﻿ARAB 
  VILLAGE 
  COMMUNITY 
  — 
  TANNOUS 
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  the 
  grown-up 
  children. 
  The 
  right 
  of 
  a 
  female 
  child 
  to 
  such 
  inherit- 
  

   ance 
  is 
  recognized, 
  although 
  normally 
  she 
  foregoes 
  that 
  right 
  in 
  favor 
  

   of 
  her 
  brothers. 
  In 
  some 
  villages 
  the 
  right 
  of 
  inheritance 
  is 
  not 
  

   established. 
  Instead 
  of 
  that, 
  at 
  regular 
  intervals 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  divided 
  

   into 
  as 
  many 
  shares 
  as 
  there 
  are 
  males, 
  including 
  infants. 
  

  

  At 
  this 
  point 
  it 
  is 
  essential 
  to 
  dwell 
  briefly 
  on 
  the 
  apparent 
  bias 
  of 
  

   the 
  culture 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  males 
  and 
  against 
  females. 
  An 
  implied 
  ex- 
  

   planation 
  for 
  this 
  prejudice 
  may 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  two 
  other 
  cultural 
  prac- 
  

   tices. 
  One 
  of 
  these 
  is 
  the 
  custom 
  of 
  patrilocalism, 
  whereby 
  a 
  girl 
  

   upon 
  marriage 
  goes 
  to 
  live 
  with 
  her 
  husband's 
  people 
  and 
  becomes 
  

   completely 
  identified 
  with 
  them. 
  In 
  case 
  she 
  should 
  inherit 
  land, 
  un- 
  

   desirable 
  complications 
  for 
  both 
  family 
  groups 
  would 
  inevitably 
  

   arise. 
  Such 
  complications 
  become 
  accentuated 
  when 
  the 
  girl 
  marries 
  

   into 
  another 
  village 
  community. 
  The 
  other 
  practice 
  is 
  the 
  emphasis 
  

   of 
  the 
  culture 
  upon 
  marriage. 
  Practically 
  every 
  woman 
  has 
  a 
  chance 
  

   of 
  getting 
  married 
  (remembering 
  that 
  polygyny, 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  wife 
  

   to 
  one 
  husband, 
  is 
  permitted 
  among 
  the 
  Muslims) 
  and 
  her 
  economic 
  

   security 
  is 
  attained 
  through 
  that 
  of 
  her 
  husband's. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  mentioned 
  above 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  villages 
  where 
  land 
  is 
  

   owned 
  directly 
  by 
  individual 
  families 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  specific 
  plots, 
  ex- 
  

   treme 
  fragmentation 
  of 
  holdings 
  takes 
  place. 
  A 
  certain 
  farmer, 
  for 
  

   example, 
  may 
  own 
  some 
  20 
  acres, 
  divided 
  into 
  10 
  to 
  15 
  plots 
  and 
  scat- 
  

   tered 
  in 
  all 
  directions 
  from 
  the 
  village 
  proper. 
  Such 
  a 
  situation 
  seems 
  

   to 
  be 
  an 
  inevitable 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  prevailing 
  family 
  organization 
  and 
  of 
  

   the 
  nucleated 
  type 
  of 
  settlement. 
  Family 
  solidarity 
  is 
  strongly 
  em- 
  

   phasized, 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  that 
  three 
  generations 
  live 
  together, 
  own 
  and 
  

   culivate 
  the 
  land 
  as 
  one 
  unit. 
  Upon 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  the 
  grandparents, 
  

   the 
  land 
  is 
  equally 
  divided 
  among 
  the 
  married 
  and 
  unmarried 
  sons. 
  

   None 
  of 
  them 
  thinks 
  of 
  selling 
  out 
  to 
  the 
  others 
  and 
  emigrating. 
  

   This 
  process 
  of 
  subdivision 
  continues 
  generation 
  after 
  generation, 
  

   with 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  plots 
  dwindling. 
  Scattering 
  of 
  holdings 
  is 
  the 
  

   outcome 
  of 
  all 
  farmers 
  living 
  in 
  a 
  central 
  place 
  instead 
  of 
  on 
  their 
  

   land. 
  The 
  village 
  territory 
  is 
  naturally 
  divided 
  into 
  several 
  sites, 
  

   according 
  to 
  fertility 
  and 
  other 
  qualities. 
  From 
  the 
  beginning 
  each 
  

   family 
  group 
  is 
  allowed 
  to 
  own 
  a 
  certain 
  portion 
  in 
  each 
  of 
  these 
  

   sites. 
  Through 
  occasional 
  purchase 
  and 
  inheritance 
  from 
  the 
  mother's 
  

   side, 
  scattering 
  becomes 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  accentuated. 
  

  

  Finally, 
  in 
  connection 
  Avith 
  tenure 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  mentioned 
  that 
  ap- 
  

   proximately 
  50 
  percent 
  of 
  agricultural 
  land 
  is 
  cultivated 
  under 
  one 
  

   form 
  of 
  tenancy 
  or 
  another. 
  This 
  should 
  be 
  expected 
  in 
  a 
  reo-ion 
  

   where 
  the 
  Miri 
  category, 
  land 
  owned 
  by 
  the 
  ruler 
  or 
  the 
  state, 
  has 
  

   been 
  predominant. 
  As 
  mentioned 
  above, 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  practice 
  of 
  rulers 
  

   to 
  offer 
  large 
  tracts 
  of 
  land 
  to 
  local 
  leaders 
  in 
  compensation 
  for 
  cer- 
  

   tain 
  services. 
  Gradually, 
  such 
  leaders 
  became 
  absentee 
  landlords 
  and 
  

  

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