Tahiti Tourisme/Gregoire Le Bacon
The History & Culture of Jordan's Bedouin
The English word Bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means “desert dweller”. Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the rocky sands of the Middle East. They are traditionally divided into tribes and historically share a common culture of herding camels and goats. The vast majority of Bedouins adhere to Islam, although there are fewer numbers of Christian Bedouins. The Bedouins’ ethos comprises courage, hospitality, loyalty to family and pride of ancestry.
Most of the Bedouin tribes migrated from the Arabian Peninsula to what is Jordan today between the 14th and 18th centuries. Most of Jordan’s Bedouin live in the vast land that extends east from the Desert Highway. The eastern Bedouin are camel breeders and herders, while the western Bedouin herd sheep and goats. Some Bedouin in Jordan are semi-nomads, they adopt a nomadic existence during part of the year but return to their lands and homes in time to practice agriculture.
The Jordanian government provides the Bedouin with different services such as education, housing and health clinics. However, some Bedouins give it up and prefer their traditional nomadic lifestyle.
While many Bedouins have abandoned their nomadic and tribal traditions for a modern urban lifestyle, many retain traditional Bedouin culture such as the traditional clan structure, traditional music, poetry, dances, and many other cultural practices and concepts. Urbanized Bedouins often organize cultural festivals, usually held several times a year, in which they gather with other Bedouins to partake in and learn about various Bedouin traditions—from poetry recitation and traditional sword dances to playing traditional instruments and even classes teaching traditional tent knitting. Traditions like camel riding and camping in the deserts are still popular leisure activities for urban Bedouins who live in close proximity to deserts or other wilderness areas.
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