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Although
Bedouin tribes generally trace their lineage to a founding
father, whether real or fictitious, and Bedouin individuals
can trace their genealogy several generations back, an enigma
surrounds the origin of the Bedouls.
Some claim descent from the Nabataeans; but there is no solid
evidence to prove this pretence, and, like other claims, it
may be a story fabricated to impress tourists. Yet, on the
other hand, the association is plausible because a few Bedoul
families also live in the areas of Humeima and Guweirah.
Together with Petra, these three sites form part of the old
caravan route that the Nabataeans serviced many centuries ago.
The Nabataean people, who carved the caves of Petra,
controlled the caravan routes between Mada'en Saleh, in
today's Saudi Arabia, and Petra. Since no other routes were
known at the time, caravans had the choice between being
raided by the Nabataeans, or paying a handsome fee for the
Nabataeans protection and the use of their wells. As Petra
prospered from this trade, the fees levied by the Nabataeans
rose to exorbitant levels. Eventually, when the Pax Romana
allowed traders to use alternative routes on land and sea, the
influence and wealth of the Nabataeans waned. In its most
elaborate form, the theory posits that the Bedouls acquired
their name from worshipping Beddle, the son of the Nabataean
King. Others claim that the name Bedoul derives from badal
(meaning to swap or change) and it was bestowed upon the tribe
when they converted from idolatry to Judaism. This theory is
fleshed out with accounts of how Moses came upon them while
still pagans and, by way of prodding them to the path of
righteousness, put most of them to the sword. Only a small
group survived by taking refuge in the caves of Petra and
assuring him from this hiding place that they have seen the
light and converted to his religion. Few accounts exist on
their subsequent conversion from Judaism to Islam.
Ali Salem Aldaraweesh, from the Bedoul branch of Al Mawasneh,
claims that the Bedouls either descended from the Nabataeans
or the ancient tribes of A'ad and Thamoud, mentioned in the
Kor'an, who lived before the Nabataeans. They dwelled in the
area of mada'en, Saleh, Wadi Rum, Petra, Hasna and Humeima.
According to archeological records found in the mountains of
Rum, Sajune the second, King of Ashure, waged war on Thamoud
in the 8th century BC and won, whereupon he banished most of
them to the Samera mountains near Nablus in the West Bank.
Later, in the 2nd century AD, Thamoud re-established
themselves in the Hasna area, where they built a city slightly
smaller than Petra. The last known record of this tribe dates
back to the 5th century AD, when two men from Thamoud joined
the Byzantine army. It is believed that this tribe incurred
the wrath of God, who destroyed them by means of a great
desert storm.
These claims are fascinating, but impossible to verify. A less
romantic but, plausible theory, is that the Bedoul were a
roaming tribe that found the caves and monuments of Petra and
simply occupied them. According to this theory, their customs
changed, to conform with their new mode of living.
What is known about the Bedoul is that their deereh
(territory) is surrounded on the south and west by the
Saidiyin tribe, on the north by the Ammarin tribe, and on east
by the fallaheen (meaning peasants, the collective name for
rural communities). But the Bedoul are a community apart, who
intermarry only among themselves, and whose customs often
differ from the Bedouins; for instance, they do not raise
camels (either through poverty, or because their lifestyle
does not require these beasts), and they live in the caves of
Petra instead of the traditional tents. In this respect they
are a settled rather than a nomadic community.
Burckhard, referred to the Bedouls as the rulers of Petra and
claimed that no tourists could enter the are without paying a
fee to their Sheikh. His judgement contrast with the standing
of this clan among other Bedouins, who see the Bedoul in
general as a poor and insignificant tribe. Sixty five year old
Sulayman (from the neighbouring Saidiyin tribe)describes the
Bedouls as a tribe, small in numbers ( a reference of disdain
among Bedouins) living in great poverty around the caves of
Petra. This description is corroborated by government
statistics which indicate that they numbered 64 families in
1970. However, thanks to the improved living conditions in the
government-provided housing estate their number have grown to
300 families, or around 1000 people. They are concentrated in
Petra, plus scattered living in the areas of Humeima and
Guweirah.
The Bedouls contest that, at some point in the past, they were
numerous and so rich that they were did not need to work. With
idle time on their hands, they held a dancing party during the
day, in course of which women performed the sabres dance. But
this sort of activity happens only at night, so other tribes
who saw them celebrating in broad daylight felt jealous. The
evil eye of jealousy brought upon the Bedoul the black death
that decimated the tribe and reduced it to poverty.
The disregard in which the Bedouls have always been held
served them well at times. Ali relates the story when the
Ottomans invited all the Bedouin Sheikhs to Ma'an for a
meeting, omitting the Bedoul as too insignificant. The insult
was later seen as a blessing when it was discovered that the
invitation was a trap, and the Turks killed 25 Sheikhs who
attended the meeting. This incident is the same as the one
mentioned by Abou Nassar of the Ammarin.
One very old Bedoul remembers the days when their sole luxury
was brown sugar and tea, supplied by the Ottomans in return
for firewood which the Bedouls carried on their donkeys. Great
famines were common, and Ali recalls numerous nights when his
mother sent him to bed with a dinner of only bread crumbs
dipped in boiled juniper berries. Medical care was scarce as
well. Branding with a hot iron was a common cure for most
aches and pains, including stomach flu and headaches. This
practice is still used today, but it is not as common.
Additionally, the blood of the wabar (wildcats) was believed
to hold medicinal properties, but it is hardly used today
since the wildcat population has dwindled until it became an
endangered species.
In the past thirty years, however, the fortunes of the Bedouls
have changed. The increase in tourism to Petra, Jordan's
principal attraction, has brought to the Bedouls considerable
benefits. They were quick to learn languages, and now they
earn their keep by working as guides and by selling various
crafts to tourists.
Today, most Bedouls have been relocated to houses provided by
the government of Jordan in order to improve their living
conditions and to protect Petra. Yet, for all their new-found
ease, they maintain a semblance of their old lives, and some
families continue to live and keep their goats and sheep in
the caves. |
