Bedouin, not a Bad-One. The Bedoul Bedouins' Struggle for Identity, Place and Belonging in Petra, Jordan.

Abstract

The Bedoul Bedouin of Petra, Jordan, had made their home in the long-emptied tombs of the Nabataeans for centuries. But, from the late 1960s steps were taken to remove the Bedoul from their home and transform Petra into the premier tourist attraction in Jordan; and by 1985 the Bedoul had been moved to the new village of Umm Sayhoun on the edge of the Petra Archaeological Park. Lacking the promised economic development programmes that were to replace the livelihoods the Bedoul lost in their move from Petra, they plunged headlong, and willingly, into work in the tourism trade. But a loss of traditional livelihoods was the least of the challenges facing the Bedoul. Petra became something new, a Lost City, that apparently had nothing to do with Bedouin, while Bedouin themselves became 'traditional' ancestor figures for Jordan and an anachronism, who should have been nomads and not connected to a Lost City. With these conceptions of place and identity overlaid upon them and their relationship to Petra the Bedoul have continued to struggle for Bedouin identity and a place in Petra through their engagement in tourism and deployment of Bedouin ideals surrounding hospitality. The Bedoul mount a political struggle, armed with the tools they have and their work in the tourism industry to reassert both their vision of Petra and their vision of their Bedouin identity. Show more