Tribe Marching – 1920s – Syria
From the Varliette collection at the French Musee du Quai Branly comes this stunning photo of a “Tribe Marching” (Tribu en ordre de marche). It was taken between 1920 and 1934.
The photo seems to have been published in Albert de Boucheman’s foundational study “Matériel de la vie bédouine”, of which I own a rare copy. I now have a lead into who Varliette is, given this apparent association with A. de Boucheman, whose focus in that book was the Sba’ah Bedouin tribe.
What are the crescent structures on two of the camels?
These are the structures on which clothes fabric is fastened to protect the rich women and their children from the sun and provide privacy. Poorer women follow on foot.
Thank you for the explanation.