There are plenty of misconceptions about the Middle East from a western point of view. These misconceptions have been shaped and distorted through entities such as politics, hollywood, and the media as a whole. Steven Caton sets out on a journey to Yemen to explore the more subtle complexities of the Middle East that are virtually hidden from the western perspective. He goes with an intention of researching the use of traditional poetry within tribal culture, but he instead finds out alot about Middle Eastern culture through his close encounters with tribal conflict. Through his anthropological account of the conflict, he provided valuable insight into aspects of tribal culture such as: the status of women, honor, and tribal societies relation to the state.
One of the first things he provides a unique perspective on is the status of women as it relates to tribal culture. One of the most common misconceptions the west holds against the Middle East is in regards to women's rights. Caton offers a specific look into the status of women when he was discussing what would happen if the pair of missing girls were to be found: “‘…their lives will be spared. However, no man will want to marry either of them.’ ‘Why is that?’ ‘Damaged goods’” (Caton 2005, 91). In reading this discussion between Caton and Muhammad, a western audience can’t help but feel reaffirmed in their opinions that women's rights are basically non existent in Yemen. While this may seem to have some validity on the surface, I would argue that the reader needs to delve deeper than the text itself and ask the important question of ‘Why?’…Why would they be considered ‘damaged goods’? And we receive an answer later in the book when Mary was explaining the idea of patrilineal parallel cousin marriage: “‘There’s a preference for marrying the cousin on the father’s side of the family. Meaning cousin in the loose sense: first, second, or third cousin, several times removed even” (Caton 2005, 141). The reason for this preference is because, in tribal culture, lineage and ancestry is very important. True tribal lineage is typically contingent upon the ‘purity’ of blood as it pertains to the the male descendant line of any given tribe. The aforementioned statement coupled with the ‘damaged goods’ statement in regards to the missing girls gives us a unique new perspective on the status of women in tribal culture. ‘Damaged goods’ is not referring to the girls as a consumer product, but rather referring to the idea that if they were to marry into a family they could dilute the male line if the girls were impregnated by Abdullah. When it comes to the purity of blood and the preservation of the tribal lineage, members of specific families are unwilling to take a chance of diluting the bloodline. This is why they are considered damaged goods. It’s not because of the western presumption that Middle Eastern men don’t value women, but rather it is because of the extreme value on purity of blood within a tibes lineage. Caton makes us aware of some of the differences between the status of women in the Middle East versus the status of women in the west, but he provides an explanation on ‘why’ there is a difference through his anthropological account of tribal warfare in Yemen.
Another thing Caton’s anthropological account makes apparent is how intertwined tribal conflict is with honor. In his field work, Caton partook in a conversation in which Muhammad brought up an attractive analogy about the great dam at Marib. This dam was built around 500 B.C.E; it was massive in size and provided irrigation to many in the Yemen area. This dam eventually went out of commision because it required too many repairs. But according to legend the dam was destroyed because, “a rat burrowed through the dam and started the leak that lead to its collapse” (Caton 2005, 261). Muhammad ended up comparing tribal honor to that of the Marib dam. Comparisons were also drawn between the rat and Abdullah the culprit. In his recount of the conversation, Caton sums up the analogy: “…tribal honor should be compared with the great dam at Marib; that despite its monumentality it was extremely vulnerable and could be brought low by something so insignificant as a rat or a heedless young man, and that its ruin could lead to the destruction of an entire society” (Caton 2005, 261). Once again, Caton makes the reader apparent of the ‘why’ in reference to the excess amount of tribal related conflict in the region. The vast majority of Catons western audience is already aware that the Middle East is a war-torn area, but I’d argue a small percentage of that audience knows ‘why’ that’s the case. In his anthropological account, he finds that the conflict between tribes is usually caused by the degrading of another tribes honor. It's easy to now understand why there is an excess of tribal conflict when we realize it’s caused by something as inconspicuous and fragile as honor. Caton delves deeper into tribal culture and in doing so, he reveles the reasoning behind much of the conflict in and around Yemen.
One of the last things that Caton’s work explores is how tribal culture affects the state in which it resides. In his recount of the conflict and the events that transpired soon after it, Caton mentioned that the national government would get involved: “This was the beginning of a long process in which spurts of staged violence that became increasingly dangerous punctuated the ongoing negotiations, which involved more and more powerful men at higher and higher structural levels of the tribal system and national government” (Caton 2005, 70). In first reading this I was struck by the last line. Why would the national government get involved with a petty tribal conflict? In discussing this in class we came to realize that tribes are extremely important to the Yemeni government for a number of reasons. One of which is that the Yemeni government relies on tribes for their fighting capabilities. These tribes unofficially serve as additional support to the country’s national defense. When tribal warfare is raging the Yemeni government usually steps in because it is in their best interest if the tribes aren’t fighting. Fighting leads to division, potential bloodshed, and most importantly a weakened national security. With this knowledge in hand it gives Caton’s anthropological account more background and depth. Caton’s recontment of being arrested and interrogated by the Yemeni government is also great content to help the readers understand more about tribal culture and its relation to the state. Caton doesn’t deal too much with the ‘why’ when it comes to the complicated relationship between Yemen’s government and its tribes, but he does provide insightful experiences to help us understand their relationship and all of its complexities.
Through Caton’s anthropological account, he provided valuable insight into many aspects of tribal culture. He delved into the women’s rights and the reasoning behind some of the cultures shortcomings in this realm. He also discussed and drew comparisons between honor and tribal conflict in the region. Lastly he explored and gave examples of how tribal society and the Yemeni government are intertwined. If I had to assess the value of this book as a whole I would argue that it is very valuable. Like I previously mentioned, western audiences have a very narrow worldview and only know what is given to them through mainstream media. I feel that this book does a good job of challenging common western preconceived notions. This book doesn’t try to sway you into believing one thing over another. It explains, in a very unbiased way, the events that transpired in this tribal conflict and challenges the readers to ask questions. Caton comes out and admits that he doesn’t know everything. He doesn’t try to provide answers where he knows there aren’t any. I think this book does an exemplary job when it comes to explaining ‘why’ things happen. Caton gives plenty of examples and reasoning behind why things are the way they are in Yemen without trying to sway you into drastically altering your view. He made us aware of all his potential biases and tried to give us all the facts so we could hypothesize and draw conclusions ourselves. The book was also very entertaining and I feel like it would be great if it were in the hands of a larger western audience. To sum it up, Caton’s anthropological account of the tribal conflict in Yemen was honest, entertaining, and enlightening.