Bedouins

Bedouins are a collective term for historically desert-dwelling Arab nomadic and semi-nomadic communities in the Middle East and North Africa. The name derives from the Arabic badawi, meaning 'desert dweller'.

Traditionally they lived in extended family clans within tribes, and organized through customary law (urf) and tribal codes (muruwwa). They practiced pastoralism, tending camels, sheep and goats, and conducted seasonal migrations to access pasture and water.

Geographically, Bedouin communities have been prominent in the Arabian Peninsula, parts of the Levant, and North Africa, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, among others.

Economy and culture: They were traders and caravan organizers in earlier centuries. Today, many Bedouins are settled or semi-settled, working in agriculture, trade, government, or tourism; some continue nomadic routes, moving with seasons. Their culture emphasizes hospitality and oral poetry; traditional dress, music, and crafts remain important markers of identity.

Social change and contemporary issues: Urbanization, state borders, land and water rights, education, and climate change have transformed Bedouin life. Some communities have faced displacement or integration pressures; governments have pursued sedentarization policies to varying degrees.

Language and identity: Bedouins speak varieties of Arabic, with distinctive vocabularies and idioms; they identify as Bedouin within their national contexts rather than a single ethnicity.