

Given the fact that it is constantly roaming people, the census of their news is quite problematic. Therefore, at the moment, the figure of 4.5 million Bedouins is considered conditional. It indicates the approximate number of all nomads in the world. More than one million Bedouins live in Syria. The largest clan of this country is the tribe of Rouvall.

Culture of the inhabitants of the desert

Bedouins inherent in the ancient tradition of blood feud, because conflicts between tribes were not uncommon. In this connection, in the course of history, based on the way of life and religiosity, a mechanism for conflict resolution was formed. This question is directly dealt with by the sheikh, if the warring parties turn to him. The head appoints the amount of moral compensation, and after its payment the incident is deemed to be exhausted.

Bedouins, like other tribes, form their political and social structure on a patriarchal basis. All nomads are divided into clans "hamullah" and tribes. They live in childbirths in huts and tents, and in each genus there may be more than forty villages. Bedouins (their photo is presented to your attention in the article) are considered excellent hunters and excellent riders, as well as interesting storytellers and good dancers.

A camel is a food or a means of transportation?

Bedouins because of frequent migrations use a limited amount of everything necessary, and the reason for this is the peculiarity of the way of life. Only camels are suitable for moving and transporting goods through deserts, which limits the possibility of transportation in large volumes. For the same reason, the Bedouin tents are quickly assembled and disassembled. Basically, they consist of cloths made of sheep's wool, which easily fit on a frame of poles and poles.

The main activity of nomads is the breeding of camels, goats and sheep. For these people, the camel is a valuable animal. It serves both for cargo transportation and for riding. Along with this, a two-humped animal supplies the owners with wool, and is also a valuable subject of sale.

One of the most important products of the daily Bedouin menu is camel's milk. Supplement to nutrition are rice, dates, sorghum and products from wheat flour. Meat nomads eat exclusively on holidays and other special celebrations, for which they slaughter the sheep and cook it on open fire. Mint tea and coffee are their favorite hot drinks.

Most of the modern Bedouins, as well as previous generations, continue to lead a nomadic way of life, engaged in farming and breeding cattle. But many of them nowadays are mainly engaged in servicing tourists. Demonstrating to them while "the life and customs of Bedouins." To a greater extent, this is inherent in the Egyptian and Sinai nomads. As for the Israeli Bedouins, they received assistance from the state, in the form of benefits and privileges, thanks to which most of them settled, creating settlements and villages. Subsequently, many Bedouins moved from livestock breeding to modern occupations.