Ethnographic Perspective: Guests of the Sheik Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village -- analysis

Elizabeth Fernea's book "Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village" provides readers with a complex description of women in Iraqi village during the 1950s. The text is meant to enable people to abandon stereotypes they might have considered when coming across Iraqi women. The book should not necessarily be understood as a form of criticism with regard to society's understanding of this particular community, as it is actually meant to inform readers and to make it possible for them to employ more open-minded attitudes with regard to the group. The fact that the writer provides a personal account regarding Iraqi women during the 1950s contributes to the overall authenticity of the manuscript.

The book is based on Fernea's experiences in Iraq during her stay there with her husband, an anthropologist studying concepts in the area. The writer's role as an ethnographer does not prevent her from presenting a story that is interactive and that succeeds in making readers feel closer to the overall chain of events that she goes through. The book does not contain a cold and distant ethnographer's account, as it describes the experiences of a woman who gets actively involved in living alongside of people she's studying and who is thus able to understand them much better than someone observing them from the perspective of an outsider. "This book is a personal narrative of those years, especially of my life with the veiled women who, like me, lived in mud-brick houses surrounded by high mud walls." (Fernea)

Fernea probably chose to write this book in an attempt to show people the true image of Iraqi women. Given that she had no anthropological background and that she was a typical western individual, it would be safe to say that she too was inclined to consider stereotypes as being valid before she actually got to live in the Iraqi community. The writer's fieldwork is much more than a simple study of the community, as she becomes a...

Fernea takes fieldwork to a whole new level as she influences readers to be drawn into that world and to understand the strong relationships she developed with people there.
Kinship Systems and Family

Even with the fact that she seems to be particularly appreciative with regard to the culture and the behaviors she comes across, Fernea cannot help but to address the patriarchal nature of the society she became a part of. She relates to how women are often forced to marry individuals their community wants them to marry, as they are provided with little to no say in the matter. "Among merchants of the village the codes were less strict, but still the preferred marriage was that between first cousins on the father's side." (Fernea) While this too might be interpreted as a westerner's tendency to discriminate individuals from other cultures, it is somewhat intriguing because it supports a series of stereotypes regarding Iraqi women.

Fernea presents families as having strict roles for each person, with gender being important in determining an individual's tasks. Men could only do jobs characteristic to men while women were required to do jobs that one could associate with their gender. Her relationship with Mohammed demonstrates the way that men felt with regard to their condition, with the moment when he asks her for a favor showing his thinking. "Half in sign-language and half in simple Arabic, repeated over and over again, he asked me please not to tell anyone he washed our dishes or he would be shamed among men for doing women's work." (Fernea)

Polygamy is a common concept in the book, as the writer came across numerous accounts involving men having more than one wife. In contrast, some women were left unmarried as a result of failing to find someone who was in accordance with their community's legislations. While this might seem controversial, Fernea is quick to emphasize the fact that…