The peoples are nomads. Nomadic peoples

nomads film, nomads yesenberlin
Nomads- people who temporarily or permanently lead a nomadic lifestyle.

Nomads can get their livelihood from a variety of sources - nomadic cattle breeding, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, various types of arts (music, theater), hired labor or even robbery or military conquests. If we consider long periods of time, then each family and people in one way or another move from place to place, lead a nomadic lifestyle, that is, they can be classified as nomads.

In the modern world, in connection with significant changes in the economy and life of society, the concept of non-nomads has appeared and is often used quite often, that is, modern, successful people leading a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle in modern conditions. By occupation, many of them are artists, scientists, politicians, athletes, showmen, traveling salesmen, managers, teachers, seasonal workers, programmers, guest workers, and so on. See also freelancers.

• 1 Nomadic peoples
• 2 Etymology of the word
• 3 Definition
• 4 Life and culture of nomads
• 5 Origin of nomadism
• 6 Classification of nomadism
• 7 Rise of nomadism
• 8 Modernization and decline
• 9 Nomadism and sedentary life
• 10 Nomadic peoples include
• 11 See also
• 12 Notes
• 13 Literature
  • 13.1 Fiction
  • 13.2 Links

Nomadic peoples

Nomadic peoples are migratory peoples living off livestock raising. Some nomadic peoples, in addition, are engaged in hunting or, like some sea nomads in Southeast Asia, fishing. The term nomadism is used in the Slavic translation of the Bible in relation to the villages of the Ishmaelites (Gen. 25:16)

In the scientific sense, nomadism (nomadism, from Greek. In some cases, nomads are called all those who lead an active lifestyle (roving hunter-gatherers, a number of slash farmers and sea peoples of Southeast Asia, migratory groups such as the Gypsies, etc.

Etymology of the word

The word "nomad" comes from the Türkic word "" kёch, koch "", i.e. "" to move "", also "" kөsh "", which means an aul on the way in the process of migrating. This word is still available, for example, in the Kazakh language. The Republic of Kazakhstan currently has a state resettlement program - Nurly kosh.

Definition

Not all pastoralists are nomads. It is advisable to associate nomadism with three main features:

1. extensive livestock raising (Pastoralism) as the main economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts or high-altitude areas where livestock raising is the most optimal type of economic activity (in Mongolia, for example, land suitable for agriculture is 2%, in Turkmenistan - 3%, in Kazakhstan - 13%, etc.) ... The main food of the nomads was various types of dairy products, less often animal meat, hunting prey, agricultural products and gathering. Drought, snowstorm (jute), epidemics (epizootics) could deprive a nomad of all means of subsistence in one night. To counteract natural disasters, herders developed an effective system of mutual assistance - each of the tribesmen supplied the victim with several heads of cattle.

Life and culture of nomads

Since the animals constantly needed new pastures, pastoralists were forced to move from one place to another several times a year. The most common type of dwellings among nomads were various types of collapsible, easily portable structures, usually covered with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). Household utensils among the nomads were few, and dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and footwear were sewn, as a rule, of leather, wool and fur. The phenomenon of "equestrianism" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads have never existed in isolation from the agricultural world. They needed agricultural and handicraft products. A special mentality is characteristic of nomads, which presupposes a specific perception of space and time, customs of hospitality, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of cults of war, a warrior-horseman, heroized ancestors among the ancient and medieval nomads, who, in turn, found reflection, as in oral creativity ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), the cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence of the nomads. It should be borne in mind that there are few so-called "pure" nomads (nomads constantly roaming) (part of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet been unambiguously interpreted. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, more popular now point of view, nomadism was formed as an alternative to agriculture in the unfavorable zones of the Old World, where part of the population with a productive economy was displaced. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view as well. No less controversial is the question of the time of the addition of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations back in the 4th-3rd millennia BC. NS. Some are even inclined to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennia BC. NS. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (Ukraine, 4th millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (2nd millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from an integrated agricultural and pastoralist economy to real nomadism. In the opinion of this group of scholars, the transition to nomadism occurred no earlier than the turn of the 2nd-1st millennia BC. NS. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There are many different classifications of nomadism. The most common schemes are based on identifying the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• distant pasture (when part of the population lives roaming with livestock),
• yalagnoe (from the Türkic "yaylag" - summer pasture in the mountains).

In some other constructions, the type of nomadism is also taken into account:

• vertical (mountains plains) and
• horizontal, which can be latitudinal, meridian, circular, etc.

In a geographical context, we can talk about six large zones where nomadism is widespread.

1. the Eurasian steppes, where the so-called "five types of livestock" (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel) are bred, but the horse is considered the most important animal (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. The Middle East, where nomads raise small cattle and use horses, camels and donkeys (bakhtiyars, basseri, Kurds, Pashtuns, etc.) as transport;
3. The Arabian Desert and the Sahara, where camel breeders (Bedouins, Tuaregs, etc.) predominate;
4. Eastern Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, where peoples who breed cattle live (Nuer, Dinka, Masai, etc.);
5. high-mountain plateaus of Inner Asia (Tibet, Pamir) and South America (Andes), where the local population specializes in breeding such animals as yak (Asia), llama, alpaca (South America), etc .;
6. northern, mainly subarctic zones, where the population is engaged in reindeer herding (Sami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

The flourishing of nomadism

more Nomadic state

The flourishing of nomadism is associated with the period of the emergence of "nomadic empires" or "imperial confederations" (mid-1st millennium BC - mid-2nd millennium AD). These empires arose in the vicinity of the established agricultural civilizations and depended on the products coming from there. In some cases, nomads extorted gifts and tributes at a distance (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, etc.). others they subdued the farmers and collected tribute (Golden Horde). third, they conquered the farmers and moved to their territory, merging with the local population (Avars, Bulgars, etc.). In addition, along the routes of the Silk Road, which also passed through the lands of nomads, there were stationary settlements with caravanserais. Several large migrations of the so-called "shepherd" peoples and later nomadic pastoralists (Indo-Europeans, Huns, Avars, Turks, Khitan and Polovtsians, Mongols, Kalmyks, etc.) are known.

In the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played an especially important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. Apparently, as a result of these processes, gunpowder, compass and typography got to Western Europe. some works call this period "medieval globalization".

Modernization and decline

With the beginning of modernization, the nomads were unable to compete with the industrial economy. The advent of multiple-charge firearms and artillery gradually put an end to their military power. Nomads began to be involved in modernization processes as a subordinate party. As a result, the nomadic economy began to change, the social organization was deformed, and painful acculturation processes began. XX century in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedentaryization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system, nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists took place in many countries, a return to semi-natural methods of farming. In countries with a market economy, the processes of adaptation of nomads are also very painful, accompanied by the ruin of pastoralists, erosion of pastures, an increase in unemployment and poverty. currently about 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic cattle breeding (North, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and other nomadic pastoralists make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the prevailing point of view is that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range of different forms of contacts between the settled and steppe worlds, from military confrontation and conquests to peaceful trade contacts. Nomads have played an important role in human history. They contributed to the development of poorly habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomadic societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, possessing a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive influence on the historical process, as a result of their destructive invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations were destroyed. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but nomadic lifestyles are gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly withstand their sedentary neighbors.

Nomadism and sedentary life

About Polovtsian statehood All nomads of the Eurasian steppe belt went through the tabor stage of development or the stage of invasion. Displaced from their pastures, they mercilessly destroyed everything in their path, as they moved in search of new lands. ... For neighboring agricultural peoples, the nomads of the tabor stage of development have always been in a state of "permanent invasion." At the second stage of nomadism (semi-sedentary), winter huts and summer houses appear, the pastures of each horde have strict boundaries, and the cattle are driven along certain seasonal routes. The second stage of nomadism was the most profitable for pastoralists. V. BODRUKHIN, candidate of historical sciences.

Labor productivity under conditions of pastoralism is significantly higher than in early agrarian societies. This made it possible to free most of the male population from the need to spend time looking for food and, in the absence of other alternatives (such as monasticism), made it possible to send it to military operations. High labor productivity, however, is achieved by low-intensity (extensive) use of pastures and requires more and more land to be reclaimed from neighbors (however, the theory directly linking periodic clashes of nomads with the settled “civilizations” surrounding them with overpopulation of the steppes is untenable). Numerous armies of nomads, which were collected from men unnecessary in the daily economy, are much more combat-ready than mobilized peasants who did not have military skills, since in their daily activities they used essentially the same skills that were required of them in war (it is no coincidence that the attention that all nomadic military leaders paid to driven hunting for game, considering the actions on it to be almost a complete semblance of a battle). Therefore, despite the relative primitiveness of the social structure of the nomads (most of the nomadic societies did not go beyond the stage of military democracy, although many historians tried to ascribe to them a special, “nomadic” form of feudalism), they posed a great threat to the early civilizations with which they often found themselves in an antagonistic relationship. An example of the enormous efforts that were directed towards the struggle of sedentary peoples against nomads is the Great Wall of China, which, nevertheless, as you know, has never been an effective barrier against the invasions of nomadic peoples into China.

However, the sedentary way of life, of course, has its advantages over the nomadic, and the emergence of fortress cities and other cultural centers, and first of all - the creation of regular armies, often built on a nomadic model: Iranian and Roman cataphracts, adopted from the Parthians; Chinese armored cavalry, modeled on the Hunnic and Türküt cavalry; Russian noble cavalry, which absorbed the traditions of the Tatar army along with emigrants from the Golden Horde, which is in turmoil; etc., over time made it possible for the sedentary peoples to successfully resist the raids of the nomads, who never tried to completely destroy the sedentary peoples, since they could not fully exist without a dependent sedentary population and exchange with it, voluntary or forced, products of agriculture, cattle breeding and handicrafts ... Omelyan Pritsak gives the following explanation to the constant raids of nomads on the settled territories:

“The reasons for this phenomenon should be sought not in the innate tendency of nomads to robbery and blood. Rather, we are talking about a well-thought-out economic policy "

Meanwhile, in the era of internal weakening, even highly developed civilizations often perished or were significantly weakened as a result of massive raids of nomads. Although for the most part the aggression of the nomadic tribes was directed towards their nomadic neighbors, often raids on the sedentary tribes ended in the assertion of the dominance of the nomadic nobility over the peoples of the farmers. For example, the domination of nomads over certain parts of China, and sometimes over all of China, has been repeated many times in its history. Another well-known example of this is the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which fell under the onslaught of the "barbarians" during the "great migration of peoples", mainly in the past of sedentary tribes, and not the nomads themselves, from whom they fled on the territory of their Roman allies, but the end result was disastrous for the Western Roman Empire, which remained under the control of the barbarians despite all the attempts of the Eastern Roman Empire to regain these territories in the 6th century, which for the most part was also the result of the onslaught of nomads (Arabs) on the eastern borders of the Empire. However, despite the constant losses from the raids of nomads, the early civilizations, which were forced to constantly seek new ways to protect themselves from the constant threat of destruction, also received an incentive to develop statehood, which gave Eurasian civilizations a significant advantage over pre-Columbian American ones, where independent pastoralism did not exist ( or, more precisely, the semi-nomadic mountain tribes who bred small animals from the camel family did not have such a military potential as the Eurasian horse breeders). The empires of the Incas and Aztecs, being at the level of the Copper Age, were much more primitive and fragile than the modern developed European states, and were conquered without significant difficulties by small detachments of European adventurers, which, although it happened with the powerful support of the Spaniards from the oppressed representatives of the ruling classes or ethnic groups of these states of the local Indian population, did not lead to the merger of the Spaniards with the local nobility, but led to the almost complete destruction of the tradition of Indian statehood in central and south America, and the disappearance of ancient civilizations with all their attributes, and even the culture itself, which was preserved only in some until then unconquered by the Spaniards wilderness.

Nomadic peoples include

• Australian aborigines
• Bedouins
• Maasai
• Pygmies
• Tuareg
• Mongols
• Kazakhs of China and Mongolia
• Tibetans
• Gypsies
• Reindeer breeders of the taiga and tundra zones of Eurasia

Historical nomadic peoples:

• Kyrgyz
• Kazakhs
• Dzungars
• Saki (Scythians)
• Avars
• Huns
• Pechenegs
• Polovtsi
• Sarmatians
• Khazars
• Hunnu
• Gypsies
• Turks
• Kalmyks

see also

• World nomad
• Vagrancy
• Nomad (film)

Notes (edit)

1. "Before European Hegemony." J. Abu Lukhod (1989)
2. "Genghis Khan and the Creation of the Modern World." J. Weatherford (2004)
3. "Empire of Chinggis Khan". N. N. Kradin T. D. Skrynnikova // M., "Eastern Literature" RAS. 2006
4. About Polovtsian statehood - turkology.tk
5. 1. Pletneva SD. Nomads of the Middle Ages, - M., 1982. - S. 32.

Wiktionary has an article "nomad"

Literature

• Andrianov B.V. Non-sedentary population of the world. M .: "Science", 1985.
• Gaudio A. Civilization of the Sahara. (Per. From French) M .: "Science", 1977.
• Kradin N.N. Nomadic societies. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 1992.240 p.
• Kradin N.N. Hunnu Empire. 2nd ed. revised and add. M .: Logos, 2001/2002. 312 s.
• Kradin N. N., Skrynnikova T. D. Empire of Chinggis Khan. M .: Vostochnaya literatura, 2006.557 p. ISBN 5-02-018521-3
• Kradin N.N.Nomads of Eurasia. Almaty: Daik-Press, 2007.416 p.
• Ganiev R.T. East Turkic state in the 6th - 8th centuries - Yekaterinburg: Publishing House of the Ural University, 2006. - P. 152. - ISBN 5-7525-1611-0.
• Markov G.E. Nomads of Asia. M .: Publishing house of Moscow University, 1976.
• Masanov N.E. Nomadic civilization of the Kazakhs. M. - Almaty: Horizon; Sotsinvest, 1995.319 p.
• Pletneva S. A. Nomads of the Middle Ages. Moscow: Nauka, 1983.189 p.
• Seslavinskaya M. V. On the history of the “big gypsy migration” to Russia: socio-cultural dynamics of small groups in the light of materials of ethnic history // Cultural journal. 2012, no. 2.
• Gender Aspect of Nomadism
• Khazanov A.M.Social history of the Scythians. Moscow: Nauka, 1975.343 p.
• Khazanov A. M. Nomads and the outside world. 3rd ed. Almaty: Daik-Press, 2000. 604 p.
• Barfield T. The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China, 221 BC to AD 1757. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.325 p.
• Humphrey C., Sneath D. The End of Nomadism? Durham: The White Horse Press, 1999.355 p.
• Krader L. Social Organization of the Mongol-Turkic Pastoral Nomads. The Hague: Mouton, 1963.
• Khazanov A.M. Nomads and the Outside World. 2nd ed. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin press. 1994.
• Lattimore O. Inner Asian Frontiers of China. New York, 1940.
• Scholz F. Nomadismus. Theorie und Wandel einer sozio-ökonimischen Kulturweise. Stuttgart, 1995.

Fiction

• Esenberlin, Ilyas. Nomads. 1976.
• Shevchenko N.M. Country of Nomads. Moscow: Izvestia, 1992.414 p.

Links

• THE NATURE OF MYTHOLOGICAL MODELING OF THE WORLD OF NOMADS

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Nomads Information About

What is the nomadic way of life? A nomad is a member of a community of homeless people who regularly move to the same areas as well as travel the world. As of 1995, there were about 30-40 million nomads on the planet. Now they are supposed to be much smaller.

Life support

Nomadic hunting and gathering, taking into account the seasonally available wild plants and game, is today the oldest method of human life support. These activities are directly related to the nomadic lifestyle. Nomad pastoralists raise herds, lead them or move with them (on top of them), making routes that usually include pastures and oases.

Nomadic adaptation involves adaptation to barren regions such as steppe, tundra, desert, where mobility is the most effective strategy for exploiting limited resources. For example, many groups in the tundra are reindeer herders and semi-nomads precisely because of the need for seasonal feeding of their animals.

Other features

Sometimes “nomadic” also refers to various displaced population groups who travel through densely populated areas and provide themselves not from natural resources, but by offering various services (this could be craft or trade) to the permanent population. These groups are known as the peripatetic nomads.

A nomad is a person who does not have a permanent home, he moves from place to place in order to get food, find pastures for livestock or make a living in another way. The European word for nomads, nomad, comes from the Greek, which literally means "one who roams the pasture." Most nomadic groups follow a fixed annual or seasonal pattern of movement and settlement. Nomadic peoples traditionally travel by animals, canoes or on foot. Today some people travel by car. Most of them live in tents or other shelters. The dwellings of the nomads, however, are not very diverse.

The reasons for this lifestyle

These people continue to move around the world for a variety of reasons. What did the nomads do and what do they continue to do in our time? They move in search of game, edible plants and water. For example, the savages of Southeast Asia and Africa traditionally move from camp to camp to hunt and collect wild plants.

Some tribes in America also followed a nomadic lifestyle. Pastoral nomads make their living by raising animals such as camels, cattle, goats, horses, sheep or yaks. The Gaddi tribe in Himachal Pradesh in India is one such. These nomads travel to find more camels, goats and sheep, making their way across the deserts of Arabia and northern Africa. Fulani and their livestock travel through the meadows of Niger in West Africa. Certain nomadic peoples, especially pastoralists, may also raid sedentary communities. Nomadic artisans and traders travel to find and serve customers. These include blacksmiths from Lohar in India, gypsy traders and Irish travelers.

Long way to find a home

In the case of Mongol nomads, the family moves twice a year. This usually happens in summer and winter. The winter location is near the mountains in the valley, and most families already have fixed and preferred wintering locations. Such locations are equipped with animal shelters and are not used by other families in their absence. In the summer they move to a more open area where livestock can graze. Most nomads usually ply in the same region and rarely go beyond it.

Communities, communities, tribes

Since they usually circle around a large area, they become members of communities of people who have a similar lifestyle, and all families usually know where others are. They often do not have the resources to move from one province to another unless they leave the area for good. A family can move independently or together with others, and if it sets off alone, then its members are usually at a distance of no more than a couple of kilometers from the nearest nomadic community. There are currently no tribes, so decisions are made among family members, although elders consult with each other on common community issues. The geographic proximity of families usually results in mutual support and solidarity.

Pastoral nomadic societies usually do not boast a large population. One such society, the Mongols, gave birth to the largest land empire in history. Initially, the Mongols consisted of loosely organized nomadic tribes who lived in Mongolia, Manchuria and Siberia. At the end of the 12th century, Genghis Khan united them and other nomadic tribes to found the Mongol Empire, which eventually extended to all of Asia.

Gypsies are the most famous nomadic people

Gypsies are an Indo-Aryan, traditionally wandering ethnic group living mainly in Europe and America and originating from the North Indian subcontinent - from the regions of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab. Gypsy camps are widely known - special communities characteristic of this people.

Houses

Houses are a sub-ethnos of the Roma, often considered a separate people, living throughout the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, Central Asia and part of the Indian subcontinent. The traditional language of the houses is Domari, an endangered Indo-Aryan language, making this people an Indo-Aryan ethnic group. They were associated with another traditionally wandering ethnic group of Indo-Aryans, also called the Roma or Romani people (also known in Russian as the Gypsies). It is believed that the two groups have split from each other, or at least partly share a common history. In particular, their ancestors left the northern Indian subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 1st centuries. Houses also live in a kind of gypsy camp.

Eruki

The Eruks are nomads who live in Turkey. However, some groups, such as the Sarıkeçililer, continue to lead a nomadic lifestyle, traveling between the coastal cities of the Mediterranean Sea and the Taurus Mountains.

Mongols

Mongols are an ethnic group of East-Central Asian descent originally from Mongolia and the Chinese province of Mengjiang. They are listed as minorities in other regions of China (for example, in Xinjiang) as well as in Russia. Mongolian peoples belonging to the Buryat and Kalmyk subgroups live mainly in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation - Buryatia and Kalmykia.

Mongols are linked by a common heritage and ethnic identity. Their indigenous dialects are collectively known as The ancestors of modern Mongols are referred to as proto-Mongols.

At different times they were equated with the Scythians, Magogs and Tungus. Based on Chinese historical texts, the origins of the Mongol peoples can be traced back to Donghu, a nomadic confederation that occupied eastern Mongolia and Manchuria. The peculiarities of the nomadic way of life of the Mongols were already evident at that time.

The nomads were barbarians, according to the unanimous opinion of researchers representing sedentary civilizations, both medieval European authors and representatives of sedentary civilizations of Asia, from the ancient Chin, Sina (China) to Persia and the Iranian world.

The word nomads, nomadism, has a similar, but not identical meaning, and it is precisely because of this similarity of meanings that in the Russian-speaking and possibly other linguo-culturally dissimilar sedentary societies (Persian, Sino-Chinese, and many others, historically suffering from the military expansion of nomadic peoples) there is a sedentary phenomenon of latent historical enmity that has led to the apparently deliberate terminological confusion of "nomad-pastoralist", "nomad-traveler", Irish-English-Scottish "traveler-traveller", etc.

Historically, the Turkic and Mongolian ethnic groups, and other peoples of the Ural-Altai language family, who were in the area of ​​nomadic civilizations, lead a nomadic way of life. Based on the genetic linguistic proximity to the Ural-Altai family, the ancestors of the modern Japanese, the ancient equestrian archers who conquered the Japanese islands, people from the Ural-Altai nomadic environment, historians and geneticists also consider Koreans to have separated from the proto-Altai peoples.

The contribution, both ancient and medieval, and relatively recent, of nomads to the northern and southern Xing (ancient name), Han or Chinese ethnogenesis is probably quite large.

The last Qing dynasty was of nomadic, Manchu origin.

The national currency of China, the yuan, is named after the nomadic Yuan dynasty, which was founded by Chingizid Kubilai Khan.

Nomads could get their livelihood from a variety of sources - nomadic cattle breeding, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, various types of arts (gypsies), hired labor or even military robbery, or "military conquests". Ordinary theft was unworthy of a nomadic warrior, including a child or a woman, since all members of a nomadic society were warriors of a kind or ale, and even more so a nomadic aristocrat. Like others considered unworthy, like theft, the features of a sedentary civilization were unthinkable for any nomad. For example, among nomads, prostitution would be absurd, that is, absolutely unacceptable. This is not so much a consequence of the tribal military system of society and the state, as of the moral and ethical principles of a nomadic society.

If we adhere to a sedentary view, then “every family and people in one way or another moves from place to place”, lead a “nomadic” lifestyle, that is, they can be classified in the modern Russian-speaking sense as nomads (in the order of traditional terminological confusion), or nomads, if avoid this confusion. [ ]

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Subtitles

Nomadic peoples

Nomadic peoples are migratory peoples living off livestock raising. Some nomadic peoples, in addition, are engaged in hunting or, like some sea nomads in Southeast Asia, fishing. Term nomad used in the Slavic translation of the Bible in relation to the villages of the Ishmaelites (Gen.).

Driving animal husbandry based on seasonal moving cattle over relatively short distances. Livestock is usually moved to high-altitude pastures in summer and low-lying valleys in winter. The drovers have permanent dwellings, usually in the valleys.

The life of many peoples traditionally attributed to nomadic, for example, the Altai ancient Turks, in fact, can be characterized precisely as distant-pasture animal husbandry, since their migrations were seasonal in nature and were carried out within a clearly delineated territory belonging to the genus; often they had permanent buildings that served to prepare hay for the winter for livestock and housing for disabled elderly members of the group, while the young for the summer roamed with the livestock in the foothills (jeylyau). In particular, the rhythms of seasonal vertical nomadism are common in rural areas in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkey.

In the scientific sense, nomadism (nomadism, from the Greek. νομάδες , nomádes- nomads) - a special type of economic activity and associated socio-cultural characteristics, in which the majority of the population is engaged in extensive nomadic cattle breeding. In some cases, everyone who leads a mobile lifestyle is called nomads (roving hunter-gatherers, a number of slash farmers and sea peoples of Southeast Asia, migrant groups of the population, such as the Gypsies, etc.).

Etymology of the word

The word “nomad” comes from the Türkic word qoch, qosh, kөsh. This word is, for example, in the Kazakh language.

The term "koshevoy ataman" and the Ukrainian (so-called Cossack) and South Russian (so-called Cossack) surname Koshevoy are one-root.

Definition

Not all pastoralists are nomads (although, first of all, it was necessary to distinguish between the use of the term nomad and nomad in Russian, in other words, nomads are far from the same as ordinary nomads, and not all nomadic peoples are nomads, and the cultural phenomenon is interesting , which is that any attempt to eliminate deliberate terminological confusion - "nomad" and "nomad", which traditionally exists in modern Russian, stumbles upon the traditional ignorance). It is advisable to associate nomadism with three main features:

1. extensive livestock raising (Pastoralism) as the main economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts [doubtful information] or high-altitude regions where livestock raising is the most optimal type of economic activity (in Mongolia, for example, land suitable for agriculture is 2% [doubtful information], in Turkmenistan - 3%, in Kazakhstan - 13% [questionable information], etc.). The main food of the nomads was various types of dairy products, animal meat, hunting prey, agricultural products and gathering. Drought, snowstorm, frost, epizootics and other natural disasters could quickly deprive the nomad of all means of subsistence. To counteract natural disasters, herders developed an effective system of mutual assistance - each of the tribesmen supplied the victim with several heads of cattle.

Life and culture of nomads

Since the animals constantly needed new pastures, pastoralists were forced to move from one place to another several times a year. The most common type of dwellings among nomads were various types of collapsible, easily portable structures, usually covered with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). Household utensils and dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and footwear were sewn, as a rule, from leather, wool and fur, but also from silk and other expensive and rare fabrics and materials. The phenomenon of "equestrianism" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads did not exist in isolation from the agricultural world, but did not particularly need the products of agricultural peoples. A special mentality is characteristic of nomads, which presupposes a specific perception of space and time, customs of hospitality, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of cults of war, a warrior-horseman, heroized ancestors among the ancient and medieval nomads, who, in turn, found reflection, as in oral creativity ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), the cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence of the nomads. It should be borne in mind that there are few so-called "pure" nomads (nomads constantly roaming) (part of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet been unambiguously interpreted. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, more popular now point of view, nomadism was formed as an alternative to agriculture in the unfavorable zones of the Old World, where part of the population with a productive economy was displaced. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view as well. No less controversial is the question of the time of the addition of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations back in the 4th-3rd millennia BC. NS. Some are even inclined to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennia BC. NS. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (4th millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (2nd millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from a complex agricultural and pastoral economy to real nomadism. In the opinion of this group of scholars, the transition to nomadism occurred no earlier than the turn of the 2nd-1st millennia BC. NS. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There are many different classifications of nomadism. The most common schemes are based on identifying the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic, semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• distant,
• Zhailau, kystau (Türks.) "- winter and summer pasture).

In some other constructions, the type of nomadism is also taken into account:

• vertical (mountains, plains),
• horizontal, which can be latitudinal, meridian, circular, etc.

In a geographical context, we can talk about six large zones where nomadism is widespread.

1. the Eurasian steppes, where the so-called "five types of livestock" (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel) are bred, but the horse is considered the most important animal (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. The Middle East, where nomads raise small cattle and use horses, camels and donkeys (bakhtiyars, basseri, Kurds, Pashtuns, etc.) as transport;
3. The Arabian Desert and the Sahara, where camel breeders (Bedouins, Tuaregs, etc.) predominate;
4. Eastern Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, where peoples who breed cattle live (Nuer, Dinka, Masai, etc.);
5. high-mountain plateaus of Inner Asia (Tibet, Pamir) and South America (Andes), where the local population specializes in breeding such animals as yak (Asia), llama, alpaca (South America), etc .;
6. northern, mainly subarctic zones, where the population is engaged in reindeer herding (Sami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

The flourishing of nomadism

In the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played an especially important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. Apparently, as a result of these processes, gunpowder, compass and typography got to Western Europe. In some works, this period is called "medieval globalization".

Modernization and decline

With the beginning of modernization, the nomads were unable to compete with the industrial economy. The advent of multiple-charge firearms and artillery gradually put an end to their military power. Nomads began to be involved in modernization processes as a subordinate party. As a result, the nomadic economy began to change, the social organization was deformed, and painful acculturation processes began. In the XX century. in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedentaryization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system, nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists took place in many countries, a return to semi-natural methods of farming. In countries with market economies, the processes of adaptation of nomads are also very painful, accompanied by the ruin of pastoralists, erosion of pastures, an increase in unemployment and poverty. Currently, about 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic cattle breeding (North, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). In countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and others, nomadic pastoralists make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the prevailing point of view is that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range of different forms of contacts between the settled and steppe worlds, from military confrontation and conquests to peaceful trade contacts. Nomads have played an important role in human history. They contributed to the development of poorly habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomadic societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, possessing a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive influence on the historical process, as a result of their destructive invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations were destroyed. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but nomadic lifestyles are gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly withstand their sedentary neighbors.

Nomadism and sedentary life

All nomads of the Eurasian steppe belt passed through the tabor stage of development or the stage of invasion. Displaced from their pastures, they mercilessly destroyed everything in their path, as they moved in search of new lands. ... For neighboring agricultural peoples, the nomads of the tabor stage of development have always been in a state of "permanent invasion." At the second stage of nomadism (semi-sedentary), winter huts and summer houses appear, the pastures of each horde have strict boundaries, and the cattle are driven along certain seasonal routes. The second stage of nomadism was the most profitable for pastoralists.

V. BODRUKHIN, candidate of historical sciences.

However, a sedentary way of life, of course, has its advantages over a nomadic one, and the emergence of cities - fortresses and other cultural centers, and first of all - the creation of regular armies, often built on a nomadic model: Iranian and Roman cataphracts, adopted from the Parthians; Chinese armored cavalry, modeled on the Hunnic and Türküt cavalry; Russian noble cavalry, which absorbed the traditions of the Tatar army along with emigrants from the Golden Horde, which is in turmoil; etc., over time made it possible for the sedentary peoples to successfully resist the raids of the nomads, who never tried to completely destroy the sedentary peoples, since they could not fully exist without a dependent sedentary population and exchange with it, voluntary or forced, products of agriculture, cattle breeding and handicrafts ... Omelyan Pritsak gives the following explanation to the constant raids of nomads on the settled territories:

“The reasons for this phenomenon should be sought not in the innate tendency of nomads to robbery and blood. Rather, we are talking about a well-thought-out economic policy "

Meanwhile, in the era of internal weakening, even highly developed civilizations often perished or were significantly weakened as a result of massive raids of nomads. Although for the most part the aggression of the nomadic tribes was directed towards their nomadic neighbors, often raids on the sedentary tribes ended in the assertion of the dominance of the nomadic nobility over the peoples of the farmers. For example, the domination of nomads over certain parts of China, and sometimes over all of China, has been repeated many times in its history.

Another well-known example of this is the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which fell under the onslaught of the "barbarians" during the "great migration of peoples", mainly in the past of sedentary tribes, and not the nomads themselves, from whom they fled on the territory of their Roman allies, but the end result was catastrophic for the Western Roman Empire, which remained under the control of the barbarians despite all the attempts of the Eastern Roman Empire to regain these territories in the 6th century, which for the most part was also the result of the onslaught of nomads (Arabs) on the eastern borders of the Empire.

Non-livestock nomadism

In various countries, there are ethnic minorities leading a nomadic lifestyle, but not engaged in cattle breeding, but in various crafts, trade, fortune telling, and the professional performance of songs and dances. These are Gypsies, Enish, Irish travelers and others. Such "nomads" travel in camps, usually living in vehicles or random premises, often of a non-residential type. In relation to such citizens, the authorities often applied measures aimed at forcible assimilation into a "civilized" society. Currently, the authorities of different countries are taking measures to monitor the fulfillment of parental responsibilities by such persons in relation to young children who, as a result of the lifestyle of their parents, do not always receive the benefits they are entitled to in the field of education and health.

Before the Swiss federal authorities, the interests of the Yenish are represented by the founded in 1975 (de: Radgenossenschaft der Landstrasse), which, along with the Yenish, also represents other "nomadic" peoples - the Roma and Sinti. The society receives subventions (targeted subsidies) from the state. Since 1979 the Society is a member of the International Union of Roma (English), IRU... Despite this, the official position of the society is to uphold the interests of the Yenish as a separate people.

According to international treaties of Switzerland and the judgment of the Federal Court, the cantonal authorities are obliged to provide nomadic groups of the Yenish people with a place to stay and move, as well as to ensure the possibility of school attendance for children of school age.

Nomadic peoples include

• Australian Aborigines [ ]
• Tibetans [ ]
• Tuvans, in particular, Todzhins
• Reindeer breeders of the taiga and tundra zones of Eurasia

Historical nomadic peoples.

Our ancient ancestors, the Turks, led the mobile, i.e. nomadic, way of life, moving from one place of residence to another. Therefore, they were called nomads. Preserved ancient written sources, historical works describing the way of life of nomads. In some works they are called brave, brave, united nomadic herders, brave warriors, while in others, on the contrary, they are represented as savages, barbarians, invaders of other peoples.

Why did the Turks lead a nomadic life? As mentioned above, the basis of their economy was cattle breeding. They mainly bred horses, kept cattle and small ruminants, as well as camels. The animals were grazed all year round. People were forced to move to a new location when the old pastures were depleted. Thus, two or three times a year, the places of camps were changed - nomad camps.

To live this way of life, it took a lot of space. Therefore, the Turks mastered more and more new lands. The nomadic way of life was a peculiar way of nature protection. If the cattle were in the same place all the time, then the steppe meadows would soon be completely destroyed. For the same reason, it was difficult to engage in agriculture in the steppe, the thin fertile layer was quickly destroyed. As a result of the roaming, the soil did not have time to deplete, but on the contrary, by the time of the new return, the meadows were again covered with thick grass.

Yurt of nomads

We all know very well that people have not always lived, as we do now, in large stone apartment buildings with all the amenities. The nomadic Turks lived in yurts. There was little tree in the steppe, but there was an abundance of cattle that gave wool. Not surprisingly, the walls of the yurt were made of felt (compressed wool) over a wooden lattice frame. Two or three people could very quickly, in just an hour, assemble or disassemble the yurt. The disassembled yurt was easily transported on horses or camels.

The way of arrangement and the internal structure of the yurt was strictly determined by traditions. The yurt was always placed on a flat, open, sunny place. She served the Turks not only as a dwelling, but also as a kind of sundial. For this, the dwellings of the ancient Turks were oriented by the door to the east. With this arrangement, the doors served as an additional source of light. The fact is that there were no windows in the yurts and on warm days the doors of the dwelling were open.

Interior decoration of the nomads' yurt

The inner space of the yurt was conventionally divided into two parts. Usually, the left side of the entrance was considered male. The owner's belongings, his weapons and tools, horse harness were kept here. The opposite side was considered feminine; dishes and other household utensils, women's and children's things were kept there. This division was also observed during feasts. In some yurts, special curtains were used to separate the female part from the male part.

There was a hearth in the very center of the yurt. In the center of the vault, directly above the hearth, there was a smoke hole (chimney), which was the only "window" of the nomadic dwelling. The walls of the yurt were decorated with felt and woolen carpets, multi-colored fabrics. In rich and well-to-do families, silk fabrics were hung. The floor was earthen, so it was covered with felt mats and animal skins.

The part of the yurt opposite the entrance was considered the most honorable. Family heirlooms were exhibited there; old people and special guests of honor were invited to this part. The hosts usually sat with their legs tucked in, and the guests were offered small stools or sat them directly on the floor, on the bed of skins or felt mats. There could also be low tables in yurts.

Rules of conduct in a yurt

The ancient Turks had their own customs and traditions related to the rules of behavior in the yurt, and everyone in the family tried to observe them. Their violation was considered bad form, a sign of bad manners, and sometimes it could even offend the owners. For example, at the entrance it was impossible to step on the threshold, sit on it. A guest who deliberately stepped on the threshold was considered an enemy announcing his evil intentions to the owner. The Turks tried to cultivate in their children a respectful attitude towards the fire of the hearth. It was forbidden to pour water, and even more so to spit into the fire, it was forbidden to stick a knife into the hearth, touch the fire with a knife or a sharp object, throw rubbish and rags into it. This was believed to offend the spirit of the hearth. It was forbidden to transfer the fire of the hearth to another yurt. It was believed that then happiness can leave the house.

The transition to a sedentary life

Over time, when the ancient Turks, in addition to cattle breeding, began to engage in other types of economic activities, their living conditions also changed. Many of them begin to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Now yurts alone were not enough for them. Other types of dwellings appear, which are more consistent with a sedentary lifestyle. Using a reed or tree, they begin to build dugouts that go one meter deep into the ground.

Stairs made of stone or wood led to the house. If the doorway was small, then it was closed with a wooden door. Wide openings were covered with animal skins or felt blankets. In the hut, bunks and beds were made, traditionally located along the front of the hut. The floors were earthen. A mat woven from bast was laid on them. Felt mats were placed on top of the mat. Shelves served to store dishes and other household utensils. The dugouts were lit with oil and fat lamps made of clay. As a rule, there was no heating in the dugouts, very rarely traces of a hearth are found in them. Perhaps their inhabitants were warmed by the warmth of braziers in winter.

Such a dwelling required constant cleaning and ventilation in order to protect it from dampness, dust and soot. Our ancestors strove to keep clean not only their homes, but also the area around the house. In Bulgar, archaeologists have found small streets covered with wooden flooring.

The first wooden houses of nomads

Gradually, they begin to build houses from oak or pine logs in the form of a log house. As a rule, people of the same profession settled in the neighborhood, the craftsmen lived near their workshops. This is how the settlements of potters, tanners, blacksmiths, etc. arose. The Bulgars, who were engaged in agriculture, in almost every household had cellars (grain pits lined with boards) and hand mills. They baked bread and other flour products themselves. Archaeologists find traces of semicircular stoves in the excavations of Bulgar villages, in which they cooked food, with which they heated the dwelling.

The tradition of dividing the dwelling into two parts, widespread among the nomadic peoples, continued at this time. The main part of the house was occupied by the front part of the house with a “tur yak” stove. The basis of the furnishings was made up of bunks (a wide boardwalk) located along the front wall. At night they slept on them, during the day, after removing the bedding, they laid the table on them. Duvets, large pillows and quilts were stacked on one side of the bunk against the side wall. If there was a table, it was usually placed against the side wall by the window or in the partition between the windows. At this time, tables, as a rule, were used only for storing clean dishes.

The chests were used to store festive clothing and decorations. They were placed near the stove. Guests of honor were usually placed on these chests. The female half was located behind the stove, where there were also beds. During the day they cooked food here, and at night women and children slept. Unauthorized entry into this part of the house was prohibited. Of the men, only a husband and father-in-law could enter here, as well as, in special cases, mullahs and doctors.

Dishes. The ancient Turks used mainly wooden or earthenware, and in more prosperous families - and metal. Most families made earthenware and wooden dishes with their own hands. But gradually, with the development of handicrafts, craftsmen appeared who were engaged in the manufacture of tableware for sale. They met both in large cities and in villages. Pottery was originally molded by hand, but then the potter's wheel began to be used. The craftsmen used local raw materials - pure, well-mixed clay. Clay was used to make jugs, kumgans, piggy banks, dishes and even water pipes. The dishes fired in special ovens were decorated with extruded ornaments and painted with bright colors.

Khans' palaces

When the Turks were semi-nomadic, the khan had two dwellings. Winter palace made of stone and summer yurt. Of course, the khan's palace was distinguished by its large size and interior decoration. It had many rooms and a throne room.

In the front corner of the throne room was a splendid royal throne covered with expensive overseas fabrics. The left side of the royal throne was considered honorable, therefore, during the ceremonies, the khan's wife and the most dear guests sat to the left of the khan. On the right hand of the khan were the leaders of the tribes. Guests entering the throne room, as a sign of respect, had to take off their hats and kneel down, thus greeting the ruler.
During the feasts, the ruler himself had to try the dishes first, and then take turns treating his guests. He personally handed out a piece of meat to each of the guests, according to seniority.

Only after that it was possible to start the feast. Festive feasts at the Bulgar nobility continued for a long time. Here they read poems, competed in eloquence, sang, danced and played various musical instruments. Thus, the Turks were able to adapt to a variety of living conditions. With the change in the habitat, the way of life, and even the types of dwellings, also changed. Love for work and loyalty to the customs and traditions of their ancestors remained unchanged.

νομάδες , nomádes- nomads) - a special type of economic activity and associated socio-cultural characteristics, in which the majority of the population is engaged in extensive nomadic cattle breeding. In some cases, nomads are called all those who lead a mobile lifestyle (roving hunter-gatherers, a number of slash farmers and sea peoples of Southeast Asia, migratory populations such as the Gypsies, and even modern residents of megacities with a long distance from home to work and etc.).

Definition

Not all pastoralists are nomads. It is advisable to associate nomadism with three main features:

1. extensive livestock raising as the main economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts or high-mountainous regions, where livestock raising is the most optimal type of economic activity (in Mongolia, for example, land suitable for agriculture is 2%, in Turkmenistan - 3%, in Kazakhstan - 13%, etc.) ... The main food of the nomads was various types of dairy products, less often animal meat, hunting prey, agricultural products and gathering. Drought, snowstorm (jute), epidemics (epizootics) could deprive a nomad of all means of subsistence in one night. To counteract natural disasters, herders developed an effective system of mutual assistance - each of the tribesmen supplied the victim with several heads of cattle.

Life and culture of nomads

Since the animals constantly needed new pastures, pastoralists were forced to move from one place to another several times a year. The most common type of dwellings among nomads were various types of collapsible, easily portable structures covered, as a rule, with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). Household utensils among the nomads were few, and dishes were most often made from unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and footwear were sewn, as a rule, of leather, wool and fur. The phenomenon of "equestrianism" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads have never existed in isolation from the agricultural world. They needed agricultural and handicraft products. A special mentality is characteristic of nomads, which presupposes a specific perception of space and time, customs of hospitality, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of cults of war, a warrior-horseman, heroized ancestors among the ancient and medieval nomads, who, in turn, found reflection, as in oral creativity ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), the cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence of the nomads. It should be borne in mind that the so-called "pure" nomads (nomads constantly) are few (part of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet been unambiguously interpreted. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, more popular now point of view, nomadism was formed as an alternative to agriculture in the unfavorable zones of the Old World, where part of the population with a productive economy was displaced. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view as well. No less controversial is the question of the time of the addition of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations back in the IV III millennium BC. Some are even inclined to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennium BC. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (Ukraine, 4th millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (2nd millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from an integrated agricultural and pastoralist economy to real nomadism. According to this group of scholars, the transition to nomadism did not occur earlier than the turn of the 2nd millennium BC. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There are many different classifications of nomadism. The most common schemes are based on identifying the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• distant pasture (when part of the population lives roaming with livestock),
• yaylag (from the Türks. "yaylag" - summer pasture in the mountains).

In some other constructions, the type of nomadism is also taken into account:

• vertical (mountains plains) and
• horizontal, which can be latitudinal, meridian, circular, etc.

In a geographical context, we can talk about six large zones where nomadism is widespread.

1. the Eurasian steppes, where the so-called "five kinds of cattle" (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel) are bred, but the horse is considered the most important animal (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. The Middle East, where nomads raise small cattle and use horses, camels and donkeys (bakhtiyars, basseri, Pashtuns, etc.) as transport;
3. The Arabian Desert and the Sahara, where camel breeders (Bedouins, Tuaregs, etc.) predominate;
4. Eastern Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, where peoples who breed cattle live (Nuer, Dinka, Masai, etc.);
5. high-mountain plateaus of Inner Asia (Tibet, Pamir) and South America (Andes), where the local population specializes in breeding such animals as yak, llama, alpaca, etc .;
6. northern, mainly subarctic zones, where the population is engaged in reindeer herding (Sami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

The flourishing of nomadism

The flourishing of nomadism is associated with the period of the emergence of "nomadic empires" or "imperial confederations" (mid-1st millennium BC - mid-2nd millennium AD). These empires arose in the vicinity of the established agricultural civilizations and depended on the products coming from there. In some cases, nomads extorted gifts and tribute at a distance (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, etc.). In others, they subdued the farmers and collected tribute (Golden Horde). Thirdly, they conquered farmers and moved to its territory, merging with the local population (Avars, Bulgarians, etc.). Several large migrations of the so-called "shepherd" peoples and later nomadic pastoralists (Indo-Europeans, Huns, Avars, Turks, Khitan and Polovtsians, Mongols, Kalmyks, etc.) are known. In the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played an especially important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. It was as a result of these processes that gunpowder, compass and typography came to Western Europe. In some works, this period is called "medieval globalization".

Modernization and decline

With the beginning of modernization, the nomads were unable to compete with the industrial economy. The advent of multiple-charge firearms and artillery gradually put an end to their military power. Nomads began to be involved in modernization processes as a subordinate party. As a result, the nomadic economy began to change, the social organization was deformed, and painful acculturation processes began. In the twentieth century. in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedentaryization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system, nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists took place in many countries, a return to semi-natural methods of farming. In countries with market economies, the processes of adaptation of nomads are also very painful, accompanied by the ruin of pastoralists, erosion of pastures, an increase in unemployment and poverty. Currently, about 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic cattle breeding (North, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). In countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and others, nomadic pastoralists make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the prevailing point of view is that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range of different forms of contacts between the settled and steppe worlds, from military confrontation and conquests to peaceful trade contacts. Nomads have played an important role in human history. They contributed to the development of poorly habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomadic societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, possessing a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive influence on the historical process, as a result of their destructive invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations were destroyed. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but nomadic lifestyles are gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly withstand their sedentary neighbors. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but nomadic lifestyles are gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly withstand their sedentary neighbors.

Today nomadic peoples include:

Historical nomadic peoples:

Literature

• B.V. Andrianov Bare population of the world. M .: "Science", 1985.
• Gaudio A. Civilization of the Sahara. (Per. From French) M .: "Science", 1977.
• Kradin N.N. Nomadic societies. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 1992, 240 p.
• Kradin N.N. Hunnu Empire. 2nd ed. revised and add. M .: Logos, 2001/2002. 312 s.
• Kradin N.N. , Skrynnikova T.D. Empire of Genghis Khan. M .: Vostochnaya literatura, 2006.557 p. ISBN 5-02-018521-3
• Kradin N.N. Nomads of Eurasia. Almaty: Daik-Press, 2007.416 p.
• Markov G.E. Nomads of Asia. M .: Publishing house of Moscow University, 1976.
• Masanov N.E. Nomadic civilization of the Kazakhs. M. - Almaty: Horizon; Sotsinvest, 1995, 319 p.
• Khazanov A.M. Social history of the Scythians. Moscow: Nauka, 1975, 343 p.
• Khazanov A.M. Nomads and the outside world. 3rd ed. Almaty: Daik-Press, 2000. 604 p.
• Barfield T. The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China, 221 BC to AD 1757. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.325 p.
• Humphrey C., Sneath D. The End of Nomadism? Durham: The White Horse Press, 1999.355 p.
• Khazanov A.M. Nomads and the Outside World. 2nd ed. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin press. 1994.
• Lattimore O. Inner Asian Frontiers of China. New York, 1940.
• Scholz F. Nomadismus. Theorie und Wandel einer sozio-ökonimischen Kulturweise. Stuttgart, 1995.
• Esenberlin, Ilyas Nomads.

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See what "Nomadic tribes" are in other dictionaries:

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Torks, Guzes, Uzes, nomadic Türkic-speaking tribes that separated from the tribal union of the Oguzes. K ser. 11th century The T. ousted the Pechenegs and settled in the southern Russian steppes. In 985, as allies of the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, they participated in ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- ... Wikipedia

The list of Arabian tribes and clans includes a list of tribes and clans (both already disappeared and still living) of the Arabian Peninsula, inhabiting the territories of the modern states of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab ... ... Wikipedia

Tribes of Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia- To the north and northeast of the Massagets and Saks, in the steppes and forest stands of Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia, lived other nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists, as well as sedentary agricultural tribes, already known almost exclusively from the data ... ... The World History. Encyclopedia

Nomadic, roving tribes, pastoralists; opposed to hunting tribes, sedentary, agricultural. On the transitional steps there are trapper savages who breed in a small number of domestic animals or do a little farming, and ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron