Description
Book SynopsisA collection of poems from a changing Bedouin world
Bedouin Poets of the Nafud Desert features poetry from three poets of the Ibn Rashid dynastythe highwater mark of Bedouin culture in the nineteenth century. Khalaf Abu Zwayyid, ?Adwan al-Hirbid, and ?Ajlan ibn Rmal belonged to tribes based around the area of Jabal Shammar in northern Arabia. A cultural and political center for the region, Jabal Shammar attracted caravans of traders and pilgrims, tribal shaykhs, European travelers (including T.E. Lawrence), illiterate Bedouin poets, and learned Arabs. All three poets lived at the inception of or during modernity's accelerating encroachment. New inventions and firearms spread throughout the region, and these poets captured Bedouin life in changing times. Their poems and the accompanying narratives showcase the beauty and complexity of Bedouin culture, while also grappling with the upheaval brought about by the rise of the House of Saud and Wahhabism.
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