﻿ARAB 
  VILLAGE 
  COMMUNITY 
  — 
  TANNOUS 
  535 
  

  

  neighbor 
  women. 
  As 
  the 
  8 
  or 
  10 
  of 
  them 
  sit 
  at 
  opposite 
  sides 
  of 
  a 
  long 
  

   table 
  and 
  pound 
  the 
  dough 
  into 
  large, 
  round, 
  and 
  thin 
  loaves, 
  they 
  

   exchange 
  news 
  and 
  gossip 
  about 
  the 
  village 
  affairs. 
  Further, 
  it 
  should 
  

   be 
  noted 
  that 
  preparing 
  bread 
  is 
  almost 
  entirely 
  a 
  woman's 
  activity. 
  

   In 
  some 
  places 
  the 
  activity 
  of 
  tending 
  the 
  oven 
  is 
  open 
  to 
  men. 
  

  

  One 
  cereal, 
  which 
  is 
  common 
  in 
  Palestine, 
  Lebanon, 
  and 
  Syria, 
  

   deserves 
  special 
  mention. 
  This 
  is 
  burghul, 
  which 
  is 
  made 
  of 
  wheat 
  

   by 
  a 
  process 
  of 
  boiling, 
  drying 
  in 
  the 
  sun, 
  removing 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  bran 
  

   by 
  sprinkling 
  with 
  water 
  and 
  rubbing 
  with 
  hands, 
  then 
  crushing 
  at 
  

   the 
  mill 
  into 
  a 
  coarse 
  and 
  a 
  fine 
  variety. 
  As 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  bread, 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  involved 
  is 
  done 
  cooperatively 
  and 
  is 
  combined 
  with 
  

   social 
  visiting 
  and 
  recreation. 
  The 
  coarse 
  variety 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  cooking 
  

   various 
  usual 
  cereal 
  dishes, 
  whereas 
  the 
  finer 
  portion 
  is 
  used 
  exclu- 
  

   sively 
  in 
  preparing 
  the 
  well-known 
  dish 
  kubbeh. 
  This 
  consists 
  basi- 
  

   cally 
  of 
  burghul 
  and 
  lean 
  meat 
  pounded 
  together 
  into 
  thick 
  paste 
  in 
  

   a 
  large 
  stone 
  mortar. 
  The 
  paste 
  may 
  be 
  eaten 
  raw, 
  with 
  olive 
  oil 
  

   or 
  samn 
  (clarified 
  butter), 
  or 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  cooked 
  in 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  ways. 
  

  

  Fruits 
  are 
  rather 
  plentiful, 
  with 
  oranges, 
  grapes, 
  figs, 
  apricots, 
  

   melons, 
  dates, 
  and 
  olives 
  leading. 
  The 
  activities 
  involved 
  in 
  the 
  pro- 
  

   duction 
  and 
  consumption 
  of 
  each 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  constitute 
  a 
  clearly 
  

   defined 
  culture 
  complex. 
  As 
  an 
  illustration, 
  the 
  olive 
  complex, 
  which 
  

   is 
  widely 
  spread 
  in 
  Lebanon, 
  Syria, 
  and 
  Palestine, 
  will 
  be 
  described. 
  

   The 
  olive, 
  a 
  native 
  of 
  the 
  Mediterranean 
  region, 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  hardy 
  ever- 
  

   green 
  tree, 
  and 
  lives 
  to 
  be 
  several 
  hundred 
  years 
  old. 
  In 
  some 
  local- 
  

   ities 
  olive 
  groves 
  have 
  been 
  in 
  existence 
  longer 
  than 
  village 
  traditions 
  

   can 
  reach. 
  With 
  little 
  care, 
  year 
  in 
  and 
  year 
  out, 
  the 
  olive 
  tree 
  gives 
  

   its 
  highly 
  valued 
  fruit. 
  Pruning 
  takes 
  place 
  yearly, 
  and 
  the 
  cut-off 
  

   branches 
  are 
  used 
  for 
  fuel 
  or 
  as 
  supports 
  for 
  grapevines. 
  The 
  small, 
  

   but 
  thick, 
  oblong 
  leaves 
  that 
  drop 
  from 
  the 
  tree 
  are 
  gathered 
  regularly 
  

   by 
  women 
  and 
  used 
  for 
  fuel. 
  The 
  fruit 
  begins 
  to 
  ripen 
  in 
  the 
  fall. 
  

   From 
  that 
  time 
  until 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  January, 
  village 
  life 
  becomes 
  highly 
  

   olive 
  centered. 
  The 
  season 
  is 
  begun 
  cooperatively, 
  in 
  that 
  no 
  one 
  

   can 
  start 
  before 
  the 
  elders 
  decide 
  upon 
  the 
  time 
  and 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  pick- 
  

   ing. 
  This 
  decision 
  is 
  announced 
  at 
  the 
  church 
  or 
  the 
  mosque, 
  or 
  by 
  

   the 
  village 
  crier. 
  At 
  that 
  time 
  in 
  Christian 
  villages 
  the 
  priest 
  usu- 
  

   ally 
  goes 
  around 
  and 
  blesses 
  the 
  produce. 
  Picking 
  the 
  fruit 
  is 
  done 
  

   mostly 
  by 
  beating 
  it 
  down 
  with 
  long 
  sticks. 
  This 
  is 
  exclusively 
  a 
  

   man's 
  activity. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  only 
  women 
  and 
  children 
  gather 
  

   the 
  fallen 
  fruit 
  and 
  put 
  it 
  in 
  baskets 
  or 
  sacks. 
  Also 
  sorting 
  is 
  done 
  

   by 
  women. 
  Each 
  housewife 
  then 
  pickles 
  enough 
  olives 
  to 
  last 
  the 
  

   family 
  the 
  whole 
  year. 
  The 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  crop 
  is 
  taken 
  by 
  the 
  farmer 
  

   to 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  presses 
  that 
  exist 
  in 
  the 
  village. 
  Work 
  

   at 
  the 
  press 
  is 
  done 
  exclusively 
  by 
  men. 
  The 
  owner 
  is 
  usually 
  paid 
  in 
  

   kind, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  manner 
  he 
  pays 
  the 
  few 
  workers 
  he 
  employs. 
  A 
  

  

  