From Culture to Culturism: Rethinking "Cultural Translation" of Nomadic Bedouin Society

Abstract

This article examines the concept of Bedouin culture in the Middle East as it is perceived both by the Bedouin themselves and by various scholars. Like other cultures, Bedouin culture has undergone extensive and continuous change. This process can be understood as a dynamic construction process related to agents of change, flexibility, liquid borders, and identity politics, and has enabled Bedouin culture to enter the modern age under conditions that will ensure its continued existence. Yet “cultural translation” – i.e., Orientalist scholars and the Western travelers and historians who followed in their footsteps, alongside imperialist and colonialist powers – has viewed Bedouin culture as weak and detrimental to the sedentary population. Hence, this study presents an approach that differs from that espoused by Orientalist scholars, whose narratives tend to paint a negative picture, claiming that structural violence has defined the Bedouin and the relationships between Bedouin and Fellahin (Arabic for “peasants” or settled Arabs) populations throughout history. Thus, this article seeks to correct assumptions embedded in earlier, Orientalist studies. Accordingly, the main argument is that the Bedouin culture has a material and spiritual historical reputation. Historically, there have been integrative relations between Bedouin and Fellahin. To that end, I make use of historical literature, Arab chronicles, anthropological studies, and four in-depth interviews conducted between the years 2014–2016 with Bedouin from Yafa, a Bedouin-Fellahin village.