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in: Serendipity in Anthropological Research: The Nomadic Turn, , Esther Hertzog and Haim Hazan, Editor, Routledge, London/New York , London, pp.247-256, 2012
This chapter describes the symbolic significance of colours, and their use ni medical therapy and rituals, in pastoral Bedouin society. I focus on Bedouin in the Negev Desert, especially those who continue to raise livestock. I do not discuss the linguisticaspects of colourterms. When Bedouin women are in mourning, the suffyih (girdle) is removed an replaced by a black or grey sash. They cover whatever gold they are wearing with black or green cloth. They intertwine black threads and smal black or blue beads in their jewellery. Al women ni mourning covertheir regular clothes with adark or a green fabric. It should be noted that gold is a favoured colour of many Bedouin women ni the Sinai, because of the properties associated with the metal itself, not just the colour. In the Negev, gold is associated with acquiring property and symbolizes fertility as agood omen. The range ofcolours ofthe dress of Bedouin women ni the Negev isof course dynamic. New trends are continually developing.