On ghazu as sport

From Williamson’s unpublished dissertation on the Shammar Jarba:

Bedouin society ascribed its highest social values to bravery, fighting prowess, and personal cunning. Because it placed so much importance on these qualities. Bedouin society worked out a system of inter-tribal raiding known as ghazw wherein a man could demonstrate his fitness. Tribes carefully planned ghazw against their enemies, attempting to capture their herds and camps. Although carried out according to strict rules, these raids often had a sporting atmosphere. While lavish stories evolved describing the cunning and daring of a particular tribe or individual, few people were killed or wounded. In the long run a tribe often lost as much as it gained because of reciprocal raids.