The Changing Bedouin (Hardback)

Presenting detailed examinations based on intensive fieldwork of the cultural, economic, and legal changes taking place among the Bedouin in Israel and adjacent regions, the authors of this volume describe the rapidly transformed lives in case studies. These former pastoral nomads have entered industrial urban society as building contractors, army officers, or other professions or raised sheep on an industrial scale; yet, they maintain their cultural heritage and tribal frameworks. This distinguished group of anthropologists, a geographer, and an orientalist show how change affects the demography and settlement patterns, the tribe and migration of tribesmen, the position of women, blood revenge and legal practices. Contents and Contributors: Emanuel Marx, "Economic Change among Pastoral Nomads in the Middle East"; Avshalom Shmueli, "The Desert Frontier in Judea"; Aharon Layish, "The Islamization of the Bedouin Family in the Judean Desert, as Reflected in the Sijill of the Shari'a Court"; Joseph Ginat, "Blood Revenge in Bedouin Society"; Gillian Lewando-Hundt, "The Exercise of Power by Bedouin Women in the Negev"; Gideon M. Kressel, "Changes in Employment and Social Accommodations of Bedouin Settling in Israeli Towns"; Emanuel Marx, "'Arab al-Hjerat: Adaptation of Bedouin to a Changing Environment."