Book Review - Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers
Book Review - Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers
Culture is not a stable and unchanging system of beliefs and attitudes, as it is directly influenced and, even shaped, by the society it operates in. As regards society, it can best be described as dynamic due to the fact that it is constantly changing and evolving. The influences upon it are countless, be it the media, technological advances, political theories and, even tourists. In Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers, Donald P Cole and Soraya Altorki effectively illustrate the dynamic characteristics of society as such, taken from the perspective of impact of tourism, whether local, regional or international upon traditional, previously secluded Bedouin society in Egypt's northwestern coast.
As professional anthropologists and scholars, Cole and Altorki are able to produce a comprehensive study on the changing structure of traditional Bedouin society in the Marsa Matrouh region. Possibly this is due to the fact that they have access to a wide variety of research tools, and the advantage of professional experience in anthropological and sociological research within the Arab World. In the "Preface" the research strategies and tools are explained in great detail, and may be defined as both anthropological field research and academic research.
The academic research undertaken by Cole and Altorki appears to be comprehensive. According to their "Preface," the changing structure of Bedouin society in the Marsa Matrouh, or northwestern coast region has been the focus of ethnographic studies since the 1960s (Cola & Altorki viii-ix). Citing the researches that had been conducted, together with a brief criticism, it is clear that these were used for background information for their current study. Furthermore, the academic research conducted did not just focus on the northwestern coast but also drew from others on Bedouin society as such, whether in the Libyan desert or the Arabian Peninsula. Important to note here is the fact that both Cole and Altorki had independently, and jointly, carried out researches on Bedouin lifestyle and customs in Arabian Peninsula. In other words, they used their own personal experiences and knowledge, together with academic, and ethnographical, researches carried out by other scholars, as a tool to aid them in Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers.
As relates to the use of ethnographical field research as a tool in their present study, Cole and Altorki provide us with an adequate description of the structure followed in the "Preface" (xii-ixx). In totals, the ethnographical research covered 8 months and consisted primarily of interviews which they "conducted jointly" (xiii). The authors note the fact that the majority of these interviews "were with men" (xiii), did not follow the format of a structured interview but, were more like conversations. That is, a tremendous effort was made to get into the Bedouin mentality and understand their social attitudes and perspectives in order to outline the changes that had occurred over the years, with the following conclusion offered: "There has been change, sometimes radical change threatening survival; but elements from the past also remain and are used in newly-altered ways to make statements about or to interpret the present, and also to organize aspects of social life in what has become a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world for the people of Matruh" (221).
The book itself offers a deep and critical analysis of practically all aspects of Bedouin social life, with the tribe of Awlad Ali functioning as the focus, clarifying for us the changes that had occurred over the years in direct response to the factor of tourism. That is, precisely what has changed, what were the factors motivating change, and what elements of past social beliefs and practices has remained. Change in the area, and in general terms, has been induced by a wide variety of factors, such as the migration of tribes, World War I and, in the 1990s, tourism. While such factors seem to be unrelated to each other, this is not the case. In short, they all involve the introduction of new ideas, new experiences and new outside forces into the world of Awlad Ali. Such influences may have been resisted at first, insofar as they sought to effect change in direct terms. However, it was according to the indirect attempt to induce change that it occurred. In other words, Awlad Ali reacted to the new forces at their own pace whereby change came from within.
That tourism should function as a force motivating social change is clearly explained in Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers. To comprehend the power of this factor, it is important to refer to the authors' outline of it being almost like an entire infrastructure. It doesn't just simply involve coming into direct contact with foreign social attitudes, but the entire economic and legal system that is created as a base for this industry.
The economic requirements for the creation of a tourist industry in the area motivated a wide variety, and enormous number of changes. Possibly, on of the most important of these is "occupational changes" (224). Thus dependency no longer centered on traditional Bedouin style of livelihood, be it farming or raising livestock, but included entry into the service industry which feeds, or even supports the tourist one. Such a change necessitates a transition in attitudes as one is no longer conducting relations within the enclosed Bedouin society but, directly interacts with cosmopolitan forces. Furthermore, the very fact that the region itself entered into the development map, and became the basis of a lucrative tourist industry, induced change in the traditional structure of employment, whereby "labour [became] increasingly commercialized" (224). Herders, for example, were no longer employed according to an exchange, or barter system of payment, but in exchange for financial wages. Secondly, noting the system of "wadaa yad," or claiming ownership of a piece of land by virtue of settlement in it together with force, provided a new source of income for Awlad Ali. Thus, such land is now hired out for pasture to outsiders. In short, increasing commercialization induced changes in attitudes with the briefest example being that sons and daughters seek labour outside their family units.
What this book successfully and comprehensively explains to readers is that change cannot be resisted. No society, no matter how enclosed it is, or how rigid its traditions are, can isolate itself from outside forces. Awlad Ali did not actively seek change but were motivated to change according to forces which entered their region and influenced them through exposure to different social systems, complete with different economic structures. As such, societies evolve, and cultures gradually change.
The implications of change and the factors that motivate it are not only clearly explained in this book but, they further motivate the reader to consider the impact of globalization on Arab culture. The fact is that Awlad Ali were motivated towards change as a consequence of interaction with a foreign culture; that is, as a consequence of globalization. Today, the Arab World is facing countless globalization agents from fast food restaurants such as MacDonald's to mass media programmes and other communication technologies such as the Internet. The importance of these lies simply in the fact that they all combine to bring us into increasingly close contact with foreign cultures, foreign values and foreign lifestyles. This Dangerous World and the Benefits of Visiting a Travel Clinic Watch American Dad - Season 6 - Episode 15 License to Kill A Common Reason For Travel Clinic Visits: Beaver Fever or Giardia Infection The Weber Summit 450- Ignite Your Summer Barbecue Londons Past and Present Want that Island Tan without the sand?? Visit the Hippest Tanning Salon in Phoenix! If You Want To Sell Photographs, You'll Want To Use A Reflector And Tripod! The Informed World Traveler: Yellow Fever Immunization Exceptions Sensatori Crete Lyttos Beach Hotel Hammocks -- A History of Relaxation Caravanning the East Coast of Australia Try Singles Meet Washington DC Where To Eat In Surfers Paradise