Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village

It’s a woman’s account of living in Iraq in the mid-late 1950’s in a small rural village. I found it interesting as in many cases the prohibitions Muslim women are supposed to follow are not as strict as in many countries are today. She and her husband have been married less than a yr when he accepted a position, which is part of his pursuing an advanced college degree. She is a fish out of water in this village, but makes her way well.Apparently, they spend much of their lives in the Middle East as they have written several books about it. In many ways you see how this time frame set the stage for what will become a modern Iraq. Also why the old tribal ways remain as well.

Fun to read, and well-written book. I have retinitis pigmentosa, which makes it hard to read books. I found that my problem isn't about the font size, but rather it is the font color that matters to me. Most of the books that I purchased seem to be too light in font color. This book, however, is printed dark enough.

The young American wife settles in an Iraqui village as her husband does a research project. Her isolation and loneliness are ended when she gets to know her neighbors. At first they are disbelieving of her lack of skills in managing a house - she can't even embroider! She thinks her husband should help her! They set out to teach her and finally, to her great delight, she begins to meet their standards of housewifery. She gains insight into a life style utterly different from her own, but learns to respect the women and be their friend. She dons a burqua and attends a religious gathering with them, almost getting lost in the crowd. She leaves in tears to go back to America, ladden with gifts from her friends.

I loved this book for so many reasons. It had a simple beauty to it, one reflected in the friendship of women who at first glance are worlds apart.

This was a book I was required to read for class and I devoured it within a few days. It was so intriguing and gave a wonderful insight into a culture I had little knowledge of. I have since re-read it and also shared it with family members to help give better understanding and context to this culture. I was left wanting to read more from this author!

I bought this book for an Anthropology course, but it is one that I won't be selling at the end of the year. Fernea is an engaging writer and despite this being an assigned reading, I found myself reading ahead. Fernea spent nearly two year living with the women of the Iraqi village and she learned much about them and their lives in the time period. However, her ethnography is not a dry description of what she learned. Instead, she presents that information through a series of anecdotes that tell about their lives and her struggle to fit into their lifestyle.

I read and loved it when it first came out. I bought this used copy recently. It continues to be a classic and a marvelous description of the life of a new bride whose anthropologist husband is starting research in an Iraqi village almost half a century ago. A keeper!

This is a great look at 1950s, rural, female, Iraqi culture. It was fascinating to read about a time and culture so different. The author actually lived in a rural community in Iraq for years so she thoroughly learned about the village lifestyle, and expectations of women in various levels of social interactions--home, family, community. It's a story about her experience and is in no way "text-bookish," which made it an easy read. I also appreciate the author's respectful tone and willingness to learn with little negative judgment about cultural differences.

From 1956 to 1957 Elizabeth Warnock Fernea lived in a small rural community in southern Iraq. Whilst the claims of any `ethnography' might be a little problematic, this is a thoughtful, warm, humorous and touching account of the women she met and, briefly, lived amongst.

A loving and sympathetic study with deep and thorough understanding of village women and community. Excellent reading on pre 1958 Iraq.

Where Freya Stark wrote of the Marsh Arabs Elizabeth Warnock Fernea goes into the deep interior of desert Iraq in 1955, some fifty years' later. Women's lives are totally bound up with the will of their men. There is no lee-way. Lives are hard, repetitively hard and unrelenting in all respects. Men live by the goodwill and social standing of those a rung above. And they, by those above them. Tribal status among other tribes, and status within the tribe, dictate where a man may work, whom he might marry and how his children will or will not prosper. Honour is a concept as much alive then as it is today. Totally alien to Western thinking. Women, as always, are the disposable item. Yet, it is the women who ensure the continuance of the home, the extended family unit and the tribe. Men seem to live on their "honour" and an outdated life wherein they'd been warriors or shepherds. In the main, illiteracy is rife, inward-thinking ensuring people stay close to the tribe. All credit to EWF, she paints the best and the worst of tribal life, writing with compassion and affection.

This is Fernea's account of the time she and her husband, then a doctoral student on fieldwork, spent living in an Iraqi village between 1957 and 1958. Fernea became close with some of the women in the village and thus was able to provide rare glimpses into the secluded lives of Shiite women in Iraq before the revolutions and counter-revolutions of the 20th century and the more recent invasion and insurgencies.I thoroughly enjoyed this. Her account is well-written and - especially considering it was first published in the 1960s - surprisingly self-aware and not patronizing.

This book is fascinating, even though the story is of many years ago. Learning about people's culture and the reasons for their rules helps us understand them and goes a long way to promoting peace between individuals. I would love to read a similar book but set in this time, now.