Jordan River |
Culture & The River jordan
OVerview
This segment of the website will attempt to explain how the River Jordan has either directly affected the culture of societies around it, or how it affected the environment in which these civilizations inhabited. Though nothing can be said for certain, this portion of the site will explore the Jordan’s surroundings at various points in time.
Chapter 1: Origins
Our journey begins some 13 000 years ago in the Near East, in a region referred to as the Fertile Crescent. More specifically, the Jordan River was housed in an area referred to as the Levant Belt (See figure 1). In this area, proximity to water and relatively high levels of precipitation harbored some of the most fertile soils in the whole subcontinent. (Go figure, fertile crescent, fertile lands...Ahhh... Simpler times). On account of this favorable land, it is hypothesized that more wild grain grew here than other places, such as the arid shrub lands where steppic vegetation grew (Bar-Yosef). The increase in edible plant density per cubic meter near water eventually drew hunter-gatherer societies into the Levant Belt, as it did in various locations about the world, such as the Yangtze and Nile Rivers; a concept explained and illustrated by Gary Beckman in his lecture about early Mesopotamian societies (Beckman). Bands of individuals at this point in history relied on the processing of wild grasses and legumes as well as the capturing of animals, such as fallow deer, wild boar, ibex, goats, hare, gazelle and sheep in the Mediterranean (Bar-Yosef). Equipped to exploit the natural resources of this Levant Belt, one community of individuals did just that, a population known as the Natufian. This group, regarded as one of the first to become semi-sedentary in a time of mobility, reaped great benefits from the fertile lands about the Jordan. The Natufian people, hypothesized to be some of the first farmers in human history, formed semi-permanent social structures that allowed for more complex cultural formation. Artifacts, such as domestic structures, kilns, pottery, art, burial grounds, and even ritualistic alters/benches/tables are a testament to their advancements(Bar-Yosef). Most notably, experts also claim that sickles were invented by this culture, depicting the great importance placed on agricultural cultivation (Speth). Thus, the effects that the River Jordan had on soils and precipitation patterns in areas of Fertile Crescent, such as the Jordan River Valley, made the formation of semi-sedentary civilizations possible (Bar-Yosef). Once grounded, the division of labor allowed for populations, such as the Natufian, to form more complex residences, forms of art, innovative technology, and lasting cultural artifacts; which likely lead to more rapid cultural development than in entirely mobile communities.
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Chapter 2: DEPENDENCE
Moving out of the speculative eras of prehistory, the next chapter of our observational journey begins at the start of the Bronze Age. During this period, approximately from 3300 to 1200 BCE, patterns of sequential, recurring events begin to form. Populations of Israelites that inhabited the lands about the Jordan River gradually improved agricultural practices, intensifying use of the farmland made fertile by high amount of precipitation. Jews, such as those settled near the Forests of Gilead and Bashan, formed sedentary town and village settlements, not unbeknownst to other societies (Berenbaum). Envying their success, nomads of the desert lands plundered these settlements, exploiting the mastery of the Israelite. Processes analogous to this pilfering occurred again and again; the Jews would prove agricultural superiority, some other group would notice and siphon their products, but would leave the communities intact, as to allow for further exploitation. This type of mistreatment was tolerated by the early Israelites until the Hasmonean Period, which spanned from approximately 142-63 BCE (Berenbaum). During this era, the Jews revolted against their Gentile oppressors, resulting in a redistribution of wealth, goods, and land. Despite this just shift in resources, the Jews predominantly remained farmers. Therefore, up until the Byzantine-Muslim period, or until 975 CE, Israelites were the key factor ensuring agricultural prosperity. After this period, crusading populations drove the Jews out of their homeland, and suffered irreparable decreases in harvested material as a result (Berenbaum). In synopsis, due to the irrigation Near Eastern bodies of water supplied, and the long history Israelite communities had with this land, this demographic to develop the most efficient agricultural techniques. Once their mastery was realized by other groups, the Jews became labeled as farmers or pastoralists, profoundly affecting their rituals, beliefs, relationships, and, ultimately, their cultural identity.
Chapter 3: Approaching the Curve
![Picture](/uploads/4/8/7/0/48707239/653964577.png)
Zoom forward a few hundred years (harhar, zoom) and now, the fun begins. This chapter of the River Jordan’s little big history narrative can best be defined by the onset of scarcity in the twentieth century. The formation of distinct nations, reliant on The River Jordan for water, waste disposal and electricity, has created great tension in the Near East. Instead of a sharing culture, the noncooperation between these sovereign states has festered to the point of hatred. The political struggles endured on account of this necessary sharing are immense, and are further explored here. The desires for unequal partitioning of the water and its banks was depicted by the international conflict known as The Six Day War. The battle, though short, had lasting implications for Israel, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. In response to the deployment of Egyptian military troops near the Sinai-Isreal border, Israel took preliminary action, destroying the Egyptian and Syrian air force bases by air raids. Then, catching their opposition by surprise, Israel invaded and captured The Gaza Strip, The West Bank, and The Golan Heights from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria respectively (See Figure 3). By seizing control of the West Bank, Israel established a distinct boarder between itself and Jordan, a divide being signified by the River Jordan (Wolf). Thus, the Israelis sacrificed their generally benign relationship with neighboring nations out of fear of attack, to increase owned land in contact with the invaluable bodies of water, and to increase the size of their state trifold (Oren, Michael (April 2002). Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oxford University Press). But, after the signing of a ceasefire, landmass was not the only element of Israel that expended, so too did their population, economy, rates of tourism, and cultural identity. In fact, historians maintain that the American Jew was now able to, “walk with their backs straight and flex their political muscle as never before,” (Oren). Thus, the successful capturing of lands bordering the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, as well as the thwarting of militarily superior countries, caused a spike in Israeli nationalism and pride for the Jewish culture globally. This victory for the Jews revived a culture that had been suppressed since the end of The Second World War.
Chapter 4: Scarcity
![Picture](/uploads/4/8/7/0/48707239/100412250.jpg?747)
The final chapter of the Jordan River’s narrative that we will be explored is the current chapter, and unfortunately, the most tumultuous. The Jordan, now riddled with dams, surrounded by landmines, and saturated with filth, is ecologically suffering (More details here). Though it was never exactly a humbling, or awe-inspiring natural phenomena, the flow of this once vast river has been reduced to that of a creek in many locations (See Figure 4 above). During an interview with Evyn Kropf, a research librarian for Near Eastern and Religious studies here at the University of Michigan (http://www.lib.umich.edu/users/ekropf), I learned a great deal about the river and the societies surrounding it. When asked about her opinion of the River Jordan’s ecological stature, she almost scoffed. Although I understood that it has drastically reduced in size, I didn't realize that the stream appears almost unworthy of a bridge in some segments! Also, although sediment and eroded materials are expected to be flowing through almost any body of water, Kropf informed me that the water was beyond murky, approaching opaque. Hearing a firsthand account such as this drastically changed the notions I held in my mind about this, “holy,” body of water. Upon further pondering and research, I was moderately disgusted to find that people still make pilgrimages to the Jordan’s banks and submerge themselves in the unrefined water, as to replicate the baptism of Jesus, said to have occurred there. An even more surprising finding discovered during my research is the fact that Prince George, son of Kate Middleton and Prince William, was baptized with water from the Jordan (Reuters)!
In our conversation, Evyn relayed interesting cultural practices undergone on both sides of the water. She explained how water-intensive tasks taken for granted in the western world, such as washing dishes, or showering daily are not feasible. Due to the fact that each household or apartment has a specific sized water tank, and these tanks were only filled once a week, inordinate usage would result in personal droughts. Therefore, the scarcity of water causes Jordanian and Israel citizens to perform various tasks on one specific day, the day the water tanks are being filled and cannot be depleted. Firsthand accounts such as these provide invaluable insight into how affected by the Jordan River’s contents can be on Near Eastern nations.
The Jordan has deteriorated so much that, in 2008, The World Monuments Fund declared the lower Jordan River an, “Endangered Cultural Heritage Site,” (http://www.wmf.org/). This international organization dedicated to the conservation of natural sites rich in culture and historic value acted as a call to action, motivating Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian citizens to begin pressuring their governments to take action. Groups, such as Friends of Earth Middle East (FoEME), have gone to great lengths to attempt to promote peace and friendly interdependence between countries bordering the Jordan. In 2010, 3 members of this organization -one from Israel, Jordan, and Palestine- attended the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium to raise awareness of the importance of rehabilitation of natural resources in the Near East, specifically the River Jordan (http://foeme.org/www/?module=events&record_id=66). Though some time has elapsed since their initial attempts, FoEME successfully assisted in establishing an Israeli-Jordan cooperative project. Despite its main focus being pest control, the agreement also states that Israeli farmers will help Jordanians develop more ecologically friendly agricultural techniques; regarded as a great step in the formation of amiable bonds between the nations (http://foeme.org/www/?module=media_releases&record_id=132). Perhaps the key to peace in the Near East is joint work on a very pressing superordinate goal.
Finally, in a strikingly timeless 1968 article, Joachim Ronall critiques a Jordan River Partition proposed by Georgiana Stevens a few years prior, raising interesting and still relevant points. Commenting on how under appreciated the hatred between Jordan, Syria, Israel, and Palestine was at that time, Ronall suggests that this discontent stems from political disagreement; the Israeli believe in their right to have unlimited immigration and the Arabs scorn the nation for illegitimacy and displacing so many Palestinians (Ronall). Regardless of cause, the article notes the deleterious effects this refusal of cooperation could be for natural resources as well as the nations’ economies. Today, with Syrian refugees overpopulating Jordan as the Palestinians did years ago, and the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran, an end to the hatred and scarcity of water in the Near East may not seem realistic. The only way sustainability can be reached for nations about the Jordan River may very well be to put aside their differences and work together for survival.
In our conversation, Evyn relayed interesting cultural practices undergone on both sides of the water. She explained how water-intensive tasks taken for granted in the western world, such as washing dishes, or showering daily are not feasible. Due to the fact that each household or apartment has a specific sized water tank, and these tanks were only filled once a week, inordinate usage would result in personal droughts. Therefore, the scarcity of water causes Jordanian and Israel citizens to perform various tasks on one specific day, the day the water tanks are being filled and cannot be depleted. Firsthand accounts such as these provide invaluable insight into how affected by the Jordan River’s contents can be on Near Eastern nations.
The Jordan has deteriorated so much that, in 2008, The World Monuments Fund declared the lower Jordan River an, “Endangered Cultural Heritage Site,” (http://www.wmf.org/). This international organization dedicated to the conservation of natural sites rich in culture and historic value acted as a call to action, motivating Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian citizens to begin pressuring their governments to take action. Groups, such as Friends of Earth Middle East (FoEME), have gone to great lengths to attempt to promote peace and friendly interdependence between countries bordering the Jordan. In 2010, 3 members of this organization -one from Israel, Jordan, and Palestine- attended the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium to raise awareness of the importance of rehabilitation of natural resources in the Near East, specifically the River Jordan (http://foeme.org/www/?module=events&record_id=66). Though some time has elapsed since their initial attempts, FoEME successfully assisted in establishing an Israeli-Jordan cooperative project. Despite its main focus being pest control, the agreement also states that Israeli farmers will help Jordanians develop more ecologically friendly agricultural techniques; regarded as a great step in the formation of amiable bonds between the nations (http://foeme.org/www/?module=media_releases&record_id=132). Perhaps the key to peace in the Near East is joint work on a very pressing superordinate goal.
Finally, in a strikingly timeless 1968 article, Joachim Ronall critiques a Jordan River Partition proposed by Georgiana Stevens a few years prior, raising interesting and still relevant points. Commenting on how under appreciated the hatred between Jordan, Syria, Israel, and Palestine was at that time, Ronall suggests that this discontent stems from political disagreement; the Israeli believe in their right to have unlimited immigration and the Arabs scorn the nation for illegitimacy and displacing so many Palestinians (Ronall). Regardless of cause, the article notes the deleterious effects this refusal of cooperation could be for natural resources as well as the nations’ economies. Today, with Syrian refugees overpopulating Jordan as the Palestinians did years ago, and the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran, an end to the hatred and scarcity of water in the Near East may not seem realistic. The only way sustainability can be reached for nations about the Jordan River may very well be to put aside their differences and work together for survival.