Monday, April 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Week 3: Abou Eid Today
Children typically reach elementary school and then begin to work. Usually parents aren’t fond of educating their girls because she will “ultimately leave them”. Those who are educated can work as teachers and secretaries; one woman for example earns a salary of 750,000 Lebanese pounds. It is very rare to find employees working for the government. A favor or connection is usually needed to become part of the Lebanese army and thus to receive benefits.
Before elections the members of Arab Abou Eid are often bribed but the Bedouins don’t usually accept money for they aren’t materialistic people. They are very hospitable for “A guest is a guest of God” and they don’t expect money in return for any aid.
Members of the community are always there for each other especially during hard times and they have no problem borrowing and lending things amongst each other. Traditional Bedouin customs are still rife but they’ve dwindled a bit with time because of the changing environment. For example, not all men still negotiate with the families of their brides-to-be and not all families refer to the Sheikh when there is a problem, although they believe that the Sheikh knows wrong from right inherently.
Before elections the members of Arab Abou Eid are often bribed but the Bedouins don’t usually accept money for they aren’t materialistic people. They are very hospitable for “A guest is a guest of God” and they don’t expect money in return for any aid.
Members of the community are always there for each other especially during hard times and they have no problem borrowing and lending things amongst each other. Traditional Bedouin customs are still rife but they’ve dwindled a bit with time because of the changing environment. For example, not all men still negotiate with the families of their brides-to-be and not all families refer to the Sheikh when there is a problem, although they believe that the Sheikh knows wrong from right inherently.
Week 3: Sakra’s Household
El-Hajj Mouhsen works in agriculture. A typical worker earns between 7 and 10 thousand Lebanese pounds per day. The women of the household work in the field gathering potatoes, cherries and grapes.
Sakra’s family obtains water from their private well. Unlike other wells in the village of حوش العرب, there are no waste trenches in its vicinity. The municipality collects 6-7000 Lebanese pounds monthly to provide waste collection services. The Bedouins try to make use of some wastes before disposing of them, for example carton boxes are kept. They collect wood from various sources to use it for heating.
Arab Abou Eid consider themselves the most worthy of holding the Lebanese citizenship. Members of this household have the citizenship except for Sheeha, since she was under the legal age (18) when the citizenship was granted to her family. Sheeha was named after a bitter herb the Bedouins used to drink to cure certain illnesses.
Sakra’s family obtains water from their private well. Unlike other wells in the village of حوش العرب, there are no waste trenches in its vicinity. The municipality collects 6-7000 Lebanese pounds monthly to provide waste collection services. The Bedouins try to make use of some wastes before disposing of them, for example carton boxes are kept. They collect wood from various sources to use it for heating.
Arab Abou Eid consider themselves the most worthy of holding the Lebanese citizenship. Members of this household have the citizenship except for Sheeha, since she was under the legal age (18) when the citizenship was granted to her family. Sheeha was named after a bitter herb the Bedouins used to drink to cure certain illnesses.
Week 3: Abou Eid History
Arab Abou Eid were nomadic people who journeyed between the land of Bednayel (بدنايل) in the Beqaa valley in Lebanon and the Syrian Badia where they passed through Sabaa Byar (السبع بيار), Houran (حوران) and ultimately reached the Iraq borders. In Houran, they depended on cultivating wheat and leasing their camels for agricultural practices for obtaining food and benefits. The number of camels owned by each family ranged, depending on the financial status, between 1-2 camels for impoverished families and up to 20 for the wealthy families. An average household owned between 5 and 8 camels. Helping others was and still is an important Bedouin quality, for instance, the tribe would offer a poor family some camels if they didn’t own any.
Arab Abou Eid prepared their own food and in quantities sufficient for one year (jam, makdous, oil…). They believed that eating out of one big bowl of food (rather than individual portions) would satiate their hunger and provide them with more energy.
The air wasn’t polluted back then, to the extent that a person could last weeks without bathing. Stealing was a very rare crime. Some customs prevalent among Bedouin women included wearing a ring of golden coins around their heads and growing their hair very long and braiding it whilst keeping most of it covered. Arab Abou Eid made dyes out of fruits and plants, such as a yellow dye from pomegranate skin.
Arab Abou Eid prepared their own food and in quantities sufficient for one year (jam, makdous, oil…). They believed that eating out of one big bowl of food (rather than individual portions) would satiate their hunger and provide them with more energy.
The air wasn’t polluted back then, to the extent that a person could last weeks without bathing. Stealing was a very rare crime. Some customs prevalent among Bedouin women included wearing a ring of golden coins around their heads and growing their hair very long and braiding it whilst keeping most of it covered. Arab Abou Eid made dyes out of fruits and plants, such as a yellow dye from pomegranate skin.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Week 2: Abou Eid Society
Today, the household in Arab Abou Eid society consists of the nuclear family. The father is the head of the family and has the major authority in the family. In addition to his role as an income provider, the father decides on the major issues of the household and has a huge influence over the decisions made by his sons even after their marriage. The role of the mother is limited to managing and allocating the household resources and to bearing and raising children.
It is true that the extended family no more constitutes the household unit but the social relationships among the members of the extended family remain tight and essential. The authority of the elderly has not drastically weakened and remains an important characteristic of Arab Abou Eid society.
It is true that the extended family no more constitutes the household unit but the social relationships among the members of the extended family remain tight and essential. The authority of the elderly has not drastically weakened and remains an important characteristic of Arab Abou Eid society.
Week 2: Abou Eid Citizenship
Many families and members of Arab Abou Eid were granted Lebanese citizenship by a state law in 1994. Still, the law did not include all the members of Arab Abou Eid. In the same household, you can find holders and non-holders of the Lebanese citizenship.
The Lebanese citizenship is considered a vital asset to the members of Arab Abou Eid. Its holders have access to medical and social services provided by the state institutions. More economic freedom and opportunities and social security are also the benefits gained by the members of Arab Abou Eid who obtained the Lebanese citizenship.
Week 2: Abou Eid Culture
Disputes between the members of Arab Abou Eid are solved by their Sheikh Abed Al-Aziz (الشيخ عبد العزيز الملحم). Still today, Arab Abou Eid rely on tribal laws and judgments to solve their conflicts. In case of murder for example, the murderer and his tribe should pay a fine to the family of the victim. The murderer has to pay one-third of the fine while his tribe has to pay two-thirds of the fine.
Arab Abou Eid transfer their history and customs through "السوالف", an art of history. Through stories and dialogues, historical information is transferred across generations. But with the introduction of the modern-day entertainment appliances such as television into the lives of Arab Abou Eid, this art of history is loosing popularity and the maintenance of Arab Abou Eid history and customs is becoming harder.
Marriage is still to a large extent influenced by the customs of Arab Abou Eid. But girls are having more freedom than before in their choices in marriage. The phenomenon of polygamy is still present but decreasing.
Arab Abou Eid transfer their history and customs through "السوالف", an art of history. Through stories and dialogues, historical information is transferred across generations. But with the introduction of the modern-day entertainment appliances such as television into the lives of Arab Abou Eid, this art of history is loosing popularity and the maintenance of Arab Abou Eid history and customs is becoming harder.
Marriage is still to a large extent influenced by the customs of Arab Abou Eid. But girls are having more freedom than before in their choices in marriage. The phenomenon of polygamy is still present but decreasing.
Week 2: Abou Eid Environment
The village of "حوش العرب" lacks an adequate waste disposal system. The village has no sewage system and each household has its own waste trench. The presence of primitive waste trenches without the appropriate sanitary measures has resulted in the contamination of ground water. Thus, wells are no longer used by households as a source of water. To make matters worse, the state does not provide water service to the village.
Week 2: Abou Eid Traditional Water Treatment
Before settling in "حوش العرب", Arab Abou Eid obtained their water by a primitive water treatment system. They would add soft sand to a water tank and wait for the particles to settle and the water to become clear. Once the surface of the water becomes clear, they would use the surface water for their domestic purposes.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Week 1: Abou Eid Society
The Sheikh (شيخ) of Arab Abou Eid lives in Syria. Thus, there was a need among Arab Abou Eid to choose a local leader under the title of a prince. Ali, the husband of our contact person Hamreh, was given the honour of being the prince of Arab Abou Eid.
In Arab Abou Eid society, the male is always superior to the female under any condition. The female should always show respect to the male.
Arab Abou Eid maintain tight social relations among each other. They provide support and help to each other indefinitely. For example, you can easily observe the help given by the members of Arab Abu Eid to Hamreh in managing her shop.
In Arab Abou Eid society, the male is always superior to the female under any condition. The female should always show respect to the male.
Arab Abou Eid maintain tight social relations among each other. They provide support and help to each other indefinitely. For example, you can easily observe the help given by the members of Arab Abu Eid to Hamreh in managing her shop.
Week 1: Abou Eid Resources
Today, Arab Abou Eid are settled in the village of حوش الرافعة where they are concentrated in the neighborhood of حوش العرب. They started to buy lands in حوش الرافعة in 1959 where the cost of the land was extremely low. They traded goats for land ownership.
The neighborhood of حوش العرب is surrounded, except from the north, by agricultural lands owned by the Yezbek family. Residential areas of the village of حوش السناد, owned by the Parliament Member Nabil De Frage, surround the neighborhood of حوش العرب from the north.
The source of drinking water is mainly potable water and water from fountains. The fountains used are نبع حوشبا ونبع تل الغسيل.
Arab Abou Eid herdsmen use pastures in neighboring areas such as شمصطار وحوش الرافعة for grazing. They pay a fee to the مختار and this can be seen as a mean of controlling and managing grazing.
Arab Abou Eid do not own any agricultural land, but many of them work in agriculture.
The neighborhood of حوش العرب is surrounded, except from the north, by agricultural lands owned by the Yezbek family. Residential areas of the village of حوش السناد, owned by the Parliament Member Nabil De Frage, surround the neighborhood of حوش العرب from the north.
The source of drinking water is mainly potable water and water from fountains. The fountains used are نبع حوشبا ونبع تل الغسيل.
Arab Abou Eid herdsmen use pastures in neighboring areas such as شمصطار وحوش الرافعة for grazing. They pay a fee to the مختار and this can be seen as a mean of controlling and managing grazing.
Arab Abou Eid do not own any agricultural land, but many of them work in agriculture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)