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Our Ancestors Were Bedouin”

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Our Ancestors Were Bedouin” OURANCESTORSWEREBEDOUIN Memory,IdentityandChange: TheCaseofHolySitesinSouthernJordan PÄIVIMIETTUNEN Academicdissertationtobepubliclydiscussed,byduepermissionof theFacultyofArtsattheUniversityofHelsinkiinAuditoriumʹ (Siltavuorenpenger10),onthe13thofDecember,2013,at2:00p.m. UniversityofHelsinki,DepartmentofWorldCultures Helsinki2013 ̹PäiviMiettunen2013 ISBN978-952-10-9576-4(pbk.) ISBN978-952-10-9577-1(PDF) PDFversionavailableathttp://ethesis.helsinki.fi/ Unigrafia Helsinki2013 ABSTRACT Thisstudyconcentratesonthreeconcepts:memory,identityandchange. studythe concept of memory in the formation of communal identity. Individual experiences andemotionsaregiveninterpretationandmeaningfromthebasisoftheindividual's ownsphereofknowledge,taughtandtransmittedbyhisowncultureandsociety.This memory then becomes the shared idea and ideal of the community, and when transmitted to the next generations it overcomes the boundaries of time. In this process,thememory,therefore,isessentiallythefactorwhichatthesametimedefines andisdefinedbythecommunityitself.Whatpeoplecall“change”canbeconsideredto beconstantprocessofrememberingandforgetting. ThestateofJordanhascreatednationalidentitywheretheBedouinpastand culture are seen as the promoted symbols of the state. At the same time, the governmenthasworkedonthemodernizationoftheBedouins:thenomadsarebeing sedentarized,secularandreligiouseducation,aswellasmoderntechnologyandhealth care,areavailableevenintheareasthatusedtobethemostdangerousperipheriesin thepast.Theseprocesseshavealsoinfluencedtheidentityoftheinhabitantsofsouth Jordaninthelastfewdecades,yetdespiteallthechanges,themostprominentfactors intheiridentitycontinuetobethetribalheritageandbeingBedouin. amapproachingtheseconceptsfromthecaseofthelocal“saints”(Awliy¢).In the everyday religion, these holy men and women have gained an important role: people have addressed the saints in order to gain health, wealth, rain, fertility and protectionamongotherthings. haveconductedfieldworkinsouthJordanandlocated several holy sites, many of them uncharted until now. Recording folklore and old memories of the sacred places, while also observing the religious practices and everydaylifeofthelocalpeoplehasbeenthegoalofthiswork. WhenstudyingthelocaltraditionofholyplacesinSouthJordan,itisevident thattheoldtraditionsarebeingforgotten,butwhatisreplacingtheoldtraditions,and howdoesthischangeaffecttheidentityofthelocalpeople?Whensuchplaceslose theirsignificance,whateffectdoesithaveȂorperhaps,isitresultofchangethat hasalreadytakenplaceȂintheidentityofthepeople?Onetopicofspecialinterestis theroleofwomen,astheyplayedveryactivepartinmanyoftheoldtraditionsand rituals.Anothercentralissueisthetribalintegrityandidentity,asmanyofthesacred placeswerestronglyconnectedtothepastofthetribes,withvarioussaintsbeingtheir ancestors and earlier leaders. Comparing the change in Southern Jordan to the processesthataretakingplaceinotherpartsoftheworldhasprovidedframework forthisresearch. Thisworkiscasestudyofthechangeinaction,showingonlocallevelhow communityreactstothenewideasinnumerousways,forexample,byreturningtoits ownrootsononehandandembracingthenewglobalsceneontheotherȂeventothe levelofreinventingitsownpast. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Asyoungstudent, climbedthestrenuouspathuptotheMountainofAaronforthe first time in 2000. could not have guessed then that would return to make that journey again Ǧand again-during the following decade and that eventuallyit would leadmeonlongerjourneythroughthecultural,spiritualandgeographicallandscape ofsouthernJordan.Today,over13yearsaftermyfirstascentonJabal ¢ón, am writingthesefinalwordsofmyworkinordertothankallthosepeoplewithoutwhom wouldneverhavebeenabletoreachthepeak. wouldliketothankmysupervisors,ProfessorEmeritusTapaniHarviainen, Professor Hannu Juusola and Professor Emeritus Heikki Palva. Their support and encouragement have been invaluable during my work. As they all have different expertise and foci of interest in their research, have received comments and ideas fromseveralperspectives,thusgivingmethepossibilitytolookatmyworkfrom variousangles. Myuttermostgratitudegoestomypre-examiners,Dr.GéraldineChatelardand Dr.AndrewPetersen.Theirworkshavebeenimportantsourcesformyresearch,and their in-depth knowledge of the region was known to me even before they kindly accepted to read my thesis. Therefore, their comments and feedback were much welcomed and anticipated. am grateful for their constructive criticism and suggestionswhichhelpedmetoimprovemywork. alsowishtothankMargotStout WhitingwhodidnotonlycorrectmyEnglish,butofferedherowninsightonvarious topics in my work. Needless to say, any remaining mistakes, misunderstandings or shortcomingsaremyown. thank Professor Emeritus Jaakko Frösén, the director of the Finnish Jabal HarounProject,andDocentZbigniewT.Fiemaforalltheirsupport.DocentFiemaalso readandcommentedonchapter6,forwhich amverygrateful.Mygratitudealso belongstothewholeFJHPtribe.What learnedfromthemandexperiencedwiththem willneverbeforgotten. ThePhDseminararrangedatmydepartmentgavegreatopportunitytomeet othercolleaguesduringtheoftenverylonelywritingprocess. wishtothankallthe participantsoftheseminarfortheinterestingmeetingsanddiscussions. Sometimesevenshortperiodcanbeturningpointinresearch.Forme,such momenttookplaceduringtheNordicPhDWorkshopinCairoandAlexandriaon2-8 June2008,organizedbytheNordicsocietyforMiddleEasternStudies. givemywarm thankstoProfessorKnutS.Vikør,ProfessorJakobSkovgaard-Petersenandtoall participants of the workshop for their insightful comments, ideas and criticism that helpedmeimmenselytorefocusmyresearch. alsowanttoextendmythankstothe participantsoftheinternationalconferenceswhere havepresentedresearchpapers, especiallyintheNordicconferencesin2007,2010and2013.Theinterestshownby myaudiencesinmyresearchgreatlyencouragedmeinmywork. amgratefulforseveralfoundationsthathavesupportedmyworkfinancially. WithgrantsfromResearchFoundationoftheUniversityofHelsinki,FinnishCultural FoundationandFinnishAcademyofScienceandLetters, wasabletofocusonmy researchfulltime.TheFoundationoftheFinnishInstituteintheMiddleEastgranted metwotravelgrantswithwhich couldconductmyfieldworkinsouthJordan.During mytimeintheMiddleEast, havealsobeenabletostayinvariousinstitutes.When visiting Damascus, had the opportunity to reside in the Dutch institute while spendingmydaysreadinginthelibrariesoftheDanishInstituteandInstitutfrançais du Proche-OrientǤ The American Center for Oriental Research was my base when staying in Amman. Their library containing collections on Jordanian history and culturewastruecaveoftreasuresforme. amtrulygratefulforhavingallthese possibilities. amgreatlyindebtedtomyfamilyandfriends.Theyhavepatientlyunderstood mypassionforresearch,givingmespacetoworkandconcentrate,butalsooffering help when have needed it. They encouraged me and urged me forward when hesitated. They also persistently kept me aware of the world outside research. To JanneandPetra,andtomyfriends:JohannainFinland,RiggsinTexasandShonain JordanȂthankyou. .ϢϬΗΎϴΣ Ϧϋ ϲϧϮΛΪΣϭ ϢϫέΎϳΩ ϲϓ ϲϧϮϠΒϘΘγ΍ Ϧϳάϟ΍ αΎϨϟ΍ .ϥΩέϷ΍ ΏϮϨΟ ΐόη ήϜη΃ ϱΩΎη ϡ΍ϭ ϢΜϴϫ ϡ΃ ϭ ήϫΎη ϮΑ΃ ϰϟ· ιΎΨϟ΍ ϲϧΎϨΘϣ΍ ϪΟϭ .ΎϬϟ ΩϮΟϭ ϻ Δγ΍έΪϟ΍ ϩάϫ αΎϨϟ΍ ˯ϻΆϫ ϥϭΩ Ϧϣ. .ϲϘϴϘΤϟ΍ ϭΪΒϟ΍ ϡήϛ ϰϨόϣ ϲϧϮϤϠϋ Ϧϳάϟ΍ ϢϬΗϼ΋Ύϋ ϰϟ·ϭ CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................................... 4 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Background and the aim of the work ................................................................................ 8 1.2. Outline of the work ........................................................................................................ 10 1.3. Notes on language use and transcription ....................................................................... 12 2. SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 16 2.1. Written Sources ............................................................................................................. 16 2.2. The Fieldwork Process .................................................................................................... 19 2.2.1. Methods.................................................................................................................. 19 2.2.2. Readjusting the tools – problems of methodology ................................................... 22 2.2.3. A woman in the field – does gender matter? ........................................................... 27 3. THEORETICAL FRAME............................................................................................................. 30 3.1. A Word on religion ......................................................................................................... 30 3.2. Memory ......................................................................................................................... 32 3.3. Identity .......................................................................................................................... 35 3.4. Change........................................................................................................................... 39 4. OVERVIEW OF THE SAINT TRADITION IN ISLAM ....................................................................
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