Marsh Dwellers of the Euphrates Delta

Dr Salim, of Bagdad University, spent two years amongst the remarkable tribal peoples who inhabit the great marshes of the lower Euphrates. He describes their social and economic organization and discusses on the one hand the process by which people with bedouin traditions and values have adapted themselves to different and difficult conditions, and on the other the effects upon them of submission to the central government and the modernisation of their modes of life that has resulted from it. His account offers a fascinating study of people living in an unusual environment, and will be of value to the anthropologist and ethnologist for its precise ethnography. At the same time, as one of the few detailed studies of the changes now being wrought on such a large scale by modern economic and political forces, it has real importance for the general student of contemporary Middle Eastern affairs.

Foreword v Acknowledgments vii Editorial Note viii List of Plates, Maps and Diagrams x Part I. Introductory Introduction 3 I. The Iraqi Marsh Dwellers 5 2. Ech-Chibayish and its Environment 16 Part II. Social Organization 3. Political Organization, Past and Present 27 4. Tribe, Clan, Lineage and Khowwan 43 5. Family and Marriage 55 6. The Traditional System of Social Stratification 62 7. The Guest House 72 Part III. Economic Organization 8. Agriculture 83 9. Other Subsidiary Occupations 94 10. Reed-Gathering and Mat-Making 104 11. Economic Balance 113 12. Conclusion 135 Appendices A. Clans and Lineage of ech-Chibayish 45 B. Two Lineages of Ahl ish-Shaikh Clan 46 Bibliography 49 Index 153

Dr Salim teaches at Bagdad University.