What kind of animals nomads do not deal with. Who is a nomad - a herdsman or a warrior? Interior decoration of the yurt of nomads

Nomads Mongolian nomads in the transition to the northern camp

Nomads- people temporarily or permanently leading a nomadic lifestyle, people without a fixed place of residence. Nomads can get their livelihood from the most different sources- nomadic cattle breeding, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, different kinds arts (music, theater), wage labor or even robbery or military conquest. 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 the life of society, the concept of neo-nomads has appeared and is quite often used, that is, modern, successful people leading a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle in modern conditions. By occupation, many of them are programmers, salesmen, managers, teachers, scientists, politicians, athletes, artists, showmen, seasonal workers, etc. See also freelancers.

Typical workplace of modern nomads

nomadic peoples

Nomadic peoples are migratory peoples living off pastoralism. Some nomadic peoples also engage in hunting or, like some sea nomads in southeast Asia, fishing. Term nomad camp used in the Slavic translation of the Bible in relation to the villages of the Ishmaelites (Gen.)

Definition

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

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

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts or high-mountain regions, where cattle breeding 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, products of agriculture and gathering. Drought, snowstorm (jute), epidemics (epizootics) could deprive the nomad of all means of subsistence overnight. To counter natural disasters, pastoralists 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 were constantly in need of 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 options collapsible, easily portable structures, covered, as a rule, with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). Nomads had few household utensils, and dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and shoes were sewn, as a rule, from leather, wool and fur. The phenomenon of "horsemanship" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads never existed in isolation from the agricultural world. They needed agricultural products and handicrafts. Nomads are characterized by a special mentality, which involves a specific perception of space and time, customs of hospitality, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of war cults among ancient and medieval nomads, a warrior-rider, heroized ancestors, who, in turn, were reflected, as in oral art(heroic epic), and in fine arts (animal style), a cult attitude to cattle - the main source of existence of nomads. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that there are few so-called “pure” nomads (permanently nomads) (some of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, the Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet had an unambiguous interpretation. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, now more popular 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 manufacturing economy was forced out. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view. No less debatable is the question of the time of the formation of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Some even tend to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennium BC. e. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (Ukraine, IV millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (II millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from an integrated agricultural and pastoral economy to real nomadism. According to this group of scientists, the transition to nomadism took place not earlier than the turn of the II-I millennium BC. e. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There is a large number various classifications nomadism. The most common schemes are based on the identification of the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• transhumance (when part of the population lives roaming with cattle),
• yaylagnoye (from the Turks. "yaylag" - a 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, meridional, 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” are bred (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel), but the most important animal is the horse (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. the Middle East, where nomads breed 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, Tuareg, etc.) predominate;
4. East Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, inhabited by peoples who breed cattle (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 (Saami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

Rise of nomadism

more nomadic state

The heyday 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 neighborhood 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 subjugated farmers and levied tribute (Golden Horde). In the third, they conquered 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, stationary settlements with caravanserais arose. Several large migrations of the so-called "pastoral" peoples and later nomadic pastoralists are known (Indo-Europeans, Huns, Avars, Turks, Khitan and Cumans, Mongols, Kalmyks, etc.).

During the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played a particularly important role. As a result, a single chain was formed international trade, technological and cultural exchanges. Apparently, as a result of these processes, gunpowder, the compass, and book printing 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 appearance of multiply charged 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 public organization, painful acculturation processes began. In the twentieth century in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedenterization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system in many countries there was a nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists, 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, rising unemployment and poverty. Currently, approximately 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic pastoralism (Northern, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). In countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and others, pastoral nomads make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the point of view prevails that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range various forms 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 little habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomad societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, having a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive impact on historical process, as a result of their devastating invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations. The roots of a whole series contemporary cultures go into nomadic traditions, but the nomadic way of life is 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 compete with settled neighbors.

Nomadism and sedentary lifestyle

Labor productivity under pastoralism is much higher than in early agrarian societies. This allowed the majority of the male population to be freed from the need to spend time looking for food and, in the absence of other alternatives (such as monasticism, for example), allowed them to be sent 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. The huge armies of nomads who were assembled from men who were unnecessary in everyday life are much more combat-ready than mobilized peasants who did not have military skills. Therefore, despite the primitive social structure of the nomads, they posed a great threat to early civilizations with which they were often in antagonistic relations. An example of the huge efforts that were directed at the struggle of settled peoples with nomads is the great wall of China, which, as you know, was not an effective barrier against invasions of nomadic peoples into China. However, a sedentary lifestyle of course has its advantages over a nomadic one and the emergence of cities - fortresses and other cultural centers over time, it made it possible for settled peoples to successfully resist the raids of nomads who could never completely destroy the settled peoples. However, nomad raids sometimes led to the collapse or significant weakening of highly developed civilizations, for example, the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which fell under the onslaught of "barbarians" during the "great migration of peoples." However, despite constant losses from nomadic raids, early civilizations, which were constantly forced to find 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 civilizations, where independent pastoralism did not exist (or rather semi-nomadic mountain tribes who bred small animals from the camelid family did not have such a military potential as the Eurasian horse breeders). The empires of the Incas and Atzeks, being at the level of the copper age, were much more primitive and fragile than the European states and were subjugated without significant difficulties by small detachments of European adventurers.

The nomadic peoples are

• Today:

Historical nomadic peoples:

Notes

Literature

• Andrianov B.V. Non-settled population of the world. M.: "Nauka", 1985.
• Gaudio A. Civilizations of the Sahara. (Translated from French) M .: "Nauka", 1977.
• Kradin N. N. Nomadic societies. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 1992. 240 p.
• Kradin N. N. The Xiongnu Empire. 2nd ed. revised and additional Moscow: Logos, 2001/2002. 312 p.
• Kradin N. N., Skrynnikova T. D. The Empire of Genghis Khan. M.: Eastern Literature, 2006. 557 p. ISBN 5-02-018521-3
• Kradin N. N. Nomads of Eurasia. Almaty: Dyk-Press, 2007. 416 p.
• Ganiev R.T. Eastern Turkic state in the VI - VIII centuries. - Yekaterinburg: Ural University Press, 2006. - P. 152. - ISBN 5-7525-1611-0
• Markov G. E. Nomads of Asia. Moscow: Publishing House of Moscow University, 1976.
• Masanov N. E. Nomadic civilization of the Kazakhs. M. - Almaty: Horizon; Sotsinvest, 1995. 319 p.
• Pletneva S.A. Medieval nomads. M.: Nauka, 1983. 189 p.
• Seslavinskaya M.V. On the history of the “great gypsy migration” to Russia: sociocultural dynamics of small groups in the light of materials ethnic history// Culturological journal. 2012, no. 2.
• Khazanov A. M. Social history of the Scythians. M.: Nauka, 1975. 343 p.
• Khazanov A. M. Nomads and the outside world. 3rd ed. Almaty: Dyk-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.

What is the nomadic lifestyle? A nomad is a member of a community of homeless people who regularly move to the same areas and also travel the world. As of 1995, there were about 30-40 million nomads on the planet. Now they are expected to be much less.

life support

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

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

Other features

Sometimes "nomadic" is also used to refer to various population groups on the move who travel through densely populated areas and do not depend on natural resources, but offering various services (this may be a 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 to get food, find pasture for livestock, or earn a living in some other way. The European word "nomad", meaning nomads, comes from the Greek, which literally means "one who roams the pasture". Most nomadic groups follow a fixed yearly or seasonal pattern of movement and settlement. Nomadic peoples traditionally travel by animal, canoe or on foot. Today, some travel by car. Most of them live in tents or other shelters. Nomad housing, however, is not very diverse.

Reasons for this lifestyle

These people continue to move around the world for various 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, savages South-East Asia Africans traditionally move from camp to camp to hunt and collect wild plants.

Some tribes in the Americas 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 the state of Himachal Pradesh in India is one such. These nomads travel to find more camels, goats and sheep, making long journeys through the deserts of Arabia and northern Africa. Fulani and their cattle travel through the grasslands of Niger in West Africa. Some nomadic peoples, especially pastoralists, may also raid settled 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 Mongolian 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 chosen wintering grounds. Such locations are equipped with animal shelters and are not used by other families in their absence. In 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 a large area, they become members of communities of people with a similar lifestyle, and all families usually know where the others are. Often they don't have the resources to move from one province to another unless they leave the area permanently. A family may move alone or with others, and if it travels alone, its members are usually no more than a couple of kilometers away from the nearest nomadic community. There are currently no tribes, so decisions are made among family members, although the elders consult with each other on standard community matters. The geographical proximity of families usually results in mutual support and solidarity.

Pastoral nomadic societies usually do not boast large populations. One such society, the Mongols, produced the largest land empire in history. Initially, the Mongols consisted of loosely organized nomadic tribes that lived in Mongolia, Manchuria and Siberia. At the end of the 12th century, Genghis Khan united them and other nomadic tribes to establish the Mongol Empire, which eventually stretched across Asia.

Gypsies are the most famous nomadic people

Gypsies are Indo-Aryan, traditionally itinerant 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

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

Yeruki

Yeruks 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 and the Taurus Mountains.

Mongols

The Mongols are an ethnic group of East Central Asian origin from Mongolia and the Mengjiang province of China. 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 regions Russian Federation- Buryatia and Kalmykia.

Mongols are bound 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.

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

"Move around, don't be sedentary,roam the spring, summer and winter pastures and lands by the sea, not knowing lack. Let your milk, sour cream, kymran not decrease.
Oguz Khan

It is generally believed that all those who lead a mobile lifestyle are nomads. This point of view refers to the nomads of Australian aborigines, hunters and gatherers, American horse buffalo hunters. This is not entirely true. Only pastoralists can be classified as nomads, the basis of their economy is production, not appropriation.

nomadic pastoralism- This special kind producing economy, in which mobile pastoralism is the predominant occupation, and most of the population is involved in periodic migrations. On the territory of Kazakhstan, residents have been engaged since ancient times. The constancy of migration routes was described by ancient Greek scientists. The geographer Strabo wrote: “They follow their flocks, always choosing areas with good pastures; in the winter in the swamps near Meotida, and in the summer on the plains.

After 2000 years, Plano Carpini claims that “in winter they all descend to the sea, and in summer they rise to the mountains along the banks of these same rivers.” Thus, for more than 2000 years, these routes have remained constant.

In the 2nd millennium BC. in the Eurasian steppes there are so-called "cultures of the steppe bronze". Cattle breeders led a mobile lifestyle, followed by horse-drawn carts behind their herds.
Nomadic pastoralism is also characteristic of more severe places. Large herd reindeer breeding in the north of Russia existed together with the appropriating economy (hunting, fishing). Deer were used as a means of transport. The Saami bred deer as early as the 7th century. The Nenets, Komi, Khanty, Mansi, Enets, Kets, Yukagirs, Koryaks, Chukchi, Nganasans were engaged in reindeer herding along with hunting and fishing.

The emergence of nomadic pastoralism in the Steppe cannot be explained by one reason. There are many reasons and factors. Pastoral cattle breeding, under certain conditions, could be the initial form for a semi-nomadic and nomadic economy. The impetus that prompted pastoralists to finally abandon agriculture and switch to nomadism was the onset of a dry climate in the 2nd millennium BC.
Already in ancient period the nomadic economic and cultural type of activity has become widespread throughout the entire range of the steppe, semi-desert and desert zones of Eurasia. . Lifestyle largely depends on the habitat and geographical conditions.

Most of the territory of Kazakhstan is a steppe and semi-desert zone with a slightly watered surface. Short, hot summers with dry winds and long, harsh winters with snowstorms make farming difficult. Therefore, nomadic cattle breeding becomes the dominant way of doing business here.

Nomadic pastoralism in its purest form in Kazakhstan existed in the west. The south is characterized by semi-nomadic pastoralism. Here, agriculture was a secondary and auxiliary occupation.

Semi-nomadic pastoralism presents many options. Semi-settled pastoralism differs from semi-nomadic in that agriculture becomes predominant in the balance of the economy. In the Eurasian steppes, the Scythians, Huns, Golden Horde Tatars had semi-nomadic groups. Semi-sedentary pastoralism implies the presence of seasonal migrations of individual pastoral groups and families in a given society.
Pastoral or distant-pasture cattle breeding is characterized by the fact that most of the population lives settled and is engaged in agriculture, and livestock whole year is on free range.
Settled pastoralism had options: house-stall, when part of the cattle is on pastures, some in stalls, house-settled with free grazing, sometimes with minimal fodder.

What are the features of nomadic pastoralism? Cattle breeding was the predominant economic activity.

nomads movie, nomads esenberlin
Nomads- people who temporarily or permanently lead a nomadic lifestyle.

Nomads can get their livelihood from a variety of sources - nomadic pastoralism, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, various arts (music, theater), wage labor or even robbery or military conquest. 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, due to significant changes in the economy and the life of society, the concept of neo-nomads has appeared and is quite often used, 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, 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 Origins of nomadism
• 6 Classification of nomadism
• 7 Rise of nomadism
• 8 Modernization and decline
• 9 Nomadism and sedentary lifestyle
• 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 pastoralism. Some nomadic peoples also hunt or, like some sea nomads in southeast Asia, fish. The term nomadic 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 the Greek νομάδες, nomádes - nomads) is a special type of economic activity and related sociocultural characteristics, in which the majority of the population is engaged in extensive nomadic pastoralism. in some cases, nomads refer to anyone who leads a mobile lifestyle (wandering hunter-gatherers, a number of slash-and-burn farmers and sea peoples of Southeast Asia, migratory populations such as gypsies, etc.

Etymology of the word

The word "nomad" comes from the Turkic word "koch, koch", i.e. ""to move"", also ""kosh"", which means an aul that is on the way in the process of migration. This word still exists, for example, in 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 cattle breeding (Pastoralism) as the main type of economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of the steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts or high-mountain regions, where cattle breeding 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, products of agriculture and gathering. Drought, snowstorm (jute), epidemics (epizootics) could deprive the nomad of all means of subsistence overnight. To counter natural disasters, pastoralists 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 were constantly in need of 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). Nomads had few household utensils, and dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and shoes were sewn, as a rule, from leather, wool and fur. The phenomenon of "horsemanship" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads never existed in isolation from the agricultural world. They needed agricultural products and handicrafts. Nomads are characterized by a special mentality, which involves a specific perception of space and time, hospitality customs, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of war cults among ancient and medieval nomads, a warrior-rider, heroized ancestors, who, in turn, were reflected, as in oral art ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), a cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence for nomads. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that there are few so-called “pure” nomads (permanently nomads) (some of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, the Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet had an unambiguous interpretation. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, now more popular 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 manufacturing economy was forced out. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view. No less debatable is the question of the time of the formation of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Some even tend to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennium BC. e. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (Ukraine, IV millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (II millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from a complex agricultural and pastoral economy to real nomadism. According to this group of scientists, the transition to nomadism took place not earlier than the turn of the II-I millennium BC. e. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

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

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• transhumance (when part of the population lives roaming with cattle),
• yaylagnoe (from the Turks. "yaylag" - a 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, meridional, 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” are bred (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel), but the most important animal is the horse (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. the Middle East, where nomads breed 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, Tuareg, etc.) predominate;
4. East Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, inhabited by peoples who breed cattle (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 (Saami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

Rise of nomadism

more nomadic state

The heyday 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 neighborhood 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.). others they subjugated the farmers and levied 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, stationary settlements with caravanserais arose. Several large migrations of the so-called "pastoral" peoples and later nomadic pastoralists are known (Indo-Europeans, Huns, Avars, Turks, Khitan and Cumans, Mongols, Kalmyks, etc.).

During the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played a particularly important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. Apparently, as a result of these processes in Western Europe hit gunpowder, compass and typography. 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 appearance of repeating 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. 20th century in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedenterization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system in many countries there was a nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists, 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, rising unemployment and poverty. currently about 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic pastoralism (Northern, 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 point of view prevails 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 little habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomad societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, having a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive impact 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 the nomadic way of life is 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 compete with settled neighbors.

Nomadism and sedentary lifestyle

On the Polovtsian statehood All the nomads of the Eurasian steppe belt went through the tabor stage of development or the stage of invasion. Moved from their pastures, they mercilessly destroyed everything in their path, as they moved in search of new lands. ... For the 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-settled), wintering and summer camps appear, the pastures of each horde have strict boundaries, and 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 pastoralism is much higher than in early agrarian societies. This allowed the majority of the male population to be freed from the need to spend time searching for food and, in the absence of other alternatives (such as monasticism, for example), allowed them to be directed to military operations. High labor productivity, however, is achieved by low-intensive (extensive) use of pastures and requires more and more lands that need to be reclaimed from neighbors (however, the theory that directly links the periodic clashes of nomads with the sedentary “civilizations” surrounding them with overpopulation of the steppes is untenable). Numerous armies of nomads, who were assembled from men who were unnecessary in everyday life, 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 the war (it is no coincidence that attention that all nomadic commanders paid to driven hunting for game, considering the actions on it to be almost a complete semblance of a battle). Therefore, despite the comparative 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 attribute 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 at the struggle of settled peoples with nomads is the great Chinese Wall, which, however, is not known to have ever been an effective barrier against nomadic incursions into China.

However, a sedentary lifestyle, of course, has its advantages over a nomadic one, 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, built on the model of the Hunnic and Turkic; the Russian noble cavalry, which absorbed the traditions of the Tatar army along with emigrants from the Golden Horde, which was experiencing turmoil; etc., over time, made it possible for sedentary peoples to successfully resist the raids of nomads, who never sought to completely destroy settled peoples, since they could not fully exist without a dependent settled population and exchange with it, voluntary or forced, of agricultural products, cattle breeding and crafts . Omelyan Pritsak gives the following explanation for the constant raids of nomads on settled territories:

“The reasons for this phenomenon should not be sought in the innate tendency of nomads to robbery and bloodshed. 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 by nomads. Although for the most part the aggression of the nomadic tribes was directed towards their neighbors, the nomads, often the raids on the settled tribes ended in the assertion of the dominance of the nomadic nobility over the agricultural peoples. For example, the rule of nomads over certain parts of China, and sometimes over all of China, was 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 "barbarians" during the "great migration of peoples", mainly in the past of settled tribes, and not the nomads themselves, from whom they fled in the territory of their Roman allies, however, 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 return 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 constant losses from nomadic raids, early civilizations, which were constantly forced to find 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 civilizations, where independent pastoralism did not exist ( or, more precisely, the semi-nomadic hill tribes who bred small animals from the camelid family did not have such a military potential as the Eurasian horse breeders). The Inca and Aztec empires, being at the level of the Copper Age, were much more primitive and fragile than the modern developed European states, and were subjugated without significant difficulties by small groups of European adventurers, which, although it happened with the powerful support of the Spaniards from the oppressed representatives of the ruling classes or the 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 the central and south america, and the disappearance of ancient civilizations with all their attributes, and even the culture itself, which was preserved only in separate, hitherto unconquered remote places by the Spaniards.

The nomadic peoples are

• australian aborigines
• Bedouins
• Masai
• pygmies
• Tuareg
• Mongols
• Kazakhs of China and Mongolia
• Tibetans
• gypsies
• Reindeer herders of the taiga and tundra zones of Eurasia

Historical nomadic peoples:

• Kyrgyz
• Kazakhs
• Dzungars
• Saki (Scythians)
• Avars
• Huns
• Pechenegs
• Polovtsy
• Sarmatians
• Khazars
• Xiongnu
• gypsies
• Turks
• Kalmyks

see also

• world nomad
• Vagrancy
• Nomad (film)

Notes

1. "Before European Hegemony". J.Abu-Lukhod (1989)
2. Genghis Khan and Creation modern world". J. Weatherford (2004)
3. "The Empire of Genghis 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-settled population of the world. M.: "Nauka", 1985.
• Gaudio A. Civilizations of the Sahara. (Translated from French) M .: "Nauka", 1977.
• Kradin N. N. Nomadic societies. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 1992. 240 p.
• Kradin N. N. The Xiongnu Empire. 2nd ed. revised and additional Moscow: Logos, 2001/2002. 312 p.
• Kradin N. N., Skrynnikova T. D. The Empire of Genghis Khan. M.: Eastern Literature, 2006. 557 p. ISBN 5-02-018521-3
• Kradin N. N. Nomads of Eurasia. Almaty: Dyk-Press, 2007. 416 p.
• Ganiev R.T. Eastern Turkic state in the VI - VIII centuries. - Yekaterinburg: Ural University Press, 2006. - P. 152. - ISBN 5-7525-1611-0.
• Markov G. E. Nomads of Asia. Moscow: 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. M.: Nauka, 1983. 189 p.
• Seslavinskaya M.V. On the history of the “great gypsy migration” to Russia: sociocultural dynamics of small groups in the light of ethnic history materials // Journal of Culture. 2012, no. 2.
• Gender aspect of nomadism
• Khazanov A. M. Social history of the Scythians. M.: Nauka, 1975. 343 p.
• Khazanov A. M. Nomads and the outside world. 3rd ed. Almaty: Dyk-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 NOMADERS

nomads, nomads in kazakhstan, nomads wikipedia, nomads erali, nomads esenberlin, nomads in english, nomads watch, nomads movie, photo nomads, nomads read

Nomads Information About

Cattleman or warrior? What trace did the nomadic peoples leave in history? You will find answers to these questions in the article.

Etymology of the word

Thousands of years ago, Eurasia was not covered by megacities. Its wide steppes were home to many peoples and tribes who moved from time to time in search of more fertile lands suitable for both agriculture and cattle breeding. Over time, many tribes settled near the rivers and began to lead. But other peoples who did not have time to occupy fertile areas in time were forced to roam, that is, constantly move from place to place. So who is a nomad? Translated from the Turkic language, this word means "aul (yurt) on the road, on the way", which reflects the nature of the life of such tribes.

The Chinese dynasties and the Mongol khans were all nomads in the past.

All the time on the road

The nomads changed their camp every season. The purpose of the movement was to find more suitable places to live, to improve the well-being of the people. Basically, these tribes were engaged in cattle breeding, crafts and trade. But these studies do not provide an exhaustive explanation of what a nomad is. Often they attacked peaceful farmers, conquering their favorite plots of land from the natives. As a rule, nomads, forced to survive in harsh conditions, were stronger and won. Therefore, they were not always peaceful pastoralists and merchants trying to feed their families. Mongols, Scythians, Sarmatians, Cimmerians, Aryans - they were all skillful and brave warriors. The Scythians and Sarmatians acquired the loudest glory of the conquerors.

historical significance

Getting acquainted at history lessons with who a nomad is, schoolchildren always learn such names as Genghis Khan and Attila. These outstanding warriors were able to create an invincible army and unite many small peoples and tribes under their command.

Attila is the ruler of the nomadic people of the Huns. In almost 20 years of his reign (from 434 to 453), he united the Germanic, Turkic and other tribes, created a state whose borders stretched from the Rhine to the banks of the Volga.

Genghis Khan - the first Khan of the Great Mongolian state. Organized trips to the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, to China and Central Asia. He founded the largest empire in the history of all mankind with an area of ​​​​almost 38 million square meters. km! It stretched from Novgorod to Southeast Asia and from the Danube to the Sea of ​​Japan.

Their actions caused fear and respect among peaceful tribes. They defined the basic concept of who a nomad is. This is not just a cattle breeder, craftsman and merchant living in a yurt in the steppe, but above all - a skilled, strong and courageous warrior.

Now you know the meaning of the word "nomads".