Culture Portfolio #1- Alyssa Scheiner

the documentary

For this culture portfolio, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the Bedouin culture. My curiosity about the Bedouins began when I watched Arabia: IMAX last semester for another culture portfolio. In this documentary, a Saudi Arabian filmmaker studying in Chicago goes back to his home of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he documents the culture and history of the Arabian peoples. He begins by visiting a Bedouin camp, in which he explains that the Bedouin is like the American Cowboy because he is a cultural hero.  He also explains that to survive, the Bedouins live by a strict code of honor based on family loyalty, hospitality, and trust. According to the filmmaker, hospitality is a very important factor in Arabian culture; he said, “once you make friends with an Arab you are friends for life.”

This sparked my curiosity and caused me to want to research more about the Bedouins. I learned this past week that the term “Bedu” in Arabic is the term used for one who lives in the open desert. In ancient times, most tribes preferred to live near the water but the Bedouins fancied living in the desert. However, although the Bedouins speak Arabic, are “Arab culture’s purest representatives and the Bedouins continue to be hailed by other Arabs as “ideal” Arabs, especially because of their rich oral poetic tradition, their herding lifestyle and their traditional code of honour” they are distinct from most Arabs. This is because “of their extensive kinship networks, which provide them with community support and the basic necessities for survival.”

While I was in Israel this past winter break, I spent New Year’s Eve in a Bedouin community. While I was there, I thought about all of the things I learned from the documentary. Out in the open desert, we stayed in one of the tents:

some of us in one corner of the tent

It was very different from what I expected. For instance, I expected the tents to be like traditional camping tents- no heat, no electricity, and no lights. Yet, when we arrived, despite the tents being in the middle of the desert, they were very well heated (to everyone’s delight) and had one power strip (which the people in my group took advantage of).

all the iphones charging in the tent

I also experienced what is known as “Bedouin Hospitality”. According to my research, “The hostile desert environment did not just lead to a total dependency between the individual and the clan and to chauvinistic beliefs of the tribe’s superiority, it also obliged to a fabulous hospitality towards other desert travellers.” Although I was no desert traveler, I still experienced some of the rituals of their hospitality. For instance, one of the rituals is to give the guests  fresh cardamom-spiced Arabic coffee. Although I grudgingly drank the coffee (I really do not like coffee), I was amazed by their kindness and generosity when they served us food. I was in awe by how selfless they seemed and how willing they were to serve complete strangers.

hummus, pita, chicken, veggies &  Bedouin Hospitality

I also had the honour of being able to listen to one of the Bedouin men speak about his experience growing up in the Bedouin community. After listening to him speak about his culture, I thanked him in three languages- English then Hebrew then Arabic. I also realized a truth in my research. According to my search, “The Bedouins of Sinai are peace-loving, cultivated, courteous, joyful, fugal and hospitable in spite of their poverty ... Hospitality is in the blood of the Bedouins and wherever one meets Bedouin people in Sinai, the most amazing and lasting experience is exactly this: warmth and kindness” and it is that warmth and kindness that is the lasting memory from my experience. 

http://www.bedawi.com/Bedouin_Culture_EN.html

http://www.bedawi.com/Hospitality_EN.html