Who Are Bedouins?

Bedouins Latest News

Over 300 people have been killed in a week of violent clashes between Syria’s Druze minority and Sunni Bedouin tribes in and around the southern city of Sweida.

About Bedouins

• The Bedouins are traditionally nomadic, Arabic-speaking tribes who have inhabited the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa for centuries.
• The word Bedouin derives from the Arabic badawi, meaning “desert dweller”.
• These communities historically survived by herding livestock, primarily camels, sheep, and goats, while navigating seasonal migrations across vast arid landscapes.
• These tribes have traditionally been classified according to the animal species that are the basis of their livelihood. 
• In Syria, Bedouins have primarily lived in the expansive Al-Badia desert, which covers much of the country’s south and east, including provinces like Sweida, Homs, and Deir ez-Zor.
• Society: Bedouin society is tribal and patriarchal, typically composed of extended families that are patrilineal, endogamous, and polygynous.
• The head of the family, as well as of each successively larger social unit making up the tribal structure, is called sheikh; the sheikh is assisted by an informal tribal council of male elders.

Source: NDTV

‹ ›