Clinton Bailey, an esteemed American-Israeli scholar, passed away on January 5 at his home in Jerusalem at the age of 88, due to heart failure. Known for his passionate dedication to preserving the ancient traditions of nomadic Bedouin tribes, Bailey spent nearly 50 years capturing the essence of Bedouin life through audio recordings and photographs.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, Dr. Bailey ventured to the Middle East where he immersed himself in Bedouin culture. His travels across the Negev Desert and Sinai Peninsula included months of living among the tribes, documenting their oral poetry, negotiations, and various rituals, which he believed were facing imminent extinction.
In an interview conducted in 2021, Bailey highlighted the pressing need to document these traditions amid the encroachment of modern influences such as urbanization, technological advances, and changing societal norms. “I decided to try to capture that culture,” he stated, firmly believing that what he recorded was increasingly at risk of vanishing.
His monumental contributions were recognized when he donated over 350 hours of audio tapes and an extensive collection of photographs to the National Library of Israel. The library lauded his collection as an invaluable repository of an unwritten culture, at risk of being lost forever due to the exposure of younger generations to modernity and the rapid cultural shifts taking place.
William White, a student of Bailey, described him as a guardian of Bedouin traditions, emphasizing his revered status among the tribespeople who acknowledged his efforts in preserving their invaluable heritage. Bailey’s legacy stands as a testament to the importance and urgency of documenting world cultures, particularly those on the brink of transformation.
