The Stranger and the System of Tribal Values in Pre-Islamic Poetry: A Cultural Study

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of the "strange" (or uncanny) in tribal relations within pre-Islamic (Jahili) society from a cultural perspective, as a manifestation of the strangeness of behavior, rituals, and symbolic representations that governed tribal life. It proceeds from the hypothesis that tribal relations were not merely social systems, but rather a cultural structure that reshaped concepts of honor, identity, and collective existence through practices of an eccentric or bizarre nature. The research focuses on blood revenge (thar), alliance (hilf), clientage (muwālāt), tribal pride (fakhr), and the role of women in incitement, while analyzing rituals such as the rejection of blood money (diya), the legend of the "Hāmah" (the soul/owl of the slain), and the alliances of blood and fire. The study reveals that these practices represent cultural manifestations expressing the group's anxiety over its survival, transforming tribal values into symbolic rituals charged with sanctification and exaggeration. The study relies on the analysis of poetic texts and traditional narratives (akhbār) to uncover the symbolic connotations of strange imagery in pre-Islamic poetry. It concludes that the "strange" in tribal relations was not merely an aesthetic element, but a means of consolidating the tribe's authority and the values of group solidarity ('aṣabiyyah) and honor in the collective consciousness. The study recommends expanding research into the representations of the "strange" in pre-Islamic culture and linking them to the social and symbolic structures that shaped the Arab tribal consciousness.