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Essay of pastoralism
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Sutton Anderson Chapter 8
Pastoralism is the form of agriculture where the domestication and use of animals are used for the primary means of food production. There is a relationship among the animals and humans. The humans give the animals’ protection and guaranteed reproduction. Animals give humans food and other products. Most pastoral groups are loose tribes moving around, yet the household is the primary organization.
Three types of pastoralism exist, (1) nomadic (groups are very mobile and rely heavily on their animals), (2) semi-nomadic (groups are less mobile and animal products are supplemented by horticulture), and (3) semi-sedentary, (groups that are not very mobile and horticulture is a major aspect to the way of life). Herdsman husbandry and sedentary animal husbandry are components of larger agricultural systems.
Herbivores are used in pastoralism; animals include reindeer, horses, sheep, camels, cattle, and others. The origin of pastoralism is unknown; however it is believed that it arose from an agricultural system. The animals live in pastures and feed there. Grazers primarily eat grasses and low-growing plants. Browsers eat primarily foliage from bushes and trees. This makes it possible to have different species on the same pasture (habitat) while occupying different niches. Careful management of the pastures is essential for the group’s survival. Animal products include meat, blood, milk, hides, hair, wool, and dung. Most groups supplement these products with horticulture, trade and wild resources.
Unmanaged or poorly managed use of pastures can led to damage of ecosystems. The current practice of changing forest into pasture lands is causing considerable damage. The Maasai of East Africa provide us with an example of properly managed pastures. The Maasai burn brush to create pasture land, when the herd must be moved so that the pasture can regain its strength, other animals such as deer and small wild pigs enter the fallow fields, thus creating another resource of food for them. The governments of Kenya and Tanzania took about 75% of the Maasai lands to use for tourism. The land soon began to grow over and the brush took over. The large game that the government was counting on to create revenue from the tourists began to leave to find more suitable land. The governments are slowly giving the Maasai people their land back in hope that their properly managed pastures can bring the large game back.
The Navajo of the American Southwest are an example of semi sedentary pastoralists.
o They grow crops and have herds yet are all based on kinship and are don't have developed markets or governments.
“Conservation and Globalization” written by Jim Igoe looks at issues brought upon by westerners such as not only enclosing lands belonging to the Maasai, but also installing their beliefs of economics and cultural construction brought on by private conservative companies in East Africa, more specifically Tanzania. Issues that are explained is the regulation of land that Maasai call home. Westerners did so by creating national parks, Maasai Mara, Amboseli Reserve, and Tarangire National Park. Igoe explains in the first chapter in his book of how the Maasai lived. Before colonialism, conservation, and regulation, the Maasai were pastoralist and had herds of cattle. Now the Maasai are struggling to keep their herding traditions and are forced into subsistence farming (Igoe 2004: 5). The Maasai believe that when God created Earth, they were entitled to all cattle on Earth. This leads to the Maasai to take cattle by force from other ethnic groups surrounding them. Conservation and Globalization are mentioned throughout the book. Westerners use these ideas to run the Maasai out of their homeland and lock them out of their grazing lands. The idea of these indigenous people couldn’t appreciate this land and didn’t know how to fully use their resources are heavily racist.
Kellems, Richard O., and D. C. Church. Livestock Feeds and Feeding. 6th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
The Libyan Bedouin are a pastoral people, moving as needed through the Sahara desert with their sheep, goats, and camels. Their movements depend largely upon the seasons due to lack of vegetation and water in the lowlands during the dry season. They also cultivate small plots of cereal grains during the wet season on the desert plateaus and oases of Libya (Behnke, 1980).
Due to limited resources and inability to farm and create an agricultural society, The herding of animals to hunt for food allowed for advantage in battles. Allowing them to ride longer during battle and even used herded animals in their war tactics. For instance the “nerge” which was a tactic that was originally used to herd animals, was transformed into a tactic used in battles. as tribes grew and became more competitive and aggressive it became a useful tactic. Surround the enemy so that all sides were surrounded. Nomads traded and competed for these resources survival by any means necessary. This includes defending or pillaging rival tribes in sight of resources and goods.
In his book “Cattle Brings Us to Our Enemies”, McCabe does a 16-year stint in East Africa, specifically in Northern Kenya, doing research on the Turkana. He does this through STEP, the South Turkana Ecosystem Project. In “Cattle Bring Us to Our Enemies”, McCabe follows four families through his years in Kenya and notes how they live in a very demanding environment. He uses ecological data to analyze how and why the Turkana people make decisions about their everyday life. McCabe focuses on four main areas of study: how the Turkana survive and adapt to a stressful environment by nomadic pastoralism, how the techniques used to extract resources and manage livestock modify the environment, the effects of the environmental and cultural practices have on
"The Importance of Livestock." CGIAR News. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, 1997. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
as pastoral farmers are faced with declining amounts of land and water for their cattle,
Most Sherpa settlements are found at altitudes of 3,000 to 6,000 meters. These high altitude environments are prone to unpredictable climatic and geomorphological conditions. Growing seasons are short, and there is often the risk of early frosts or snowstorms. The slopes are steep and farming and grazing is often difficult (Stevens 1993: 57). However, despite these challenges, the Sherpa have managed to subsist in their environment by employing a system of agro-pastoralism. This method combines stationary village agriculture with a nomadic system of herding (Bishop 1998:25). This way of life has been crucial to Sherpa survival.
Although, the farming was becoming increasingly popular in this period(neomatic people) however, this period also witnessed the domestication of wild animals. Since, early agriculture had changed the nomadic life and culture for forever, the domestication of wild animals started at the same time as the domestication of plants. People started domesticating the wild animals for many reason, as they abandon their neomatic lifestyle and begin farming. Goats and sheep were the few of many animals to be early domesticated for, meat, milk and skins. They also started selectively breeding animals for their desire of better milk production and meat. The region also saw a rapid growth on domestication and breeding of wild animals, leading towards pastoralism. The raising livestock population had also brought significant difference on people’s life. “The domestication of large animals dramatically increased the power available to humans to carry out their tasks, which had both an immediate effect in the societies in which this happened and a long-term effect…”(page 9 history of western society). Domestication of animals allowed farmers to use them on plowing a field, which not only reduced time of farmers, but also resulted a high
Grazing management is when the grazing habits of animals on pastures are controlled. Good grazing management requires young, fresh leafy grass at a vegetative stage of growth available to grazing animals at all times. The aim is to graze for 220 to 240 days per year.
People are using and altering the savanna biome in many different ways. This includes making savanna’s smaller and using the area for new industrializations. People are using the savanna for tourist attractions. As we, people are using the savannas’ for tourist attractions we are polluting the savanna’s all across the world.
The Maasai People from Kenya represent a pastoral society. They rely on the taming and herding of livestock as a means for survival. Those responsible for herding livestock are the Maasai warriors and boys, especially during drought season. They had cattle, goats and sheep as their livestock. I did notice a social transformation in their society. Each individual has their job to complete daily. For example, the women formed the houses, milked the cattle, cooked for the family and supplied them with water. The men made the fence around the Kraal and secured the society and the boys were responsible for herding livestock. These multiple duties, commanded by the elderly, eventually started emerging to new and different customs such as trading with local groups. This was
Interestingly, most ancient Zulu tribes practice pastoralist and lives in more arid lands. The reason is natives of the Zulu tribe have always inhabited desert lands to remain traditional because their territory is not much valuable and desired to be confiscated by outsiders.
PASTORAL SOCIETIES are societies in which animals are domesticated and raised for food in pastures. Care of animals in the pastoral society still consumes a large portion of time for most of its members. Pastoral societies are also at risk of animal diseases or droughts. These societies do not have the technologies that post-industrial societies have to guard against food shortage. Pastoral society does not afford as much time for leisure as does the post-industrial society. This society does not have the technologies that post-industrial societies have to guard against food shortage. The pastorals are nomadic, and sometimes endure harsh and even dangerous environments in their journeys. Medical technology is also low, so physical pain and death are more common than in post-industrial society. Pastoral societies tended to develop in arid regions where there was insufficient rainfall to raise crops on the land. Pastoral societies were usually nomadic, moving on to a new area after the animals had exhausted the food supply in each pasture.