Description
From the moment I arrived in Beersheba, I realized that I would not be able to resolve the problems of the Bedouin—and their problems were many in this land—unless I understood their customs. Nor would I be able to establish justice among them unless I studied their character. So I began to gather information about them, to explore their practices, and to search for what was considered acceptable and unacceptable in their eyes. I left no dwelling unvisited, no sheikh unquestioned, and no incident unexamined. I continued in this manner for two years or more, diligently pursuing these two important matters, until I had amassed a considerable amount of information about the people, their customs, their origins, their branches, their clans, their tribes, their numbers, their dwellings, their women, their character, their methods of adjudication, their language, their songs, their history, and their wars.
However, I never imagined, while undertaking this work, that these accounts and observations, which I had recorded in my diary for reference in my official duties and when absolutely necessary, would one day be published as a book. I would not have dared to do so were it not for the wishes of some friends and a large group of Bedouin themselves. I saw no alternative but to work with their support.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.