About one-third of Topsy-turvy Land is desert and is the home of those
Arabs that wander about from place to place and are called nomads or
_Bedouin_. The word Bedouin means a desert-dweller. But you must not think
that a desert is a flat country covered with a deep layer of sand without
trees or shrubs. Oh no! There are such deserts in Arabia too, but the
greater part of what is called desert is much more attractive and is only
_desert_ because it has no settled population and no villages. The soil is
often very good and in springtime after the rains the whole of northern
Arabia (where most of the nomads pitch their tents) is one vast prairie of
wild flowers and green grass. The Arabs of the North are rich in flocks
and herds. I am sure you can still find some who, like Job, have seven
thousand sheep and three thousand camels and a very great household. They
all live in tents and the tents of Arabia are not white and round like
circus tents but jet black and square or oblong. You remember the Bible
always speaks of the _black_ tents of Kedar. They are black because they
are woven from goat's hair which is used also for their garments and is
almost as good a waterproof covering as india rubber. But when you have to
spend a long hot day under such a roof as I have done you feel sorry for
the Arabs that they have no better protection against the blazing sun.
Everything is home-made and clumsy, but shall I tell you what I have
found? There is no warmer hospitality in all the wide world than in these
tents of Kedar. A few weeks ago I spent a Sabbath day resting by the way
in one of these tents. The women brought water to cool my head; a great
bowl of camel's milk was our drink even before they asked our errand; and
at night they killed a fat kid and made a guest meal fit for an epicure.
The Arabs of the desert are more ignorant than those of the towns, but
they are much kinder to strangers and treat their wives and children
better. Their life is rather monotonous, but they enjoy it. Like the
American Indians they prefer a tent to a house, and would rather change
their home every day than settle down as farmers. When pasture fails for
their flocks of sheep the chief gives notice and on the morrow the whole
camp has moved away. Some tribes move every month and go for a long
distance to find fresh pastures.
[Illustration: ARAB RIDERS WITH LANCES.]
The Bedouin are divided into many tribes and clans. Some of them are
friendly to each other but nearly all are at war with one another all the
year round. Robbery and murder are very frequent. Every one goes armed
with a long spear or with a gun, and many carry a war club and a sword as
well. The largest Arab tribes and the wealthiest are the _Anaeze_ and the
_Shommar_. They have many fine horses. In the picture you see a group of
them armed with their long spears. The spear of the leader is ornamented
with a tuft of ostrich feathers; these spears are often over twelve feet
long and have a sharp steel lance at the end. The Arabs are fond of
games, especially galloping their horses and playing at war. They are very
skillful riders and kind to their steeds; they do not spend much time in
grooming them and they never use a whip and seldom a bit. Their bridle is
like our halter strap, and the horse is so well trained that he needs no
iron bit in his mouth.
One of the most interesting of all the Arab tribes is called _the
Suleibi_. They are despised by all the other Arabs and seem to be of a
different race. The women of this tribe are remarkable for their beauty
and the men for their skill as blacksmiths and tinkers. They are always
sought after to do the tinkering for the Arabs of all other tribes. They
have no camels or horses but ride little donkeys and dress in gazelle
skins. Some people think that this tribe is a remnant of the Christian
population of Arabia; they have many curious beliefs and their name means,
"Those-of-the-Cross." Perhaps some day a missionary will bring them back
to a true knowledge of the Crucified One.
The nomads of Arabia are happy in springtime when there is enough grass
for their flocks and the wells of the desert are full of water. But after
the long summer drought there is often a great scarcity of food and even
famine in many parts of Arabia. Then the nomads eat anything and drink the
brackish water from the bottom of a mud pool with relish. In no country in
the world is water so costly as in Arabia; nowhere is it so carefully
used; an Arab never wastes a drop of water and looks surprised and pained
when an European traveller rinses out a cup before drinking! The nomad
Arabs eat locusts and wild honey as did John the Baptist. But I have also
seen them eat the big lizards of the desert and the jerboas--a sort of
desert rat. An Arab once stood amidst a circle of jewellers at Busrah and
said: "On one occasion I had missed my way in the desert, and having no
road-provision left, I had given myself up for lost, when all at once I
found a bag of pearls. Never shall I forget that relish and delight so
long as I mistook them for parched wheat; nor that bitterness and
disappointment when I discovered that they were real pearls!" This story
is told by a Persian poet and although it may not be true yet it teaches a
lesson. To a hungry man a handful of wheat is better than all the pearls
of the ocean.
[Illustration: PEARL MERCHANTS.]
In his tent the Arab is very lazy. His only occupation is feeding his
horses or milking his camels. The Arab girls go out to take care of the
flocks while the wife performs all the domestic duties. She grinds wheat
in the hand-mill; kneads and bakes bread; makes butter by shaking the milk
in a leather bag; fetches water in a skin; works at the loom and is busy
all the time. The Arab smokes his pipe, drinks coffee and talks to his
friends; unless he is on the march or on a robbery excursion his life
seems very lazy.
[Illustration: ARABIAN WATER-BOTTLE.]
Scarcely any of the Bedouin can read, and they have neither schools nor
mosques. The Bedouin sometimes say, "Mohammed's religion cannot have been
intended for us; it demands washings, but we have no water; alms, but we
have no money; pilgrimage to Mecca, but we are always wandering and God is
everywhere." Yet outwardly they observe the Moslem religion of which they
know so little. In our next chapter you will read how earnestly even the
nomad children pray in the desert. And I believe God loves these sons of
Ishmael and will yet bring them back to Abraham's faith. Don't you think
so too?
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