Bedouins

Bedouins (Arab. Bedāwi, 'dwellers in the desert') are Arabs who lead a nomadic life. The most ancient notices found in Scripture agree, in their descriptions of the manners and customs of the Bedouins, with the facts of the present time. As nomads, the Bedouin Arabs have no united history, but only a collection of genealogies. They have but seldom appeared as a united people taking a prominent part in the world's politics, and have never been entirely held in subjection by any foreign power. The desert of Arabia is their central place of abode; but even in ancient times they had spread themselves over the deserts of Egypt and Syria; and in later times they entered Mesopotamia and Chaldea. The conquest of Northern Africa in the 7th century opened up to them still vaster tracts. At present they are to be found from the western boundary of Persia to the Atlantic, and from the mountains of Kurdistan to the negro countries of Soudan. In the cultivated lands of Mesopotamia, Chaldea, the Syrian confines, Barbary, Nubia, and the north of Soudan, the Arabs are found intermingled with other nations; but in the deserts they have maintained their distinct character and independence. They form a seventh part of the population of Arabia. The characteristics of the Bedouins, as herdsmen and robbers in the desert, are intimately connected with the nature of their habitation. Their abstinent, precarious, and often solitary mode of life makes them disposed to exercise mutual hospitality; but their independence, love of liberty, and other good qualities, are associated with violent passions and an infamous love of plunder, reckless of the rights of property. They are lean, sinewy, and active, but commonly below middle stature. Their senses, especially sight, are keen; the nose is commonly aquiline; in complexion they are of various shades of brown. With the exception of certain tribes in Syria, all the Bedouins are professedly Mohammedans, but are as much Sabæans, and have, beyond a belief in one God, extremely little religion. Clergy are unknown, except where dread of the Wahabis extends. Though the Bedouin's intellectual powers are naturally good, they are miserably destitute of solid knowledge. Their endless tales and poetical effusions show a wonderful activity of imagination and an oriental love of hyperbole. The relation of the sexes to each other is less constrained than among the settled peoples of the East. Bigamy is rare, polygamy scarcely known; divorce of the wife is extremely common and easy. Their diet is principally derived from their herds, but includes rice, a few vegetables, honey, locusts, and even lizards. They manufacture their own woollen clothing. Many tribes shave the head; but among all the beard is a favourite object of cultivation. The political condition of the Bedouin is patriarchal. One or more families form the core of a tribe, and constitute a kind of aristocracy. Out of their number the superior sheikh is elected, who leads those of the tribe that choose to follow, and the kādi, who judges between such litigants as accept his award. But custom is law, and each tribesman is his own executive. This sketch of the Bedouin applies chiefly to the true nomads, or 'dwellers in the desert,' and is subject to modifications with regard to tribes in Barbary, Syria, and Mesopotamia, who practise agriculture, and dwell in houses.