﻿528 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  vation 
  techniques 
  imperative. 
  This 
  has 
  been 
  singularly 
  successful 
  in 
  

   the 
  Lebanon 
  Mountains 
  where 
  terracing 
  and 
  manuring 
  have 
  been 
  

   extensively 
  used. 
  In 
  some 
  places, 
  especially 
  where 
  manure 
  is 
  used 
  

   for 
  fuel, 
  soil 
  depletion 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  avoided. 
  

  

  It 
  must 
  be 
  pointed 
  out 
  that 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  all 
  these 
  factors 
  of 
  location, 
  

   as 
  well 
  as 
  others 
  not 
  mentioned, 
  have 
  been 
  equally 
  operative. 
  On 
  the 
  

   other 
  hand, 
  we 
  find 
  a 
  great 
  number 
  of 
  villages 
  in 
  which 
  one 
  or 
  more 
  

   of 
  the 
  required 
  conditions 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  neglected 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  others 
  that 
  

   seemed 
  more 
  compelling. 
  Such 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  Kura 
  Valley 
  in 
  

   northern 
  Lebanon, 
  which 
  offered 
  the 
  settlers 
  an 
  extremely 
  fertile 
  soil, 
  

   but 
  no 
  adequate 
  water 
  supply. 
  For 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  before 
  underground 
  

   water 
  was 
  discovered 
  in 
  some 
  places, 
  village 
  people 
  had 
  to 
  depend 
  upon 
  

   rain 
  water 
  and 
  upon 
  a 
  running 
  stream 
  several 
  miles 
  away. 
  All 
  the 
  

   villages 
  on 
  the 
  rugged 
  Lebanon 
  slopes 
  serve 
  as 
  an 
  illustration 
  of 
  the 
  

   predominance 
  of 
  the 
  defense 
  factor, 
  which 
  was 
  eagerly 
  sought 
  by 
  

   religious 
  minorities. 
  

  

  PHYSICAL 
  STKUCTTTRE 
  

  

  A 
  compact, 
  nucleated 
  form 
  of 
  structure 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  striking 
  impres- 
  

   sion 
  one 
  gets 
  of 
  the 
  Middle 
  Eastern 
  village. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  conglomeration 
  

   of 
  houses 
  standing 
  close 
  to 
  each 
  other, 
  divided 
  by 
  winding 
  alleys 
  and 
  

   paths 
  that 
  do 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  any 
  regular 
  design. 
  In 
  parts 
  of 
  some 
  

   villages 
  the 
  houses 
  are 
  so 
  close 
  together 
  that 
  one 
  can 
  walk 
  or 
  jump 
  

   from 
  roof 
  to 
  roof 
  without 
  much 
  difficulty. 
  In 
  other 
  villages 
  the 
  

   houses 
  are 
  scattered 
  enough 
  to 
  leave 
  room 
  for 
  small 
  garden 
  plots. 
  To 
  

   a 
  casual 
  observer 
  such 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  dwelling 
  places 
  shows 
  no 
  evidence 
  of 
  

   differentiation. 
  Upon 
  investigation, 
  one 
  finds 
  that 
  the 
  people 
  are 
  con- 
  

   scious 
  of 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  certain 
  sections 
  in 
  their 
  village. 
  Each 
  one 
  

   of 
  these 
  is 
  called 
  a 
  Hara 
  or 
  a 
  Hei\ 
  which 
  is 
  usually 
  the 
  habitat 
  of 
  one 
  

   kinship 
  group. 
  In 
  this 
  we 
  see 
  a 
  carry-over 
  from 
  the 
  tribal 
  organiza- 
  

   tion 
  and 
  an 
  indication 
  of 
  the 
  significance 
  of 
  family 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  devel- 
  

   opment 
  of 
  the 
  community. 
  

  

  Normally, 
  the 
  mosque 
  or 
  the 
  church 
  stands 
  as 
  the 
  physical 
  and 
  cul- 
  

   tural 
  center 
  of 
  the 
  settlement. 
  Dwellings 
  are 
  erected 
  on 
  all 
  sides 
  of 
  

   this 
  center 
  by 
  the 
  original 
  family 
  groups. 
  As 
  a 
  family 
  multiplies, 
  its 
  

   dwelling 
  place 
  also 
  multiplies 
  by 
  a 
  process 
  of 
  "budding." 
  Under 
  the 
  

   influence 
  of 
  a 
  strongly 
  partilocal 
  system, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  wife 
  comes 
  to 
  

   reside 
  with 
  her 
  husband's 
  people, 
  the 
  newly 
  married 
  couple 
  add 
  one 
  

   more 
  room 
  on 
  top 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  groom's 
  ancestral 
  house 
  where 
  

   the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  family 
  dwell. 
  For 
  generations 
  this 
  process 
  of 
  budding 
  

   has 
  been 
  going 
  on, 
  resulting 
  in 
  the 
  entangled 
  mass 
  of 
  houses 
  described 
  

   above. 
  Next 
  to 
  the 
  church 
  or 
  mosque 
  is 
  the 
  Saha, 
  an 
  open 
  space 
  where 
  

   people 
  hold 
  social 
  gatherings 
  or 
  present 
  their 
  produce 
  for 
  sale. 
  In 
  

   the 
  villages 
  of 
  the 
  interior, 
  where 
  regular 
  biweekly 
  or 
  monthly 
  mar- 
  

   kets 
  are 
  held, 
  the 
  Saha 
  is 
  of 
  a 
  fairly 
  large 
  size. 
  Normally, 
  the 
  few 
  

  

  