honor and the sentiments of loss in a Bedouin society

Beginning with the observation that among the Awlād c Alī Bedouins of the Egyptian Western Desert individuals respond to personal loss with two contradictory sets of sentiments, one expressed in ordinary language and public interactions and the other expressed in a form of poignant lyric poetry spontaneously recited in intimate contexts, this paper explores the significance of the coexistence of discrepant discourses on emotion for understanding the relationship between the self and cultural ideals. For Awlād c Alī, like others in circum‐Mediterranean societies, the cultural ideals are those entailed by the honor code. Analysis of the links between this code and the two discourses reveals the complexity of the relationship between cultural ideology and individual experience and its articulation. [self and emotion, ideology, honor code, poetry, Middle East Bedouins, loss]