Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village

Written by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

Narrated by Kirsten Potter

A delightful, well-written, and vastly informative ethnographic study, this is an account of Elizabeth Warnock Fernea's two-year stay in a tiny rural village in Iraq, where she assumed the dress and sheltered life of a harem woman. This volume gives a unique insight into a part of the Midddle Eastern life seldom seen by the West.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541489875

Reviews for Guests of the Sheik

[Cat Geibel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a fantastic read on a culture I knew nothing about. The fact it was written by someone who didnt expect to be writing it just makes it that much more personal and lovely

[Rachel R · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An accurate picture of a village woman’s life. The author and her husband lived two years in a southern Iraqi village, and here she shares her personal adventures, awkward cultural moments, and just the normal everyday cultural formalities that Middle Eastern life entails.

[hebephrene · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

First of all this book was written in 1958. I was fooled by the cover which made it look more contemporary. But this is my fault since I never checked the publication date until the author mentioned that Faisel was the head of Iraq, and Faisel preceded Sadam Hussein. This not an ethnographic study; it is a memoir of a woman's life in a Shiite tribal settlement in Southern Iraq. This is not to diminish it. The book is quite moving particularly in the parts in which the author must navigate the female culture in this conservative outpost where the veil is always worn and a woman would never even be seen by a man unless covered or found in the company of an unmarried man. In the end there is a poignant moment in which the author makes a mistake and with a local friend goes for a ride in the vehicle driven by a man and returning realizes that the woman could be killed for this. There is no choice but to lie. There was a very moving moment also when she is first introduced and understands very little Arabic but enough to know she is being disparaged, only to be rescued by the Sheik's favorite wife. Of course, I had presumed that this book would deal with the conflict between cultures through the prism of the recent disastrous war and occupation, but it doesn't. Still the book cuts to the core of how common humanity given time, patience and a lot of compassion can create bonds between people with very very different backgrounds. It is not an ethnographic study because the kind of distant analysis of the cultural differences is rarely touched upon. What we get instead is a memoir of the interactions. Lastly the book does a terrific job giving us the play by play of the core Shiite holy ceremonies surrounding the martyrdom of Hussein, the 7th Iman, and the seismic emotion these rituals hold of the Shiite people. You get a bird's eye view of how swept up people are by the story.

[neesie913 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Positively outstanding! I felt like I was right there with "Bee Ja". I actually cried at the end and hated that the story was over. ;)

[aajay_19 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Account of author's year long life as veiled observer in small village in southern Iraq in 1956(?) just before the revolution which violently overthrew the royal family and eventually led to reign of Saddam Hussein. Roughly same period and area of "Ring of Bright Water" (Maxwell) and "People of the Reeds",(Thesiger). While not directly connected to the "present unpleasantness", it portrays womens' lives of the period; not much has changed.

[dcarchitect_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'The Guest of the Sheik' is the story of the author's two year stay in a conservative Iraqi village in the 1950s. Ms. Fernea's account is, due to the conservatism of the village, almost entirely the story of the women of the village - women that Ms. Fernea brings to life. A story of a journey of acceptance and a great look into a life very foreign to many. Well worth reading.

[justme869 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful description of life in an Iraqi village.In 1956 Elizabeth Warnock Fernea accompanied her husband, who was doing postgraduate work in anthropology, to the village of El Nahra, Iraq. For nearly two years, they lived as guests of Sheik Hamid Abdul Emir El Hussein. Elizabeth donned the abayah and attempted to integrate with the women of the village. Her Arabic was not very good and her hosts were naturally reluctant to welcome an American Christian. They assumed she was lazy, retarded and that she didn’t know how to cook. As her knowledge of the language and customs improved she came to be accepted as a member of the village and developed a mutual love and respect for the women of El Nahra.