Jenny Bahou and Ivette Nessim - Foodways of the Beduins in the Negev

Jenny Bahou
Ivette Nessim
December 15, 1998
Foodways of the Beduins in the Negev

Ethnic foodways are most important in the struggle to resist the process of culture erosion (Kraut, 415), because it expresses and reflects values which are both openly attested to and privately held (Camp, 23). Meals are combined to form daily regimes characterized by religion, ethnicity, and territory which can be interpreted to better understand a community's behavior and heritage (Camp,27). Although modern societies have moved away from gender discrimination, nomadic Beduins, in the Negev, still utilize prejudicial belief as a way of life. Beduins manifest their favoritism for the male dominance in their communities, namely through food culture.

The Beduins are nomadic people of Arab descent that live in desert areas in the Middle East. They usually live in makeshift tents, traveling to new fields and water sources around the year through the desert. Beduins are also known for their colorful and unique traditional dresses called Dushddasha (Codish,1). Those living in the state of Israel today are divided into two communities. First, the northern group in the Galilee, descended from tribes which came from Syria. Second, the larger Beduin community of the Negev desert, in the south, originated in tribes which came from Sinai and the Arabian Peninsula (Madrell, 3). Nomadic Beduins live in very isolated areas which allows them to maintain their primitive culture, without being disturbed by the industrial cities. Their ancient traditions are based on a defined role for each member of the family dependent on gender and age (Oved, 1998).

Most Beduins, in the Negev, exhaust the products of the land before moving to their next destination. Some of the products they are able to gather include fruits, vegetables, and water. A couple of fruits include tamirind and sabras. Other products from the land include bulgur (cracked wheat), Bajilla (Fava beans), Himmus (garbanzo beans), Naanna (mint), and Hale (cordamon). The Negev Beduins have long been practicing simple techniques of concentrating the winter rains onto small areas, which then become fertile, by constructing dams. From these dams and from hundreds of underwater cisterns, across the desert, they extract all the water they need for maintenance (Arie, 1998).

The families living in the old nomadic pastoralism depend on herding for meat, milk, and wool used for tent weaving. Beduin tribes are usually composed of the father, who has three to four wives, and their children. One tribe can have anywhere from 20 to 50 people. Each wife owns a small herd of goats and sheep, of at least 20 animals. It is the job of the young male members of the tribe, to gather the animals early in the morning and take them grazing where more food is available. The children and the animals must be back at the tribes' camp site before noon, when the heat in the desert is unbearable. In addition, in a climate like Israel's, it is imperative to prevent overgrazing, dehydration, and decertification by the animals if careful planning is not used (Oved, 1998).

The father, whom is considered the rosh or the head of the tribe, is in charge of the slaughtering of the animals, mostly for special occasions. The nutrition of the Beduins is dependent on fruits, vegetables, and other gathered foods. However, when a special occasion arises, like a birth, marriage, reaching of adulthood, and death an animal is sacrificed to feed the tribe to celebrate the event. The animal is chosen from the herd of the corresponding wife. For example, for the birth of one of her sons the woman will allow her husband to chose an animal from her herd for the celebration (Oved, 1998).

After the animal is picked by the rosh, it is moved to a different housing environment much cleaner and with more food available. The animal must spend at least 48 hours in the special quarters before the animal is considered clean for killing. The actual killing takes place outdoors where the animal is restrained by the older children in the tribe. Before restraining the animal, the older children sheer the animal to obtain the wool for later use. Then the rosh uses a very sharp knife like tool to decapitate the animal with one stroke. As explained by Nadeem Akhtar, Muslims also slaughter their own animals to celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha. Beduins use the animal's head is for soup making by the wives and the body is cleaned by the rosh leaving the insides for animal feeding. If the rosh is too old to carry out his duties, he instructs the oldest male child of his tribe to do it, however, the credit remains with the rosh of the tribe (Arie, 1998).

In his book, American Foodways, Charles Camp explains that a material, hierarchical approach to foodways is evident (28). This is explicit in Beduin culture. In this case, the preliminary work is done by the older man while the everyday carrying of the animals is done by the young males; highlighting the prejudicial beliefs in the community based on gender and age. The women are not allowed to involve themselves in the animal caring events, without bringing shame to the family name. If a woman chooses to involve herself, she would be either exiled or killed by the rosh (Oved,1998).

Because male and female roles are complementary, gender has always been a primary metaphor for the allocation of roles in societies. The organization flows as such men go, get food, and give it to their wives, while women stay, receive it, cook it, and serve it forth. Men and women must do different things, and doing different things will work better if they feel different responsibilities; otherwise important features of the social structure become blurred and shaky (Visser, 272).

The actual cooking of the foods is carried out by the females of the tribe. Each wife must cook for her children, while the rosh is able to chose whose food he wants to eat or if he wants to have them all. Since families are large, the oldest daughters are always expected to help in the preparation of the meals, while younger daughters are responsible for gathering all the needed ingredients. And together they remain in the cooking area, while the mother prepares the food, since they are expected to learn the art of cooking. Cooking is done immediately before the food is served to the family, because there are no facilities to maintain the food fresh. (Arie, 1998). It is obvious each female has a role assigned to her, according to her age.

In order to cook the food, women mostly use their hands and metal utensils. They fix the food over a fire, which is built by the oldest son in the household. A typical everyday dinner consists of rice, beans, vegetables, and pita bread; followed by dessert such as baklava with coffee or tea. For a special occasion, meat would be added to the menu (Oved, 1998). One common recipe used to make rice is as follows:

pour two pints of water in a saucepan and put it on the fire. When boiling, throw in one pound of rice, some salt, and boil it until the liquid is absorbed. Then put in a half a pound of fresh butter in a saucepan and set it on the fire until it boils. Then pour it over the rice, place a cover over the pan, and wrap it with a wet cloth to prevent the steam from escaping. After a half an hour, stir the rice and serve it (Simon, 304).

Desserts include baklava, as well as lalanga (fried pastries), ghyulbe-sheker (rose-petal jam), and farina nut pudding. They are usually served with coffee or tea. The Beduin coffee contains a bitter herb called Hal, which makes the coffee extremely strong. The coffee is only consumed by the men, while the women are allowed to drink a sweeter drink, tea. If the men chose to drink coffee, they must at least drink three cups. Each cup has a significance; the first for health, the second for love, and the last for future generations. It is considered disrespectful not to consume all three cups of coffee. On the other hand, drinking only one cup of tea is accepted. For the Beduins, coffee is a luxury, whereas tea is customary (Arie, 1998). Beduin food preparation rituals are characterized by age and gender. It is clear that every member of the tribe has a designated role that allows the village to maintain its balance and order.

It is hard to accommodate to their rituals of eating because they lack tables, chairs, and utensils. Instead the food is served on top of a giant pita which is placed on a carpet. Around this carpet, in the "junt," cushions are placed for the men to sit. For the woman a very similar setting is used, however, it is always smaller and less luxurious than the males. Often the Beduins eat their food in the presence of flies and other insects because this is part of their daily life (Nessim, 1998).

Serving the food becomes complex because of the separate location of the tribe members. Distant tents encourage separateness and status within the community (Visser, 134). Men are traditionally expected to rule over the meal and to control the conversation, in addition to correcting behavior. Women are forbidden from entering the "junt" and joining in any activities within it. However, they cook and assure that the men are properly attended to (Arie, 1998).

The actual serving of the foods is a process. After the food is ready, the oldest daughter is in charge of letting her father know that the meal will be served. Once the men have gathered in the "junt," the youngest male of each household receives the food from the hands of his sisters about 20 meters away from the "junt." It is the youngest males of the tribe that serves the food to the men. If there is anything missing during the dinner, the youngest children are in charge of asking their mothers for more. After the dinner is over, the male children hand the dirty utensils to their sisters for cleaning. As the women clean, the men spend their time smoking tobacco with a Narguile (Oved, 1998). Once again it is shown that each member of the tribe has a role to satisfy, established according to gender and age.

As opposed to modern societies, Beduin gender and age discrimination manifest the male dominance in their communities. Through ethnic foodways, the Beduins express and reflect their values and culture. Their prejudicial beliefs, along with their male favoritism, are displayed through their food collection, cooking rituals, and serving customs. It is hard to live among them and not notice, what is to the western men, their rare behavior, when food is concerned.

NOTE:To view another group's foodways, Maren Stwart has researched and analyzed

The Shakers culture and life style as related to food.

An Exhibit : Foodways of the Beduins in the Negev

The exhibits' primary mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge about this isolated tribe; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the meaning behind their foodways. The place reserved for the exhibit is in front of the American History Museum in DC, with dimensions of 30 x 20 meters. The exhibit will take place from June 8th until the 12th, and will be opened from one until eight in the evening. Since the exhibit will be outside, many considerations have to be taken in to account. First, lighting has to be available for the darker hours. In addition, extra energy outlets will be needed for refrigerators and ovens used to keep and cook the food. Second, since the exhibit will take place in the middle of the summer, the tents should be equipped with air conditioning. Lastly, a total of five employees and four curators will be asked to work eight hour shifts, in order to accommodate the visitors. The curatorial dilemma will be to translate the research into an exhibit that illustrates how Beduins, from the Negev, manifest their communities' social structure through ethnic foodways.

This exhibit is unique because it is composed of a number of nine connected tents, designed to resemble a Beduin village. The exhibit begins with groups, accompanied by a guide, whom will escort them through the introductory display. This walk lasts approximately twenty minutes. The walls of the introduction hallway will be covered with pictures and information about the Beduins. Things like the location, culture, and type of life will become obvious to the visitors within the first five minutes. An example would be:

These are the lands of the Negev in Southern Israel. Beduins descended from the Sinai and the Arabian Peninsula reside in these lands. Because of the low productivity of the land, Beduins are nomadic people always in search of water and food sources.

In addition to gathering vegetables, fruits, and water Beduins depend on growing their own animal herds. These herds are usually composed of around twenty sheep and a few goats. The animals are used for meat, milk, and wool for tent weaving. Most of a young male Beduin's life is spent caring for the herds, while their female counterparts spend there time gathering ingredients for cooking.

Next the visitors are encouraged to walk through the kitchen, where authentic Beduin food is being prepared. They are inspired to look and examine the cooks while they prepare meals, in addition to observing typical Beduin herbs, and spices placed on display throughout the hall. To maintain the theme of the exhibit, the cooks will be dressed in the typical Beduin female attires. In addition, a number of artificial typical meals will be displayed along the public hall. In the back of the kitchen, will be a pantry with refrigerators and supplies needed. The pantry area is restricted for employees only.

Proceeding, the visitors are asked separately according to gender. Once separated, the ladies are directed to the female tent. In this tent, a model of a customary Beduin kitchen is found next to the carpets and cushions arranged to imitate a woman's eating place. The tent will be filled with objects, like utensils, mannequins and a fully served artificial meal placed on top of a pita bread arranged on the carpet. The women are able to look into the male tent, through the clear plastic curtains that allows a visual, but inhibits physical contact, between sexes.

Men are guided into the male tent; a larger and more ornate place, representing a replica of the "junt". Full of carpeting, elaborate cushions, Narguile and mannequins dressed in Beduin clothing, this tent is designed to carry the visitors into Beduin culture. Again, a fully served artificial meal will be placed on top of a pita bread arranged on the carpet. Men are also able to look into the female tent, but are unable to touch the objects placed within it.

After this, the visitors are strongly advised to enjoy a complete Beduin meal in the eating tent. This tent functions as a regular restaurant, where the clients are approached by a hostess that encourages them to stay. The expense of the meal is covered by each visitor according to set prices that do not exceed $7 per plate. The hostess shows the visitors to a designated carpet eating area. The meal includes desert fruits, a main course, followed by dessert and coffee or tea. While having dinner, the visitors are photographed and will later on be able to purchase the picture if they wish. Those who choose not to enjoy the meal, walk through the eating tent, in order to reach the Question and Answer tent.

In the Question and Answer tent, a curator is available to answer any additional inquiries about Beduin foodways. This tent is decorated to resemble a "junt;" its walls decorated with pictures and instructions of Narguile smoking. Here men and women are able to sit and be instructed on how to smoke a Narguile, in addition to having conversations.

The last tent is the exit of the exhibit. Its main purpose is to gather ideas and opinions from the visitors. There will be paper and pens available for each person to critique the exhibit. Suggestion boxes, chairs, and tables will be placed all around the tent to allow the visitors to comfortably express their opinions. The walls will be enhanced by pictures taken in the eating tent. The visitors can at this point purchase their pictures, in addition to other souvenirs from this wonderful experience.

Work Cited

Arie, Lavan. Personal Interview. August 1998.

Camp, Charles. American Foodways. Arkansas: Little Rock Publishings, 1989.

Codish, Shlomi. Beduins. Bengurion University. http://medic.bgu.ac.il/bedouin (November 20,

1998).

Kraut, Allen. Ethnic Foodways; The Significance of Food in the Designation of Cultural Boundaries

Between Immigrant Groups in the U.S., 1840-1921. Volume II, No.3, Fall 1979.

Maddrell, P. "The Minority Rights Group." Beduin of the Negev. Report No 81. London: Expedite

Graphic Limited, 1990.

Nessim, Ivette. Personal Interview. August 1998.

Simon, Andre L. The Complete Book of World Cookery. New York: Crescent Books, Inc., 1972.

Oved, Zamir. Personal Interview. August 1998.

Visser, Margaret. The Rituals of Dinner. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991.

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