Petra, Jordan became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985, and the semi-nomadic Bedouin inhabiting the area were resettled as a consequence. The Bedouin themselves paradoxically became UNESCO Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage in 2005 for the way in which their oral traditions and everyday lives relate to the landscape they no longer live in. Being Bedouin Around Petra asks: How could this happen? And what does it mean to be Bedouin when tourism, heritage protection, national discourse, an Islamic Revival and even New Age spiritualism lay competing claims to the past in the present?
Mikkel Bille is an Associate Professor at Roskilde University. His research focuses on the role of material culture from the recent past in contemporary society.
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Preserving Heritage - Marketing Bedouinity
Chapter 2. Taming Heritage
Chapter 3. The Shameful Shaman
Chapter 4. Dealing with Dead Saints
Chapter 5. The Allure of Things
Chapter 6. Ambiguous Materialities
Conclusion
References
Index
