Subculture? Not a Subculture?

What happened to the Bedouin’s identity? And what happened to the Hadar (urban) identity? In the past, Bedouins had different norms than the Hadar. They had different dialects. Some Bedouin still use these dialects today. For example, some of the people from Al-Hajri family end their words with “tess” when they are addressing a female. Bedouins had a different lifestyle and different tools that they used. In addition to poetry, they use the rababa, which is a musical instrument that looks like a violin. However, the rababa has only one string. While the Hadar were involved with trading and jobs related to pearl diving, the Bedouins were practicing different jobs and activities. These activities included falconry and taking care of their livestock. On one hand, the livestock represent their capital (Ras almal). On the other hand, the Hadar’s capital included ships and pearls. Because Qatar is a peninsula, the norm was to be part of the Hadar and live by the sea. The fact that the Bedouins had their own dialect, music, style and activities made them stand out as a spectacular subculture. Subcultures are groups of people who vary and differ from the mainstream in language, style, music and activities. It is a spectacular subculture because their practices are not hidden. Bedouins’ practice of poetry and falconry are activities that we can see. The spectacular subcultures are out of the ordinary, so they attract our attention as the Bedouins do with their practices.

In the article Where Have The Bedouin Gone?, Donald Cole states, “I argue for seeing Bedouin as ordinary, everyday people.” In addition to that, the Bedouin identity blendes with the mainstream Hadar identity and vice versa. Some Bedouin have moved from tents to houses. A few of them live urban lifestyles while still practicing some of their Bedouin activities, such as falconry and poetry. Some of them speak like urban people. Some might argue that Bedouin’s identity is presented in their heritage and ancestry, but it is focused on ancestry more than heritage in Qatar. Currently, Bedouins still keep their livestock (capital). However, they hire shepherds to take care of them. Such practice is not associated with Bedouins only.
I visited a farm in which people hired shepherds to take care of their livestock. There was a tent made of goat hair. However, the tent had glass windows and a door. Inside the tent, there is a television and two air conditionors. There were chairs around the tent. The chairs looked modern, but were covered with old fabric. There was a rebaba on the side of it as a decoration. Outside the tent, there were camels, goats and parrots. The style of the chairs and the weird combination of livestock and parrots, reflect how modern life has affected the identity.

(Pictures I took at the farm)

After describing the place, it gives the feeling that this is a Bedouin farm. However, it is not. The farm belongs to a Hadar family. The Bedouins are no longer a subculture because their identity has merged with the Hadar identity to produce a national identity. Bedouin no longer dominate falconry, poetry and taking care of livestock.
When a subculture’s identity is becoming mainstream, it usually happens through two forms: Commodity and ideological. The commodity form draws the relation between the subculture and the other industries. Having a farm, livestock, and purchasing old tools became a commodity. There are many shops around Doha that are specialized in putting tents and selling falconry tools. Because these things can be sold, they became mainstream. The farm I visited was in an area of more than 50 farms owned by Bedouin and Hadar. The government owns the area, but it has rented it to people. Those who do not own a certain number of goats or sheep do not have the right to rent. As a result of the government’s encouragement for people to purchase land and livestock, the practices that were associated with Bedouin are parts of the Hadar identity too. There for, the ideology of how Bedouin were looked at as being Bedouin has changed. The ideological form deals with how the presentation of a subculture in the media change the way people perceive the subculture. During Qatar national day, the national television plays footage of camels and people doing Bedouin practices. This portrayal allows the Hadar to be more familiar with such practices, so they are more likely to accept them. This proves how the culture is not constant, but changeable. What was supposed to be a Bedouin thing or a Hadar thing is now just considered a Qatari thing.

Living in Qatar and seeing how many Hadar act Bedouin on some occasions, while Bedouin act like Hadar on other occasions, led me to this assessment. Although I’m part of the Hadar, I have cousins who practice falconry and hangout with Bedouin. This doesn’t make them Bedouins, but makes the Bedouin practices mainstream and not subcultural. The fact that Bedouin are not a subculture might be general to most of the Bedouin. However, there might be some extreme cases where Bedouin are more attached to their Bedouin identities.

(Picture from the archive of my cousin's falcon)

Socialization - A Perspective

When I noticed the idea of socialization, I started to notice how my views of the world have gradually changed. We are all sponges sucking up the norms and behaviors of those around us. Therefore, there is no difference between any human being and I, except for being sponges at different places.

For example, all the social expectations regarding what’s right and wrong are artificial. All the ideas of what to do and what not to do is flexible over time. Yet, how come we see so many similarities between cultures in the world? What guides our universal values and morals, and what stopped them from diverging through out the centuries? If Erving Goffman's Dramaturgy views the world as theater in which we play roles in, then the world is full of many similar plays.

My theory to this is simple. At a certain point of time the majority of the world’s population were close to each other. They traded and communicated with a shorter proximity, and developed general code of ethics that they agreed upon. Huge empire such as the Greek and the Roman Empire had huge social impacts in the territory they controlled. And in both case, those territories have spread over more than ten countries of today.

Even in the modern Arab history in the Arabian Gulf, such normalization process took place between tribes. Each tribe has its own territory, and every territory has its own unique culture. However, they all come together when it comes to how to treat guests. That is feeding him and hosting him for three days at least, before even asking him why he came about.

Sociologists often consider the nurture aspect when looking at people behavior. However, I believe the nature has a role in shaping culture too. The environment in which people live in changes the way they view the world, and those that live in it. It also changes simple behavior such as temper and humor. Why is that many people that live in huge crowded cities have a bad temper and are angry all the time? Why is that people that live close to the sea, have a calmer behavior? This is true to all the countries I’ve been to. It is also valid here in Doha, between the Bedouins that live in harsh environments in the desert and the Hathars who have lived traditionally in smaller villages on the coastlines. Yet, because this observation is not based on any scientific study, I’m in no position in stating it as a fact.

Bedouin Culture - The Modern Version

Bedouins have existed for over 1000 years, however over time the exact meaning of Bedouin changed. According to the dictionary they're described as wanderers or rovers, basically people who don't live in a specific place and instead move around depending on the resources available in the place. This may have been true before when they'd change an area once the food was running out or other factors that may make living there harder. However, with all the changes that have happened in the past 60 years or so that has changed. Most Bedouin tribes now live at a set place, in homes just like us. Therefore, some may say Bedouins are no more. However, that is far from true as being a Bedouin is more than what the dictionary makes it out to be Bedouins have their own culture with their own sets of norms, beliefs and traditions. That is what defines them and not whether they wander or migrate.

Bedouins are a prominent group in Qatar and most of the Arab world, including Palestine/Israel, Most of these Bedouins have the same norms, beliefs and traditions. For example, tribes are still very important in Bedouin culture, and the relationships between these tribes can be good or bad depending on the history. For example, if two tribes are not in good terms with one another it is taboo for a women from one tribe to marry a man from the other tribe. On the other hand, a more would be if two tribes have a good relationship and if a man from one tribe is looking to get engaged to a women from the other tribe, to reject that man is seen as an insult and tribal relationship will turn from good to bad instantly.

Whats most interesting is how Bedouins kept their culture intact while still accepting the change that comes from the outside. For example, Bedouins used to live in tents, however, in order to better their living conditions they now live in houses but keep the tent feel to it by keeping the design inside similar to that of a tent or in some cases include a chimney. Another interesting thing is how they've kept their foods the same as they have been in the past. The foods and remedies they would take from the desert, because it was the only thing available, is still what they mostly eat, outside of the weekend McDonalds or KFC. These foods include

camel milk, a kind of truffle called Fagah ( فقع), camel and sheep meat and arabic coffee and if possible all prepared on a fire like the one above. Bedouins have not strayed too far from the desert. On any free day, with no work, they are always at the desert in their tents.

Bedouins, have many traditions and sports that they take part in. Football (soccer) is one however the traditional ones are hunting, with falcons and dogs, and searching for Fagah.

Hunting is a very popular sport and people take pride in having a well trained falcon or dog. Having one's own falcon or dog is a rite of passage for young guys almost as important as getting their first Nintendo. While hunting, in the past people would follow them on camels or on foot, now however each person is equipped with a Land Cruiser to follow the dogs and falcons.

Meanwhile, searching for Fagah, while done by the whole family, is seen as a form of competition for kids. Who can find the biggest one. these two sports like many Bedouin traditions have diffused into Qatari culture as even I remember competing with my cousins on who could find the biggest Fagah or going hunting with my Father.

Interestingly, the biggest change is the use of the camel. The camel, called the ship of the desert in arabic, is what helped people live in the desert before. It provided transportation and food. However, transportation has now shifted from the old ship of the desert to the new ship of the desert, the Land Cruiser. Land Cruisers are a must have in the Bedouin Culture as it provides easy, safe transport through the desert and is much faster than a camel.

In conclusion, Bedouin Culture is a very dominant culture in the Arab world, even diffusing into the country's culture, while the world has changed and Bedouin life has evolved with it, the core beliefs, norms and traditions have stayed the same.