Sheep-herders from the Shammar – 1920s – Syria
From the collection of Jesuit priest, pilot and archaeologist Antoine Poidebard at the French Musee du Quai Branly comes this photo of a group of sheep herders from the Shammar tribe.
The back of the photo has the following writing in French:
“Berger bédouin de la tribu Chammar / Haute Djéziré / Cliché Poidebard”- manuscrit à l’encre bleue : “Berger bédouin de la tribu Chammar (désert de Syrie)”- étiquette collée : “Environ 300.000 nomades vivent sur les immenses territoires du désert de Syrie et sont rattachés au gouvernement de Damas. Nomades et pasteurs, ils pratiquent l’élevage du mouton et du chameau.“
I like the attempt to strike out the man and motor vehicle on the right – presumably they spoiled the aesthetic the photographer was aiming for. Would that be a fat-tailed sheep?