Jordan: A Bedouin woman of Wadi Musa wearing an embroidered gown, early 20th century, c. 1910

The Bedouin ( from the Arabic badawī بَدَوِي, pl. badū بَدْو or al-badaw البَدَوِ) are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ʿašāʾir (عَشَائِر). The term 'Bedouin' means, 'those in bādiyah' or 'those in the desert'.

Starting in the late nineteenth century, many Bedouin under British rule began to transit to a semi-nomadic life. In the 1950s and 1960s, large numbers of Bedouin throughout Midwest Asia started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities of Midwest Asia, especially as ranges have shrunk and populations have grown. For example, in Syria the Bedouin way of life effectively ended during a severe drought from 1958 to 1961, which forced many Bedouin to abandon herding for standard jobs. Similarly, governmental policies in Egypt and Israel, oil production in the Persian Gulf, as well as a desire for improved standards of living, effectively led most Bedouin to become settled citizens of various nations, rather than stateless nomadic herders. Governmental policies pressing the Bedouin have in some cases been executed in an attempt to provide service (schools, health-care, law enforcement etc.), but in others have been based on the desire to seize land traditionally roved and controlled by the Bedouin.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

Library of Congress

Credit:

Pictures From History