Hakawati Bedouin Storytelling Experience
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Description

This experience allows you to connect with desert life and immerse yourself in the wonderful local tradition of storytelling. It begins with an optional activity to help preserve the authentic nature of the desert that is the setting for the stories you will hear. The women of Disi cooperative prioritize taking care of their local environment and will take you for a short cleanup of a desert area. They may also bring indigenous and endangered flora to plant, which is a regular activity for the women in their strive to preserve the nature of Wadi Rum. If it is the right season, instead of planting, you may help them collect roots that they cultivate at the cooperative for planting later in the year. After this, you will settle yourself for the evening in a Bedouin tent to hear stories from the desert.

The hakawati is a storyteller and played a very important role in desert life, in an age before televisions and phones, and in a nomadic life with few belongings. The word hakawati comes from haki (talking) and hikaya (story). The traditional art of storytelling was a form of entertainment, and a way to teach important lessons. The hakawati was skilled in engaging their audience and bringing to life the stories, legends, and fables that they told.

Experience this special tradition in the desert of Wadi Rum.

 

 

Distinctive value

The women of Disi village are keeping the hakawati tradition alive and sharing it with visitors in this wonderful and unique experience. Traditionally the hakawati would be a man, but the Disi women have trained some of their members in this ancient art and have collected stories from the area to share. The stories you will hear are inspired by the experiences of the local Bedouin, mostly focusing on women.

 

 

Activities
  • Your hosts will take you into the desert in 4x4 vehicles where you can take part in an hour-long clean-up activity (optional), which may include planting endangered local plants, and then sit and enjoy the spectacular sunset.
  • Once the sun has set, you will return to the Disi Women’s Cooperative and take a seat in their Bedouin tent.
  • Enjoy a unique storytelling experience, as the hakawati narrates his tales.
  • You will be served a light meal of homemade lentil soup, and Bedouin tea will be served.