﻿530 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  grazing. 
  A 
  more 
  regular 
  and 
  more 
  outstanding 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  village 
  

   territory 
  is 
  its 
  extreme 
  fragmentation. 
  In 
  the 
  mountain 
  settlements 
  

   this 
  takes 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  an 
  extensive 
  system 
  of 
  terracing. 
  A 
  terrace 
  

   is 
  usually 
  a 
  few 
  feet 
  or 
  a 
  few 
  yards 
  wide 
  and 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  the 
  hillside. 
  

   The 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  terrace 
  is 
  supported 
  by 
  a 
  strong 
  stone 
  wall. 
  In 
  the 
  

   valleys 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  plains, 
  fragmentation 
  takes 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  great 
  

   number 
  of 
  small 
  plots, 
  separated 
  by 
  a 
  laborious 
  network 
  of 
  hedges, 
  

   ditches, 
  or 
  stone 
  fences. 
  The 
  cultural 
  necessity 
  for 
  this 
  seemingly 
  

   absurd 
  agricultural 
  practice 
  will 
  be 
  pointed 
  out 
  later. 
  

  

  THE 
  LAND 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  strongest 
  ties 
  exists 
  between 
  the 
  Arab 
  fellah 
  and 
  his 
  

   land. 
  Its 
  significance 
  to 
  him 
  and 
  his 
  attachment 
  to 
  it 
  cannot 
  be 
  ex- 
  

   plained 
  in 
  cold 
  economic 
  terms, 
  for 
  land 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  few 
  main 
  pillars 
  

   of 
  village 
  life, 
  involving 
  a 
  deep-rooted 
  complex 
  of 
  behavior 
  and 
  senti- 
  

   ment. 
  For 
  countless 
  generations 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  only 
  source 
  of 
  life 
  

   for 
  him 
  and 
  for 
  his 
  ancestors. 
  Year 
  in 
  and 
  year 
  out 
  he 
  has 
  depended 
  

   upon 
  it 
  to 
  sustain 
  him, 
  and 
  it 
  did. 
  He 
  calls 
  it 
  the 
  "blessed 
  earth" 
  and 
  

   refers 
  to 
  it 
  with 
  reverence. 
  He 
  has 
  worked 
  on 
  it 
  since 
  he 
  was 
  a 
  child, 
  

   and 
  so 
  did 
  his 
  ancestors 
  before 
  him. 
  He 
  inherited 
  it 
  from 
  them, 
  as 
  

   they, 
  in 
  their 
  turn, 
  inherited 
  the 
  same 
  land. 
  The 
  attachment 
  is 
  so 
  

   strong 
  that 
  the 
  fellah 
  resorts 
  to 
  migration 
  or 
  to 
  selling 
  his 
  land 
  only 
  

   under 
  extreme 
  pressure. 
  One 
  example 
  of 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  great 
  difficulty 
  

   which 
  the 
  Egyptian 
  Government 
  has 
  encountered 
  in 
  its 
  attempt 
  to 
  set- 
  

   tle 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  fellahin 
  on 
  newly 
  reclaimed 
  land, 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  re- 
  

   lieving 
  high 
  population 
  pressure. 
  They 
  are 
  offered 
  all 
  sorts 
  of 
  facili- 
  

   ties 
  and 
  inducements, 
  yet 
  they 
  are 
  reluctant 
  to 
  leave 
  their 
  ancestral 
  

   communities. 
  

  

  Another 
  illustration 
  is 
  afforded 
  by 
  the 
  early 
  emigrants 
  from 
  the 
  

   villages 
  of 
  Palestine, 
  Syria, 
  and 
  Lebanon. 
  Under 
  extreme 
  popula- 
  

   tion 
  pressure, 
  they 
  began 
  to 
  emigrate 
  to 
  the 
  Americas 
  around 
  1880- 
  

   1890. 
  In 
  practically 
  all 
  cases 
  they 
  intended 
  to 
  save 
  some 
  money 
  as 
  

   soon 
  as 
  possible, 
  then 
  return 
  to 
  their 
  original 
  homes. 
  Very 
  few 
  of 
  

   them 
  indeed 
  were 
  willing 
  to 
  sell 
  their 
  land 
  when 
  they 
  emigrated. 
  The 
  

   first 
  money 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  send 
  home 
  was 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  

   of 
  rebuying 
  the 
  land 
  they 
  had 
  to 
  sell 
  or 
  releasing 
  it 
  from 
  mortgage. 
  

   Some 
  of 
  them, 
  who 
  are 
  now 
  married 
  and 
  established 
  immigrants 
  in 
  

   this 
  country, 
  still 
  own 
  land 
  in 
  the 
  old 
  village. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  bond 
  they 
  do 
  

   not 
  like 
  to 
  sever, 
  although 
  they 
  know 
  very 
  well 
  that 
  they 
  will 
  never 
  

   go 
  back. 
  2 
  

  

  Another 
  indication 
  of 
  the 
  significance 
  of 
  land 
  is 
  the 
  manner 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  fellah 
  responds 
  to 
  it, 
  as 
  if 
  it 
  were 
  a 
  living 
  organism. 
  In 
  

  

  2 
  For 
  an 
  analysis 
  of 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  emigration 
  upon 
  village 
  life, 
  see 
  my 
  article, 
  "Emigra- 
  

   tion, 
  a 
  Force 
  of 
  Social 
  Change 
  in 
  an 
  Arab 
  Village," 
  Rural 
  Sociology, 
  vol. 
  7, 
  No. 
  1, 
  March 
  

   1942. 
  

  

  