NABATEANS
AND BEDOUINS
The Nabateans would pass out of history, leaving behind them the vestiges
of a civilization engulfed in the
sands of oblivion. Testimonies from Jewish or Roman sources sketch
the traits of a semi-nomadic people that dominates the southern part
of the Jordan and the Negev, sometimes pushing as far as the Golan
in the north and to the coastline in the west. They were, perhaps,
the ancestors of the Arabs, perhaps of the Bedouins who today still
inhabit these same regions.
Strabon’s
Nabatean
The relations
between the Judeans and the Nabateans, which were stormy for a long
time, became closer under the Hasmoneans (2nd century B.C.) with whom
they faced a common Greek enemy. But the expansionist ambitions of
the two peoples would undermine this alliance and would condemn them
to an interminable, latent war. The Nabateans then controlled the
routes of the caravans under the authority of a king that resided
in legendary Petra. In 62 B.C., the Romans, who wanted to deal severely
with the unruly tribe, stomped at its doors, refusing to agree to
withdraw except in exchange for a heavy tribute and nevertheless,
granting these people of the desert relative independence for one
hundred and fifty years. Anthony was to extract no less from the areas
bordering the Dead Sea to offer to Cleopatra.
The war
between the Jews and the Nabateans is taken up again more than ever
with the accession to power in Judea of Herod the Great. In 9 B.C.,
delegations from the two kingdoms arrive in Rome to submit themselves
to the judgment of Augustus. Soon after, King Avdat III would die
of poisoning and Arenas IV would succeed him without waiting for the
Romans’ decision and without receiving their endorsement. He will,
nevertheless, succeed in conciliating Augustus with gifts and historians
will agree on considering his long reign to be the golden age of the
Nabateans. The Romans will not deprive them of their political independence
until the beginning of the 2nd century and the Nabateans will preserve
their social and religious organizations until the time of their conversion
to Christianity by the Byzantines. However fanciful, the painting
by Strabon of the customs of the Nabateans prevailed for a long time
among researchers and determined to a considerable extent their dominant
image in the accounts of travelers:
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Strabon’s Nabatean |
The
Nabateans have moderate tastes and are so attached to
their property that they impose penalties on whoever allows
his property to diminish, while honor is bestowed upon
those who increase it. Since they have few slaves, they
often count on their relatives to serve each other or
themselves, and this practice is encountered even among
kings. They take their meals together gathering up to
thirteen, in addition to two musicians.
The
king constantly organizes magnificent feasts; no one drinks
more than eleven cups; each person serves himself from
different gold vases. The king is so unpretentious that
he serves himself and he even sometimes serves others.
He is also often required to be accountable to the people;
and his conduct is even sometimes subjected to general
scrutiny.
The
houses are magnificently constructed in marble; the cities
have no walls because peace reigns in these regions. Most
of the country has an abundance of fruit with the exception
of olives; the inhabitants also use sesame seed oil. The
sheep are white and the cattle are large; there are no
horses to be found, but the camels serve the purpose.
[…]
In
their eyes, corpses are nothing more than dung; and this
is what Heraclite said: “the dead are not worth dung”:
they even bury their kings in the places where they also
dispose of the refuse.
They
worship the sun, initiating each day with libations and
burning incense on the altars built on the roofs of their
houses.
Strabon 16: 7
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The Nabateans
speak Aramaic and practice a syncretistic religion that combined
astral worship with the worship of Greek gods, obviously orientalized.
The archeological vestiges of their localities in the Negev, such
as Mamshit (or Mampsis), Avdat (Eboda) or Shivta (or Sobeita), reveal
the establishment of this tribe in the desert. The site of Nizzana,
located on the Egyptian-Israeli border 80 kilometers southwest of
Beersheva, sheltered a city, probably founded in the 2nd or 1st
century B.C. Deserted in 106, at the time of the occupation of Petra
by the Romans, it would be restored under the Byzantine Emperor,
Theodose I (379 – 395) by the garrison soldiers who would receive
plots of land in the valley; two churches ministered to the pilgrims
en route to the Sinai. After the Arab conquest, a governing body
would be maintained there until the middle of the 8th century. 
It is
not until 1908 that the Turks take it into their heads to pull Nizzana
out of oblivion to use as a surveillance post. Under the British,
it houses the Border Police headquarters. In 1948, the Israelis seize
it and soon after it is conquered, the site hosts the Egyptian-Israeli
Armistice Commission. The Rhodes Agreement includes it in the demilitarized
zone between the two belligerents. The Camp David Agreement finally
restores its status as a border station. During the last years, Nizzana
houses an experimental village, which holds nature classes and receives
groups of young visitors that meet to discuss themes related to peace
and to the desert.
The
ancient herdsmen
The presence of the Bedouins in this region goes back to the pre-Islamic
period. Having always been semi-nomadic, their domain of transhumance
extended from the gulf of Eilat in the south to the mountains of Hebron
to the east and to the coastline in the west until the establishment
of the State of Israel in 1948. The Bedouins were then divided into
clans and tribes and began raising sheep and goats and minor cultivation.
The Ottoman authorities were careful not to intervene in their internal
affairs except to reestablish peace between rival tribes. Some, moreover,
would venture as far as the Galilee, in the Hula or Hule Valley, where
they caught the attention of some travelers in the 19th century:
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The ancient herdsmen |
…
They watch us passing without showing any signs of surprise,
although this route is beyond the usual itinerary of travelers
and the European is still a rarity. Eyes of fire and teeth
as white as ivory animate the haggard faces emaciated by
deprivation, tanned by the sun and contracted with malaria.
They are, principally, Turcomans who cross the Ard-el-Huleh;
their wretched tents, made of reed mats or of black goat
skins stretched upon a stake form itinerant hamlets further
and further into the marshland. One would say that they
are barely human dwellings, were it not for the fire, a
characteristic of even the most underprivileged man, which
burns before their doors. However, some push a crude plough
with an unskilled hand, but most idly keep watch over the
animals scattered across the plain, playing with their shot
guns or their spears and looking at the sky like the priests
of ancient Chaldea. They have not taken a step in six thousand
years, living like the first men, dying like them… and like
us, I am told. After all, what more do you need to arrive
at the same end?
M. de Vogue, A Voyage
to the Countries of the Past
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Since the
creation of the State of Israel, the Bedouins are Israeli citizens
who live entirely apart. Some
have completely settled permanently in villages or cities established
in the Negev; others, which is increasingly rare, continue to lead
semi-nomadic lives. The following two texts recall a few of their
customs and habits:
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Aconversation with God |
One
day, early in the morning, an old Bedouin came to see the
sheikh of his tribe. The latter was conversing with a guest,
deliciously sipping some coffee and voluptuously smoking
a pipe, seated by a fire. The old Bedouin began to speak:
- Dear companions, I wish to tell you about the marvelous
dream that I dreamt last night.
The two companions insisted on hearing about the dream in
all its detail to such an extent, as the custom dictates,
that our old Bedouin agreed to tell them about it, again
according to custom:
- In that case, he said, since you so insist, I would like
to tell you about it. I was soaring through the air, flying
here, flying there, higher and higher, when I came upon
an old and worthy fellow who had a handsome gray beard.
He was seated with great dignity and gave me the impression
that he was expecting me. I said: “Salem Aleik.” He replied:
“Wa aleik as salem!” Then he asked: “How are you, oh sheikh
el Arab?” I replied: “Very well, my lord, but who are you?”
The old fellow replied: “I am God.” I exclaimed: “Ah, God!
And how are you? How are your children doing?” He replied:
“Thank God, they’re doing very well. But rather how are
the members of your tribe?” And God began to ask about each
one in this manner, one after the other, without forgetting
anyone.
Unable to contain their excitement and curiosity, the sheikh
and his guest wanted to know if God had mentioned them.
The Bedouin specifically stated that He specifically called
them by name:
- What did you tell him about me, asked the sheikh.
- That you were doing marvelously well and that you send
him your most respectful greetings. And then the Bedouin
continued his story:
- We were in mid-conversation when some unpleasant voices
came to disturb us. God asked: “What is that noise, oh sheikh
el Arab?” I held out my ear, squinted my eyes and let God
know that they were the malicious voices of the government
authorities that oppress the people. He cried out immediately:
“To hell with them! Take them to hell!” Not a moment of
silence had passed when again the uproar of voices disturbed
the peace of the heavens. God asked: “Now what is that,
oh sheikh el Arab?” I held out my ear, squinted my eyes
and let God know that they were the vulgar voices of the
towns people: “Who do not know how to wield a sword or hold
a gun, and even less, how to receive a guest.” God immediately
cried out: “To hell with them! Take them to hell!” A moment
later, we heard new voices: “Now who are these people, oh
sheikh el Arab?” God asked. – Some vulgar peasants, I said,
who steal asses and destroy the crops of others. – “To hell
with them! Take them to hell!” Soon after, we heard the
merry voices of people mounted on horses and camels, singing
and joking: “And who are these people, oh sheikh el Arab?
- Some Bedouins, Lord, who know how to wield a sword and
hold a gun, to receive guests and look out for their well-being.
– People who know how to wield a sword and hold a gun, God
continued, to receive guests and look out for their well-being,
these people are destined for paradise.”
El-Aref, Bedouin Love,
Law and Legend
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The
Bedouin’s ten wishes
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God,
Creator of trees and fruits,
Creator of the sun,
I address this prayer to you to request from You ten things
which are among the most beautiful things that a man could
wish.
Listen to me, my God, seal my destiny.
First,
a vast tent
that would give shade at every hour of the day
to the guests who will arrive whenever they wish.
Second,
a beautiful wife
endowed with excellent character,
who will begin preparing a meal
each time a guest is announced.
The
third thing, oh Lord,
that You preserve my honor from shame
and that nothing will ever cast a slur on it.
The
fourth thing, a red mare
that will fly on hot days
with a rifle on my shoulder
that will never miss its target.
The
fifth thing, a flock
of sheep that is so numerous that it would be difficult
for the shepherd to watch over,
for the more sheep I have,
the better I will receive for my guests.
The
sixth thing, a red camel
whose milk I will offer to my guests.
The
seventh thing, good friends
and loyal companions
to better protect our domain.
The
eighth thing, a trip to Mecca
to visit my friend Mohammed.
For
the ninth thing, oh Lord!
Grant me a long life
and ward off from my tomb
the angels Naker and Nakir.
And
finally, Lord, save me from hell
and welcome me in paradise.
El-Aref,
Bedouin, Love,
Law and Legend
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