Nomad

Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. 1910

Pastoral nomads camping near Namtso, Tibet in 2005

Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. Many cultures have been traditionally nomadic, but nomadic behaviour is increasingly rare in industrialised countries. Typically there are two kinds of nomads, pastoral nomads and peripatetic nomads. Pastoralists raise herds and move with them so as not to deplete pasture beyond recovery in any one area. Peripatetic nomads are more common in industrialised nations travelling from place to place offering a trade wherever they go. Nomadism is suggested to have originated throughout three stages that accompany population growth and an increase in the density of social organization. Sadr has suggested the following stages:

• Pastoralism This is a mixed economy with a symbiosis within the family.
• Agropastoralism This is when symbiosis is between segments or clans within an ethnic group.
• True Nomadism This is when symbiosis is at the regional level, mostly it starts between specialized nomadic and agricultural populations.

Nomadic lifestyle

(Nomads) were bands of travelers who moved from campsite to campsite, while following game and types of grain or fruits. It (a nomadic lifestyle) consisted of staying short periods at a campsite, and then picking up and leaving when the food moved. They (nomads) had a basically easy life with enough to eat and few possessions.

Attributes of nomads

Due to the nomads fateful decision, much lay in store for humankind. They left behind their easy life (see Nomadic Lifestyle above) for a life of hard work, enough to eat (as before) and economic surplus. As archeologist V. Gordon Childe said; "...a mild acquistiveness could now take its place among human desires." The decision made seperately by thousands of little bands (of nomads)over tens of thousands of eyars to join in the civilization of society led to men and women setteling down and a prosperous life of farming and herding.

History of nomadic peoples

Nomadic pastoralism seems to have developed as a part of the secondary products revolution proposed by Kurt Flannery, in which early pre-pottery neolithic cultures, that had used animals in order to store live meat (on the hoof) began also using animals for their secondary products, for example, milk, wool, hides, manure and traction.

The first nomadic pastoral society developed in the period from 6200 - 6000 B.C.E. in the area of the southern Levant. There during a period of increasing aridity, PPNB cultures in the Sinai were replaced by a nomadic pastoral pottery using culture, which seems to have been a cultural fusion between a newly arrived mesolithic people from Egypt (the Harifian culture), adopting their nomadic hunting lifestyle to the raising of stock. This quickly developed into what Jaris Yurins has called the circum-Arabian nomadic pastoral techno-complex and is possibly assocoated with the appearance of Semitic languages in the region of the Ancient Near East. The rapid spread of such nomadic pastoralism was typical of such later developments as of the Yamnaya culture of the horse and cattle nomads of the Eurasian steppe, or of the Turko-Mongol spread of the later Middle Ages.

Wu Hu

Wu Hu (Chinese: 五胡; pinyin: Wǔ Hú; literally "Five Hu") is a collective term for various non-Chinese steppe tribes during the period from the Han Dynasty to the Northern Dynasties. These nomadic tribes originally resided outside China proper, but gradually migrated into Chinese areas during the years of turmoil between the Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms. These non-Chinese tribes, whom the Han had fought to a standstill, seized the opportunity afforded by the weakness of the central government to extend their settlement of pastoral lands into the fertile North China Plain.

The Rebellion of the Eight Kings during the Western Jin Dynasty triggered a large scale Wu Hu uprising from 304, which resulted in the sacking the Chinese capitals at Luoyang (311) and Chang'an. The Xiongnu Kingdom of Han-Former Zhao captured and executed the last two Jin emperors as the Western Jin Dynasty collapsed in 317. Many Chinese fled to the south of Yangtze River as numerous tribesmen of the Wu Hu and remnants of the Jin wreaked havoc in the north. Fu Jiān temporarily unified the north but his brilliant achievement was destroyed after the Battle of Feishui. The Northern Wei Dynasty unified northern China again in 439 and ushered in the period of the Northern Dynasties.

The term Wu Hu was first used in Cui Hong's Shiliuguochunqiu, which recorded the history of the five tribes' ravaging Northern China from the early 4th century to the mid 5th century. Wu Hu means "five nomadic groups", hence the alternative "Five Hu." The most accepted composition of Wu Hu included five nomadic tribes: Xiōngnú (匈奴, sometimes identified with the Huns), Xiānbēi (鮮卑), Dī (氐), Qiāng (羌), and Jié (羯) although different groups of historians and historiographers have their own definitions.

After later historians determined that more than five nomadic tribes took part, Wu Hu has become a collective term for all non-Chinese nomads residing in North China at the time. The time at which the ravages occurred is called The Period of Wu Hu (五胡時代) or the Wu Hu Chaos in China (五胡亂華, literally "Five Hú Wreak-havoc-on China"). States founded by Wu Hu were called the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Nomadic people in industrialized nations

Roma and Sinti

Kalderash

The Kalderash are one of the largest groups within the Roma people. They were traditionally smiths and metal workers. Their name means "cauldron buider". Many gypsies living in Romania, have the surname "Caldararu" which means they or their ancestors belonged to this clan or "satra" as it is known in their language. They typically were bronze and gold workers. As their traditional crafts become less profitable, they are trying to find new ways of coping, and are facing difficulties assimilating, as education is not a priority within the culture.

Gitanos

The Gitanos (IPA /xitanos/ or /hitanos/) are a Roma people that live in Spain, Portugal, and southern France. Gitanos is a Spanish name, in southern France they are known as Gitans or more generally Tziganes (includes the other French Roma) and in Portugal they are known as Ciganos. Similarly to the English word gypsy, the name Gitano comes from Egiptiano (Egyptian), because in past centuries it was thought their origins were in the country of Egypt. Today, however, it is generally thought that their origin lies in the Punjab region of India.

After losing their original Romany language, they used Caló, a jargon with Spanish grammar and Romany vocabulary. "Caló" means "dark" in Caló and the Caló word for "Gitano" is calé, also "the dark ones". Caló is one of the influences of later Germanía and modern Spanish slang and criminal jargon.

Vocally, The Gitano characterize the flamenco by giving precendence of emotion over text, with emotional outbursts and extended vowels. This is typical of Gypsy song in general.

Gitanos are said to never use a whip on a horse, mule, or donkey. As a result, they have a reputation as excellent horse-trainers.

Pavee

Irish Travellers are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. They refer to themselves as The Pavee. An estimated 25,000 Travellers live in Ireland, 15,000 in Great Britain and 10,000 in the United States.

Irish Travellers are distinguished from the settled communities of the countries in which they live by their own language and customs. Shelta is the traditional language of Travellers but they also speak English with a distinct accent and mannerisms. The historical origins of Travellers as a group has been a subject of dispute. Some argue that the Irish Travellers are descended from another nomadic people called the Tarish. It was once widely believed that Travellers were descended from landowners who were made homeless in Oliver Cromwell's military campaign in Ireland, but evidence shows that they have dwelt in Ireland since at least the Middle Ages.

Several known groups in the United States include the Northern and Southern Travellers (each of which have their own subcategories) and the Western Travellers. The Traveller language (Shelta) is dying out and only the older Travellers still know the language completely.

Some of the marriage customs, at least in the Southern Travellers (Memphis and "Georgies"), allow for 11 year old girls to be engaged to be married to 20+ year old men. Weddings occur as young as 12 or 13^{[citation needed]}, often to a first or second cousin. Because in Traveller culture men are the ones who provide for the wife and family, a girl's main goal is to marry. The bride's parents pay the groom's parents a dowry, which in some cases can be quite substantial.

The Traveller lifestyle often produces friction in the community, especially in urban areas. Labels such as gypsy (this term, although offensive to both groups, is more properly applied to the Roma people), and pikey are common in Great Britain. The derogatory terms gyppo and gypolata, derived from gypsy, are also heard in Great Britain.

Like other nomadic groups in Europe and the Americas, Travellers are often accused of robbery, scams, and other delinquent behaviour. An October 11, 2002 Dateline NBC article suggests that Travellers habitually defraud their neighbors, demanding high prices for substandard day labor [[1]]. Additionally, cases of seizure of land by illicit means and intimidation, disregard for process (e.g. planning legislation) and the subsequent characteristic environmental damage lend support to the popular perception of endemic criminality.

Traveller advocates counter that Travellers are a distinct ethnic group with an ancient history, and there is no statistical evidence that Traveller presence raises the local crime rate (eg. Basildon in Essex, which has the largest Traveller population in the UK, has average crime rates for its population size, although this evidence is hardly conclusive). The struggle for equal rights for these transient people led to the passing of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 which safeguarded their rights, their lifestyle and culture.

Recent criticism against Travellers in the UK centers on Travellers who have bought land, built amenities without planning permission, and then fought eviction attempts by claiming it would be an abuse of human rights to remove them from their homes. The families applied for retrospective planning permission whilst they were living on their land. This received much media attention during the British 2005 General Election, after it was brought up by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard.

The use of retrospective planning permission arose after the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which Michael Howard brought through the Commons, started closing down many of the sites originally provided for the community. Howard advised that Travellers should buy their own land instead and assurances were made that they would be allowed to settle it.

However, a block to Travellers' attempts to follow this advice has emerged since, with a 2003 government survey finding that 96% of Travellers who applied for planning permission to settle on their land have had permission refused, compared to figures of less than 30% for the general population. Travellers have said that unless they use the retrospective technique, the closure of the caravan sites leaves them effectively homeless and unable to settle. Support networks have also pointed out that the number of retrospective planning applications brought by Travellers is dwarfed by both commercial and settled applications.

In a spate of 2004-5 evictions, concerns were raised internationally over the treatment of travellers, and allegations have been made of violence used in eviction attempts by publicly contracted groups, such as assault, and destruction of traveller property (eg. burning of caravans). Dale Farm, in Basildon, Essex has become the focus of a major legal case, as the council have refused to provide alternative sites for the travellers who currently occupy the ex-waste ground.

Indigenous nomadic peoples

Examples of indigenous nomadic peoples are Pygmies of Southern Africa, Ababdeh of Egypt, Bahktiari of Iran, The Bedouin desert-dwellers, Innu of Quebec and Labrador, Kuchis (Kochai) of Afghanistan, Tuaregs of West Africa, Nenets of Russia, Moken of Thailand and Myanmar, and the Bushmen of Southern Africa. Many Native Americans and Indigenous Australians were nomadic prior to Western contact, although they were not a pastoral people in that they did not systematically raise animals on whose products they depended.

Ababdeh

The Ababdeh are nomads living in the area between the Nile and the Red Sea, in the vicinity of Aswan in Egypt. This name refers to several such African tribes.

Some of them penetrated into Upper Egypt, where they earned a subsistence by the transportation of merchandise on their camels. They traded chiefly in senna, and in charcoal made of the acacia wood. Burckhardt regarded them as Arabs; Carl Ritter conjectured that they are descended from the people known, under the Roman emperors, as Blemmeyes; but Rüppell was of the opinion that they are a branch of the Ethiopean ethnic group established at Meroë. In their manner and customs (as of 1851), they were similar to the Bedouins.

Bakhtiari

The Bakhtiari (or Bakhtiyari) are a group of southwestern Iranian people.

A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (yaylāq, ييلاق) and winter quarters (qishlāq, قشلاق). Bakhtiaris speak Luri. Numerical estimates of their total population widely vary. In Khuzestan, Bakhtiari tribes are primarily concentrated in the eastern part of the province.

Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit the provinces of Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari, and Isfahan. In Iranian mythology, the Bakhtiari consider themselves to be descendants of Fereydun, a legendary hero from the Persian national epic, Shahnameh.

Many significant Iranian politicians and dignitaries are of Bakhtiari origin.

Innu

File:Innus.png

Innu communities of Québec and Labrador

The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what Canadians refer to as eastern Québec and Labrador, Canada. Their population in 2003 includes about 18,000 persons, of which 15,000 live in Québec. They are known to have lived on these lands as hunter-gatherers for several thousand years, living in tents made of animal skins. Their subsistance activities were historically centered on hunting and trapping caribou, moose, deer and small game. Their language, Montagnais or Innu-aimun, is spoken throughout Nitassinan, with certain dialect differences. Innu-aimun is related to the language spoken by the Cree of the James Bay region of Québec and Ontario.

The Innu people are frequently sub-divided into two groups, the Montagnais who live along the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in Québec, and the less numerous Naskapi ["inland people" in Innu-aimun] who live farther north. The Innu themselves recognize several distinctions (e.g. Mushuau Innut, Maskuanu Innut, Uashau Innut) based on different regional affiliations and various dialects of the Innu language.

The word "Naskapi" seems to have first made an appearance in the 17th century and was subsequently applied to Innu groups beyond the reach of missionary influence, most notably those living in the lands which bordered Ungava Bay and the northern Labrador coast, near the Inuit communities of northern Québec and northern Labrador. It is here that this term finally settled upon the northern most group of Innu, the Mushuau Innuts, or People of the Tundra. The Mushuau Innuts include family groups who bridge the dialect change from y to n as in "Iiyuu" versus "Innu" and today there are Mushuauinnu families living in Kawawachikamach, in Québec, and Natuashish (formerly Davis Inlet) and Sheshatshiu of Labrador. Some of the families of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach have close relatives in the Cree village of Whapmagoostui, on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay.

Since the 1990, this people has generally been known as the Innu, which means human being in Montagnais.

The Innu of Labrador and those living on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint-Lawrence have never officially surrendered their territory to Canada by way of treaty or other agreement. As the forest and mining operations began at the turn of the 20th century, the Innu became increasing settled in coastal communities and in the interior of Québec. The settlement of the Innu was furthermore encouraged by the Canadian government, the provinces of Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Catholic and Anglican churches, thus ending their nomadic lifestyle. However, with the gradual decline of traditional activities (hunting, trapping, fishing), life in these permanent settlements was often marred by high levels of alcoholism, substance abuse by children, domestic violence and suicide.

Survival International published in 1999 a scathing study of the Innu communities of Labrador and the impact of the Canadian government's policy of relocating them far away from their ancestral lands and preventing them from practising their ancient way of life. Survival International considered these policies to be in violation of international law and have drawn parallels with the treatment of Tibetans by the People's Republic of China. During the period from 1990 to 1997, according to the Survival International study, the Innu community of Davis Inlet, Labrador, had a suicide rate more than twelve times the Canadian average, and well over three times the rate often observed in isolated northern villages.

By 2000, the Innu community of Davis Inlet asked the Canadian government to step in and assist with a local addiction crisis and the community was moved, at their request, to a nearby location now known as Natuashish. At the same time, the Canadian government created the Natuashish and Sheshatshiu band councils under the Indian Act.

The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, of Québec, is the only Innu community that has signed a comprehensive land claims settlement, the Northeastern Quebec Agreement, in 1978. Since that date, the Naskapi of Kawawachikamach are no longer subject to the Indian Act, as are all the other Innu communities of Québec.

Kuchis (Kochai)

Kuchis are a tribe of Pashtun nomads in Afghanistan. They represent an estimated six million of Afghanistan's 25 million people. The group is singled out by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as one of the largest vulnerable populations in the country.

Moken

Moken kids near Surin Island, Thailand

A Moken boat

The Moken (sometimes called "Sea Gypsies", Thai: มอแกน; also called Salone or Salong) are an ethnic group with about 2,000 to 3,000 members who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture. Their Malayo-Polynesian language is originally from Malaya and likely immigrated to the Myanmar and Thailand areas from China 4,000 years ago. The group is unrelated to the Gypsy culture of Eurasia.

Their knowledge of the sea enables them to live off its organisms by using simple tools such as nets and spears to forage for food. What is not consumed is dried atop their boats, then used for trade at local markets for other necessities. During the monsoon season, they build additional boats while occupying temporary huts.

The Burmese and Thai governments have made attempts at assimilating the people into their own culture, but these efforts have failed. The Thai Moken have permanently settled in villages located on two islands: Phuket and Phi Phi. Many of the Burmese Moken are still nomadic people who roam the sea most of their lives in small hand-crafted wooden boats called Kabang, which serve not just as transporation, but also as kitchen, bedroom, living area. Unfortunately much of their traditional life, built on the premise of life as outsiders, is under threat and appears to be diminishing.

Those islands received much media attention in 2005 during the Southeast Asia Tsunami, where hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in the disaster.

The Moken's knowledge of the sea managed to spare all but one of their lives - one of an elderly, handicapped man. However, their settlements and about one-fifth of their boats were destroyed.

Mrazig

The Mrazig are a previously nomadic people who live in and around the town of Douz, Tunisia. Numbering around 50,000 they are the descendants of the Banu Saleim tribe who left the Arabian peninsula in the eighth century. They lived in Egypt, then Libya and finallty arrived in Tunisia in the thirteenth century.

Further reading

• Sadr, Karim. The Development of Nomadism in Ancient Northeast Africa, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. ISBN 0812230663
• Cowan, Gregory. Nomadology in Architecture: Ephemerality, Movement and Collaboration University of Adelaide 2002 (available: [2])
• Grousset, René. L'Empire des Steppes (1939)
• Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Félix, A Thousand Plateaus (1980)

External links

• Moken: Sea Gypsies @ National Geographic (Subscription Required)
• Moken: Sea Gypsies @ National Geographic (Tsunami Extra)
• Phuket Magazine: The Moken - Traditional Sea Gypsies
• ProjectMaje.org - Burma "Sea Gypsies" Compendium
• Mergui Archipelago Project
• Ethnologue report for Moken

• Official website of the Innu Nation of Labrador.
• Official website of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, Québec
• "Portail Innu", Québec
• Website of the Tshikapisk Foundation (a non profit Innu organization focussing on social and cultural renewal)
• Virtual Museum of Canada - Tipatshimuna: Innu stories from the land
• Canada's Tibet: The Killing of the Innu, a report from Survival International (PDF file) (A study of Innu communities of Labrador)
• Distinctions between "Naskapi", "Montagnais" and "Innu"
• Montagnais Indians (Quebec) - Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
• CBC Digital Archives - Davis Inlet: Innu community in crisis

• Irish Travellers' Movement.
• Pavee Point Travellers Centre
• Traveller Visibility Group or TVG
• Bibliography of Irish Travellers sources—University of Liverpool
• Irish Medical Journal article Traveller Health: A National Strategy 2002-2005
• Francie Barrett boxing profile
• Official site for movie - Pavee Lackeen: The Traveller Girl
• The Travellers: Ireland’s Ethnic Minority
• Interview with local expert on Dale Farm
• Travellers' Rest: Fact And Fiction About Irish Travellers in the U.S.A.
• Nan: The Life of an Irish Travelling Woman, by Sharon Gmelch, 1991.
• The Irish Tinkers: The Urbanization of an Itinerant People, by George Gmelch, 1997, 2nd ed. 1985.

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