Semi-nomadism
There are two different meanings that depend on the context in which the word is used:
Semi-nomadic shepherds
In the German-speaking world, the term is mainly used - derived from (shepherds) nomadism - in connection with groups that live from mobile natural grazing ; this includes various equestrian peoples . Semi-nomadism mostly represents a combination of nomadic animal husbandry with less important sedentary soil construction . Such lifestyles are especially widespread in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and North Africa (see: Agadire ), where they enable the best possible use of resources.
Cattle breeding often dominates in summer; This means that the entire group moves around with their cattle in mobile homes such as tents , yurts or in permanent homes that are not inhabited all year round and, under certain circumstances, cultivates rain- fed fields in one place during longer stays . In the winter months, fixed dwellings dominate in villages, where irrigated agriculture can contribute to the livelihood. The distances to be covered between summer pastures and winter villages are smaller than with full nomadism, but a greater difference in altitude is often overcome.
According to the definition of the cultural geographer Erwin Grötzbach , these are societies in which all people live nomadically instead of sedentary for a longer period of time. To distinguish it from the semi-sedentary way of life, he suggests the two characteristics “Duration of residence in pastureland in tent or hut” and “Distance between permanent residence and seasonal living space”: the longer this duration and the greater this distance, the more likely it is to speak of semi-nomadism.
The ethnologist Alfred Janata highlights the essential difference in the participation of large parts of the local communities (e.g. related group members instead of employed shepherds) in seasonal migrations, as occurs above all in the forms of mobile animal husbandry in the mountains. In addition, transportable dwellings such as tents or yurts are almost exclusively used in summer camps. This economic method is ideally adapted to the natural conditions of relief, climate and plant growth.
Special forms of semi-nomadism are agropastoralism , yaylak pastoralism and many variants of the modern, mobile animal husbandry of former shepherd nomads and reindeer pastoralism .
Semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers
The term is also used independently of mobile animal keepers for certain game and field hunters who live in areas rich in game or who use wild fruits in abundance. The combination “semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer” is used synonymously and is preferable to avoid confusion with the reference to pastoral nomadism. The term “semi-nomadism” would be more correct if a finer differentiation is necessary.
In the case of the hunters, the decisive criterion is the useful life of the settlements of entire local communities that live in one place for longer periods (up to a few years) until the exhaustion of resources forces them to move.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marion Linksa, Andrea Handl u. Gabriel Rasuly-Paleczek: Introduction to the ethnology of Central Asia. Lecture script, Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 2003, pp. 36–38 ( pdf version ( memento of the original from October 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check Original and archive link according to instructions and then remove this note. )
- ↑ Wissen.de: Transhumance
- ↑ Hans-Peter Müller: Discussion of the ATLAS map subsistence. ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Project ethnomaps.ch ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , University of Zurich, accessed on October 15, 2014
