Editing Bedouin (section)

== Traditions ==
[[File:Bedouin_warrior.jpg |thumb|A Bedouin warrior, pictured between 1898 and 1914]]

===Herding===
[[File:Tent making.jpg|thumb|right|Weaving lengths of fabric for tent making using ground loom. Palestine, {{circa}} 1900]]
[[Livestock]] and [[herding]], principally of goats, [[sheep]] and [[Dromedary|dromedary camels]] comprised the traditional livelihoods of Bedouins. These were used for meat, dairy products, and wool.<ref name="faorapid">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/y0600m/y0600m06.htm |title=Rapid lifestyle, diet and health changes among urban Bedouin Arabs of southern Israel |first1=K.|last1=Abu-Saad |first2=S.|last2=Weitzman |first3=Y.|last3=Abu-Rabiah |first4=H.|last4=Abu-Shareb |first5=D.|last5=Fraser |work=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |access-date=31 July 2015 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> Most of the staple foods that made up the Bedouins' diet were dairy products.<ref name="faorapid"/>

Camels, in particular, had numerous cultural and functional uses. Having been regarded as a "gift from God", they were the main food source and method of transportation for many Bedouins.<ref name="UNESCO-camel">{{cite web|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002240/224033e.pdf |title=The Camel From Tradition to Modern Times |first1=Marc|last1=Breulmann |first2=Benno|last2=Böer |first3=Ulrich|last3=Wernery |first4=Renate|last4=Wernery |first5=Hassan|last5=El Shaer |first6=Ghaleb|last6=Alhadrami |first7=David|last7=Gallacher |first8=John|last8=Peacock |first9=Shaukat Ali|last9=Chaudhary |first10=Gary|last10=Brown |first11=John|last11=Norton |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=31 July 2015 |name-list-style=amp}}{{rp|10}}</ref> In addition to their extraordinary milking potentials under harsh desert conditions, their meat was occasionally consumed by Bedouins.<ref>The Camel From Tradition to Modern Times.{{rp|21–24}}</ref> As a cultural tradition, camel races were organized during celebratory occasions, such as weddings or [[religious festival]]s.<ref>The Camel From Tradition to Modern Times.{{rp|25}}</ref>

Some Bedouin societies live in [[arid]] regions. In areas where rainfall is very unpredictable, a camp will be moved irregularly, depending on the availability of green pasture. Where winter rainfall is more predictable in regions further south, some Bedouin people plant grain along their migration routes. This proves a resource for the livestock throughout the winter. In regions such as western Africa, where there is more predictable rainfall, the Bedouin practice [[transhumance]]. They plant crops near permanent homes in the valleys where there is more rain and move their livestock to the highland pastures.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=mj04-000|title=Culture Summary: Bedouin|last=Chatty|first=Dawn|date=2009|publisher=Human Relations Area Files }}</ref>

=== Oral poetry ===
[[Oral poetry]] is the most popular art form among Bedouins. Having a poet in one's tribe was highly regarded in society. In addition to serving as a form of art, poetry was used as a means of conveying information and [[social control]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Meisami|first1=Julie Scott |last2=Starkey|first2=Paul |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature |year=1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sx1bqgibKhQC&pg=PA147|publisher=Routledge|page=147|isbn=978-0415571135}}</ref> Bedouin poetry, also known as [[Nabati|nabati poetry]], is often recited in the [[varieties of Arabic|vernacular dialect]]. In contrast, the more common forms of [[Arabic poetry]] are often in [[Modern Standard Arabic]].

===Raiding or ''ghazw''===
{{Seealso|1757 Hajj caravan raid|Ikhwan raids on Transjordan}}
The well-regulated traditional habit of Bedouin tribes of [[Razzia (military)#Etymology|raiding]] other tribes, caravans, or settlements is known in Arabic as ''[[Ghazi (warrior)#Ghazw as raid—razzia|ghazw]]''.<ref>Eveline van der Steen, ''Near Eastern Tribal Societies During the Nineteenth Century: Economy, Society and Politics Between Tent and Town'', chapter "Raiding and robbing". Routledge, 2014 [https://books.google.com/books?id=d-_OBAAAQBAJ&dq=bedouin+raiding&pg=PT114]</ref>