DESERT BEDOUINS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 October 1932, Page 2

DESERT BEDOUINS

HARD FIGHT FOR LIFE. EFFECT OF DROUGHT. Starvation stalks ( among the desert Bedouins of Northern Arabia. Lean and ragged, after three years of deprivation, due. to scanty rainfall, the weary tribesmen ar e trickling into Transjordan, seeking food. For weeks in the earlier months of this year they iXSiC'isted on edible roots. At best, the Bedouins o r 'jhe Northern desert regions of the Arabian Pen? insula live o» the-threshold of starvation (says a writer in the “Cape Argus”). Except i;u the spring, when there are a few juche.s of rainfall, the desert is a vast P arc- hed area of rocks and sand, where it seems impossible to the Westerner that any living thing can exist. Normally a cup of camel’s m>lk and a handful of dates k a. Bedouin’s daily ration. Occasionally h e can afford a loup of coffee, a favourite beverage. Bread is rare and meat is rarer. A feeble camel renders his last service on the tribal meat- platter. Camel’s mil'k ch -ese, kneaded into little cakes, and baked until they are as hard as clay bricks, are palatable to the tribesmen and keep indefinitely. Western travellers, (however, object to the numerous camel hairs they contain. Few animals inhabit the desert-, but now and then a horned lizard adorns the festive board ; desert rats algo are relished and gazelle meat makes a feast. Despite the hard life of the desert, with its dread sandstorms, loneliness, temperatures that chill the tribesmen during th e night and scorch them at more than 130 degrees F. during the day, and ladk of water .that takes heavy toll of human and animal life, the Bedouin is happy on a desert trail.

VEGETATION SCANTY. Normally the desert is almost devoid of vegetation, except for shrivelled scrubby bushes and stunted trees. In sopie areas the spring rain, like a powerful tonic, causes these to come to life and new growth to sprout and thrive. Men and animals hav e plenty of food during this period, but it lasts only a few weeks. Then comes the long rainless season. The nights remain cool, even in the summer. At the first peep of the sun over the eastern horizon the stimulating atmosphere quickly disappears. Ry noon even the Bedouin is driven to shelter. The midday desert breeze is like the breath of a blast furnace. Eggs can be cooked on the torrid sand. The Bedouin pities the sedentary Arab, who confines himself to the four of a house. He has greater pity for the merchant who spends his days in. a t stuffy shop .on. a.yarrow business"street and wears silks, which thedesert nomad things only women should wear.

The Bedouin is fully clothed when he. dons a loin-cloth and a burnous that resembles a long night-shirt, and a turban —his idea, of the fashion for Some wear sandals. ~ Baths are almost unknown t(b many Bedouin tribesmen because there is no water. Large 'herds of sheep and goats are kept by Bedouins who wander on the fringe of the desert where there is ample forage, but those tribes which penetrat© more arid, isolated regions are camel breeders and traders. The latter looked upon the camel as a special gift of their god. HELP THAT CAMELS GIVE.

Camel’s milk is consumed by both men and animals when forage for the animals is not available. Camel’s meat staves off starvation when the tribal •larder is empty, camel’s hair furnishes material for clothes, and the awkward beast-.': Tb ;h© only transport for the broad, sa.rdy wastes where water holes are few and far between.

Bedouins are Mohammedans, but many nomads perform their ablutions with sand instead of water. They could Be 'polygamists .under Moslem law, but the hard life °f the desert ha« forced monogany upon most of them.

No one passes a Bedouin camp hungry, regardless of the poverty of the tribe. The tribesmen are famous for their (hospitality. There is no latchspring on the Bedouin tent, .and the food cache ie thrown open to visitors. For that reason many of the povertystricken tribes camp off the most travelled routes to avoid embarrassment, because they cannot extend the usual Bedouin hospitality.