JKBOSE 9th Class Social Science Solutions Chapter 5 Pastoralists in the Modern World 

Pastoralists in the Modern World : Pastoral as a way of life; Different forms of Pastoralism; what happens to Pastoralism under colonialism and Modern states? Case studies (Africa and India)

Pastoralism : Pastoralism is a form of subsistence that involves the herding of domesticated livestock. It is an extensive form of animals grazing on natural resources.

Nomads : People living by hunting and gathering are usually nomadic. Under this system, people keep on moving with their livestock. Transhumance: In this type of Pastoralism, members of the group move the herd seasonally from one area to another. These Pastoralists usually have a permanent base where the elders reside permanently.

Pastoralism and Colonialism : Colonialism hampered badly the life of Pastoralists. In fact pastoral communities never formed their own states. Case Study: Nomadic herding is practiced in many parts of the world. In this chapter, we have discussed about Gujjars and Bakarwals(India) and Masai of South Africa.

1. Bhabar : A dry forested area below the foothills of Garhwal and Kumaun.

2. Bugyal : Vast meadows in the high mountains.

3. Customary rights : There are Rights that people used by the customs and traditions.

4. Pastoralisme : System relating to look after and domestication of grazing animals. It is a form of subsistence agriculture based on herding of domesticated animals.

5. Pasture : Grasses or plants grown for feeding domestic animals.

6. Colonialism : A practical of social, economic and political Subjugation of one country by another.

1. 1871 : The Criminal Tribes Act was passed by the British in India

2. 1880 : The British government began to collect the Grazing Tax directly from the Indian pastoralists.

3. 1885 : Maasailand came under colonial rule. It was divided between the British and the Germans.

4. 1919 : The British captured Tanganyika

5. 1933-34 : The Maasai Reserve suffered a serious drought in Maasai cattle died.

6. 1961 : Tanganyika attained independence from the British.

7. 1964 : Tanganyika joined with Zanzibar to form Tanzania.

Ans.— We can see that the life of the pastoral people was sustained by a consideration of many factors :

1. They did not have regular fields to get fodder for the herds or to graze them in their own pastures. They needed pastures to graze their livestock.

2. They had to judge how long to stay in one area because availability of pasture and water were limited.

3. In winter, when the high mountains were covered with snow, they lived in the low hills. The dry scrub forests provided pasture for their herd. In summer, they began their march up the mountain slopes for their summer grazing ground. With the onset of summer, snow melted and the mountain fields were lush green. Therefore, they had to complete a cyclic movement between summer and winter in hilly region.

Advantage to the environment : The cyclic movement of the pastoralists allows sufficient time for natural restoration of vegetation. The vegetation of the higher tracks of mountains and in the foothills are not allowed to overgrow but become helpful to man and animals. The continuous movement of pastoralists also matures the fields and allowed pastures to recover, it prevented their overuse.

Ans.— (i) Waste Land Rules : From the mid-nineteenth century, Waste Land Rules enacted in various parts of the country. By these rules, uncultivated lands were taken over and given to select individuals. These individuals were granted various concessions and encouraged to settle these lands. Some of them were made headmen of villages in the newly cleared areas. In most areas, the lands taken over were actually grazing tracts used regularly by Pastoralists. So expansion of cultivation inevitably meant the decline of pastures and a problem for pastoralists.

(ii) Forest Acts : In the mid-nineteenth century, various Forest Acts were enacted in the different provinces. Through these Acts some forests which produced commercially valuable timber like deodar or sal were declared ‘Reserved’. No pastoralist was allowed access to these forests. Other forests were classified as Protected’. However, some customary grazing rights of pastoralists were granted but their movements were severely restricted. In fact the colonial officials believed that grazing destroyed the saplings and young shoots of trees that germinated on the forest floor. The herds trampled over the saplings and munched away the shoots. This prevented new trees from growing.

These Forests Acts drastically changed the lives of pastoralists. Now they were prevented from entering many forests that had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle. Even in the areas they were allowed entry, their movements were regulated. Their agriculture stock declined and trade and crafts were adversely affected.

(iii) Criminal Tribes Act : The British officials were suspicious of nomadic people. Those who settled were seen as law abiding; those who were nomadic were considered to be criminals. Therefore in 1871, the colonial government in India passed the Criminal Tribes Act. By this Act many communities of craftsmen traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes. They were stated to be criminals by nature and birth. Once this Act came into force, these communities were expected to live only in notified village settlements. They were not allowed to move out without a permit. The village police kept watch on them.

(iv) Grazing Tax : To expand its revenue income, the colonial government imposed many taxes. The tax was imposed on land, on canal water, on salt, on trade goods and even on animals. Pastoralists had to pay tax on every animal they grazed on the pastures. In most pastoral tracts of India, grazing tax was introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. The tax per head of cattle went up rapidly and the system of collection was made increasingly efficient.

Ans.— The lives of the African pastoralists have changed substantially during the colonial and post-colonial periods. Maasai have been faced with loss of grazing lands. There was a scramble for territories in Africa among the European colonial powers. They divided various regions into different colonies. In 1885, Maasailand was cut into half with an international boundary between the British, Kenya and German Tanganika. As a result, the best grazing lands were taken over and the whitemen settled there. The Maasais were pushed into small area in South Kenya and North Tanganika. The Maasai people lost about sixty percent of their precolonial lands. They were limited to an an arid land nd with little rainfall and poor pastures. From the late nineteenth century, the British colonial government in East Africa also encouraged local peasant communities to expand cultivation. As cultivation expanded, pastu- relands were turned into cultivated fields. Large areas of grazing land were also turned into game reserves like the Maasai Mara and Samburu National Park in Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania. Pastoralists were not allowed to enter these reserves; they could neither hunt animals nor graze their herds in these areas.

Ans.— India and Africa both were colonies of the European colonies power. Therefore, their exploitation was on the similar pattern.

(i) One of the problems which the Maasai have faced is the continuous loss of their grazing lands. The colonial governments also encouraged the local peasants to expand cultivation. In India, the colonial power transferred the pasture land from the common people to individuals. Large areas of grazing land were turned into game reserves in Africa. The pastoralists were not allowed to enter in reserves. In Indian also, pastoral lands were reserved for commercial use of entertainment complex.

(ii) In India and Africa the forests were reserved, others were declared protected. As a result the pastoralists were not allowed to enter them and to graze their animals. They lost their traditional forest rights like use of timber, forest produce fuels, and fodder for their livestock.

Ans.— In Jammu & Kashmir, nomadic people are cow / buffalo herders (esp. Gujjars) and goat / sheep herders (esp. Bakharwals). However, the two groups are very closely associated and intermarry, and commonly referred to as the “Gujjars and Bakarwals.”

Gujjars and Bakarwals lead a lonely and tough life in the high-altitude meadows of the Himalayas and the Pir-Panjal. Every year, they take their sheep high into the mountains, above the tree-line to graze in the lush meadows. It may take them as many as sixty days to reach these meadows. During the summer, they move from one meadow to the other. They generally travel in pairs but sometimes they may go alone or in larger groups (depending on how many sheep / goats need to be taken care of)

During this migration their whole family accompany with their sheep and goats. They are accompanied by their dogs, the famous Bhotia or Bakarwal dogs, and their pack-animals.

In Himachal Pradesh Gaddi shepherds had a similar cycle of seasonal movement.

(i) High meadows

(ii) Terrai

(iii) Tribals of M.P.

(iv) Kinnauris.

Ans.— (i) High meadows.

(i) Bihar

(ii) Rajasthan

(iii) Himachal Pradesh

(iv) J & K.

Ans.— (iii) Himachal Pradesh.

(i) Himachal Pradesh

(ii) J & K

(iii) Punjab

(iv) Rajasthan.

Ans.—  (ii) J & K.

(i) M.P.

(ii) Bihar

(iii) U.P.

(iv) Maharashtra.

Ans.— (iv) Maharashtra.

(i) September-October

(ii) November-December

(iii) January-February

(iv) June-July.

Ans.— (i) September-October.

(i) September October

(ii) November-December

(iii) January-February

(iv) March-April.

Ans.— (iv) March-April.

(i) Punjab

(ii) Madhya Pradesh

(iii) Rajasthan

(iv) Uttar Pradesh

Ans.— (iii) Rajasthan.

(i) Kenya

(ii) South Africa

Ans.— (ii) Dangars

(i) Bugyal

(ii) Dangar

(iii) Ringal

(iv) Pasture.

Ans.— (iii) Ringal.

(i) Southern Kenya

(ii) South Africa

(iii) Northern Canada

(iv) Eastern Australia..

Ans.— (i) Southern Kenya.

(i) Winter

(ii) Autumn

(iii) Rainy

(iv) Spring

Ans.— (ii) Autumn.

(i) Kurumas

(ii) Kurubas

(iii) Maasai

(iv)  Gaddi.

(i) Dharsh

(ii) Bugyal

(iii) Ringal

(iv) Pastures.

Ans.— (i) Dharsh.

(i) Snow

(ii) Summer

(iii) Cold

Ans.— (iv) All of these.

(i) 1919

(ii) 1920

(iii) 1962

(iv) 1963.

(i) 1960

(ii) 1961

(iii) 1962

(iv) 1963.

Ans.— (ii) 1961.

(i) Northern China

(ii) Vietnam

(iii) Southern Russia

(iv) South Korea.

Ans.—  (i) Northern China.

(i) Pastoral nomads

(ii) Transhumance pastoralists

(iii) Trader nomads

(iv) All of these.

Ans.— (iv) All of these.

1. …………. Shepherds belong to Himachal Pradesh.

2. Maldhari herders live in the Rann of ……….. .

3. Mongols lived in northern ……… .

4. The basic social unit of Maasais ……… .

5. Kharif is an ……… crop.

6. The British captured Tanzania in ………… .

Ans.— 1. Gaddí, 2. Kutch, 3. China, 4. Kraal, 5. Autumn, 6. 1919.

1. Bugyals are the high meadows.

2. Gujjar Bakarwals are the most prominent nomadic group of J & K

3. Kharif crops are harvested in September/Octobernat

4. Maasais belong to Kenya.

5. Serengeti Park is located in Tanzania.

6. Dangars is an important pastoral community of Maharashtra.

Ans.— 1. √, 2. √, 3. √, 4. √, 5. √, 6. ✓.

Ans.— Nomads are people who do not live in one place but move from one area to another to earn their living.

Ans.— Jammu and Kashmir.

Ans.— The other pastoral communities of the Himalayas are Bhotiyas, Sherpas and Kinnauris.

Ans.— Himachal Pradesh.

Ans.—The important community of Maharashtra are Dangars.

Ans.— Maru, Raikas are the camel herders of Thar Desert near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

Ans.— Balotra and Pushkar are important camel fairs in Rajasthan.

Ans.— Maldhari herders live in the Rann of Kutch.

Ans.— Maasai, Bedouis, Burbers, Somali, Boran and Turkana.

Ans.— They live primarily in East Africa: 3000,000 in Kenya and 150,000 in Tanzania.

Ans.— Maasai means ‘My People’.

Ans.— The different forms of Pastoralism are :

(i) Pastoral nomads

(ii) Transhumance pastoralists

(iii) Trader nomads (as gypsies).

Ans.— Mongols lived in Northern China.

Ans.— Kraal is a basic social unit of Maasais.

Ans.— Bugyals are nothing but are vast natural pastures on the high mountains of 12,000 feet or more like Bugyals of Eastern Gharwal.

Ans.— (i) In winter, Bugyals are covered with snow but life came in them only after April.

(ii) After April and before arrival of winter, whole of the mountainous region of Bugyals is covered with many types of roots, herbs, grassed etc.

Ans.— Banjaras live in the villages of Punjab, Haryana, U.P., M.P., Maharashtra, Rajasthan etc.

Ans.— (i) This pattern of cyclical movement between summer and winter pastures was typical of many pastoral communities of the Himalayas, including the Bhotiyas, Sherpas and Kinnauris.

(ii) All of them had to adjust in seasonal changes and make effective use of available pastures in different places. When the pasture was exhausted or unusable in one place they moved their herds and flock to new  areas.

(iii) This continuous movement also allowed the pastures to recover. It prevented their overuse as well.

Ans.— (i) Pastoralism is a form of subsistence that involves the herding of domesticated livestock. Societies practicing Pastoralism are known as Nomads. People who live by hunting and gathering are usually nomadic.

(ii) They live in trial groups and spread out over a large area. These nomadic people group themselves into small nomadic camps of four to ten families.

(iii) Further, they organize their temporary shelters covered with grass, leaves, animal skins and modern cloth tents. Generally, these camps move in a seasonal round to fulfil their economic needs.

Ans.— (i) Pastoral nomads, who move in small groups at irregular interval in search of food. The pastoral nomads are restricted by the seasonal migratory pattern that can vary from year to year.

(ii) Pastoralists stay in one place as long as it can support them and their animals. As the resources exhaust, they move to other destination.

(iii) Therefore, pastoralists nomads do not have any permanent settlement. They are very efficient as this way of existence.

Ans.— (i) Transhumance Pastoralism is practiced by those who often move between winter and summer pastures. This is a seasonal migration between the same two locations. In this migration, locations are fixed and at regular intervals encampments are made. Therefore, stable villages with permanent houses are found there.

(ii) Simultaneously, they also practice farming side by side of animal rearing. They often do small scale vegetable farming at their summer encampments.

(iii) They are more likely to indulge in trade (through the barter or money) with neighboring towns for luxury or other goods.

Ans.— (i) Since man first appeared on the earth, he has depended largely on animals provide him with any of his basic needs. The domestication of animals provides a reliable source of the animal products.

(ii) The animals reared by pastoralists are rarely killed for family use alone. But hunting is often carried out by individuals or in groups. However, the people of pastoralist societies always share the meat of animals they kill. Meat sharing provides a real incentive for people to associate with each other.

(iii) Generally, the pastoralists do not slaughter the animals they pet. But occasionally, they slaughter the animals to serve their social and cultural needs.

(iv) The animals like camels, goats, and sheep are milked. In East-American Pastoralist societies, animal’s blood is mixed with milk to make protein rich milk.

Ans.— (i) As compared with the enormous extremes of temperature and other conditions, life can survive only in a very limited range. Man through his activities and abilities are perhaps, the most adaptable species, capable of surviving in many different environments.

(ii) Life is the semi-arid zone of the Earth is very difficult. Water does not flow ordinarily and climate conditions always unfavourable.

(iii) So, the Pastoralism became the common way of life in this region. In case of drought, pastoralists disperse their herds and move to a new area.

(iv) People settled permanently cannot have these options. However, pastoral people easily face the situation created through an irregular climatic pattern. In fact, every species has become highly specialized in its habits with the given circumstances.

Ans.—  (i) In pastoral societies, descent may be either patrilineal or matrilineal. But most often they prefer patrilineal descent. The stance of man is high in the pastoral societies in comparison to woman.

(ii) Men generally, make the important decisions and own the animals. Women are primarily confined to childrens and domestic work. They believe in God.

(iii) All adults’ possess the skills needed, such as hunting, fishing, farming, herding, etc. The division of labour is mainly based on the age and gender in the pastoralist societies.

Ans.— (i) There are still many parts of the world that remain unexplored. New pastoralists are still being found in different regions of the world. But the pastoralists have often the same distinct qualities of personality regardless of the regions of the world in which they reside. Socially, they are strongly bounded together.

(ii) No one can overrule their social ties. They are cooperative to each other and aggressive towards outsiders. There is a headman of the pastoral societies. He is selected on the merit of his leadership qualities, because he is the supreme power who organizes and leads them in various aspects of life.

(iii) The leader must have innate qualities to perceive the prerequisites of the tribal people. If such a situation arises as the net resources for men and animals have exhausted, in that case, he is required to guide the people up to a resourceful region. Therefore, he must always be realistic in his appraisal of the world. In physical appearance, pastoralists are broad shouldered moderately stout-built and have proportionate bodies. Their hairs are usually black and curly.

Ans.— (i) Maasai are monotheistic and often pray a religious figure called the “Medicine Man” or Laibow. He is involved incurring, divination and prophecy. Their positions are inherited alone clan lines.

(ii) There are three kinds of Laibow. The first type deals in private practices curing illness ensuring the fidelity of wives etc.

(iii) The second type deals with ensuring success in war, adequate rainfall and prevention of diseases.

(iv) The third type of Laibow was concerned with the entire tribe’s welfare.

Ans.— The Gujjar Bakkerwal tribe constitute 11.9% of J&K’s population and have their unique social, cultural and linguistic identity. It is unfortunate that some of them are still not having basic amenities of life. They are given the status of scheduled tribe since 1991. Their main language is Gojri but they can easily speak and understand Dogri, Kashmiri, Punjabi etc. To preserve their culture, Gojri section was established in J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. Many Gojri works including poetry, prose and translations have been published. Different volumes of Journals like Gojri Sheeraza and Mahro Adab and Gojri folk songs and folk tales have also been published.

Ans.— Gaddi shepherd tribe lives in Himachal Pradesh. They spent their winters in the low hills of Shiwalik range, grazing their flocks in scrub forests. By April, they move north side and spend their summer in Lahaul and Spiti. When snow melts down, many of them move on to higher mountain meadows. By September, they began their return movement. On the way, they stop again in the villages of Lahaul and Spiti, reap their summer harvest and sow their winter crop. This cycle is continuing year after year.

Ans.— (i) There are three broad categories of Pastoralism. First, pastoral nomads, which move in small groups at irregular intervals in search of food. The pastoral nomads are restricted by the seasonal migratory pattern that can vary from year to year. Pastoralism stays in one place as long as it can support them and their animals. As the resources exhausted they move to other destination. Therefore, pastoralists nomads do not have any permanent settlement. They are very efficient at this way of existence.

(ii) Second, Transhumance Pastoralism is practiced by those who often move between winter and summer pastures. This is a seasonal migration between the same two locations. In this migration, locations are fixed and at regular intervals encampments are made. Therefore, stable villages with permanent houses are found there. Simultaneously, they also practice farming side by side of animal rearing.

(iii) They often do small scale vegetable farming at their summer encampments. They are more likely to indulge in trade (through the barter or money) with neighboring towns for luxury or other goods. Third, Trader nomads (such as gypsies) travel widely; regularly plying their trade.

(iv) On the merit of the life of the pastoralists people, no sharp line of demarcation be drawn between them. As conditions change, pastoralists adjust with the system. Sometimes, they are forced to change their patterns of life. As a result; nomadic pastoralists become transhumance and transhumance becomes nomadic pastoralist.

Ans.— (i) There are still many parts of the world that remain unexplored. New pastoralists are still being found in different regions of the world. But pastoralists have often the same distinct qualities of personality regardless of the regions of the world in which they reside. They are cooperative to each other and aggressive towards outsiders.

(ii) There is a headman of the pastoral societies. He is selected on the merit of his leadership qualities, because he is the supreme power who organizes and leads them in various aspects of life. The leader must have innate qualities to perceive the prerequisites of the tribal people. If such a situation arises as the net resources for men and animals have exhausted, in that case, he is required to guide the in vita people up to a resourceful region. Therefore, he must always be realistic in his appraisal of the world. In physical appearance, pastoralists are broad shouldered, moderately stout-built and have proportionate bodies. Their hair is usually black and curly.

(iii) It is often in such a case that considerable changes in power and status occur in individual’s life in the pastoralists societies. The power and prestige of the pastoralist depend largely on successful predator raids and animal herding. The military power rests with the youth. Most of the pastoralist societies have some system of regulating marital unions, laying down rules for who should marry whom. A crucial distinction is between endogamy marrying with ones own particular group) and exogamy (or marrying outside the group). Thus, general alliances are made within the same group. The symbol of an asset in the pastoralists is herds. There are great status differences between the young and the old men. An older man usually marries the young women. In pastoralist societies, youths do not acquire herds until they become elders.

Ans.— Pastoralists have a long history. They have often been successful conquerors of the agricultural societies. This has been wholly true in case of Mongols. They were horse pastoralists and cattle herder of East and South Africa. It was in northern China the beginning of the 13th century that the Mongols began their career or conquest. The Mongol light cavalry based armies with powerful bows rapidly conquered China and Central Asia. Their ferocity, formidable armies consisting of entire male members, mastery in the art of firing arrows from the back of galloping horses and their brilliant military tactics, enabled them to crush agricultural societies. In the 14th century, they overran Persia, Iraq, Russia and the northern parts of South Asia. These pastoralists are often driven by hunger and poverty and raid the Fertile Crescent. They are divided into a number of tribes which are involved in wars over the possession of land, particularly pastures. In East Africa, pastoralists established important kingdoms form Rwanda and Uganda to South Africa.

The success of the pastoralists in war can be attributed to various reasons. They are brave and courageous. The tribal fraternity is very strong. They do not lack mutual unity. The pastoralists are accompanied by their women, children and herds wherever they go. Thus, they left nothing behind to worry about. Frequent plunders and looting made them wealthy. They are adept in guerilla welfare particularly, the Mongols. The Mongols also had highly mobile cavalry units. In fact, the pastoralists value extreme bravery this, they train their children accordingly. They usually have the ability to operate in a large social context and to accept the authority of their commander.