PASTORALISTS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Devanshi GararaKR Mangalam

SchoolGurgaon

Class: IX-A

Migration

Pastoralists communities in

India

PASTORAL NOMADS AND THEIR MOVEMENTS

In the Mountains•The Gujjar Bakarwals:Jammu and Kashmir

In Winter Season: Moved towards the low hills of Shivalik

In Summer Season: They Moved towards upward

•The Gaddi Shepherds: Himachal PradeshIn Winter Season: Moved towards the low hills of Shivalik

In Summer Season: lahul and Spiti

GUJJAR SUMMER HOMES ON HIGH MOUNTAINS

GADDIS SHEEP BEING SHEARED

PASTORAL NOMADS AND THEIR MOVEMENTS

In the plateaus, Plains and Deserts•The Dhangars: Maharastra•The Gollas, Kurumas and Kurubas: Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh•The Raikas: Rajsthan•Banjaras: UP,Punjab, Rajsthan, MP and Maharastra

RAIKA CAMEL HEARD

A CAMEL FAIR AT PUSHKAR

RABARI RAIKA DEVASI

MALDHARI HERDERS MOVING IN SEARCH OF PASTURES

POLITICAL

Pre Colonial Colonial Post Independence

• Had high important as breeder• Social,economical & physical exploitation started in some kingdom • Close to decision makers due to their indigenous knowledge and skills

Lost importance

•Exploitation & ignorance at height• Lost interest in governance

• No where in the political picture • Not a “worthy” community for a politician • State atrocity very high• Out of political or co-operative movement

ECONOMICAL

Issue Pre-Colonial Post-Independence• Herd-size

• Livestock pattern

• Grazing practices

• Breeding practices

• More than 100 cows, camels

• Cow>Camel>Goat>Sheep>Buffalo

• Social norms for grazing (when, where, how) • Good and sufficient grazing land

• Janada system• Selection of breed, exchange of bull

•15 –25 animals

•Sheep>Goat>Buffalo>Cow>Camel

• No access and control over CPRs• Degraded and declining grazing land.•Legal Land grabbing• focused on cross breeds, loss of indigenous breeds

ECONOMICAL (CONT.)

Issue Pre-Colonial Post-Independence• Health

• Transfer of knowledge

• Marketing

• Healthy cattle, at times, mass deaths due to unknown illnesses • Women & Men Had good indigenous knowledge and skills• Milk and other produces were not sold• Only excess produces to be sold

• Poor health of cattle due to lack of water & fodder• No transfer of indigenous knowledge• Increased sale of row milk

COLONIAL RULE AND PASTORAL LIFE-1

•The colonial rulers wanted to transform all grazing lands into cultivated farms. •This was necessary to increase land revenue. •Additionally, increasing the cultivated land was necessary for increasing the production of jute, cotton and wheat which were required in England.

COLONIAL RULE AND PASTORAL LIFE-2

•Waste Land Rules: Under these rules, uncultivated lands were taken over and given to select individuals.•The expansion of cultivated land resulted in significant reduction in grazing grounds.

COLONIAL RULE AND PASTORAL LIFE-3

•Forest Act: Under these Acts, many forests were declared ‘Reserved’. Pastoralists were not allowed in the reserved forests. Some other forests were classified as ‘Protected’.•They could not enter many areas and entry to some other areas was restricted.

COLONIAL RULE AND PASTORAL LIFE-4

•Criminal Tribes Act: The nomadic people were viewed with suspicion by the colonial rulers. •Many communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes under this Act. •They were forced to live in notified villages only and the police officials kept a watch on them.

COLONIAL RULE AND PASTORAL LIFE-5

•Grazing Tax: It was calculated on the basis of per head of cattle. •The tax rate went up rapidly and the tax collection system was made more efficient.•The right to collect the tax was auctioned to contractors between 1850s and 1880s. •These contractors tried to extract as high a tax as possible to recover their investment.

CHANGES IN THE LIVES OF PASTORALISTS

•The availability of pastureland decreased drastically. •This resulted in continuous intensive grazing of the remaining pasture. •Unlike in the past, the lack of seasonal movement of pastoralists did not allow time for the natural restoration of vegetation growth. •This created shortage of forage for animals and the animal stock deteriorated. •Most of the cattle died due to shortage of fodder.

HOW DID THE PASTORALISTS COPE WITH THESE CHANGES

• Some of the pastoralists reduced the number of cattle in their herds. Some others discovered new pastures. For example; when the Raikas could no longer move into Sindh after the partition of 1947; they began to migrate to Haryana in search of new pastures.• Some rich pastoralists began to buy land to settle down and gave up their nomadic life. While some of them became peasants, some others took to more extensive trading.• Poor pastoralists had to borrow from money lenders in order to survive. Most of them finally lost their cattle and sheep and became laborers. They began to work in fields or in small towns.

PASTORALISM IN AFRICA

• Over half of the world’s pastoral population lives in Africa.• Bedouins, Berbers, Maasai, Somali, Boran and Turkana are

some of the pastoral communities of Africa.• They raise cattle, camels, goats, sheep and donkeys and

they sell milk, meat, animal skin and wool. • Some also earn through trade and transport.• Some others combine pastoral activity with agriculture. • Many others do a variety of odd jobs to supplement their

earnings.

MAASAI

• Tribal group of Eastern Africa cattle Herders• Known for being hunters, warriors, and herders

• No longer hunt in most of Africa• Are known to be fearless and helpful to animals and all people

• The Maasai never engaged in slave trade and have never taken conquered tribes for slaves (but they have displaced other tribes and taken their land)• 300,000 Maasai live in Kenya and about 150,000 live in Tanzania.

KILIMANJARO-MAASAI LAND

WITHOUT GRASS- LIVESTOCK MALNOURISHED

Maasai People

Maasai Huts - Engang

WHERE HAVE THE GRAZING LANDS GONE?

• Before the colonial rule, the Maasailand stretched over a vast area from north Kenya to the steppes of northern Tanzania. The European colonial powers began the slicing up of Africa. The Maasailand was cut into half in 1885.• Maasai lost more than 60% of their pastureland from

the pre-colonial period. They were now confined to an arid zone with poor pastures and uncertain rainfall.• The local peasant communities were encouraged by the

British government to expand cultivation.• Large areas of grazing land were also turned into game

reserves, e.g. Maasai Mara and Samburu National Park in Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania.• Kokoland Herders: The Kokoland herders traditionally

moved between Kokoland and Ovamboland in Namibia. They sold skin, meat and other items in neighbouring markets. The new system of territorial boundaries restricted their movements and stopped their activities.

THE BORDERS ARE CLOSED

•Redrawing of borders, the movement of all the pastoralist communities was severely restricted. •They were required to get special permits in order to move.•Getting a permit was often difficult. •People were severely punished for violating the rules.•They were viewed as savage and dangerous by the Europeans and hence every effort was taken to minimize the contact with them.

WHEN PASTURES DRY

• Before the colonial rule, seasonal movement was a time-tested way to tide over the periods of drought in a particular area. • Since the movement was restricted, so a large number of Maasai cattle died because of starvation and disease in the years of drought. • In 1930, the Maasai in Kenya possessed 720,000 cattle, 820,000 sheep and 171,000 donkeys. •Within just two years of severe drought (1933 and 1934) more than half of the cattle in Maasai Reserve died.

NOT ALL WERE EQUALLY AFFECTED• During pre-colonial period; the Maasai society was

divided into two social groups: elders and warriors. • The elders formed the ruling group.• The warriors consisted of younger people who were

mainly responsible for the protection of the tribe.• The British introduced a series of measures to administer

the affairs of the Maasai. Several restrictions were imposed on raiding and warfare. This led to erosion of authority for both elders and warriors.• A chief appointed by the colonial government often

accumulated wealth over time. They could now buy animals, goods and land. The chiefs became more powerful.• The poor pastoralists did not have resource to tide over

the bad times. Many of them had to migrate to towns in search of livelihood.• New distinction between the wealthy and the poor

developed in the Maasai community.