Ada Katsap
Kaye Academic College of Education, Beer-Sheva, Israel
and
Fredrick L. Silverman
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado, USA
Ethnomathematics of Negev Bedouins’ Existence in Forms, Symbols, and Geometric
Patterns provokes a journey into the world of Negev Bedouins and attests to the
beauty and sophistication of mathematics that occurs naturally in their craftwork,
structures, games, and throughout Bedouin life. The major focus is Bedouin women’s
traditional craftwork by which they reflect social and cultural activities in their
weaving, embroidery, and similar pursuits. Their creations reveal mathematical
ideas incorporated in embroidery compositions in repeated patterns of flowers and
geometric figures in varying scales. The women use ground staked looms, stabilized
by block-stones, to make multi-color, repeating pattern strip-rugs in a process
practiced for generations. An image of this appears in the book’s cover photo
collage. Bedouin men construct dwellings, tents, desert wells, and such. They and
their children play games attuned to sand and other specific desert conditions.
These activities of Bedouin women, men, and children require mathematical
thinking and strategic reasoning to achieve desired outcomes.
Numerous photographs document the examples of Bedouin ethnomathematics. They
are the subject of considerable analysis and appear throughout the book.
ISBN 978-94-6209-948-7
SensePublishers
DIVS
Ada Katsap and Fredrick L. Silverman
The book opens with a narrative of Bedouin history, followed by a brief overview
of ethnomathematics, and concludes with discussion about bridging the gap
between school mathematics experiences and those outside school. It considers
mathematically problematic situations embedded in Bedouin sociocultural heritage
likely to appeal to teachers for use with school students. The book is intended
for a diverse audience from Bedouin communities in different countries to the
general public and professionals, including ethnomathematicians and mathematics
educators.
Ethnomathematics of Negev Bedouins’ Existence
in Forms, Symbols and Geometric Patterns
Ethnomathematics of Negev Bedouins’
Existence in Forms, Symbols and
Geometric Patterns
Spine
17.399 mm
Ethnomathematics
of Negev Bedouins’
Existence in Forms,
Symbols and Geometric
Patterns
Ada Katsap and
Fredrick L. Silverman
Ethnomathematics of Negev Bedouins’ Existence in
Forms, Symbols and Geometric Patterns
Ethnomathematics of Negev Bedouins’ Existence in
Forms, Symbols and Geometric Patterns
Ada Katsap
Kaye Academic College of Education, Beer-Sheva, Israel
and
Fredrick L. Silverman
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado, USA
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-94-6209-948-7 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-94-6209-949-4 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-94-6209-950-0 (e-book)
Published by: Sense Publishers,
P.O. Box 21858,
3001 AW Rotterdam,
The Netherlands
https://www.sensepublishers.com/
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved © 2016 Sense Publishers
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the
exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and
executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Introduction
Chapter 1: Negev and Its Inhabitants
3
1.1. History of the Negev: Since the Beginning of Time up to the
Establishment of the State of Israel
1.2. Geography and Topography of the Negev
3
10
13
Chapter 2: Bedouins
2.1. The Origin of Bedouins
2.2. The Bedouins in the Land of Israel
2.3. Negev Bedouins’ Identity
2.4. Demography
Chapter 3: A Look at Ethnomathematics
13
16
19
25
29
3.1. Preface to Ethnomathematics
29
3.2. Introduction to Ethnomathematics: Study and Research in
Ethnomathematics32
3.3. Several Other Definitions of Ethnomathematics
34
3.4. The Role of Ethnomathematics in Mathematics Education
35
Part 2: Ethnomathematics of the Bedouin Embroidery and Weave
Chapter 4: Bedouin Women and Embroidery
4.1. Bedouin Women on Modern-Traditional Axis:
Functioning and Mobility
4.2. Feminine Bedouin Enterprises
4.3. Embroidery: Traditional Women’s Handcraft in Palestine and
around the World
Chapter 5: Identity of the Negev Bedouin Women’s Embroideries:
Dress and Dwelling Decorations
5.1. Dress Embroidery
5.2. Embroidered Dress Parts
5.3. Decorative Embroidered Belongings
v
45
45
48
53
55
55
62
65
Table of Contents
Chapter 6: Transformations, Shapes and Patterns Analysis in the
Negev Bedouins’ Embroideries
69
6.1. A Brief Account of the Symmetries of Frieze and Wallpaper Groups
6.2. Frieze Group Features in the Embroideries
6.3. Wallpaper Groups Features in the Embroideries
6.4. Color Symmetry and Its Features in the Embroideries
6.5. Escher’s Filling-Plane Model in Bedouin Embroidery Compositions
6.6. The Embroiderer’s Story
6.7. An Insight into the Embroidery Patterns
69
74
81
85
92
102
107
Chapter 7: Patterns, Colors, and Designs in Bedouins Rugs and Other Items
167
7.1. Negev Weaving
7.2. Stripe Patterns, Designs, and Color Combinations among
Negev Bedouin
7.3. Negev Bedouin Families’ Woven Items
167
174
185
Part 3: The Bedouin Way of Life: Ethnomathematics Anywhere
Chapter 8: Measurable Division of Ground Shapes:
Family-Cultural-Geographical Viewpoint
209
8.1. Division of Ground Shapes of Unrecognized Villages in the
Northern Negev
8.2. Visit with the Shepherd
8.3. Arabic Measurement Units of Length
210
218
223
Chapter 9: Well, Waterhole, and Tent: The Inseparable Constructions
of Negev Bedouins Desert Existence
229
9.1. Water in Negev Desert
9.2. Waterholes
9.3. Water Wells
9.4. Tent
Chapter 10: Games as Bedouin Heritage for All Generations
10.1. Games People Play
10.2. The Negev Bedouins’ Games
Chapter 11: Epilogue
vi
229
231
238
241
253
253
256
273
Table of Contents
Part 4: Bridging between Life and School: Why and How
Chapter 12: Interweaving the Ethnomathematical Approach into
Teaching and Learning Mathematics
281
12.1. The Linkages between Ethnomathematics, Mathematics and
Curriculum281
12.2. Ethnomathematics in Mathematics Preservice Teachers’
Education in Practice
283
Chapter 13: Ethnomathematics in Mathematics Curriculum via
Ethnomathematical Word Problems: The Case Problems Arising in
Negev Bedouin Culture and Society
13.1. Pros and Cons of Integrating Ethnomathematics in
Mathematics School Curriculum
13.2. Ethnomathematical Problems as an Issue of an
Ethnomathematical Approach
13.3. The Bedouin School Students Engaging with Ethnomathematical
Problematic Situations
289
289
291
295
Appendix305
References311
vii
Part 1
Introduction
Chapter 1
Negev and its inhabitants
The new-old story of the Negev and its inhabitants begins in the 4th millennium
BC, continues with the Bedouins establishing their residence in the region in the 7th
century AD and, even today, when the main bulk of the Bedouins living in Israel
converged in the Negev. Inevitability, development also led to a process of Bedouin
transition from nomadic and tribal to a modern urban way of life. The dilemma
each Bedouin confronts is far from being simple: how to preserve the tradition and
customs passed from generation to generation on one hand, and to adapt and fulfill
oneself in a modern society on the other.
The term, Negev, is from the Arabic, al-Naqab, in Hebrew,
. The Negev is a
desert and semi-desert region in southern Israel. The origin of the word, Negev, is
from the Hebrew root, which denotes dry or wipe dry. In the Bible, Negev is also
used for the direction, south.
The term, Bedouin, is from the Arabic, badawiyyūn, in Hebrew,
. The term
is defined as a man who lives in a desert. Contemporary Bedouins are a Chapter of
a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes
or clans.
1.1. History of the Negev: Since the beginning of time up to the
establishment of the State of Israel
The abundant history of the Negev took shape hand in hand with the history of the
Land of Israel since the dawn of civilization. Wars and conquests, which raged in
Israel, affected the Negev as well, and often the region was the central scene of the
events that affected the whole Land of Israel. In this introduction, we deal with the
Negev region only and mention the historic events of the greater Land of Israel only
if they are relevant to the comprehension of the legacy of the Negev.
Let us look through the main facts regarding the region known as the Negev
and its settling by various kingdoms and people, associated with the history of the
Bedouin population in it. Opinions differ about the beginning of settlements in the
region, and the accepted hypothesis is that this process began in the 4th millennium
BC (Aref al-Aref, 1937/2000). Archeological findings from various sites across
the region indicate that the first settlers had already taken residence here in the
Chalcolithic period (approx. 4000 BC). They made their living from livestock,
hunting, and seasonal agriculture, as well as the manufacture of bronze tools and
trading with Africa in the south, Turkey in the north, Mesopotamia in the East, and
Egypt in the west.
3
Chapter 1
The Negev, and especially the Beersheba district, is replete with events linked
biblically to history of the people of Israel. In the beginning of the 2nd millennium
(approx. 2000 BC), the patriarch Abraham and his kin passed through Canaan in
order to settle in the Land of Israel. They followed orders from the Almighty and
elected to stay in the Negev, alongside of Beersheba, the primary city of the Negev.
The Jewish Bible story begins when Abraham dug a well and planted a tamarisk tree
in the place known as Beersheba (i.e., officially, Be’er Sheva, Arabic, Bir Seb’a,
Hebrew,
or seven wells). In the Jewish Bible, it is stated that Abraham,
whose birth name was Abram, and his brother, Isaac, dug the wells when they arrived.
Figure 1.1. Beer Sheba and its surroundings in the biblical period
Source: © Copyright 2005 Biblical Studies Press, All rights reserved
According to a different story of the origin of the name of this area, Abraham chose
Beer Sheba, which is derived from Hebrew for seven (i.e., sheva). The corresponding
biblical account is that of Abraham’s giving of seven sheep to the Philistine King,
Abimelech of Gerar, by mutual agreement in a treaty. One must understand the way
of thinking of those days to see that it was not a simple matter for Abraham and his
people to settle in an area ruled by the Philistines. Only when Abraham signed a
pact with King Abimelech did the king allow Abraham’s family to settle and erect
their tents in the area. The name of the Negev, whose capital is Beersheba, became
famous because of its geographic location, making it an important strategic point on
the international caravan trade routes. The city of Beersheba and its vicinity in those
times enjoyed great prosperity, given its propitious location at the crossroads of
Asia, Africa, and Europe. Thus, Beersheba came to provide all the basic needs of the
trade caravans passing through it. Another advantage of Beersheba was the ease of
digging water wells for livestock and farming. The archaeological remains from that
4
Negev and its inhabitants
period point show that residents lived in homes, which contained circular and square
rooms and courtyards. Moreover, the excavated material shows that the Negev
residents were semi-nomadic. The Old Testament features a detailed description of
Abraham’s family and their stay in the Negev, and the word, south, was used in each
verse. Interestingly, the Hebrew Bible verses used the word, Negev=
or negba=
, which assign two different meanings, south and dry. We shall elaborate on
three of them.
GENESIS 13:1 (World English Bible) – And Abram went up out of Egypt, he,
and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south (in Hebrew,
‘negba=
’, meaning south).
GENESIS 13:14 (World English Bible) –
(By Jewish tradition, not
pronounced, but otherwise, Yahweh (Lord)) said to Abram, after Lot was
separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where
you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward (in Hebrew,
negba=
, meaning south).
GENESIS 24:62 (World English Bible) – Isaac came from the way of Beer
Lahai Roi, for he lived in the land of the South (in Hebrew, south country=
, meaning dry country).
These verses indicate that the word, Negev, has two meanings, topographic and
geographic. The topographic one means dry, because of the dry desert soil of the
region. The geographic one means south, explained by the geographic location of the
region in the southern Chapter of the Land of Israel.
The three patriarchs of Judaism, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelled in the Negev
for long periods of time. Water sources were the main issues of dispute with the
indigenous residents, the semi-nomadic Bedouins, who dwelled on the ridges of
the Negev and Sinai mountains and entered the Beersheba region following their
livestock. Disagreements also took place within Abraham’s family. The Book of
Genesis tells, for example, about quarrels over the use of water wells between
Abraham and his nephew, Lot, and between Abraham and his son, Isaac, and other
family members.
The biblical era was the period of Negev’s magnificence. Its enormous territory
invited the building of towns and forts, and it afforded the use of the open areas
for livestock and agriculture. Material culture teaches us that elevated forts and
sophisticated water wells characterized the period. In later times, for the next 900
years, it may be that the events, which took place in the region were inconsequential,
but in truth the scarcity of material culture from that period leaves the historical
record uncertain.
The settlement in the Negev resumed during the reigns of Kings David and
Solomon in approximately 1000 BC. Israelite settlers sent by Solomon collaborated
with the local population to prevent hostilities and to enable the commercial
5
Chapter 1
caravans and convoys to reach Jerusalem (Lintchevsky, 1997). Solomon and his
successors continued to preserve and develop the Negev until the destruction of the
Land of Israel, which also had a similar effect on the Negev. In the Jewish Bible, it
is described as follows:
JEREMIAH 13:19 (World English Bible) – The cities of the South (Negev) are
shut up, and there is none to open them.
As mentioned above, the water sources and trade caravans through the Negev were
abundant, and they attracted various Bedouin tribes that dwelled in the surrounding
areas. The Amalekites were one of these. They were an ancient people that, in Biblical
times, adopted a nomadic way of life in the area stretching from southern Negev to
the Sinai Peninsula. Being true nomads, the Amalekites were considerable threats
to agriculture and permanent settlement. However, they were but one of many such
threats, and the pages of history teach that, during that era, many different peoples,
some of them being conquerors who chose to take over this land for strategic
considerations, came to rule the Negev. One of these peoples was the Edomites, who
came from a mountainous and desolated land in the present Kingdom of Jordan. The
Bible and The Torah describe the Edomites as descendents of Esau the eldest son
of the Jewish patriarch Isaac. Similar to the Edomites, the Nabateans, whose capital
was located in Petra in southern Jordan, showed interest in spreading beyond the
borders of their kingdom. The Nabateans arrived in the Negev after defeating and
expelling the Edomites.
Figure 1.2. The Empire of David and Solomon, c.1000 – 925 B.C.
Source: Copyright by C.S. Hammond and CO., N.Y.
6
Negev and its inhabitants
The Nabatean Arab Kingdom ruled the Negev from the 4th BC to the 1st
Century AD. Even in Hellenistic times, when Alexander the Great conquered the
Land of Israel (332 BC), who also took over the Negev: however, the Nabateans
were not expelled and took residence in the Valley of Arabe (Aref al-Aref,
1936/2000). However, their presence was not continuous, and they were forced,
not only to leave the Negev, but to leave it in the hands of the Jewish Hasmonean
Kingdom (1st Century BC) for slightly over 100 years. The Nabateans certainly
added splendor to the region as they built towns and public buildings, constructed
roads, raised livestock, and increased the desert-crossing trade. In addition, the
Nabateans were known as experts in the perfume trade and led their caravans
from Southern Arabia to the ports along the Mediterranean coast. It was they, who
established the famous Incense Trade Route. They controlled the caravan routes
southward and played an important role as traders. In the Negev they built four
cities Shivta, Avdat, Mamshit, and Haluza, whose remains reveal the glory and
splendor of their residents.
Figure 1.3. Beer Sheba and its surroundings in the Nabatean period
Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yRNPKU0U0hY/TGNeKJUJOiI/AAAAAAAAHX4/
vMAPdOL6HBg/s1600/NabateanCityMap.JPG
At the beginning of the 2nd Century AD, the Romans took advantage of the death
of the Nabatean King and annexed that kingdom to the Roman Empire. The
period of Roman and Byzantine rule, from the 4th Century AD, is known as the
7
Chapter 1
Roman-Byzantine Period, which continued into the 7th Century AD. To their credit,
the agents of Rome and of Constantinople continued to improve the region from the
point at which the Nabateans had stopped. Also, under both Roman and Byzantine
rule, the land prospered and flourished, including the city of Jerusalem, which
increased its territory. As for the Negev, this was a period of prosperity, the evidence
of which stands in the remnants of the magnificent forts spread across the Negev even
today. Evidence also remains of sophisticated engineering ingenuity in irrigation.
Moreover, the Negev contains archaeological sites where there were facilities for
collection of rain and for channeling run-off water, for olive oil production, for
pottery manufacture, and for wineries. These facts support the inference that the
Nabatean-Byzantine-Roman period enriched the region. Such an inference does not
hold true for some of the years that followed. Whereas archeological findings as late
as the 7th century AD of ancient water wells and ruins of buildings in Tel-Arad (45
km from Beer-Sheba), Tel-Sheba and Beer-Sheba itself testify to the greatness of
human settlement in the period that preceded the Moslem conquest, that flourishing
period ended in 7th Century AD, when the economic crisis and internal strife
that plagued the Byzantine Empire left it vulnerable to the Moslem forces, which
overwhelmed and defeated it.
The formation of the Moslem Empire in 632 AD indicated first of all the beginning
of a deterioration and destruction of the flourishing Negev enterprise, built by their
predecessors, into a desolate barren land. The terms, Moslem Empire or Moslems,
refer to a state where the majority of population adopted Islam. The ethnic origin of
most of them was Arab, and it came into being with the rise of Prophet Mohammad.
Negev’s conquest by the Moslems generated a large wave of Bedouin migration
into the region. The Negev was far from being at the center of attention of the new
rulers and their incompetence was the green light for the Bedouins to swarm into
it. It can be said that the spreading of the semi-nomadic Bedouin population in the
Negev was an outcome of historic factors and natural causes (e.g., wide areas for
flocks and livestock). The Bedouins edged out the traders and farmers, who lived
in the permanent settlements and caused the abandonment of Beer-Sheba and its
nearby surroundings. Neglect, destruction, and desolation were the outcome of
the dwindling of the permanent settlement. This development is explained by the
traditional lifestyle of the semi-nomadic Bedouins: the transmigration was a direct
result of the water and shortage of livestock food at the change of seasons. However,
the designation, semi-nomadic, is not unjustified, because in their wandering,
they remained in the area of the Grand Negev at large. This state of affairs did
not change until the beginning of the Ottoman Period (16th Century AD), that is,
almost a thousand years without permanent settlement. A significant segment of this
period (13–16th Centuries AD) was under the Mamluk rule. The Mamluks were
descendants of slaves of Circassian or Turkish origin, who came from Egypt and
were characterized by religious piousness but non-Arab descent. The Mamluks, just
like the Arabs, had no interest in preservation and strengthening of the land, and their
rule was characterized by the annihilation of the remaining agricultural settlements
8
Negev and its inhabitants
and the continued penetration of Bedouin tribes into the region. For the Bedouins,
the desert was a preferable choice because it offered good pastures for their livestock
(Sharon, 1977).
As mentioned above, in the early 16th Century, the Land of Israel fell under the
rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Turkish rule lasted for 400 years, until
the beginning of the 20th Century. For most of this period, the Empire had no
influence on demographic and economic development and change in the Negev.
The region remained unpopulated and desolate. The first signs of change occurred
in the 19th Century, when the Ottoman Empire recognized the importance of the
Land of Israel due to its geographic location and its global, political, and economic
transformations. This change manifested itself in a forced investment of resources.
One of its outcomes was the resurrection of the Negev region and the city of BeerSheba, around which three of the major Bedouin meta-tribes in the Negev decided
to settle. A meta-tribe is a group of tribes united in broad regional divisions, which
do not move together, but at the same time are stable, being “unified by the tradition
of one origin” (Ashkenazi, 1996, p. 12). This state of affairs escalated near the
onset of WWI, when a logistic military center and an airport were established in the
vicinity of Beer-Sheba, which was combined with a railroad that connected the city
with the city of Lod in central Israel. At that time the local population was mostly
Bedouin, except for a small group of Jews, most of whom worked for the railroad
and construction companies, which paved roads and built bridges. The remains of
what is known as the Turkish Bridge still stand in its glory above the Beer-Sheba
Creek. The need for working hands tripled the population of Beer-Sheba.
World War I brought changes. After the War, in 1917, Beer-Sheba was conquered
by the British. Also, the occupying military force included Australian cavalry, in
honor of which a special monument was erected in 2007. The battle for Beer-Sheba
is considered an important landmark in Jewish history, after which the British
Government decided to grant the Jewish people a National Home in the Land of
Israel. The expulsion of the Turks marked the beginning of a period known as the
British Mandate, which lasted until 1948. In October, 1948, Beer-Sheba was freed
from Egyptian control by Israeli forces of the Hagana. The Egyptians conquered
it during May, 1948, in the early phases of the Israel War of Independence, which
began shortly after the Declaration of Israeli Independence. During the war, most
of the Bedouin dwellers fled the city and were replaced by newly repatriated Jews,
who arrived in Israel following its establishment. Only in the 1950s did the Bedouins
begin to return to their lands in the Negev. At the present time, about 50,000
Bedouins dwell in the Galilee and Jezreel valley in Northern Israel, an additional
small population is in Central Israel, and the rest live in the Negev, mainly in the
Beer-Sheba district. They are considered to be the population with the highest
procreation rate worldwide. The numbers speak for themselves. From a population
that listed just 11,000 individuals after the War of Independence, the Central Bureau
of Statistics (2013) published data for 2012 that showed a Bedouin population of
approximately 200,000 in the Negev alone.
9
Chapter 1
1.2. Geography and Topography of the Negev
The Negev covers 12,500 km² and comprises somewhat more than half the land area
of the State of Israel. The geometric shape of the Negev is “like an isosceles triangle
with the base to the north, running from a point near Gaza on the Mediterranean
coast to the shores of the Dead Sea, from these two points the sides of the triangle
run some 200 km south to the apex at Eilat, at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba.
On the west its boundaries coincide approximately with the Sinai desert, and on the
east with Kingdom of Jordan” (Evenari, Shanan, & Tadmor, 1982, p. 39).
Figure 1.4. Map of the Negev
Source: ©2001 Temple Builders Ministry. All rights reserved
Beer-Sheba is situated on the west close to the base line of the triangle in the north,
and the Dead Sea and the southern Judean Hills on the east. Eilat is an apex of the
southern tip of the Negev, located on the north coast of the Red Sea (e.g., Hebrew:
, best known from the Biblical period of the Israelites Crossing the Red Sea).
The eastern border of the Negev is the Arabah (e.g., Hebrew:(
a section of the
Jordan Rift Valley. The Arabah Valley along the Jordanian border (180 kilometers)
stretches from Eilat, in the south to the tip of the Dead Sea (Hebrew:
, which
means Salt Sea) in the north. The Arabah Valley sand dunes can reach heights as
high as 30 m’ here. The Negev is a rocky desert with deep craterlike makhteshim
cirques, the best known of which is Makhtesh Ramon, 37 km long. The Negev has
five makhteshim, geological landforms of sharp, sloping walls of limestone, which
are resistant to erosion. The walls of each makhtesh surround a floor as much as 500
meters below. Another landform is the Eilat Mountains “with their crystalline rocks
and Nubian sandstones” (Negev Project Introduction, 2008). The Negev receives
10
Negev and its inhabitants
between 300 millimeters of rain annually in the northern part to 200 millimeters in
the central part. The whole Negev is a dry desert, receiving very little rain due to its
location to the east of the Sahara; the average rainfall total from June through October
is zero.
11
Chapter 2
Bedouins
2.1. The Origin of Bedouins
According to Bedouin folklore passed from one generation to the next, they are
descendants of one of two fathers, Joktan (i.e., Kahtan in Arabic, Yuktan in Hebrew),
the great grandson of Arphaxad, son of Shem (i.e., one of Noah’s sons), or Ishmael,
the son of Abraham the Hebrew and Hagar the Egyptian. Being closer to Shem,
Joktan’s descendants consider themselves purer than descendants of Ishmael. The
Arabian Peninsula is thought to be the cradle of birth and cultural growth of the
Bedouins, from whence they spread into the Middle East first and then later into
Northern Africa. The desire to dwell near fertile lands and water sources had driven
the nomadic tribes to invade populated regions along the eastern coast of the Red
Sea and drive out the indigenous inhabitants. They founded Mecca and Medina,
Islam’s most sacred cities, which are currently part of Saudi Arabia and regarded as
the religious center of all Arab Muslims.
The Bedouins are an Arabic population without any sense of belonging to a
specific place, because their way of life is derived from a nomadic existence based
on a search for grazing grounds. With its geographic and topographic conditions, the
desert has always dictated the Bedouins’ way of life and trades: (a) raising camels and
horses used as riding beasts, without which no traffic across the desert is possible;
and (b) herding sheep and goats, which provides meat, milk, and wool for personal
Figure 2.1. The modern Middle East
Source: Middle East Maps. Copyright 2013. The American-Israel Cooperative Enterprise
13
Chapter 2
use and for sale. This way of life led to the development of a hierarchic patriarchal
family structure, in which the closest kinsmen join together under the leadership
of the head of the family, and several families unite under the overlordship of the
Sheikh’, an honorable person accepted by all, into a social unit called a tribe. These
nomadic tribes can be found across the deserts of Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, the
Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Algieria, and Morocco (Ashkenazi,
2000; Barakat, 1993).
With the rise of Islam in the 7th Century AD, the Bedouins were the first to
adopt the new religion, and they played a quite significant role in its propagation
among the dwellers of Arabia, in particular, the Arabian Peninsula and other
geographic regions in which Arabic is the predominant language. Despite their
relatively modest percentage in the overall population of each country in which they
settled, the Bedouins constituted the majority of their armies, and after invading
new regions, they often acted as rulers that imposed their will and faith on the
conquered people. Like all other Muslims, the Bedouins believe in one single god,
the Allah and in Muhammad as his Prophet. However, due to their nomadic way of
life and their being unable to convene for prayer in a mosque, they developed unique
alternatives, the single prayer, in which the individual prays upon a kind of mantle
(i.e., abaya) or a prayer carpet (i.e., sajada), which is supposed to symbolize the
set boundaries of the mosque and indicate the correct direction of prayer (Bailey,
1973). In this respect, the condition of most Israeli Bedouins is different; in the
permanent Bedouin settlements, we can see numerous minarets of mosques built by
various tribes joining in a prayer. It is also of note that Islam failed to provide all
the answers to the harsh arid conditions in which the Bedouins lived, and therefore,
they developed a parallel system of beliefs, which are pragmatic and in conflict with
Islamic laws. This combination enabled the Bedouins to achieve a peace of mind in
the desert (Bailey, 1973). Like most other Arab Muslims, the Bedouins belong to one
of the two major Islamic denominations: the Sunna and the Shia. One of the main
differences between these is that the Sunna believe that only the norms and habits
exemplified by Muhammad and the religious ceremonies introduced by him should
be followed. The Shia, on the other hand, take Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad’s
cousin, and Talib’s descendants as the lineage for true Muslims.
The Quran, in fact, mentions the Bedouins by the name of aʿrāb, intended to
distinguish this Arab Muslim group from the rest by its way of life and not necessarily
as a distinct ethnic or religious group (Shokhat & Ben David, 2000a). “Bedouin
migrations outside their homeland and their contacts with other cultures during the
last three millennia did not change a thing in their heritage … nor blurred their
identity” (Ben-David, 2004, p. 57). Bedouin culture is a single one, and the differences
stem mainly from geographic location and the influences of the environment and
conditions in which they reside (Ben-David). One should also acknowledge the fact
that the differentiated family nest, which forms the tribe, was the main mechanism
that helped to preserve and pass the Bedouin tradition from generation to generation.
The natural population increase within the mother tribe caused it to split into several
14
Bedouins
tribes, a process spawning a new form of social organization, wider than that of the
tribe in the family hierarchy, that is, the tribal confederation. The tribal confederation
is a union of several tribes and individual clans under the leadership and authority
of the Sheikh (i.e., Arabic:
šayḫ, literally, old man) or Shaikh al Mashaikh,
whose responsibilities include, among others, decisions concerning raids and war
(Ashkenazi, 2000). The Bedouins claim that their legacy endured due to strict
preservation of the cornerstones of the pure Arab culture. A matter of historical,
continual discussion centers on this question: who is a true or pure Bedouin? The
two main controlling characteristics that pertain to this question of Bedouin purity
are: wandering of long duration, that is, being absent from home for more than 6
months, and owning a herd of camels. Why is it that camels, which reign supreme
among other desert mammals, entitle their owners to the aforementioned status? The
answer to this question lies in certain special physical characteristics of this animal.
The camel is strong, often referred to as the desert ship by the Bedouins. It can exist
in the desert due to its modest water demands (e.g., the ability to survive more than
10 days without drinking), and its ability to move across the sands without sinking.
The camel’s body is covered with protective wool which is highly prized by the
Bedouins. They use it to make strands to weave the fabrics, which are used for their
tents. Due to the camel’s weight, which may reach half a ton, it is able to carry heavy
loads across the desert.
Figure 2.2. Wall mural in El Faruk High School, Kuseife
15
Chapter 2
Although camel meat is used for eating, the Bedouins themselves avoid eating it.
They prefer to sell their camels for large sums of money to Arabs who do eat camel
meat. However, the Bedouins use camels as a source of milk. It seems to be quite
similar to human milk in some ways. Interestingly, according to many studies in
Israel and elsewhere (Agrawal, et.al., 2003; Camel Milk Association (CMA), 2014;
Yagil, 2013), the consumption of camel milk provides considerable medical and
curative benefits: (a) strengthens the immune system; (b) adds considerable antiinflammatory value; and (c) provides health benefits for people with heart problems,
vascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. The Bedouins maintain that the use camel
milk contributes to: (a) their good health; (b) scarcity of diseases; (c) longevity;
and (d) traditionally, the virtue of having strong sexual potency. For these qualities,
the camel is still the backbone of Bedouin nomadic life. As an aside, an informal
hierarchy seems to exist among the Bedouins, one that roughly corresponds to the
types of herds the Bedouins raise for their livelihood, as follows: (a) cattle herders
at the bottom, (b) sheep and goats herders at the tier above them, and (c) those who
raise camel at the top.
Another dimension, which distinguishes the two groups of Bedouins is the
wandering distance. Those, who abandoned long-distance wandering, are termed,
semi-nomadic Bedouins. Ashkenazi (2000) went even further and divided the seminomadic Bedouins into three groups:
1. Those who wander within a limited area, erect goat-hair tents or tin shacks
according to the seasons, and herd flocks of sheep and goats. If members of this
group own private lands, they will return to them periodically to sow and reap;
2. Those engaged only in herd raising;
3. Those, who distanced themselves from the traditional Bedouin way of life,
abandoned wandering, and made a living as hired workers.
Thus, it can be said that the Bedouin population in the State of Israel, and
especially after its founding in 1948, belongs entirely to the semi-nomadic group.
2.2. The Bedouins in the Land of Israel
When the Bedouin tribes spread out across the Land of Israel long ago, their mode
of settling was influenced by the geographic location of the country, which is
surrounded by the Judean Desert in the east and the Sinai and Negev deserts in
the south. Political motives are among the reasons for Bedouin migration into the
Land of Israel. In particular, Bedouin inter-tribal struggles led to the expulsion of
some tribes from the lands they had previously occupied. Also, geographic motives
played a role, while droughts and aridity in their lands of origin forced the Bedouins
to seek grazing lands in neighboring countries. Since then, in spite of the periods
when most of the Bedouins departed the Land of Israel, leaving just a fraction of
their numbers behind, the history of Bedouin distribution is intertwined with the
annals of the Land of Israel’s history. Historians have determined that, regardless
16
Bedouins
of the historical era, incompetence of the local authorities to guard the desert lands
against invaders is one of the major reasons for the influx of Bedouin into the
Land of Israel. These invasions began in the period of the Israeli Kingdom and its
subjugation by various powers. The invasions concluded with the most recent two
conquests that preceded the founding of the State of Israel: those of the Ottoman
Empire and of the British Mandate. Sharon (1977) indicated that the three major
waves of the Bedouin’s entry into the Land of Israel during the last 1,300 years had
a decisive impact on local history. These waves occurred with: (a) the rise of Islam,
(b) the invasion in the 10th Century AD, and (c) the invasion at the end of the 16th
Century. The second and third intrusions were caused by tribes, which moved north
from the Najd Region in the central Arabian Peninsula. That migration expelled the
indigenous people who dwelled there and forced many of them to enter the Land
of Israel. Even today, Bedouin songs revive the stories of heroism shown by the
Najd tribes and the destruction they left in their wake in the extensive penetration
of Bedouin tribes into the land of Israel during the 13th–16th Centuries, that is,
during the period of the Mamluks’ rule. Their settling in the region was assisted by
the attitude of contempt and disrespect shown by the Mamluks toward the desert
dwellers and their lands.
The Ottoman conquest in the 16th Century marked the beginning of a period
in which the government took greater care to close the borders to the invading
Bedouins and, thus, to provide security for the local population and for pilgrims
on their way to Jerusalem. This process was accompanied by strengthening of the
Bedouin and their integration in local government. Changes that took place from
the mid-19th Century under Ottoman Empire authority to the mid-20th Century,
when the end of the British Mandate authority had consequences that, even now,
constitute a bone of deep contention between the Israeli authorities and the local
Bedouin population. As a result of natural, economic, and political factors in this
period, the Bedouins swept across much of the Land of Israel, mostly in the Negev,
by land purchase and procurement of the formal documents from the authorities
that certified their ownership rights. In addition to the lands, which were already
held by the Bedouin tribes, whether by the fact of their residence there for hundreds
of years or by purchase of these lands in the traditional way, without any formal
registration of the land in their names. In addition, some land acquisition occurred
when Bedouins appropriated and assigned settled lands to themselves in order to
mark the boundaries of the tribe’s territory.
Government authorities, who granted Bedouin clans’ ownership certificates to
the lands they had settled, claimed that this move would facilitate the Bedouins’
transfer to permanent settlements and the development of land for cultivation. It had
become clear that the issue of permanent settlement was based in the Bedouin desire
to choose and adjust themselves to a new way of life, for livelihood and existence
purposes. Documentation of the Bedouin intrusions into the Land of Israel and
their inhabiting can be found in archeological evidence, oral tradition, and writings,
though scarce, which remained from various periods.
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Chapter 2
The Bedouins’ tendency to settle in the land of Israel and the complete
abandonment of the distant wandering idea continued to widen and reached its
peak with the establishment of the State of Israel, whose founding in 1948 marked
a radical change in all the parameters of relevance to Bedouin lives, predominantly:
demographic, political, and social. The years from 1950–1980 were the transition
period for Bedouin families, which was demonstrated by: (a) changes of status;
(b) moving from living in tents to living in stone houses; (c) changes in nomadic
wandering to urbanization; as well as (d) integration into various professions, chosen
willingly according to interest and livelihood possibilities. For the Bedouin family,
this period is characterized by multiple shifts in its environment and the necessity to
adjust itself to the reality of the modern world.
During the more recent decades, a recognizable process of Bedouin integration
into Israeli society has taken place on two levels: (a) the formal process, by
government policy; and (b) the informal, through the change of relationships within
Israeli society (Ben-David, 2001). The majority of Bedouins had began to work
in agriculture or construction and, gradually, their traditional way of life began to
change. Albeit in smaller numbers, Bedouins became employed as clerks, lawyers,
doctors, and teachers.
At the same time, within Bedouin society, there arose a recognition of the
importance of access to education for the younger generation. That recognition
applied both to boys and to girls. That girls came to this recognition was far
from expected within the traditional Bedouin patriarchal society. Therefore, both
Bedouin boys and girls went to school to acquire an education. The more talented
youngsters continued to attend higher education at universities or at educational
and technological colleges. According to Israeli government policy, at the end of
the 20th Century, not a single Bedouin child was prevented from completion of
his or her elementary school education. This commitment to Bedouin education
signaled the ending of illiteracy among Israeli Bedouins. By the mid 2000s, Bedouin
illiteracy persisted only among those aged 55 and above (Ben-David, 2004). During
the decade which ended in 2010, there was a 30% increase in the number of Israeli
Bedouin pupils, who attained a matriculation certificate. This achievement was
a result of the increase in efforts and resources invested in Bedouin education to
raise their literacy percentage to the national level of 45% and to that of the Jewish
sector of 64% (Central Bureau of Statistics Israel (CBS), 2010). This level of
educational achievement is considerably more extensive than that of the Bedouin
population in the neighboring countries. This radical change in the educational level
of the Bedouins joins another, no less dramatic, the natural increase of the Bedouin
population during the 60 years of Israel’s existence. From a mere 15,000 in 1953,
the number of Bedouins in Israel in the first decade of the new millennia rose to
260,000. Staff of the CBS reported the distribution of the Bedouin population by
region, as follows:
18
Bedouins
About 50,000 – Galilee and Jezreel valley, Northern Israel,
About 10,000 – Central Israel,
About 200,000 – Negev, Southern Israel.
The large majority, who dwell in the Negev, is an indication that Bedouins prefer
the southern part of the State. However, Negev Bedouins comprise more than 25%
of the population of the Beer Sheva district (Abu-Bader & Gradus, 2010).
2.3. Negev Bedouins’ identity
Many people maintain that the Negev Bedouins are an indigenous people, the
original native residents of the region. Perhaps that judgment is best left to the reader.
However, there is support for two views; researchers, writers, and human rights
activists in Israel on one hand, and by the Bedouins themselves on the other, that
is, their forefathers began to settle in the Negev lands no later the 2nd Century BC.
Since then, the Bedouins have always returned there. This bond between Bedouins
and the Negev has endured for generations as a unifying memory. The Negev ArabBedouins constitute a unique Palestinian community of Arabic-speaking people with
a unique dialect, who have lived in the Negev for centuries. Most of the Bedouin
tribes in the Negev hail from the al-Hejaz (Arabic: al-Ḥiǧāz, literally the barrier) a
region in the north of the Arabian Peninsula in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia
(Ben-David, 2013). Some demographers have concluded that most of the Bedouin
migrated into the Negev from the Sinai Desert in the course of the 250 years (i.e.,
stretching from 16th–19th Centuries; Ben-David, 2004). Also, the Negev became
the settling place of tribes and single clans that relocated their residence for various
reasons. The origin of the contemporary Bedouin population of the Negev is assigned
to three different ethnic classes: (a) nomadic for many years in the deserts of the Land
of Israel, Trans-Jordan, northern Arabia, or the Sinai; (b) families who cultivated the
land, farmers, or agricultural laborers (falakhin), that for some indeterminate reason
merged into tribes and settled in the Negev; and (c) dark-skinned people called Abid,
who were formerly bought African slaves, but their families were absorbed in and
joined the Bedouin tribes in the Negev (Ashkenazi, 1996; Dana & Anderson, 2007;
Sal-Man, 1979).
The meaning of life for Negev Bedouins and their attitude toward events, which
have taken place around them, demonstrate their desert existence. The Bedouins
flourished in the desert for generations and adjusted their dwellings and garments
to their life in it. They have learned to navigate in the desert by winds and stars and
to collect information about the movements of people and animals from their tracks
and signs. It is no coincidence that they are reputed to be excellent trackers. The
knowledge they have developed about desert flora and fauna is so sophisticated,
that it enabled them to produce benefits from an arid desert, which over the course
of centuries, they have learned to accept with understanding, wisdom, and patience.
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Chapter 2
Constant moving through the desert taught them to adjust to its conditions: (a)
climate, (b) regional topography, and (c) the scarcity of water and rain. Sal-Man
(1979) explained how the Bedouins successfully coped with water shortage during
their long desert journeys:
The journey bears military nature and military discipline rules all, with utmost
emphasis on water discipline. When they move through an arid area without
wells, the Bedouins drink measured quantities of water: they are putting a
stone in one’s vessel and pour water only to the height of the stone (the stone
is used as a measurement tool). In a case of no water whatsoever, a camel is
slaughtered and its belly juices are consumed. This drinking is done through
the nostrils and not the mouth, in order to separate the water from the whole
mix found in the camel’s belly. (p. 26)
Indeed, demographics, as well as other factors, detail the bond that the Bedouins
have with the Negev. A myriad of other parameters have combined to structure the
lifestyle of the Bedouins. Thus, for example, Bedouin men educate their sons with
tales and myths of their forefathers, who ruled the Negev desert. By playing their
songs into the night, they praise the values of the warrior, such as courage and living
by the sword. Besides that, they sing praises to the endless views of deserts and the
engulfing mountains and the unforgettable sight of inundations sweeping across the
dry soil and barren creeks of the Negev with the raging floods of winter. Bedouin
women, too, teach their daughters the skills in embroidery that cover their dresses,
as well as the weaving of carpets, which feature the landscape, flora, and fauna of
the Negev.
Aref al-Aref, a scholar of the history of the Negev and its Bedouin residents
published a book based on field studies conducted in the 1930s among the Bedouins,
who dwelt in the district of Beer-Sheva. The book included a list of the typical
characteristics and lifestyle of the Bedouin. Following is an excerpt from the list
made by Aref al-Aref (1937/2000), who thought that “the traits and merits (of the
Bedouins) are multiple and different:”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
20
They are not completely nomadic, but rather are semi-nomadic.
They are strong in body, sharp-eyed and of a courageous nature.
They speak truly, keep their promises.
They zealously observe the Muslim Faith.
Preconceived notions, talismans, and oaths are strongly reflected in their belief
system.
The musical instruments they use for singing are primitive.
They endure hunger and thirst, cold and heat, long walks and other hardships.
Death is not highly valued among them.
Vengeance is one of their prominent traits.
They never touch wine.
Bedouins
• They drink a lot of Kahwa (coffee), almost like a religious habit or ritual.
• The place of the Bedouin woman is one of both honor and contempt, alike.
Women have no say in the matter of marriage … the Bedouin takes his daughter
to the shepherd (groom) and marries her to him. (pp. 8–14)
Scrutiny of the list above reveals no substantial change in most of the traits related
to various parameters, including customs, forebears’ heritage, preservation of family
values, norms, and the like. All of which have scarcely changed even though more
than 75 years have passed since that study. The transition to permanent settlements
did not affect their worshiping of the long-term nomadic life and preservation
of tradition, as well as strict observation of behavioral codes, which remain the
backbone of their culture even today. During their meeting over a cup of bitter coffee
(i.e., Kahwa sawda), the Bedouins continue recalling events and customs that are
part of their heritage, to glorify the desert nomad, the pure Bedouin, who has never
forsaken the ways of his fathers.
At this point, let us distinguish between the extrinsic and intrinsic processes in
the lives of the Bedouin society in Israel, in general, and the Negev in particular.
As for the extrinsic processes, the issue is the interaction between the Bedouins and
the overarching Israeli society, which is reasonably congruent with the way of life
of the Western World. As a result of this interaction, outward changes have risen in
the Bedouin society. Those changes are evident in a growing tendency to remove
partitions between traditional Bedouin ways and those of the complex modern
world. The process is one of Bedouin accommodation to and assimilation into the
contemporary Israeli Western type society.
As a result, there is considerable integration of the Bedouins in the employment
activity in Israel at a level that serves as a catalyst for the acquisition of post-high
school education by many of their younger numbers. Both Bedouin men and women
comprehend the fact that educational level can be their springboard for economic
advancement, and the resulting elevated social status. Moreover, Negev Bedouins
have been transitioning “from controllers of the desert region” to “fringe dwellers
of a growing, modernizing Beer-Sheva city region” (Yiftachel, 2004, p. 12).
Concerning employment, there is some visible shifting of Bedouin employment
almost exclusively in non-professional jobs to substantively greater numbers, who
occupy jobs that are more prestigious in the national economy. Ample evidence of
this trend is their integration into various positions within the health and educational
systems (e.g., professors in higher education, managers in municipal jobs, physicians
and nurses in the health field, and the like). The change in social status has led to
massive relocation of Bedouin families into Bedouin towns, including Beer-Sheva.
In the closed Bedouin society, however, the intrinsic processes, those that are
only among the Bedouins, themselves, are strikingly different. The 60 years, during
which Bedouin society has existed throughout Israel side by side with its Israeli
counterpart, have not altered its behavior inward. Specifically, this is in respect to
21
Chapter 2
cultural values, devotion to religion, and maintaining in their homes all the tokens
and attributes of traditional tribal life, as is also true for the majority of the Bedouin
population in the Negev.
The reality of Bedouin life herein, according to which the western mood is received
as a somewhat self-contradictory phenomenon, is quite mundane for the Bedouins.
They accept this situation by perceiving it as basically dual; that is, something which
cannot and should not be based on one single principal.
In order to gain a better understanding of the commitment of the Bedouin
community to remain faithful to its heritage, we should first learn the concepts that
serve as the foundation of Bedouin existence in the Negev. These concepts endure to
the present time: (a) tribe; (b) tribal confederation; (c) Bedouin tent; (d) hospitality;
(e) Bedouin sheik; as well as (f) the family units of men, women, and children.
Below are the interpretations, as based on the definitions of these concepts by the
following scholars of Bedouin culture: Aref al-Aref (1937/2000), Ashkenazi (1996),
Ben-David (1981, 2004), Sal-Man (1979), and information included in a series of
articles published by the Joe Alon Center (1974), which was inaugurated in 1974.
Backbone Concepts of Bedouin Existence
Tribe (Ashira). A union of families that wanders, makes camp, herd’s flocks of
sheep and cultivate their lands together. The tribe dwells within a defined territory
and has a limited roaming area. For many generations, the tribe was led by a sheikh,
elected to his office and entrusted to preserve the tribal interests in internal matters
(e.g., family values, marriage, jurisdiction, settlement of disputes, etc.) and in external
affairs (e.g., including conflicts between tribes, confrontation between members of
different tribes, vendettas, etc.). This tradition allowed the sheik to negotiate with the
state authorities, rule, judge, and become rich at the expense of the tribe. In recent
decades, the sheik’s prestige has been in constant decline due to the transfer of his
roles to municipal, judicial, and other bodies.
Tribal confederation (Qabila). A union pooling a number of tribes, the number
varies from one confederation to another, settling in one region and pursuing the
same goals. The confederation is under the authority of the sheikh of sheikhs, called
the Sheikh al Mashiakh, and it is a sort of whole body, comprised from tribes. Proper
functioning of the confederation and its leader are a product of crystallization and
coordination among its constituent tribes. The authority of the tribal sheikh was
recognized in the Ottoman period. In the past, the tribal confederation was responsible
for invading lands and waging war against isolated tribes or other confederations.
It offers an advantage in management of negotiations with the authorities over
land rights. The tribal confederation is a sort of umbrella organization for a large
number of people who have some interests in common (e.g., such as economic or
political activity, religious faith, interests, origin, culture, tradition, etc.). During the
22
Bedouins
British Mandate, the Negev tribal confederations enjoyed great freedom and respect;
the British even improved the local infrastructures and water sources near the
settlements. Bedouin songs still celebrate those developments. During this current
era, there has been a decline in the power of the Sheikh of Sheikhs and that of the
tribal confederation.
Bedouin tent. A tent, also called a hair house, is a mobile shelter made from goat
hair or rough strong fabric from camel wool, in black to dark grey colors. Poles stuck
in the ground support the fabric sheets, woven by the women. The tent is adaptive to
the conditions of the desert. The inner division of the tent adjusts itself to the needs
of the Bedouin family. Fabric sections cut it into enclosed separate wings for men
and for women. For more details about the structure and functions of the Bedouin
tent see Part 3.
Hospitality. The Bedouins are known as very hospitable people. This custom
developed from their lifestyle of wandering across arid deserts and the desire to
provide their guests a shelter, an opportunity to relax, and drink a cup of the Bedouin
bitter coffee. At the guest’s entrance into the tent, his host takes great care to prevent
him from being harmed. The Bedouins view generosity as the greatest of all virtues.
Bedouin sheik. A place of convening for hosting. Among Bedouins, who live
in the stone houses of the permanent settlements, the sheik is a separate structure
usually made from tin sheets with ventilation openings, which are covered by woven
fabrics that can be removed in the cool evenings and nights and raised during the
hot summer days. The other option is to assign the sheik place inside the men’s wing
in the family tent. This sort of sheik is popular among Bedouins, who still live in
their tents in the desert. Whatever the sheik structure is, it would feature an identical
inner arrangement: (a) seating places made from large colorful pillows, (b) authentic
decorations of the walls, and (c) ornamented carpets made from lamb wool on its
floor. The focal point is, however, the coffee preparation equipment in its middle.
Family-man-woman. The Bedouin man’s muscles look like they have been
shaped by the desert winds. He is of medium stature, and his skin color changes
from bright to dark brown. The Bedouin woman is characterized by beauty and
heartwarming appearance; she is known as a woman of valor responsible for most
of the housekeeping and child rearing tasks. When a Bedouin girl or woman goes
out of the home, her head and neck will be covered, while an elder woman will,
typically, cover most of her face. Often, the women wear long dresses with long
sleeves. Presented in Part 2 is detailed information about the Bedouin women and
their craft.
One of the most significant events in the social life of the Bedouins is the
wedding. The wedding ceremony lasts between 3 days and a whole week, during
23
Chapter 2
which men and women gather in separate tents. Only the women, the groom, and
bride’s brothers are allowed to enter the women’s tent and see the bride, who wears
a splendid decorated dress for the event. Before the wedding, the groom pays the
bride’s father an agreed bride price for his future spouse. One of the institutions,
which contradicts the accepted norms of western society, but is considered
legitimate in the Bedouin society, is polygamy. In fact, polygamy is a major
traditional institution of Bedouin society, as is the patriarchal order in their enlarged
endogamous and polygamous families. Polygamy is legitimate and traditional in
the Bedouin society, where abundance of women is a status marker. Marrying a
woman carries an economic price especially that of the price the groom pays for
her. Moreover, abundance of wives is a testimony of one’s wealth and power. The
most important factor, however, is the desire to increase one’s family and the tribe
(Lotan, 2006). Despite having one or more wives, the man finds time to dedicate
his attention to the woman he is with. The women, on their part, respect their man
and serve him with loyalty and love. In Bedouin families that still live in tents that
they have erected in their villages across the Negev, each man’s wife has a tent of
her own. As for the stone houses, the man builds a separate floor for each of his
wives, or, alternatively, in a one-storey building, each woman has a private wing of
her own. These wings or floors have bedchambers and a kitchen where the woman
runs the lives of her family. The women and children perceive each other as good
neighbors, while the man takes similar care for all the moral and economic needs of
each of his wives and children.
In summary. The precepts above are not the code of some old-men code. Neither
are they reserved for the elders of the tribe. These precepts have to be inculcated
into each and every Bedouin girl and boy from birth, and they are supposed to
shape the identities of the young for adulthood. In the modern era, each man has
several identity planes, which refers to a wide range of components through which
the person defines himself. One of the more dominant personas is that of belonging
and identification through a process with a certain group. In the case of the Bedouin
society, this is the identification with the heritage of the tribal forefathers and with
the associated norms of behavior passed from generation to generation since the
inception of the tribe. The sharp discrepancies between their traditional way of life
and the reality of the modern society, including the desire of many of the young
Bedouins to matriculate in the modern society. For them, acting upon that desire
impels them to accept a challenge to build a bridge between these two worlds and
to struggle for sufficient inner strength to create social, emotional, and cognitive
equilibrium, as well as possible. Indeed, the proportion of Negev Bedouins, who
fulfill their wishes to achieve their goals in the modern society, increases with every
passing year. Currently, many Bedouin call themselves, Negev Arabs, rather than
Bedouin, because term, Bedouin, denotes a person, who lives a nomadic way of life;
although this has become inaccurate in many instances.
24
Bedouins
2.4. Demography
During the Ottoman rule, the Negev Bedouin population increased due to an influx of
nomadic Bedouins and farmers (i.e., fellahin) from Egypt. In addition, the Bedouins
brought Negro slaves (iabad) from Sudan to work for them (Dana & Anderson,
2007). The assumption is that, prior to the foundation of the State of Israel, there were
approximately 70,000 Bedouins in the Negev, organized in 7 tribal confederations
and approximately 100 substantive tribes (Ben-David, 1983). During both the Israeli
War of Independence of 1948–1949 and the military rule that was imposed on Israeli
Arabs in 1951, over 50,000 Bedouins were driven out, immigrated, or escaped to
the Gaza Strip and to the neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt (Malul, 2010;
Swirski & Hasson, 2006). The remaining Bedouins were under severe restriction of
movement, and their living grounds were reduced. At the end of 1951, there were
no more than approximately 12,000 Bedouins in the Negev, and together with those
Bedouins who settled in the northern part of Israel, the total Bedouin population in
Israel was about 15,000. However, estimates vary between several sources (Swirski
& Hasson, 2006). Sixty years after the establishment of Israel, CBS (2010) reported
that Bedouins comprised 3.5% of the total population in Israel, and their numbers
had reached about 260,000. The growth stems principally from the increase of the
Bedouin population in the Negev region where, according to Ben-David (2004),
the annual natural increase rate fluctuates between 5–6%. This rate of population
increase surpasses the rate of population increase around the world, which is about
1.2 percent. The explanation lies in the practice of polygamy in the Bedouin society.
Approximately one-third of the men have at least two wives. Also, Ben-David added
that the Bedouins believe that their endurance and survival depend upon increasing
their numbers.
The recognition of Bedouins as citizens of Israel began in 1954, when they were
issued Israeli IDs. The Bedouins, who remained in the Negev after the founding
of Israel, belong to 95 tribes. Most of them are members of the three main tribal
confederations, the: (a) Azazmeh, (b) Tarabeen, and (c) Tiaha and a few smaller
tribes. The Israeli government relocated the Tiaha, the largest among the three
tribes, during the 1950s and 1960s, to a restricted zone in the northeast corner of the
Negev (Lustick, 1980), the Beer-Sheva-Arad-Dimona triangle (see Figure 2.3). The
area called the Siyagh (Arabic:
, Hebrew:
, the word means in Arabic
“permitted or fence area”).
In 1963, Israeli General Moshe Dayan (Haaretz staff writer, 1963, p. 15), Minister
of Agriculture at the time, said to the newspaper Haaretz:
Dayan:
“I suggest to solve the problem of 18,000 Bedouins”...
Haaretz staff reporter: “How?”
25
Chapter 2
Figure 2.3. From Ehud Yaari report: “Sinai: A New Front.”
Source: http://washingtoninstitute.org/pubPDFs/PolicyNote09.pdf
Figure 2.3. From Ehud Yaari report: “Sinai: A New Front”
Source: http://washingtoninstitute.org/pubPDFs/PolicyNote09.pdf
Dayan:
“We have two possibilities. One suggestion is to establish
50 Bedouin villages … I am in favor of another solution: to
transform the Bedouins into an urban proletariat – in industry,
services, construction, and agriculture … Indeed, this will be a
radical move which means that the Bedouin would not live on
his land with his herds, but would become an urban proletariat
… His children will go to school … This will be a revolution,
but it can be achieved in two generations.”
However, what seemed an avant-garde plan at the time, became a complex problem
that still causes resentment among almost half of the Bedouin population as well as
Bedouin representatives, their supporters, and opponents of the plan during hearings
that the government authorized with personnel of the Land Settlement Office in the
Ministry of Justice. Since the late 1960s, the government of Israel has carried out
an urbanization policy of resettling the Bedouin population of the Negev in towns.
Tel-Sheva was the first permanent Bedouin settlement founded in 1968 close to the
city of Beer-Sheva, and between 1968 and 1990, the government of Israel resettled
about one- half of the Bedouin population in the Negev in seven newly-built towns:
(a) Tel-Sheva, (b) Rahat, (c) Kuseife, (d) Ar’ara Ba-Negev, (e) Segev-Shalom, (f)
Hura, and (g) Lakye (see Figure 2.4). In 1994, the largest Bedouin town, Rahat
(located 15 km northward to Beer Sheva), was recognized as the first Bedouin city
in Israel.
26
Bedouins
In first decade of the 2000s, the Bedouin population in the Negev region was
200,000–220,000, according to various sources. As shown in Table 2.1, nearly 60%
of them live in towns.
Table 2.1. Population of Recognized Bedouin Localities in Negev at the end of 2010
Rahat
53,100
Tel Sheva
15,750
Arʼara-Banegev
12,700
Hura
17,450
Kuseife
17,400
Lakye
9,900
Segev Shalom
7,700
Total
134,000
These towns were over-crowded, badly serviced, and the urbanization deprived
the inhabitants of their traditional Bedouin lifestyle (Rekhess, 2010). This table
presents the population distribution of recognized Bedouin localities in Negev as
reported by the CBS (2010). Figure 2.4 shows the map of the Bedouins’ townships
in the Negev.
Figure 2.4. Map of the Bedouins’ townships in the Negev (Meir, 1997)
27
Chapter 2
That is to say, at the end of 2010, there were an estimated 134,000 Bedouin living
in the planned townships. The remaining 40% of the Negev Bedouin population lives
in localities unrecognized by the State of Israel in which they follow the traditional
Arab-Bedouin way of life. In most cases, they live in hair tents and shacks. The
urbanization process halted around 1990, because the residents refused to move
from their unrecognized villages into the permanent towns. Had they complied with
the order to move, they would have had to vacate lands that they and their ancestors
had long claimed as belonging to them (Barda, 2006). The term, Unrecognized
Bedouin villages, in Israel refers to Bedouin villages, which the government does
not recognize as legal settlements. These villages are ineligible for municipal
services, including connection to the electrical grid, water mains, fire fighting, street
maintenance, and the like. The Abu Basma Regional Council was established in
2004 to administer eight newly recognized Bedouin villages, which, in 2011, was
comprised of a population between 20,000 and 25,000 Bedouins. Approximately
53,000 Bedouin residents still lived in 36 unrecognized villages (Noach, 2012).
The government of Israel has developed a program, in which it is anticipated that
by the year 2020, all Bedouins from unrecognized localities will have transferred
into permanent settlements. By then, it is expected that the overall population in the
unrecognized localities in the Negev will be 235,000. In the late 1960s and early
1970s, the government initiated a program to resettle Bedouin population in the
Negev without any consideration of their traditional way of life. At best, failure
to involve the Bedouins in the choice of the kind of communities the government
would built for them, has been problematic (Abu-Saad, 2004). After decades of
inattention to this situation, as of 2010, Israeli authorities have finally begun to make
substantive efforts to negotiate with the Bedouins, who live in the unrecognized
settlements in order to achieve land arrangements and to complete the registration
of the Negev Bedouin population in the Israel’s Registry of Population. There are
two alternatives concerning the land arrangements. One alternative is to resolve the
rights of ownership for the land on which the Bedouin families live presently. The
second is to negotiate terms for transition to alternative lands in the existing legal
settlements. The acknowledgement of Abu Basma as the regional council for the
unrecognized localities constitutes a beginning of the end stage of the unrecognized
settled Bedouin areas in the Negev.
28
Chapter 6
Figure 6.2. Mathematics in art: An exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum (2009),
Siu Mee Lin
6.2. Frieze Group Features in the Embroideries
The discussion begins with the motifs in which the symmetry groups are fixed
for the overall strip. The strips in Figures 6.3–6.16 show the frieze group called
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Transformations, shapes and patterns analysis
p1m1, that is to say that regardless of the design details, they have a horizontal
reflection symmetry. This means that a horizontal line in the middle of each strip
can be imagined, which acts as an axis of the symmetry. Furthermore, folding the
strip along this line enables to create equal twin parts, constituting one half of the
whole design each. This kind of symmetry group in the Bedouins’ strips was the
most prevalent in our data collection, which included about 40 strips, a few images
of which follow.
Figure 6.3.
Figure 6.4.
Figure 6.5.
Figure 6.6.
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Chapter 6
Figure 6.7.
Figure 6.8.
Figure 6.9.
Figure 6.10.
Figure 6.11.
76
Transformations, shapes and patterns analysis
Figure 6.12.
Figure 6.13.
Figure 6.14.
Figure 6.15.
The last two strips are prevalent in different colors on the Bedouins dresses as a
stitch connector of two parts of the dress, front and back, or joined sleeves to the
dress. Figure 6.16 demonstrates a dress side at which there a strip connected the
front and the back of the dress.
Figure 6.16.
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Chapter 6
The frieze group of the strips in Figures 6.17–6.21 contains a combination of
vertical and horizontal reflections and is called pmm2, that is to say that regardless
of details of the designs they have a simultaneous horizontal and vertical reflection
symmetry. This means that it is possible to imagine two perpendicular lines in the
middle of each strip, and two axes of symmetry intersecting at 90°.
Figure 6.17.
Figure 6.18.
Figure 6.19.
Figure 6.20.
78
Transformations, shapes and patterns analysis
Figure 6.21.
The frieze group of the strips in figures 6.23–6.26 has a glide reflection and is
called p1a1, that is to say, it contains a combination of a reflection in a line and
a translation along that line. The group has no symmetry axis (see a Figure 6.22
below).
Figure 6.22.
Figure 6.23.
Figure 6.24.
Figure 6.25.
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Chapter 6
Figure 6.26.
The frieze group of the strip in Figure 6.27 has only translational symmetry p111. This is also an unmistakable example of color symmetry.
Figure 6.27.
The frieze group of the strips in Figures 6.28–6.30 has vertical reflection only and
is called pm11, that is to say that it is vertical reflection symmetry. This means that it
is feasible to imagine a vertical line, an axis of symmetry, in the middle of each strip.
Figure 6.28.
Figure 6.29.
80
Transformations, shapes and patterns analysis
Figure 6.30.
The last strip is abundant with colors serving as a frame on cushions and other
belongings.
The frieze group of the strip in Figure 6.31 has half-turn reflection and is called
p112. Half turn symmetry occurs on the turn of an image by 180 degrees. This is the
most common kind of rotational symmetry.
Figure 6.31.
6.3. Wallpaper Groups Features in the Embroideries
The assortment of embroidery motifs characterized by presence of one of the 17
wallpaper symmetric groups was scarce. In those where components enabling
categorization according to IUC notation were identified, the emphasis was on the
chest part of the dresses and cousin pillows. Following are the examples of these
components.
Both Figures 6.32 and 6.33 show chest part of dresses (toubs), and according to
IUC notation are called p4m. This is because their lattice type are square and have
a rotation of order 4; reflection axes intersect at 45°, and all rotation centers lie on
reflection axes.
Figure 6.32.
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Chapter 6
Figure 6.33.
Figure 6.34 shows chest part of dresses (toubs) that according to IUC notation
are called pmm, the lattice type are rectangle, rotation of order 2, and reflection axes
intersect at 90°.
Figure 6.34.
The last three Figures 6.35–6.37 show cushion pillows that according to IUC
notation are also called p4m. Their lattice type are square, rotation of order 4,
reflection axes intersect at 45°, and all rotation centers lie on reflection axes.
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Transformations, shapes and patterns analysis
Figure 6.35. Figure 6.36. Figure 6.37.
Both Figures 6.38–6.39 show chest part of dresses (toubs) that according to IUC
notation are called pm. This because their lattice type are rectangular (we chose a primitive
cell of two sole units), without rotation order, and the reflection axes are parallel.
Figure 6.38.
Figure 6.39.
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Chapter 6
Figure 6.40 shows chest part of a dress (toub) that according to IUC notation
is called p1, the lattice type is rectangular, without rotation, with a translational
symmetry only.
Figure 6.40.
Figure 6.41 shows chest part of dress (toub) that according to IUC notation is
called cmm, the lattice type is rhombus, rotation of order 2, reflection axes intersect
at 90°.
Figure 6.41.
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Chapter 10
Games as Bedouin Heritage for All
Generations
Man plays only when he is in the full sense of the word a human being, and he
is only fully a human being when he plays.
(Friedrich Schiller, 1795)
10.1. Games People Play
Games are part of being human across generations, across ethnicities, and occupy
man in each of his life stages. They cause pleasure, except for gambling games
usually a non-material reward, and enable the player to leave the real world into a
world of illusion, and simultaneously dwell in the experiential and imaginary worlds
alike. Perhaps activities of even give rise to a feeling of spiritual elevation as a
creative and a cultural being.
In his book Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture, Johan Huizinga
(1984), a Dutch historian and cultural theorist, refers to play as the root of culture,
arguing that every culture rests on foundation of play and that pre-modern cultures
always included play in their daily lives. As he said (1984, p. ix) “Culture arises
and unfolds in and as play.” Play, in this sense, is an activity integrally connected
to cultural heritage and to the world that surrounds the players, and foremost,
play can provide possibilities to examine and enhance knowledge about a group’s
culture. (Roberts, Arth, & Bush, 1959) find in games relationships to activities of the
societies or cultures in which they appear. For example, these authors relate certain
games to “combat,” “hunt,” or “religious activity.”
Roberts, Arth, and Bush (1959) deals with anthropological problems of the
development of games, and their significance in various societies. According to
them:
The games of the world may be classified in terms of distinctive patterns of
play. Some outcomes are determined primarily by the physical abilities of the
players, some by a series of moves, each of which represents a player’s choice
among alternatives, and others … by nonrational guesses … some are mined
by combinations of these patterns. All these ways of determining out-comes
are widely distributed among the societies of the world, and it is therefore
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possible to offer the following general classification of games: (1) physical
skill, (2) strategy, and (3) chance. (p. 597)
They concluded that “most games are models of various cultural activities”, for
example, games of physical skill can simulate “combat or hunting”, and games of
strategy may simulate “chase, hunt, or war activities, as in chess”. Moreover, they
refer to games as “expressive models”, and indicate that they relate to:
aspects of culture and to the variables that figure in expressive or projective
mechanisms. More specifically, games of strategy which are models of social
interaction should be related to the complexity of the social system; games of
chance which are models of interaction with the supernatural should be linked
with other expressive views of the supernatural; and there is a possibility that
games of physical skill may be related to aspects of the natural environment.
(Roberts, Arth, & Bush, 1959, pp. 599–600)
These three models describe players’ thought processes during games. They give
rise to subjective interpretations concerning players’ thinking in the extrinsic and
intrinsic game world. According to Huizinga (1984), play is an act of transition from
the real world into a set of actions limited in time, the created world of the game,
expressed in its framing in space and time that has a beginning and an end. Games
are susceptible to mathematical and logical analyses, some relationships being
evident, others not obvious.
The game obligates players to abide by its rules, with the main objectives of most
games being to win, in some sense. Usually, the game induces competition among
the players. Drive to improve one’s play may lead to reflection on the game. As
a result, one may analytical thinking, gradually applying it, and thinking ahead,
during future games. Improvement may lead to a sense of fulfillment, an intrinsic
reward. Play has a direct impact in multiple domains, including mathematics. After
all, it is well known that playing stimulates the player to invest thought in solving
problems, through demonstration of new thinking strategies or those adopted from
others. Another domain is players’ cultural heritage, which is an integral part of the
society to which they belong. The games and their strategies employed altogether
likely possess a social-cultural function.
The narrative above about strategies also applies to games of chance, being
inseparable from skillful players’ logical analysis of the game’s events, which
include randomness and uncertainty. Games of chance, which in the 16th and 17th
centuries led to the development of probability theory bring to mind the names
of famous mathematicians of that era, including Blaise Pascal, Pierre de Fermat,
and Carl Friedrich Gauss. Alternatively, games originating in the 20th century are
based on “the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between
intelligent rational decision-makers” (Myerson, 1991). These games spawned a new
mathematical branch dealing with strategic decision making, known as the Game
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Games as Bedouin Heritage for All Generations
Theory. They, too, bear the names of renowned mathematicians, including Emile
Borel, John Von Neumann, and John Forbes Nash.
What is ‘play’ then? Different sources offer varying definitions or explanations,
and there is no one prevalent definition. The Rav-Milim On-line Dictionary (Choueka
Y., and the Rav-Milim Team, 1997), for example, writes that ‘play’ is “entertainment
or sport, especially competitive one, conducted according to certain rules and
decided by skills, talent, power or luck.” The Sapphire Dictionary (Avneyon, 1997)
provides the following definition: “play – activity of motions or thinking or guessing
or dexterity etc. conducted for entertainment or competition” (p. 657). According
to Aristotle play is pleasure and happiness of doing a thing without an objective,
he “recognizes that we need easy pleasures that help us relax from work… he
(Aristotle) says, “Play would seem to be relaxation and we need relaxation because
it is impossible to be continuously active” (Achtenberg, 2002, p. 185).
In general it can be said that definitions of ‘play’ in the literature more often than
not seem to refer to what play should be and what the players should do.
Huizinga (1984), identifies characteristics that play must have (pp. 8–13), some
of them below:
1. Is free, is in fact freedom.
2. Is not “ordinary” or “real” life.
3. Is distinct from “ordinary” life both as to locality and duration.
4. Creates order, is order. Play demands order absolute and supreme.
In the course of the conversation he said:
Summing up the formal characteristics of play we might call it a free activity
standing quite consciously outside “ordinary” life as being “not serious”, but
at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity
connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It
proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed
rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation of social groupings
that tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress their difference
from the common world by disguise or other means. (p. 13)
Play is not a modern invention as millions of children engaged with current
technology around the world may think, being acquainted with computer games
and games which can be downloaded to their tablets or smartphones, but a natural
activity from the earliest age. And formal games date from ancient times. Evidence
for this statement can be found in books and texts from the disciplines of history,
archeology, and in archeological excavations. One of the archeologists specializing
in this field is Michael Saban, an Israeli researcher who focused in his studies and
excavations on the discovery of ancient games in the Middle East. At the beginning
of his carrier, in the 1980’s, Saban participated in excavation that took place in Tel
Arad, near the Bedouin town of Kseife, directed by Prof. Ruth Amiran. The Tel Arad
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excavation, like so many others in the land of Israel, revealed thousands of artifacts
suggesting an existence of playing boards, stones, dices, sticks, and throwing bones.
Saban (2012) divides the board games according to their discovered remains into
four types:
a. Positioning games – such as tic-tac-toe, where the player’s objective is to position
his pieces in a winning formation against those of the opponent;
b. Games of chance – such as backgammon or the ancient Egyptian game of Senet,
which dates to around 3100 BC, in which the objective is to advance with one’s
pieces through throwing of dices. This sort of games requires building of strategy
in addition to luck.
c. War games – such as chess or checkers.
d. Mancala games – a group of games in which the player’s objective is to acquire
the most seeds by passing them among the cups, easy to learn, though requiring
planning in order to outsmart the opponent in order to win.
Saban summarizes that “the need to play and watch games is deeply rooted within
us and it is a basic component of human culture” (p. 63).
The next section describes various games played by the Negev Bedouins and
examines strategies and their association with the existence of the Bedouin players.
10.2. The Negev Bedouins’ Games
As mentioned above, the mathematics in Bedouin life can be found in different
forms, one of them being in games, an example of their ethnomathematics, and
falling within playing, one of the 6 categories in which mathematics occurs naturally
in peoples’ lives (Bishop, 1988). Simple or complex, for kids or elders, games
constitute a major part of Bedouins’ leisure culture in the desert, especially in the
unrecognized villages.
Moussa Al-Hajaj, resident of Rahat, published in Arabic in 2003 a booklet titled
Popular Games in the Negev, which includes short descriptions of 41 Bedouin
games, almost all of them suitable for playing in the open desert conditions. The
pictures he attached to most of the games depict players who are Bedouin children
aged from about 5 to 13–14 years, depending on the specific game. It can be said that
Bedouin games split into several groups: sport games, in which winning depends
on one’s physical ability and fitness; strategy games that require concentration and
ability to plan future moves; and games of chance, which also require strategy and
sophistication. Figure 10.1 features the cover of Al-Hajaj’s booklet.
In our search for people acquainted with and able to describe Bedouin games we
have met Alhozael Hassan Gadua, who is the eldest grandson of the great Sheikh
Al-Hassan Gadua. The Sheikh served at this post after the foundation of the State of
Israel, acting in the early 1950’s as actual liaison between the Israeli authorities and
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Games as Bedouin Heritage for All Generations
Figure 10.1. A cover of Al-Hajaj’s booklet “Popular games in the Negev”
the Negev Bedouins. Alhozael, a teacher in a secondary-high school in Rahat, who
published several articles about Bedouin lives, rejoiced at the opportunity to share
with us his knowledge about the games. The purpose of our meeting was to verify
the contents of the games we had already collected, and to expand and elaborate
beyond that. His happiness was doubled when he heard from us that this information
about Bedouin games would be published to the wide public in Israel and abroad. As
far as we know, Al-Hajaj’s booklet of Bedouin games, which appeared in Arabic and
in a very limited edition, is the only one of its kind. According to Alhozael, games
played by members of the Bedouin society differ quite principally from those played
in other cultures, even when it seems that a certain game that reminds one of some
familiar, perhaps even well known game. The games, he opines, are usually played
by the children running barefoot across the fields within the borders of the tribe, not
close to their home tent, these in order to avoid disturbing the pastoral atmosphere
that preserves the welfare of the flocks in the pens and the serenity of the adults,
which is a value in its own right among the Bedouins. Due to the high desert heat,
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the children assemble to play in the afternoon hours, well into the early hours of
darkness. Figure 10.2 shows Bedouin child plays with stones.
Figure 10.2. This picture was published on 6/4/2008 in the section series:
Bedouin children http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/net/UserBlog.aspx?
catid=21238&foldername=1day1pic&skip=1
Dr. Katsap collected and elaborated the following 6 Bedouin games. Math
Bedouin preservice teachers at Kaye Educational College in Beer Sheva provided
help in searches and translations from Arabic to Hebrew of the collected material,
for which we are grateful.
The games are presented in a form suitable for a math class activity with children
aged from 6 to 14, according to the level of the class. Play can be outdoors, at a sand
station indoors, or simply indoors with the pieces on a classroom table.
a. Ta’ab – The Stick Game
According to Alhozael Hassan Gadua, this game, despite being one foretelling
something ominous, is very popular among the Bedouins. The viewers, because the
game’s outcome is important to them, are fully absorbed by the play of the game,
anxiously awaiting its result. The belief is that the result foretells whether something
bad is about to happen.
Game Description
Four sticks of equal length are prepared from branches of tamarisk, acacia, or
eucalyptus tree, at sizes ranging from 15 to 20 cm. The bark is peeled off half of the
stick, with the other half remaining untouched, leaving the stick rounded. The peeled
side is called white and the other black. The game requires that players decide on an
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Games as Bedouin Heritage for All Generations
even number of gravel stone to use as markers, half of one color, half of a different
color, for each player, respectively. The stones have a diameter of approximately
2 cm, and if stones are not handy, camel dung works instead. A square arrangement
of holes is made in the ground with the thumb, which Bedouins call the toe finger,
for moving the stones from hole to hole during the game.
The game is intended for two players, with each throwing the sticks alternately
and each player moving his stones across the board according to the results of tossing
the sticks on the ground or on a tree stem placed on the ground (Figure 10.3).
Figure 10.3. Bedouins playing Ta’ab
Rules for Scoring
1. 3 blacks and 1 white = Ta’ab, receiving 1 point and another throw;
2. 2 blacks and 2 whites = 2 ta’abs, receiving 2 points;
3. 3 whites and 1 black = 3 points;
4. 4 whites = 4 points.
5. 4 blacks = 6 points and the right for another throw.
Game Rules
1. Each player chooses gravel stone of the same color and arranges them in the first
row of the square on his side.
2. Players take turns tossing the sticks and checking the way they land, white or
black sides up. Scoring does not begin until one of the players makes Ta’ab,
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3 blacks and 1 white. Color combinations determine the points received by
the player.
3. The game continues through counting of points received with each throw and
moving the markers across the board according to the number of points per turn,
until all of them arrive at the opposite side of the board, i.e., the marker row of
the opponent.
Game Objectives in the Area of Mathematics
1. Recording the count for each turn in numerical symbols.
2. Practicing mathematical actions by counting and adding
3. Development of winning strategies by playing multiple times & reflecting.
4. Communicating their thinking.
5. Having informal experience with chance by attending to outcomes of tossing the
sticks.
b. Seega Game
The Seega, known as a game that was a prototype to different board games, has
many different versions around the world. Some sources hypothesize that the game
originates in the Roman game of Ludus Latrunculorum, while others think that it
is an ancient game from Egypt. In any case, remains of this game were found in
Petra, Jordan, and other Nabataean cities (Nabataea.net.2003). The game had gained
considerable popularity in the Middle East and in Egypt by the early 19th century,
from which it probably reached the Negev Bedouins. Here is an interesting story
heard by the preservice math Bedouin Teachers at Kaye Educational College in Beer
Sheva during their searches for Bedouin games. In the course of their quest they
visited a 65-year-old Bedouin from one of the tribes among unrecognized villages in
the Negev, and he told them about the Seega Game. Here’s his account:
The Seega was previously known under the name of Mancala. It arrived with
the soldiers of the Bedouin tribe of Hejaz, originally from Saudi Arabia, where
it is also known as the Abu Zaid Alhilali Tribe. This probably was a hundred
years before I was born. The soldiers stopped in the Negev, which served then
as a resting station for travelers and being bored invented themselves various
games, among them games in the Seega style. This collection of games was
called “move a residence or we would move in.
As mentioned earlier, this game is just one among many using a square board with
squares and pieces being of two colors, like Chess or Checkers. Chess, of course, is
a two-player strategy board game played on a chessboard, a checkered game-board
that has 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. The Seega game, however,
can appear in varying sizes: 9x9, 7x7, and even 5x5. Negev Bedouins in Israel and
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Games as Bedouin Heritage for All Generations
their brethren from Egyptian Sinai are convinced that this game is their invention;
that only they play it on sand, by arranging 25 holes in a 5x5 board (Figure 10.4).
Figure 10.4. A 5x5 board
At the following internet website, http://www.autourdesjeuxdumonde.com/
medias/images/seega-2.jpg, there appears an image of an embroidery presenting one
of the possibilities of initial placement of the pieces in the Seega game using 5x5
board, as shown in Figure 10.5.
Figure 10.5. Embroidery board
Game Description
The board is drawn up in the sand after digging to a depth of approximately 3 cm. 25
holes distanced about 2 cm from each other and made by the toe finger of the right
hand are made, creating 5 rows with 5 holes each, a 5 x 5 array.
This is a two-player game, with each having 12 distinctive markers, stones, dry
camel dung, or snails. In the modern game the pieces are called dogs or pups, and
hence the other name of the game, appearing only among the Bedouins, “eat the
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dog”. Unlike in Chess, for example, in Seega the pieces are not arranged in two
bottom rows on opposite sides of the board with each piece occupying a square next
to another piece. Rather, they are scattered across the board. In Seega there is crucial
strategic importance for occupying a place on the board for one’s pieces before
starting the game, which more than occasionally can decisive between winning and
losing.
Each player strives toward a situation where a piece of the other player is caught,
sandwiched, between his pieces, allowing him to ‘eat’ the piece of his opponent, that
is, remove it from the board. When he has finished figuratively eating pieces, it is
the other player’s turn to move with his piece. Stones may be moved only to adjacent
open squares, and diagonal moves are not allowed. Usually, at the beginning of
the game, some player can be blocked-in and cannot make any moves. Then he
is allowed to remove any one of the opponent’s pieces to clear a path. This game
necessitates planning ahead, situational analysis, and some intuition at each step of
moving on the board.
The game is intended for adults and older children. Its popularity rises during the
month of Muslim Holidays known as Ramadan. This can be a long game, just as
chess can be, one that requires using intuition and sophisticated planning abilities.
Figure 10.6 shows an option of piece arrangement on a 7x7 Seega board using
black and white pebbles
Figure 10.6. A sand board for seega game
Game Rules
1. For the 5 x 5 hole, each player takes 12 pieces of one color, and the game begins
with their placing pieces in the holes, as indicated below.
2. The first player chooses 2 holes and occupies them with 2 pieces of his own. Then
the second player puts 2 pieces of his own in two other holes, and so on, until each
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Games as Bedouin Heritage for All Generations
player has arranged all of his 12 pieces. The center hole must be left empty, as this
hole is used to begin the game by player 1.
3. After placing the pieces the game begins. Diagonal movement is not allowed.
Player 1 moves one his pieces into the center hole, and then his opponent makes
his move. The game is played in turns by moving one’s pieces and eliminating
those of the opponent. Whenever a player traps his opponent’s piece, or pieces,
between two of his own, either horizontally or vertically, the trapped piece is
removed from play and is said to be “eaten.” Some configurations enable trapping
of more than one piece at a time.
4. The game continues until one of the players loses all his pieces. The winner is the
one who has the last piece, or pieces, on the board.
Game Objectives in the Area of Mathematics
1. Finding the center square on the board; and understanding horizontal, vertical,
and diagonal directions.
2. Thought development in the form of logical reasoning and thinking ahead.
3. Strategic thinking aimed at optimizing opportunity to “eat” the opponent’s pieces.
4. Development of winning strategies by playing multiple times & reflecting.
5. Communicating their thinking.
Finally, there are many varieties of Seega, another one of which appears at the
link: http://nabataea.net/seega.html
c. Mas’peta – Row Arrangement Game
This game is similar to tic-tac-toe, also known as Naughts and crosses, as shown in
Figure 10.7.
Figure 10.7.
Game Description
The board is drawn up in the sand and has 9 holes made by the toe finger, creating 3
rows of 3 holes each, a 3 x 3 arrangement as in Figure 10.8.
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