The Three Functions of Bedouin Marriages - Essay Example

Running head: BEDOUIN Bedouin UAP500 17th, May, Bedouin Introduction Bedouins are in the simplest terms, nomads, originating from the deserts in the Middle East. They follow unique traditions in their marriage institutions and this sets them apart the rest of the contemporary communities. Although they follow the Islamic laws when making marital decisions (Harby, 2007), Bedouins tribe experiences high number of divorces as compared to other Islamic communities. Bedouins are predominantly Islamic but they have unique characteristics, which gives them autonomy (Marks, 1967). Bedouin marriages occur with close relatives. Possibly, this is because of the proximity to close relatives or the unavailability of other options. These families travel together and they are not exposed to people outside their tribe considering that they travel in the desert. Marriage is a contract to Bedouins (Marks, 1967). This contract binds a man to the woman after the man has made a monetary offer to the woman’s father, and the father has accepted the offer. Therefore, this marriage of compromise differs in many ways from the conventional form of marriage assumed by the Western culture. In Western cultures, marriage is a commitment and a highly respected institution. However, for Bedouins, marriage is a compromise and a stage of life that one has to go through (Bailey, 2009; Harby, 2007). This essay explains the three functions of Bedouin marriages. Reproduction is the first function of marriage. Bedouins live in a polygamous society whereby one man has many wives and has to treat them equally. Women are required to be chaste and are protected by the Bedouin’s law (Bailey 2009). They are required to exercise abstinence. Sex for Bedouins is only allowed inside the marriage institution therefore, sex outside marriage is highly discouraged. The man who has many wives is supposed to treat all wives equally but law is not documented anywhere and therefore it is open for abuse (Bailey, 2009). Men may marry for progeny but women cannot speak for themselves. Women are secluded in tents by their male relatives up to the time when they are married and are then allowed to live with their husbands. Any girl found to have lost her virginity before marriage is treated harshly and is often killed. If a girl is caught eloping, their partner is killed. In such instances, their father or brother makes marital decisions (Bailey, 2009). This seems baffling to Westerners and indeed, it is. However, for some reason, these rules work for the Bedouin tribes. Outsiders may feel like aliens when observing some of Bedouin customs. Women do not have a choice in sexual mating, so the man makes the decisions in Bedouin society (Emrys, Jack & Marx, 2009). Bedouins have a patriarchal system and most notably, Bedouins in Sinai are known to exercise polygamy (Marks, 1967). There are also frequent divorces among Bedouins in Sinai. The majority of other Bedouins do not follow the practice of polygamy (Marks, 1967). Sexual unions only occur after marriage. If a girl gets involved with a man before marriage, she will be ostracized and punished. A woman’s close male relatives are responsible for her sexual morality. Marriages take place with consent from groups although it is a matter of individuals. Social consent and social norms are more important than individual pleasure or satisfaction (Bailey 2009). When a family loses a woman in the family by marriage, they are compensated with money, dowry to be exact. This is illegal but it still happens in Bedouin tribes and also some other tribes in South-east Asia (Ross, 1981). The man’s family shows interest in marrying the woman and then offer the dowry. Child marriages and polygamous marriages occur among Bedouin tribes, which is illegal elsewhere. Child marriages cannot be justified on the grounds of the first function. It is inconceivable to think of children being married before they hit puberty and of young girls having children by the time they are teenagers. The first function of marriage may or may not be satisfied but on the grounds of our modern thinking, children should not be allowed to marry at the pre-pubescent age (Marks, 1967; Harby, 2007). The second function, which is the division of duties by a husband and wife in from other subcultures and are more intriguing .A marriage, is also seen in Bedouin marriages in a conventional way. The archaic ideal that women should stay at home and raise children while the men go out and fight wars or bring home the bread holds true in Bedouin marriages. This can be due to the Islamic law, which does not encourage women to work, but aside from the religious aspects, women from all cultures of the world are always considered the one taking care of children whereas men are the bread-earners (Harby, 2007). Due to the primal and simple nature of this function among Bedouin tribes, I will not delve further into it. I would much rather focus on the distinguishing characteristics of Bedouin tribes that which set them apart (Marks, 1967; Harby, 2007). The third function is about child rearing and social relationships and structure. Marriage creates relationships that transcend family borders. That is why Bedouins prefer cousin marriages. They prefer cousin marriages because even if the marriage is broken the relationships formed as an outcome of the marriage are not (Ross, 1981; Emrys, Jack & Marx, 2009). When marriage occurs between two unrelated individuals, the relationships formed between two families are likely to be broken when the marriage breaks. This cousin marriage is thus a smart pre-emptive strike to deal with the ramifications of broken marriages or rather to prevent the ramifications. When children are born to a Bedouin couple, they adopt the father’s social status. The chief of the tribe has more than seven children whereas the average Bedouin family has three to four children. Children are a cause of dispute for marriages since both the man and the woman’s family gets interested in the child’s upbringing and rearing since they are interested in growing their family tree (Ross, 1981). For Bedouins, kinship is probably one of the most important aspects of the marriage (Emrys, Jack & Marx, 2009). Since the social status and social support are some of the marriage determining factors, it is just as likely that they are important for kinship as well. Children from Bedouin parents are raised by their extended family as I had previously mentioned and because of that, they are recognized as members of Bedouin society by the time they are 16 or 17 (Emrys, Jack & Marx, 2009). To conclude this essay, I would like to say that every subculture is different and although the functions of a marriage are seemingly numerous, there are certain base factors. In my opinion, the functions of a marriage differ across cultures due to the tradition and social influence. In some societies, individual happiness is more important than social status. However, this is not the case for Bedouins. There has to be a collective consent to a marriage or else it does not materialise. It is regrettable that in Bedouin society, someone else determines marriage that is supposed to be a relationship that human beings choose for themselves. Perhaps, the most contradicting characteristic that did strike me was that fact that women are deprived of freedom and this has been going on for so long. Perhaps polygamy and child marriages will become extinct just as the inability of women to vote before the 1920s. It is intriguing to see how Bedouin culture is a mix of religion and social factors. The social influence makes sense since Bedouin tribes travel together over long periods and a kinship-like bond is formed. References Bailey, C. (2009). Bedouin Law from Sinai & the Negev: Justice without Government. London: Yale University Press. Emrys, L., Jack, P., & Marx, G. (1990). The Bedouin of Cyrenaica. London: University of Cambridge Press. Harby, M. (2007). Bedwai. Retrieved from http://bedawi.com/Marriage_EN.html Marks, E. (1967) .Bedouin of the Negev.London: Manchester U.P. Ross, H. (1981). The Art of Bedouin Jewellery: A Saudi Arabian Profile. London: Taylor and Francis. Read More