This is an absorbing and authentic account, first published in 1986, of the history and traditional way of life of the Al-Dhafir bedouins of north-eastern Arabia, based on a study of their traditions, Arabic historical annals and the reports of western travellers over the past two hundred years. During the early part of the twentieth century the Al-Dhafir were a major power in the desert south west of the Euphrates between Samawa and Zubair. Beginning in the Hijaz in the early 1600s as a confederation of small tribes under the leadership of the Suwait clan, they have had an eventful history in which their tribal tradition records battles with the Sharifs in the Hijaz, the al’Urai’ir in al Hasa, the Muntafiq in Iraq and finally the Ikhwan raiders in the 1920s. They are well known for an almost quixotic adherence to the taditions of hospitality and protection of fugitives for which their sheikhs became known as the Ahl al-Buwait, ‘people of the little tent’.

This is an absorbing and authentic account, first published in 1986, of the history and traditional way of life of the Al-Dhafir bedouins of north-eastern Arabia, based on a study of their traditions, Arabic historical annals and the reports of western travellers over the past two hundred years. During the early part of the twentieth century the Al-Dhafir were a major power in the desert south west of the Euphrates between Samawa and Zubair. Beginning in the Hijaz in the early 1600s as a confederation of small tribes under the leadership of the Suwait clan, they have had an eventful history in which their tribal tradition records battles with the Sharifs in the Hijaz, the al’Urai’ir in al Hasa, the Muntafiq in Iraq and finally the Ikhwan raiders in the 1920s. They are well known for an almost quixotic adherence to the taditions of hospitality and protection of fugitives for which their sheikhs became known as the Ahl al-Buwait, ‘people of the little tent’.

An exploration of the intersection between art and life among the Bedouins and its implications for Orientalists.

To what extent is our civilization likely to affect Arabia’s nomads, the Bedouins? How is it likely to alter their customs and their traditional way of life? To shed some light on the lifestyle, the dignity and the spirit of these desert people, the author and his wife Danielle, lead us - forty years after the famous explorer Wilfred Thesiger - on the edge of the mountains and the dunes of the Rub al-Khali, the largest sandy desert in the world. Unique photographs illustrate their seven-year-long adventure, sharing the everyday life of different tribes and their enduring friendships with these remarkable men, their womenfolk and children. In this account of their travels, the reader is given an insight into the courage and tenacity indispensable to such a difficult and sensitive endeavour. Throughout the world, the nomadic way of life is in danger. Going beyond the life of the Bedouins, the author shows the impact of modernity on traditional societies. The destiny of these people is under threat. He appeals to us to grant them our long overdue respect. الإبل الأرض الأطفال الأمير البدو البدوية الحياة الحيوانات الخيمة الربع الخالي الرجال الرمال الشمس الصحراء القهوة الكثبان الرملية الماعز المخيم المملكة العربية النساء آل مرة صحراء قبيلة نجران يبرين animal Arabia Bedouins camel civilization coffee desert dunes Emir family goats host life men Najran nomads people region Rub al Khali Saudi tent traditional tribe women Yabrin Murrah animaux campement monde chèvre couleurs Najran sable bédouins des femmes dromadaire nomades enfants majlis la vie bédouine le désert porte les femmes les hommes patriarche place Rub al Khali tente Najran Rub al Khali إصدارات وزارة الثقافة وشركة العبيكان للتعليم Abdulfattah analyse anciennes apparaissent arabique architecture climat Golvin identiques la maison Rijâl Alma mouvement nomades nouveau photographies Piémont najdi production réalisation ressources succession terrasse Tihâma des collines structure troisième Yémen Arabia Arabian Tableland architecture Asir colours construction cultural decoration expression Fatmai geometric houses materials murals patterns Qahtan quartz region Rijal Alma Sarat Saudi Arabia Sinhan style system Tihama tribes women Yemen الألوان الأمطار الأنماط البناء التشكيل الفني التقليدية الحجر الزخارف الطلاء الطين الفن القبائل الكوارتز المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل المواد النساء النوافذ اليمن أبها تهامة سنحان شريفة عسير غرفة فاطمة تيري موجيه Thierry Mauger façade Tihamah décors hutte Qahtan Najran huttes nomades Yémen tribus pluies Rabi’ah tribu Wadi Abha chameaux souk Hobab chèvres Jazan chevriers police Wadi Dala’ Dala’ tentes animals Arabia architecture Bedouins butter coffee desert flowers hair houses hut leather materials men mountain nomads people police Qahtan region road Saudi Arabia silver souk Tihama traditional tribe village wadi women Yemen Murrah animaux campement monde chèvre couleurs Najran sable bédouins des femmes dromadaire nomades enfants majlis la vie bédouine le désert porte les femmes les hommes patriarche place Rub al Khali tente Najran Rub al Khali bédouins campement cette région cheikh chèvres femmes hommes jeune maisons montagne nomades passage pierres piste pistes porte présence Saoudite soleil temps terre Tihama tribu véhicule village visage voiture Abha Arabia architecture art Asir colors decoration frescoes house majlis men motifs mud patterns Qahtan quartz region Rijal Alma Sarat Saudi Arabia Sherifa Sinhan style Tihama Tihamat traditional tribes women champ supérieur compositions compositions murales croissant de lune Fatma de la famille Zaïd de Rijal du champ Fatma Abu Gahas l’art mural de la façade de pilier la famille Zaïd la maison la peinture industrielle la Tihama la Tihama des collines le peintre les femmes les peintures les peintures murales Magali motifs mural de Rijal murales peintures murales pilier Sherifa supérieur de la façade tradition tradition esthétique travail aesthetic art artist Asir colors compositions decoration family Fatma houses men moon motifs mural painter paintings patterns photographs pillar principle region room Saudi Arabia Sherifa style sun Tihama tradition village women Bilad Qahtan construction couleurs de quartz décoratif en évidence façade fenêtres fresque la maison la Sarat majlis matériaux modèle ouvertures région Rijal Alma rupture Sherifa Sinhan style terre Tihama tribus Yémen al Murrah animal Arabia Bedouins camel civilization coffee desert dunes Emir family goats host life men Najran nomads people region Rub al Khali Saudi tent traditional tribe women Yabrin Abha Arabia area ASIR Bedouin camels COASTAL coffee colour DESERT highlands Hobab houses huts Jazan local mountains Najran PLATEAU Qahtan Rabi’ah Sarat Saudi Arabia souq tent Tihamah tree tribe UNDISCOVERED ASIR village Wadi water women years Yemen الإبل الأرض الأطفال الأمير البدو البدوية الحياة الحيوانات الخيمة الربع الخالي الرجال الرمال الشمس الصحراء القهوة الكثبان الرملية الماعز المخيم المملكة العربية النساء آل مرة صحراء قبيلة نجران يبرين الأشكال الألوان الأنماط التقاليد التكوينات الجزيرة العربية الحقل الخانات الدعامة الرسامة الزخرفية الشمس الصور العمود العناصر الغرفة الفن الفن الجداري القمر اللوحات المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل تهامة رجال ألمع شريفة عسير فاطمة مثلثات الأرض الأمطار الأمير البدو التقليدية الجبل الحيوانات الخيام الرجال السوق السيارة الشرطة الشمس القبائل القهوة الماعز المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل النباتات النساء الوادي اليمن أشجار أوراق تهامة شبه الجزيرة الأرض الألوان الأمطار البحر البدو الجبال الجدران الجرف الرجال الزهور السوق الشرطة الشمس الماعز المرتفعات المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل اليمن تهامة ربيعة شبه الجزيرة العربية قبيلة قحطان منطقة نجران

"But his greatest discovery was an old, poor, illiterate and unruly Bedouin, the poet ad-Dindan, whose magnificent poetry offered contemporary proof of the authenticity of the great pre-Islamic tradition in Arabian oral poetry." "Kurpershoek's expedition and encounters are recorded in detail in this part travelogue, part book of poems and study of traditional Saudi society."--BOOK JACKET.