Al-Sayyid
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al-Sayyid or al-Sayed (Arabic: السيد; Hebrew: א-סייד) is a Bedouin village in the Negev desert of southern Israel, located between Arad and Beersheba, just south of Hura. Its inhabitants are members of the al-Sayyid tribe, who are noted for the high levels of deafness amongst their population and their subsequent development of the al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language, which is used by many of the hearing villagers as well as the deaf.[1] Five percent of the tribe (150 of the 3,000) are deaf, compared to a usual rate of 0.1%.[2] One suggested cause is the high level of inbreeding within the tribe; 27% of marriages are between cousins, and 65% are between couples related in some way, and a quarter of the population carries the deafness gene.[2] This is attributed to the tribe's historical isolation in the area.
[edit] History
The tribe's oral history tells that its first leader moved to the area from Egypt with his wife in the mid-1800s. They settled amongst the other Bedouin tribes around Beersheba and lived off the land. However, other tribes refused to marry their daughters to the al-Sayyids, who were known as "the foreign fellahin." Eventually the head of the tribe managed to marry his sons to women from the Gaza area. However, their low social status meant that they continued to be rejected locally, and so the next generation began to marry cousins, a trend that continued for five generations. Even today other tribes continue to veto marriage ties with the al-Sayyids.[2]
The social differences between the tribe and its neighbours led to opposition to plans to include the village within the municipality of the nearby city of Hura. Instead, the village was placed under the jurisdiction of Abu Basma Regional Council. As it was unrecognised until 2006, it was not connected to the water or electricity networks.[2] As the village expanded, the Housing Ministry produced plans for a new Jewish settlement in the area to prevent it joining up with Mulada, Tel as-Sabi and Umm Batin.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ It takes a Beduin village The Jerusalem Post, 3 October 2007
- ^ a b c d One in twenty Haaretz, 2 June 2004
- ^ Jewish communities planned to 'block Bedouin expansion' Haaretz, 6 June 2004
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