 This is a robaba. It's an ancient instrument from the Middle East. This version of its shape stylistically and the music being performed is courtesy of the ancient Egyptian Bedouin tribes of the Sinai. The oldest of Bedouin instruments, it had a long neck and was single-strength and perhaps at one point in time even the inspiration for the subsequent Western string instruments of the Renaissance. The robaba itself came in various shapes and forms as did the Arab Bedouin tribes themselves who have kept alive the robaba's relevance up to this point in time. But Bedouin tribes in the Middle East are currently a population and culture and decline. Bedouin ethics, societal structure and tradition that have been unchanged for several millennia are now disappearing with an evolution into a completely sedentary lifestyle. Bedouins have roamed the Middle East for many millennia, originally from the heart of the Arabian peninsula. The Bedouin tribes went unchanged throughout history, especially in the way they lived their life. Bedouin's practice nomadic pasteurism, which kept them moving due to the harsh climate and a constant search for food and water for both their own survival and that of their livestock. This saw them expand north into what is today Syria, Jordan and Palestine and westwards towards Egypt and all the way west to Morocco. Only well into the 20th century did the Bedouin premise for survival and existence cease to apply any longer. Humans could now overcome the environmental conditions of pretty much any place on earth, even in the hot scorching desert of the Middle East. Modernity and its by-product technology made sure of that. But who were the Bedouins and how did they differ from the rest of the Arab populations? Bedouins were and still are the last regional remnants of a pre-Islamic Arab societal structure that still exists to this day. Their way of life was focused on beating the odds and reflected the hardships they had to endure and within these circumstances did their unique qualities such as ethics tradition develop into an extremely well-structured existence. But to get to know the Bedouins better, let's start with the name, Bedouin, or more accurately its Arab pronunciation Bedouin, which is a name that refers to another Arabic word, Badiya. Badiya is the word for desert and hence Bedouin means a person that dwells or originates from the desert. One important aspect to clarify is that sedentary Arabs and Bedouins shared many things such as language, religion and ethnicity and the significant split in their way of life back in ancient history came when some Arabs kept on moving while others stopped, committed and civilized a certain location. As I said previously, there's nothing physically that separates urbanized Arabs from those who are free-moving Bedouins. The major differences come in the form of behavior and beliefs and these I will split into three main categories, morality, strength and expression. The moral qualities can further be broken down into honor, courage, hospitality and justice. For Bedouins, Shalaf, honor and Arabic was a thing that can be acquired, lost and regained. It seemed to have an almost tactile value and Shalaf involved the protection of the honor of family, property and the tribe. Another quality, Murua, an Arabic word that has a cocktail of meanings including courage, dedication, endurance and patience. Bedouin males of the tribe had to be at the ready for any challenges that would confront them, be it a physical confrontation within or outside the tribe, an imminent battle, obedience to the chief and ultimately one duty called for the avenging of any wrongdoing. Liyafa or hospitality was a duty that was intertwined within the Bedouin honor code. Living in such harsh habitats, this virtue demanded that any stranger, even an enemy, must be shown the utmost of generosity and given shelter and sustenance. Even poverty would not exempt one from such duties. And the final element within the moral qualities was the Bedouin's strict justice systems. As mentioned previously, the Bedouin honor code predated Islam. Yet even after Islam, Bedouin society had been non-compliant towards neither Islamic Sharia nor national penal codes. A couple of examples of Bedouin justice are blood feuds and the trial by Ordeal. Blood feuds are based on a principle of dham butlum dham, meaning blood begets blood in terms of how punishment might be exacted. Whereas the trial by Ordeal is a lie detection test that uses a scorching metal object in contact with the tongues of the involved parties to telepart the guilty from the innocent. Sounds harsh. If you know, you know and if you don't, then join the chronicles where we present content about Middle Eastern history, culture and heritage. The second element that characterized the Bedouin nation is their strength. And in strength, I mean the discipline, resilience and tolerance both physically and mentally. Daily dealing with harsh climates like extreme heat, sandstorms and torrential rains compounded by constant relentless seasonal relocation was a very difficult way to live life. And only with the strength of mind and body can such Bedouin societies have survived and prospered throughout the ages. The other complication that needed constant strength of character and determination was the reality that Bedouin tribes were always under threat of a razu being raided by another tribe, a state of being that would have exhausted the mind and the spirit. The third quality is expression. Even though Bedouins are a very reserved society, quiet and not wasteful when it comes to useless words, song and oral poetry had an important place in their daily lives. Songs came to life during the long and exhausting daytime herding and uncoincidentally in sync with the rhythm of the camel's hoofs and steps. While in the evening, oral poetry entertained the tribe and accompanying the words of the poet was the rubabah, resonating in the cool air that was warned by the bright central coffee-laden hearth, words that reflected themes of love, social justice and suffering. You could argue that all these qualities are also found within the urbanized Arab societies. True, but what must be noted is the context and mindset in which these qualities were shaped and formed for the Bedouins. For example, tribalism is a common trait between Bedouins and all other Arabs, but for Bedouins its importance due to their isolationist desert lifestyle was so extreme and evident that the interdependence between family and tribe manifested itself on a totally different level. This can be explained by a very famous Bedouin saying, The all-encompassing desert life historically had a substantial impact on the fabric of Bedouins. Their loneliness as a tribe within the network of other isolated tribes shaped a larger society that applied a different set of codes for living life. Their installation had helped their survival and virtually guaranteed an unchanged and untouched existence up until the mid-20th century, but since then the Bedouins population has been in sharp decline. With the establishment of independent nations and borders it became impossible to move across these invisible lines that were unfamiliar and unrecognized by the Bedouin nation. For them it was always God's lands, but freedom of movement was now no longer a possibility. And so the expanse of lands for grazing diminished and so followed the sizes of the herds of livestock and then onwards the population of Bedouins. Today from Morocco in the west to Oman in the east and everywhere in between, the number of Bedouins that still follow a migratory lifestyle are well below 10 million. 30 years ago this number was above 25 million. Yes, three decades ago. And there's no doubt that within a generation or two the Bedouin society as it has been known for thousands of years will cease to exist. The question is, which unique Bedouin qualities will survive, be protected and retained? Morality, strength or expression? Tell me your thoughts.