The processes and patterns of Sedentarization of the Galilee Bedouin 1880-1982

Abstract

This study is the first comprehensive geographical research upon the bedouin tribes of Galilee. These tribal groups have been rather neglected in Literature and relatively little is known about them. It is hoped to contribute to the Settlement Geography of the Middle East and to shed some light on studies of the Holy Land, Settlement geography is defined for this study as having two basic aspects: 1) explaining the processes which have created the Bedouin settlement, and 2) describing the resultant settlement patterns. The most important period of sedentarization among the Galilee bedouin tribes is that of the first half of the 20th Century, although the processes of changing nomadic habits into sedentary ones were observed in earlier times. However, political and economic conditions of the country, as well as the weakness of the Central government of the Ottoman regime contributed much to the spread of nomadism into the non-desert environment of Galilee. However, the pattern of settlement among the Galilee bedouin is a recent phenomenon emerging largely during the past three decades. It has not yet reached its final shape. The study is divided into three parts, each part emphasizing one phase of the sedentarization process; the first part discusses the conditions under which the nomadism develops and the early symptoms of the denomadization process. The second part analyses the processes of sedentarization, and in the third part, the final product of sedentarization, the settlement patterns, are examined. The thesis ends with some concluding remarks summarizing the most significant general findings of this study and suggesting some further research for the future.