Bedouins’ Values Before and After Unification

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Abstract

The Bedouin culture in the UAE has played an important role in the development of the country. Bedouin tribes were nomads who mainly reared cattle and had to live in rather harsh environments. Emirati Bedouins were integrated into the UAE society and became a part of the urban population. The purpose of this study is to explore the beliefs and values, as well as the life of Bedouin people in the UAE. The review of the literature suggests that Bedouins of different ages have diverse views on values and culture. This qualitative study is based on the use of semi-structured interviews. Since the focus is on people from different age groups, nine people aged between 20 and 70 years took part in the research.

Two out of three participants in the 20-50 age group noted that they did not experience the nomadic lifestyle and do not see the way the Bedouin culture can be applied in modern life. These participants still respect their cultural heritage and show a certain interest in it. Older generations exhibit strong ties to the values and beliefs and various cultural norms of their ancestors. All the participants share some major values, such as hospitality and family. The reasons behind the attitudes of Bedouins aged between 20 and 50 include the fact that these people did not witness the culture, and they were raised in the urban settings with its comfort. Older generations were exposed to the culture and were involved in the nomadic existence, which makes them more adherent to traditions. Importantly, irrespective of age, Bedouins share the central values, which shows that their cultural heritage may be less pronounced by major principles are as strong as ever.

Introduction

The Bedouin culture presents a unique domain for understanding the historical and social development of the UAE. These tribes and their rulers formed the core of the modern UAE society, integrating into urban life while still retaining some of their ancestors’ traditions. Historically, UAE Bedouins lived in the desert, surviving in extreme weather conditions and traveling from place to place, which formed their traditions and culture. Upon unification, a large number of Bedouins abandoned their nomadic lifestyle to settle in the cities and villages, which inevitably affected their existence. Understanding the changes that occurred in the lifestyle, traditions, and culture of these people is essential. This paper aims to examine the values, beliefs, and existence of the UAE Bedouine people by examining the literature and conducting interviews, and analyzing the actual state of Bedouin’s existence.

Purpose of the Research

Despite the apparent changes in the existence of the Bedouin, throughout generations, these individuals aim to preserve their culture and traditions in the new conditions of existence. Degen, El-Meccawi, and Kam (2019) and Zacharias (2018) point out that although cattle such as camels, goats, or sheep are no longer an integral component of their survival, many young Bedouins express their desire to sustain the culture. For instance, as suggested by the literature review, they breed camels because they perceive it as part of their culture, a tradition that connected them to their roots. These findings of the literature review suggest a need to examine the issue of Bedouine culture in the modern UAE more in-depth, by communicating with different generations of the Bedouin people and examining their current lifestyle. This research aims to understand the specific changes to the Bedouine existence, such as an alteration of how and where they live and sustain their living. Additionally, the aspect of values, culture, and traditions is of interest to this research since it is possible that the more urban lifestyle affected these elements.

The role of Bedouine tribes in the context of the modern UAE society formation is enormous. Bussow, Frantz, and Leder (2015) argue that the Arab East culture and society cannot be fully comprehended without examining the development of the Bedouine tribes within this territory. The regional specifics, including the political and organization and the development of the UAE, cannot be understood without this essential element. Therefore, this paper aims to fill the research gap by focusing on the way that the Bedouins were affected by the unification and how their non-nomadic lifestyle correlates with the values and traditions prevalent in the Bedouine culture. Notably, from the literature review, one can conclude that the majority of traditions within this culture were formed as a response to the harsh lifestyle of living in the desert, such as hospitality for strangers and camel breeding. Thus, upon abandoning this lifestyle, the Bedioune people no longer have to engage in this activity and follow the traditions, although the literature review suggests that many young people respect the traditions and want to preserve their Bedouine culture. Hence, the primary purpose of this research is to examine the values, beliefs, and existence that the Bedouin tribes had pre-unification using specific literature and compare them with the interview outcomes.

Hypothesis

This paper hypothesizes that due to assimilation and adaptation to the modern lifestyle, the younger generations of Bedouins have a different perception of their culture, values, and existence when compared to the older generation. As one can conclude from the literature review, the Bedouin people have successfully adapted to the modern urban lifestyle. They use transportation, education, and healthcare system benefits and work in regular positions, such as accountants, secretaries, and others. However, it is unclear how this alteration of the lifestyle, from a nomad to a city inhabitant, affected their perception of the culture and traditions that their ancestors had.

The hypothesis implies that some changes to the perception of Bedouine heritage are present within the modern-day Bedouine. However, the extent to which these people perceive their culture differently is unclear, especially for the modern generation. As suggested by the literature review, the older generation of the Bedouine people, more specifically, those who are more than 50 years old, was able to experience the nomad lifestyle. The younger generation, however, was born and raised in the cities or villages, with contemporary education and jobs (“Bedouine,” n.d.). It is evident that a disruption between these generations exists, and this inevitably should affect the way younger people view their traditions.

Hence, this research explores the following hypothesis – the older generation of Bedouins, aged from 35 to 60, and these are two different age groups in this research – people aged 35 to 50 and 60 to 70, hold on to their culture and traditions. Additionally, people aged 20 to 34 years old adhere to the Bedouine traditions, but also follow a more liberal lifestyle. Through the interviews with nine people from different age groups, this research aims to test this hypothesis and determine the specific traditions that are not followed by the younger generation of Bedouins.

Literature Review

Traditionally, the life of bedouins consisted of a constant battle with the harsh conditions of the desert they lived in, and the primary aim of this literature review is to examine modern bedouin life. Bedouin is “a nomadic Arab of the desert,” as defined by the Visit Dubai initiative, which means that they are people living in a desert, usually traveling from place to place (“Bedouin life in Dubai,” n.d., para. 1; “The aspects of UAE’s social life,” 2019). They are considered the oldest inhabitants of the Arabic deserts, suggesting that they represent an ancient culture and traditions. With the changes that affected the UAE and rapid urbanization, the Bedouine people had to adjust their lifestyles and settle in villages or cities, which suggests that life in the contemporary UAE does not resemble that of forty years ago (“The story of U.A.E.,” n.d.; Langham & Barker, 2016). The Bedouins formed the core of the UAE’s society since they inhabited this territory for centuries, forming their traditions and culture.

This group is semi-nomadic, meaning that the Bedouin people spent their life traveling across the Arabian desert. The typical weather conditions in this region include hot sun and dry weather together with a lack of water or other natural resources (“Bedouin life in Dubai,” n.d.). Despite these difficulties, the Bedouin people learned how to travel across the desert using the sun or the stars as their primary navigation means, and to use the scarce resources they were able to find.

However, it is evident that in the modern-day UAE, the Bedouin people changed their nomadic lifestyle. Therefore, considering this context, it is interesting to find out how different generations of Bedouin adapt to the modern-day lifestyle and how they retain their culture and traditions. Zacharias (2018) visited the town Qoa to examine the way that the Bedouins in this area live. Notably, the journalist reports that although camel-breeding, which was a traditional occupation for the Bedouin, became less relevant, Bedouins are still engaged in this occupation. As explained by Degen, El-Meccawi, and Kam (2019), camels were traditionally used as a transportation means as well as a source of nourishment for these people. However, the authors argue that the younger generation of the Bedouin people does not perceive camels as part of their identity as much as the older generation.

As such, they no longer breed these animals in large quantities or use their milk and meat for food. Nowadays, there are bred mainly as a source of income for the people in Qoa since their camels are well-respected in the region and used in racetracks. Notably, Zacharias (2018) points out that the majority of the people interviewed, whose age was from 29 to 38 years old, state that they see camel breeding as a distinct part of their culture, and not as a way of obtaining profits. This suggests that even the Bedouin people who settled in towns and cities still respect and adhere to their traditions.

Hospitality is another distinct feature of the Bedouin culture. Zibin and Abdullah (2019), argue that contemporary Bedouine homes can be described as simple but welcoming. This may be connected to the harsh conditions of the climate in the desert, which implied reliance on each other for survival that the Bedouins carried out into their modern lives. Bille (2017) supports this conclusion and argues that the Bedouins use specific approaches to creating light and shadow in their homes, through tinted windows, which allows them to sustain a welcoming atmosphere.

In general, the reviewed literature provides evidence suggesting that culture and traditions remain to be integral for the Bedouins in UAE. They have great respect for their family and adhere to the code of conduct (“The aspects of UAE’s social life,” 2019; Elnokaly, 2018). This cohesiveness of the family is supported both by tribal values and religion.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), bedouins were affected by several historical events. According to Zacharias (2018), the “government invited them to settle permanently following the unification of the UAE in 1971” (para. 5). The author refers to the formation of the federation, which unified the emirates. Next, Jones (2017) argues that the government aims to transform the Bedouin culture by making it more modern and comprehensive to others. This implies that they should be ready to face the globalized world. This suggests that their existence and core values are affected by the political and social structures.

The evidence that the Bedouine culture is central for UAE and understanding how it transformed over the years is essential is connected to the fact that the Bani Yas tribal confederation, which ruled the tribes consisted of today’s ruling families’ ancestors (“The story of U.A.E.,” n.d.; Sabban, 2019). Arguably, the rapid expansion of the cities in UEA has an impact on all people, including the Bedouins. A refreshing outlook on the contemporary life of the Bedouin people is presented by Larsen (2017), who explores a village inhabited by Bedouins. According to the author, the examined Bedouin people use modern means of transportation to move between different locations, such as the village, the Dubai city, and specific establishments. Their children attend schools and universities, often going abroad to study, and they use modern medicine as well. As such, from a first glance, one can conclude that the life of contemporary Bedouins examined by Larsen does not differ from the life of others.

The previous paragraphs suggest that a lot of Bedouins settled in cities and villages, however, it is necessary to determine if their perception of culture and traditions changed. According to Zibin and Abdullah (2019), many have retained their culture by continuing to use tents, drink milk from camels, and breed the latter as part of the tradition. Several decades ago, the typical lifestyle of a UAE Bedouine could be explained as follows – they “migrated with their animals mainly between a major inland oasis-settlement – where they spent summer – to Dubai, a commercial town located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, where they camped during winter” (Larsen, 2017, p. 233). From this information, it can be concluded that the Bedouins have altered their existence past unification. However, their core values have remained the same.

Research Methodology

For this paper, the methodology of an interview was chosen. This approach helps capture the specifics of Bedouin’s opinions regarding their cultural heritage and ask some follow-up questions if clarification is necessary. For this research, three individuals from different age groups, 20-34, 35-50, and 60-70 years old, were selected. Next, they were interviewed using questions presented in Appendix A to determine their perception of the Bedouin culture, modern lifestyle, values, and traditions, and in total, eight questions were developed for this interview. The methodology of a semi-structured interview allows one to outline some of the essential questions while providing the freedom to ask additional ones, not mentioned in the outline, if necessary. As such, this approach allows researchers to alter the course of the interview if necessary. Because the nature of this Bedouine research implies a qualitative assessment of results, the analysis of answers will be presented in the discussion section of the paper.

Findings and Results

In total, nine interviews were conducted for this research, each lasting from thirty to forty-five minutes, during which the Bedouins were the aspect of answering the questions presented in Appendix A. The participants were informed that they do not have to answer all the questions if, for some reason, they feel uncomfortable or do not have enough information for the response. Regardless, all nine participants answered the eight questions, outlining their lifestyle and beliefs. Notably, the younger generation of people aged 20 to 34 had difficulty answering the final question about urbanization and its impact on the Bedouins. Two out of the three argued that they did not witness the Beduoine lifestyle before unification, making it difficult to compare the two in detail. One of the participants cited the apparent differences in the nomadic and settled lifestyles, arguing that such changes inevitably affect the way people value and traditions. In general, the responses in this section suggest that this population experiences a disruption in understanding the Bedouine values and beliefs due to their urban lifestyle. As opposed to the generation of 60 to 70 years old people, who could refer to the importance of maintaining the core beliefs of the Bedouins, the young people refuse to follow some of the traditions as they do not see their purpose. Therefore, the unification and settling in permanent locations affected each generation of Bedouins differently. As a result, young people adhere to a more liberal approach when viewing their values and beliefs.

Discussion

Regardless, the responses of the younger Bedouine generation suggest that this age group respects their Bedouine traditions and culture. However, it is also evident that they do not follow all the traditions, adhering to a more liberal lifestyle. The evident factor is that they live in cities, permanently settled, without a need to travel to a different location in different seasons. Only one out of the three respondents cited adherence to all Bedouin traditions arguing that it is an integral part of life. The three received a traditional education in school and college, with one participant still being in a University. These findings suggest that contemporary Bedouins were affected by unification. The most evident changes are their existence – as all the generations examined in this research had a permanent home and a traditional occupation. However, all of them argued that core elements of their values, such as respect for their family and hospitality, were still essential to them.

The older generation perceives their Bedouine culture more seriously when compared to the youth. Although the majority accepts the fact that urbanization affected their life positively, the three cited that they view camel breeding as an integral part of their culture and would want to indulge in this activity if they had an opportunity. The three worked regular jobs throughout their lives, and one can conclude that they were fully integrated into the urban society, which is substantiated by the findings from the literature review (“The history of the U.A.E,’ n.d.). The generation of 35 to 50 years old people argued still holds on to their beliefs, although less thoroughly than the 60 to 70 age group. Notably, question 6 from Appendix A aims to determine if the participants viewed their culture as an integral part of their life. Table 1 in Appendix B below provides the answers to all nine participants. The analysis of the responses suggests that unification has an impact on each generation of the Bedouins, although they continue to view the values and beliefs as necessary.

Research limitations include the small sample size of the Bedouin population examined for this research. Although the three participants from different generations were allowed to examine the differences in Bedouin’s perception of culture and values, one can argue that a larger sample is necessary for a more comprehensive review. Some gaps that can be addressed through further investigation are more details about the current Bedouin life, such as the occupation, educational background, view of their lifestyle post-unification, and other specific elements of their day-to-day life.

Conclusion

Overall, this paper examined the literature that evaluates the lifestyle, culture, and traditions of the Bedouin people and presented research focused on the interview. The aim was to determine whether the unification of the UAE affected their existence, as well as values and beliefs using the example of three generations – people aged 20 to 34, 35 to 50, and 60 to 70 years old. The interview responses suggest that the older generation of Bedouins pertains to their values and beliefs, adhering to all traditions and maintaining the core values such as hospitality, family, and pride for their culture. The younger generation follows a more liberal path while maintaining respect for the traditional culture since most respondents cited that they are not sure what impact the Bedouine traditions have on their life. Therefore, the results of this research support the hypothesis and the literature findings, suggesting that the values and existence of Bedouins in the UAE have changed after unification. This population was primarily affected by urbanization and the move away from the nomad lifestyle.

References

The aspects of UAE’s social life. (2019). Web.

Bussow, J., Franz, K., & Leder, S. (2015). The Arab East and the Bedouin component in modern history: Emerging perspectives on the Arid Lands as a social space. Journal Of The Economic And Social History Of The Orient, 58(1-2), 1-19. Web.

Bedouin, Gulf in the United Arab Emirates.(n.d.). Web.

Bedouin life in Dubai. (n.d.). Web.

Bille, M. (2017). Ecstatic things: The power of light in shaping bedouin homes. Home Cultures, 14(2), 25-49.

Elnokaly, A. (2018). Cultural heritage as a comprehensive evolutionary perspective on regional resilience of the Bedouins of Nuweiba in South Sinai, Egypt. In: Heritage 2018: 6th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development, 12-15 June 2018, Granada, University of Granada.

The history of the U.A.E. (n.d.). Web.

Degen, A. D., El-Meccawi, S. & Kam, M. (2019). The changing role of camels among the bedouin of the Negev. Human Ecology, 47(2), 193-204.

Jones, C. W. (2017). Bedouins into Bourgeois: Remaking citizens for globalization. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Langham, E. & Barker, D. (2016). Spectacle and participation: A new heritage model from the UAE. In K. Exell & T. Rico (Eds.), Cultural heritage in the Arabian Peninsula: Debates, discourses and practices. (pp. 10-24). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Larsen, K. A. (2017). Moving around: How Bedouin villagers in Dubai respond to the challenges of urban expansion. Cesky Lid, 104(2), 231-245.

Sabban, R. (2019). In/dependence of the local and dependence of the foreign: The UAE family, domestic service, and a precarious future. Brill, 10, 103-124.

The story of U.A.E. (n.d.). Web.

Zacharias, A. (2018). Neighbourhood watch: A rare glimpse of Bedouin life in the humble border town of Qoa. The National. Web.

Zibin, A. & Abdullah, A. D. (2019). The conceptualization of tolerance in the UAE press media: A case study of ‘the year of tolerance’.Open Linguistics, 5, 405–420.

Appendix A

The Interview Questions

Describe your current lifestyle, such as your occupation?
Please describe your ethnic background, what you know about your ancestors, their lifestyle, and beliefs.
How has urbanization affected your life?
What are your views of camel breeding and other aspects of the Bedouine culture?
How do you perceive the Bedouin culture and traditions?
Do you think that Bedouin culture is a central element of your life? More specifically, do you still adhere to the traditions and relate to the values prevalent within the Bedoine culture? (Yes, no, or not sure)
What aspects of the Bedouin traditions are present in your life?
Do you think that the Bedouin culture was strongly affected by urbanization and settling in the villages and cities? If yes, do you think this impact was negative or positive?

Appendix B

Table 1. Answers to question 6 (created by the author).

Respondent	Answer
1. Age group 20-35	Not sure
2. Age group 20-35	Yes
3. Age group 20-35	Not sure
4. Age group 35-50	Yes
5. Age group 35-50	Yes
6. Age group 35-50	No
7. Age group 60-70	Yes
8. Age group 60-70	Yes
9. Age group 60-70	Yes

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