essay
Shifting politics in Bedouin love poetry
Language and the politics of emotion • Cambridge • Published In 1990 • Pages: 24-45
By: Abu-Lughod, Lila.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article Abu-Lughod critiques studies that treat emotions as sui generis and dissociated from their social context, by showing how Bedouin love poetry has changed with changes in the political economy. Love poetry has been a legitimate form of emotional expression in contrast to the stoicism of everyday discourse which is constrained by a code of honor. Furthermore it is an expression of romantic love and freedom by youth and women in defiance of an overbearing patriarchal culture with its emphasis on agnatic ties. With the settlement of the Bedouin and the state's imposition of individual property rights, the power of tribal elders has increased. By 1985, it was mostly young men who sang and listened to poetry as a form of rebellion against their elders. According to Abu-Lughod, love poetry has always had a politcal context, challenging the authority of the patriarchal system, and giving expression to a coexistent egalitarian ethic.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Verbal arts
- Age stratification
- Gender status
- Ingroup antagonisms
- Kin relationships
- Sexuality
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Libyan Bedouin
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1978-1987
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1985
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Western Desert, Egypt
- NotesAdditional notes
- Lila Abu-Lughod
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 90001374
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Bedouins