Saudis (; local dialects: سعوديين, ) or Saudi Arabians are the citizen population of the Saudi Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, a Central Semitic language, and share a common Ancestor, history, and culture. They are mainly composed of Arabs and live in the five historical Regions: Najd, Hejaz, Asir, Tihamah and Al-Ahsa Oasis; the regions which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded on or what was formerly known as the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd in the Arabian Peninsula. Saudis speak one of the dialects of Peninsular Arabic, including the Hejazi Arabic, Najdi Arabic, Gulf Arabic and Southern dialects (e.g. Bareqi Arabic), or South Arabian languages (e.g. Faifi language) as a mother tongue.
Culture
The culture of
Saudi Arabia is deeply rooted in
Arab traditions and
Islamic values. It is generally conservative, religious, traditional, and family-oriented. For example, alcoholic beverages are prohibited, though some social and cultural restrictions have begun to ease in recent years.
Daily life is strongly influenced by Islamic practices and laws. Even non-Muslim residents are expected to respect Islamic customs, including dress codes that meet certain modesty standards. Muslims are called to prayer five times daily from the minarets of mosques across the country. Since Friday is the holiest day in Islam, the weekend is observed on Friday and Saturday.["Weekend shift: A welcome change", SaudiGazette.com.sa, 24 June 2013 ]
In accordance with Salafi doctrine, only two religious holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, were officially recognized until 2006. That year, a secular national holiday—September 23—commemorating the unification of the kingdom, was reintroduced and became widely celebrated.
Social life and customs
Urban
The original inhabitants of cities and villages are known as () sedentary people; they settled in villages, towns and cities across Saudi Arabia. Some of the famous cities of the past and some still remain were
Al-Ahsa Oasis,
Qaryat al-Faw,
Dumat al-Jandal,
Al-Ukhdud,
Al-Ula,
Diriyah, Ha'il,
Jeddah,
Manfuhah,
Mecca,
Medina,
Qatif,
Hegra, Tabuk,
Taif,
Tarout Island,
Tayma, and Thaj.
Most Saudis (whether they were historically sedentary or nomadic) trace their lineage to the different tribes of Arabia , and there are also many prominent Saudis of various origins including Caucasian, Bushnak (e.g. Deputy Minister at Ministry of Tourism; Mohammed Bushnag), Southeast Asian (Jawi) (e.g. former minister of Hajj and Umrah; Muhammad Benten), Turkish (e.g. Dr. Muhammad Khashoggi), Central Asia (Bukhari) (e.g. Soccer player; Amin Bukhari) and South Asia (e.g. footballer; Abdulbasit Hindi). They are mostly from the cities of Mecca, Medina and Jeddah in the Hejaz region.
Afro-Saudi
Many Afro-Saudis belong to tribes that trace their heritage to the
Hausa people and also to historical
Takrur and
Ghana Empire, this is evident in family names such as
Hausa people (e.g. footballer;
Osama Hawsawi) ,
Fallata, and
Borno State.
A number of members of the Afro-Saudi minority are descendants of former slaves, in particular descendants of the slaves who had been freed in 1962.
Afro-Saudi activists complain that they are not given media representation and are unable to find opportunities to improve their social condition.
Many suffer from racial discrimination in employment and education. Many Saudis view them as inferior.
Bedouins
A portion of the original inhabitants of the area that is now Saudi were known as
Bedouin (nomads) (). They remain a significant and very influential component of the indigenous Saudi population, though many who call themselves "badu" (nomad) no longer engage in "traditional tribal activities" and are instead settled.
[Long, Culture and Customs, 2009: p.79–80] According to authors Harvey Tripp and Peter North, the Bedouin make up most of the judiciary, religious leaders, and National Guard (which protects the throne) of the country. Bedouin culture is "actively" preserved by the government.
Nowadays, most bedouins have been urbanized, living in towns or cities, but they still designate themselves as nomads and speak
Bedouin Arabic as opposed to the dialects of the sedentary tribes or urban centers.
Greetings
Greetings in Saudi Arabia have been called "formal and proscribed" and lengthy. Saudis (specifically men) tend "to take their time and converse for a bit when meeting". Inquiries "about health and family" are customary, but never about a man's wife, as this "is considered disrespectful."
[Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: p.89]
Dress
The religion and customs of Saudi Arabia dictate not only conservative dress for men and women, but a uniformity of dress unique to most of West Asia.
Traditionally, the different regions of Saudi have had different dress, but since the re-establishment of Saudi rule these have been reserved for festive occasions, and "altered if not entirely displaced" by the dress of the homeland of their rulers (i.e.
Najd).
[Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.57-9]
In Saudi Arabia, women were required to cover in public.[Sanders, Eli. Interpreting veils: Meanings have changed with politics, history. The Seattle Times. 27 May 2003. Web. 30 Oct. 2009.] However, in March 2018, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman claimed that women could choose what to wear in public, provided it met certain standards, when he stated, "The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear".[Kalin, S. Saudi women should be able to choose whether to wear head cover or black abaya in public, says Crown Prince. Retrieved 19.03.2018][Tripp, Culture Shock, 2009: pp.92-4]
Foreign women were required to wear an abaya, but did not need to cover their hair. Many Saudi women also normally wear a full face veil, such as a niqāb. Women's clothes are often decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliqués.
In recent years it is common to wear Western dress underneath the abaya. Foreign women in Saudi Arabia are "encouraged" by the religious police to wear an abaya, or at least cover their hair, according to the New York Times.[Tripp, Culture Shock, 2003: p.108]
Saudi men and boys, whatever their job or social status, wear the traditional dress called a Thawb or thawb, which has been called the "Arabic dress".
-
Ghutrah ( ) is a traditional keffiyeh headdress worn by men in the Arabian peninsula. It is made of a square of usually finer cotton cloth ("scarf"), folded and wrapped in various styles (usually a triangle) around the head. It is commonly worn in areas with an arid climate, to provide protection from direct sun exposure, and also protection of the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand.
-
Agal ( ) is an item of Arab headgear constructed of cord which is fastened around the keffiyeh to hold it in place. The agal is usually black in colour.
-
Abaya ( ) is a women's hijab worn by women when leaving the house. It is a black cloak that covers the entire body except for the head, although some abayas also cover the top of the head.
-
Hejazi turban ( ) is a type of the turban headdress native to the region of Hejaz in modern-day western Saudi Arabia; it is but one version of Arabian turbans that have been worn in the Arabian Peninsula from the pre-Islamic era to the present day, but in general nowadays most Hejazis wear Keffiyeh ( ) instead.
-
Thawb ( ) is the standard Arabic word for garment. It is ankle length, woven from wool or cotton, usually with long sleeves similar to a robe.
-
Bisht ( ) is a traditional long, white, brown or black Arabic cloak trimmed in gold worn by men. It is usually only worn for prestige on special occasions such as weddings, or in chilly weather.
More recently, Western dress, particularly and jeans have become quite common leisurewear, particularly in Jeddah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province.[Long, Culture and Customs, 2005: pp.60-1]
Traditional footwear is leather sandals but most footwear is now imported.
Religion
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law requires that all citizens be Muslims.
[ The government does not legally protect the freedom of religion.][ Human Rights Watch, World Report 2013 . Saudi Arabia.] Freedom of Expression, Belief, and Assembly.][ Amnesty International, Annual Report 2013, Saudi Arabia , Discrimination – Shi'a minority]
Islam
The official form of Islam is the Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam. According to official statistics, 90% of Saudi citizens are , and 10% Shia.[ More than 30% of the population is made up of foreign workers][(Sir Richard Burton in 1853) The Highly Civilized Man: Richard Burton and the Victorian world| By Dane KENNEDY, Dane Keith Kennedy| Harvard University Press|][(Ludovico di Barthema in 1503) The Arabian Nights: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1001 Nights ...) edited by Richard F. Burton]
Non-Muslims
The large number of foreign workers living in Saudi Arabia (7.5 million expatriates in 2013
Policy of exclusion
According to scholar Bernard Lewis, the Saudi policy of excluding non-Muslims from permanent residence in the country is a continuation of an old and widely accepted Muslim policy. While Saudi Arabia does allow non-Muslims to live in Saudi Arabia to work or do business, they may not practice religion publicly. According to the government of the United Kingdom:The public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal; as is an intention to convert others. However, the Saudi authorities accept the private practice of religions other than Islam, and you can bring a Bible into the country as long as it is for your personal use. Importing larger quantities than this can carry severe penalties.
Saudi Arabia still gives citizenship to people from other countries.
Census
The first official population census of Saudi Arabia was in 1974. It had 6,218,361 Saudi nationals and 791,105 non-nationals for a total of 7,009,466. Of those, 5,147,056 people were settled and the number of nomads recorded were 1.86 million.
Until the 1960s, much of the population was nomadic or seminomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. 80% of Saudis live in three major urban centers—Riyadh, Jeddah, or Dammam.
According to the 2022 census, Saudi nationals represented approximately 18,800,000 making up 58.4% of the total population of Saudi Arabia.[7]
Genetics
DNA tests of Y chromosomes from representative sample of Saudis have been analyzed for composition and frequencies of haplogroups: a plurality (71.02%) belong to haplogroup J1-M267. Other frequent haplogroups include haplogroup J2-M172 (2.68%), A (0.83%), B (1.67%), E1b1a (1.50%), E1b1b (11.05%), G (1.34%), H (0.33%), L (1.00%), Q (1.34%), R1a (2.34%), R1b (0.83%), T (2.51%), and P (1.50%).
See also
Bibliography
