Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society
Jamal Abdullah

Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society by Lila Abu-Lughod is a book about an ethnographic study that explores the diverse culture in a rural Bedouin community among the Awlad Ali tribes of the North West of Egypt. Lila’s central argument is that there are two methods of discussion used by Bedouins, one that shows honor and humility and another which is the complete opposite, having people that display emotions that might expropriate a position of honor. The ambiguity is used as proof by Lila in which she states that “it is impossible to reduce Bedouin culture to the official social and moral ideals encapsulated in the code of honor and modesty” (Abu-Lughod 1999: p. 17).
The book is divided into two major sections with each one focusing on a particular subject. The first part talks about the ethics and beliefs of Bedouin social life. The second one investigates the discourse on state of mind and conviction. In her talk of her philosophy, she offers a third person point of view in characterizing the indulgences of the family relationship. She spends a great part of the four sections demonstrating the standards of Bedouin and its establishments in maintaining goals and honor. The second area of talk demonstrates that Bedouins can and do lock in their day by day battle to maintain those goals; poetry is an essential tool that permits them the space to express some resistance against those beliefs and oppose the imposed “realities”. Her routines were based on her keeping up a part as a visitor and an adopted daughter. Because of her dad and his experience and knowledge regarding Arabic traditions, getting access into the group and being generally accepted was a lot easier, which also settled her notoriety for being from a decent family, subsequently permitting her to mix in while still being able to do her research. For a year and a half, Lila lived in a family as the adopted daughter of a tribal negotiator. The family consisted of his wife, eighteen kids, and a merry go round of visitors including his second and third wife, their kids, and their cousins (p. 4). The house contained 53 individuals, and there were 15 other families of similar structure that shaped the community.
Something I definitely noticed was that Lila's information does not firmly reinforce her argument that in which she states that people use poetry to express special sentiments. By utilizing a group of samples of people performing verse for her, Lila portrays and demonstrates the responses of group individuals. Conversely, the cases introduced are separate from each other, raised only when they fit the depiction of the poems. Something else she does is that she gives no setting in respect to why they created their discourses. To add to that, no explanation is given to the reader of how she ran into these cases, their past, or how it is utilized by other group individuals, simply that they had performed the poems for her in their discussions.
For instance, a great example would be of a man Rashid. After losing his new lady, his response, and group individuals' response to his response are all observed and noted by Lila. This serves as proof to demonstrate how vital it was for him to not break the Bedouin code of honor, based on aid from his sibling and cousins. (p. 94). In order to prove and back up her previous claim that they utilize poem to express unique ideas, she tells the reader about Rashid's poem, his response, and the group individuals' response to his poem as well. (pp. 188-189); This is done to show that the group have pretty open minded reactions as well as that there are inconsistencies between what they may deem important versus what they may actually feel. To add to that, little to no information is provided with reference to how and why Rashid decided to ask her for help. The vague responses from the other group members as well as the question as to whether or not others in the group other than her witnesses use poem to express special sentiments also serves as proof and raises the question as to whether her observations were accurate. Although highly unlikely, it is also possible that Rashid was only a skilled outside in the group and simply was demonstrating his skill.
Based on my observations, Lila’s research, when applied to anthropology, does a poor job in explaining her primary argument: the “enormous complexity” of culture (p. 18). A large portion of her book mainly talks about the beliefs and tenets of the Bedouins, as well as giving multiple instances of the implementation of those goals and standards, which in return does imply to the reader that the way of life can in fact be reduced. In any case, this is by no means said to reduce the work’s merit as it still displays anthropological legitimacy. The main point however emphasizes that a society/group can contain inconsistencies, and that within the public discourse, poetry can be a space for side-lined individuals and sentiments to gain good standing and be able to display honor.
A theory that definitely stands out is is functionalism, which anthropologists will acknowledge in light of its unpretentious drive in the ethnography. This contention is that naturally, individuals need to express estimations, for example, desire, outrage, and distress. It doesn't make a difference how these are communicated, however every society displays them in some form. Along these lines, the poetry is a vent for the Bedouins to ease the physical anxieties in life. Auxiliary functionalism can likewise be contended, in that poetry is a useful tool that gives women a chance to express their views. If it wasn’t for poetry, the group would not operate smoothly since expressing their feelings would be a lot harder and not quite possible.
Alongside that, interpretivism is a theory worth noting in the ethnography on the grounds that the whole research is based on poems that work analytically. Moreover, the ethnography focuses on how the Bedouin interpret and evaluate on their own rather than how Lila understands the poems herself. Finally, the Practice theory is clearly seen in Veiled Sentiments. That can be observed in the Bedouins’ actions of using social assets to express themselves independently. The poems also serve as a unique method of understanding an individual that is part of a cultural group. I found it astounding that this one ethnography is not limited to one specific theory, but relies on many. This serves as proof of Lila’s exceptional observations of the Bedouins. Looking at the bigger picture, Lila Abu-Lughod definitely does great job in succeeding in becoming a major part of the Bedouin community, emphasizing hands-on methodology, observing the discrete expressions through poetry, and afterward applying that to the huge scale political and common ramifications, all of which came off to me as pretty interesting.