Women, Water and Memory

192 Pages·2009·1.534 MB·English

by  Nefissa Naguib

Women, Water and Memory
Women and Gender
The Middle East and the Islamic World
Editors
Margot Badran
Valentine Moghadam
VOLUME 6
Women, Water and Memory
Recasting Lives in Palestine
By
Nefissa Naguib
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2009
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Naguib, Nefissa, 1960–
Women, water and memory : recasting lives in Palestine / by Nefissa Naguib.
p. cm. — (Women and gender: the Middle East and the Islamic world ; 6)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-16778-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Women, Palestinian Arab—Social
life and custom. 2. Women storytellers—Palestine. 3. Women, Palestinian Arab—
Social conditions. 4. Women and religion—Palestine. I. Title. II. Series.

HQ1728.5.N33 2009
305.48’8927400904—dc22
2008042419
ISSN 1570-7628
ISBN 978 90 04 16778 0
Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
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printed in the netherlands
CONTENTS
Glossary of Arabic Terms Often Used by the Women or
Discussed in the Text .............................................................. vii
List of Illustrations ...................................................................... ix
Acknowledgements ..................................................................... xi
Fetching Water ............................................................................ xv
Introduction ................................................................................ 1
Being in the World ................................................................. 2
Households .............................................................................. 4
Society of Women .................................................................. 6
The Women and Their Stories .................................................. 11
Things Have Been Said Before .............................................. 17
Recasting Lives ....................................................................... 21
What They Remember ........................................................... 23
Crossing Checkpoints ............................................................. 27
When They Stare Back at You .............................................. 28
Outline and Rationale ............................................................ 31
PART ONE
ABOUT MUSHARAFAH
Chapter One Musharafah ....................................................... 37
Countryside ............................................................................. 38
Cast in Stone .......................................................................... 41
New Homes ............................................................................ 44
Red Village ............................................................................. 46
Chapter Two Palestine—A Contested Site ............................. 57
vi contents
PART TWO
LIFE WORLDS
Chapter Three Women, Water and Memory ......................... 69
Um Muhammad ..................................................................... 69
Um Qays ................................................................................. 78
Um Fathi ................................................................................. 83
Um Khaled ............................................................................. 88
Um Jihad ................................................................................ 94
Um Ali .................................................................................... 97
Samiha .................................................................................... 100
Um Ibrahim ............................................................................ 101
Chapter Four Being in the World ........................................... 105
Daughters, Wives, Mothers, Grandmothers .......................... 106
“This is the Way We Do Things Here” ................................ 108
Family ...................................................................................... 114
To Know God ........................................................................ 116
Disruptions .............................................................................. 123
Chapter Five Women and Places Outside .............................. 125
Clean Water is a Good Thing ............................................... 125
Place, History, Tradition ......................................................... 128
Leaving the Spring ................................................................. 129
Male and Female Water ......................................................... 133
Stories about Stones ............................................................... 134
Chapter Six Telling Stories ...................................................... 139
Stories ...................................................................................... 140
Repositories of Memory ......................................................... 143
Life Worlds .............................................................................. 147
Conclusion and Further Reflections .......................................... 151
Bibliography ................................................................................ 163
Index ........................................................................................... 169
GLOSSARY OF ARABIC TERMS OFTEN USED BY THE
WOMEN OR DISCUSSED IN THE TEXT
(cid:123)adat customs
(cid:123)asabiyya blood relatives
(cid:123)ayn water spring
baraka blessing
calla large kerosene can
dar home, household.
din religion
(cid:123)eswah support or patronage
fi sabil Allah for the love of God
hamulah (pl. hamayel) lineage or clan.
khala open landscape
iqta(cid:120)i feudal
jarra large clay water jar
jebel mountain
malli fill water
maqam shrine
nabiyya used to refer to water’s goodness
nasab relatives (sometimes it was inter-changed with
(cid:123)asabiyya)
taboun outside stone oven
taqalid traditions
tayyib used to describe fertile soil
zulm injustice

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. Road to the village of Musharafah. ............................ xiii
Figure 2. Olive groves below Musharafah. ................................. xvi
Figure 3. Outline of Musharafah. .............................................. 9
Figure 4. Ruins of the old village. .............................................. 43
Figure 5. Abu Ali’s house. ........................................................... 45
Figure 6. Um Muhammad. ......................................................... 70
Figure 7. Um Fathi. ..................................................................... 84
Figure 8. Um Khaled. ................................................................. 90
Figure 9. Talat al Bir. .................................................................. 131