Bedouin Survival Techniques

Basics: Water is Everything! Bedouins are nomadic herders, so the ability to find, transport, and store water is crucial to them and their animals Moving from pasture to pasture, Bedouins must calculate water supplies from well to well Primary method of storage and transportation: goat-skin sack Experience counts; oldest and wisest dictate rations

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures Dew can be found before sun up on stones or grass, rags are used to sop up and wring out fresh water Flies and mosquitoes are signs of a water source Bees fly in a straight line up to 1000 meters from water Water seepage in rock formations and underground can be unlocked with effort Even contaminated water used to soak clothing, combat loss of perspiration

Food Bedouins are herders so they rely on their goats and sheep for meat, milk, wool Goats slightly more tolerant of heat, require less water, eat tougher vegetation Number of animals must be controlled to avoid overgrazing, trampling of pastures Also eat flour-based flat breads, dried fruit and nuts, vegetables Feasts are thrown when a sheep is slaughtered

Shelter Adaptable yet adequate shelter a must as desert conditions can change rapidly Bedouins primarily live in large tents that are easy to erect and dismantle to move Densely woven fabrics made of camel hair and vegetable fiber held up by poles Rocks often used as anchors, can be absorb and reflect heat from sun or campfires No furniture, just carpet and cushions Divided into two sections: women’s quarters (kitchen) and men’s quarters (living room)

Clothing Men generally dress in long white tunic with distinctive head cloth (“kufiyya”) Women generally dress in black, cover their faces with a bourque, jewelry Kufiyya consists of a cloth wrapped around the head and coils that secure it to the head; shields from cold or sun, signifies your ability to abide by rules and responsibilities of being a man Clothes are important, dead person’s clothes are left on their grave for needy travelers

Transportation Movement is crucial for this nomadic people; must travel fast and carry all their belongings Arabian camel: The Ultimate transportation Stores water in hump; up to 8 days without water! Store food, survive off fat in hump Long eyelashes, thick eyelids protect from sun and sand Closeable nose to protect from sand Up too 600 lbs. of cargo load, up to 100 miles of range Very valuable and often decorated with gold, jewelry

Navigation “By three sides is the quickest way around a square” – Arab proverb instructing people how to avoid difficult ground Shadows cast by rocks used to tell cardinal directions Polaris (“North Star”) used at night Large dunes provide reliable landmarks, small dunes unreliable If you know the prevailing winds, dune shapes can be used to tell directions

Hospitality Living in an unforgiving environment, Bedouins have strict laws regarding trespassing over land or using wells Bedouin hospitality to strangers, though, is legendary for its lavishness Strangers normally greeted with feasts, poetry readings, song If guests arrive on horse, Bedouin master will offer to feed the horse himself Coffee is always offered to guests, personally prepared by master Master drinks first cup to make guest feel safe, guest drinks next two