Pastoralism
Pastoralism is an economy based on herding.
Pastoralists maintain herds
of animals and use their products to support
themselves directly and to exchange
with other civilizations. It is
especially associated with such terrain as
steppes, rolling hills,
grasslands, and the like-areas of low rainfall where
cultivation is difficult
without irrigation, but where grasses are plentiful
enough to support herds
of animals.1 Pastoralism was originally founded in the
old world.
Pastoralists are generally nomadic and usually follow their herds in
search
of food and water. Pastoral civilizations tend to be warlike and they
have a
difficult time trying to live at peace with settled agricultural
populations.
In areas where pastoralists and cultivators are in contact , the
pastoralists
generally have the advantage in prestige due to their superior
military
striking power.2 I will illustrate a few examples of pastoral groups
that are
warlike to prove that the first half of the statement is true. The
Masai
live among the wild animals on the rolling plains of the Rift Valley, one
of
the most beautiful parts of Africa.3 The Masai are strictly cattle
herders.
They do not farm the land, believing it to be a sacrilege to
break the earth.3
In contrast to their peaceful and harminous
relationship to the wildlife,
however, the Masai are warlike in relationship
to their neighboring tribes,
conducting cattle raids where they take women as
well as cattle for their prizes
and they have been fiercely independent in
resisting the attempts of colonial
governments to change or subdue them.3 The
amount of land that the Masai require
for their enormous herds of cattle is
not appreciated by people who use and
value the land more for agriculture
than for pasturage and for herds of wild
animals. Many people view the Masai
as thieves, but they do not believe in
stealing material objects. They have
strict laws against those that do steal
material objects. They believe that
when they raid other villages and steal
their cattle it is seen as returning
the cattle to their rightful owners. This
belief stems from the notion that
all cattle on the earth are theirs, and any
cattle they do not presently own
are only temporarily out of their care, and
must be recaptured.3 It from the
basic belief, an entire culture has grown. The
ground or area that the cattle
graze is considered sacred, everything from the
grass the cattle eat to the
water they drink. This is why that it is sacrilege
for them to break the
ground. The Indians of the Great Plains can be considered
pastoral or nomadic
group. They hunted the buffalo or bison on the plains. The
buffalo regulated
their lives, they followed the herds since it was their main
source for food.
They would move when the buffalo moved setting up camps with
the herds. The
Indians of the great plains were definitely warlike. They raided
other tribes
for women, horses, and food. They would extinguish anyone who
crossed their
land and attempted to raid their village. They performed war
dances or ghost
dances to get themselves prepared for war. The premise of
warfare was common
among all tribes on the Great Plains, but it goes hand in
hand with the
buffalo herds. The Hittites of Ancient Mesopotamia were a pastoral
group that
herded sheep, goats, and camel in the desert region located on the
outskirts
of Mesopotamia. They were one of the first nomadic groups to domestic
the
horse. Once they domesticated the horse it spelled doom for the groups in
the
surrounding areas. The Hittites could move farther and faster with
their
herds. They would destroy everything that got in the way of their
herds. They
destroyed several agricultural city-states and wiped out several
cultures in the
process. On the other hand it is true that pastoralist
societies cannot live
without agricultural societies because pastoralism is
not a self-sufficient way
of life. Pastoralism is a highly specialized form
of food production involving
the care of large animals. It has survived
mostly in places which cannot support
agriculture but can provide sufficient
pasture for a herd, as well as secondary
hunting-gathering opportunities.
Even though they are nomadic pastoral societies
tend to be more stratified
and have more social differentiation for instance,
craft specialization--than
those dependent upon food collection.1 There is also
an interdependence
between the pastoral group and agricultural groups in this
area.1 This
involves trade, which generally plays an important role, since a
pastoral
economy is often not self-sufficent.1 Finally pastoralist are
vulnerable to
food shortages, because their climates are subject to variations
in rainfall.
The Basseri are a prime example of a pastoral tribe that is not
self-
sufficient. The Basseri are a tribe of tent-dwelling, nomads living
in
southern Iran. They raise sheep and goats, though donkeys and camels
are
employed for draft work, and the more wealthier men have horses for
riding.1
They have a specified route and schedule that they follow. The
route refers to
the localities in the order they are visited and follows the
existing passes and
lines of communication; the schedule regulated the length
of time each location
will be occupied and depends on the maturation of
different pastures and the
movements of other tribes.1 Hunting and gathering
play no major role in their
economy( though hunting is a popular sport among
the men).1 Agriculture and
trading are a very important aspect to the lives
of the Basseri. The wealthier
Basseri practice agriculture indirectly.
However, most tribesman must obtain
through trade the necessities and luxury
items that are not produced within the
community.1 The staple items they sell
are butter, wool, lambskins, rope, and
occasionally livestock.1 In
conclusion, I am in agreement with the statement
that I chose. Pastoralist
societies are warlike and they do have difficulties
living at peace with
settled agricultural populations. Pastoralism to me seems
to be an
alternative to agricultural, but since pastoralism is
self-sufficient,
pastoralism is never independent of agricultural societies.
I found it
interesting to learn that some nomadic and pastoralist groups,
such as the
Basseri, do practice agricultural developments. I also agree
with the statement
that pastoralism cannot live without the agricultural
societies. If they do not
raise vegetables or some type of food they will
usually acquire them through
trade.4 All in all pastoralism is a efficent
means of extracting energy from a
harsh enviroment, it actually does produce
less energy per acre of land than
agriculture does. Finally, I found the
statement interesting, after I started to
research on the topic I found some
facts and statements that that I found really
intriguing and they contributed
to me comprehending the material
easier.