Pastoralists in the modern world - class-IX

The Maasai cattle herders live primarily in east Africa: 300, 000 in southern Kenya and another 150,000 in Tanzania. 

Large areas of forest were cleared for tea, rubber and coffee plantation. They also cleared the forest for timber. Moreover, the forests were also enclosed for commercial purposes. This led to wide scale deforestation and loss of livelihood for people who depended upon forest resources. For the pastoral communities it meant shrinking of grazing grounds for their cattle. Some of them were labelled as criminal tribes and were forced to work in factorie, mines and plantation.

The Gaddis belong to Himachal Pradesh while Dhangars, to Maharashtra, Bakarwals, to Kashmir and Raikas, to Rajasthan.

Dhangars are a well-known pastoral community primarily found in the state of Maharashtra, traditionally engaged in sheep rearing.

Colonial officials viewed uncultivated land as unproductive. Waste Land Rules were designed to bring such land under cultivation to increase land revenue.

The term 'Maasai' comes from 'Maa', which refers to the language, and 'sai', which translates to 'my people' in their cultural context.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a famous wildlife conservation area located in southwestern Kenya.

Historical records indicate that the Maasai lost approximately 60 percent of their traditional grazing lands due to colonial land partitioning and the creation of reserves.

The Grazing Tax was introduced to increase colonial revenue and to control the movement of pastoralists by restricting their access to grazing tracts.

The Maasai people are indigenous to the East African region, specifically inhabiting parts of Kenya and Tanzania.

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 was the event where European powers formally divided Africa into colonies, a process often referred to as the Scramble for Africa.

The Maru Raikas are a pastoral community in Rajasthan, and their settlements or camps are traditionally known as 'Dhandi'.

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

Dhangars were an important pastoral community of Maharashtra.
In the early twentieth century, their population in this region was
estimated to be 467,000. Most of them were shepherds, some were
blanket weavers, and still, others were buffalo herders. The Dhangar
shepherds stayed in the central plateau of Maharashtra during the
monsoon

The Gaddi Shepherd tribe of Himachal Pradesh also uses the low hills of the Siwalik as their winter base. By April, they move towards the mountains and spend the summer in Lahul and Spiti. As the snow melts, they move further up the mountains.

Most of them now live in the semi-arid grasslands or arid deserts where rainfed agriculture is difficult. They raise cattle, camels, goats, sheep and donkeys; and they sell milk, meat, animal skin and wool. 

The Grazing tax in India was introduced by the colonial government in the mid-nineteenth century. The pastoralists had to pay tax on every animal they grazed on the pastures. The tax per head of cattle went up rapidly and the system of the collection was made increasingly efficient.

Dhangars were an important pastoral community of Maharashtra.  Most of them were shepherds, some were blanket weavers, and still others were buffalo herders. The Dhangar shepherds stayed in the central plateau of Maharashtra during the monsoon. This was a semi-arid region with low rainfall and poor soil. It was covered with thorny scrub. Nothing but dry crops like bajra could be sown here.  By October the Dhangars harvested their bajra and started on their move west. 

Pastoralists could no longer remain in an area even if forage was available, the grass was succulent and the undergrowth in the forest was ample. They had to move because the Forest Department permits that had been issued to them now ruled their lives. The permit specified the periods in which they could be legally within a forest. If they overstayed they were liable to fines. 

Nomads are people who do not live in one place but move from one area to another to earn their living. In many parts of India, we can see nomadic pastoralists on the move with their herds of goats and sheep, or camels and cattle. 

In the deserts of Rajasthan lived the Raikas. One group of Raikas – known as the Maru (desert) Raikas – herded camels and another group reared sheep and goat.

Pastoral communities in different parts of the world are affected in a variety of different ways by changes in the modern world. New laws and new borders affect the patterns of their movement.  Pastoralists are not relics of the past. They are not people who have no place in the modern world. Environmentalists and economists have increasingly come to recognise that pastoral nomadism is a form of life that is perfectly suited to many hilly and dry regions of the world.

First, the colonial state wanted to transform all grazing lands into cultivated farms. Land revenue was one of the main sources of its finance. By expanding cultivation it could increase its revenue collection. It could at the same time produce more jute, cotton, wheat and other agricultural produce that were required in England. To colonial officials all uncultivated land appeared to be unproductive: it produced neither revenue nor agricultural produce. It was seen as ‘waste land’ that needed to be brought under cultivation. 

Gujjar Bakarwals in India are spread throughout the northern part of the Himalayan Range. This includes the states of Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. In Jammu and Kashmir  in India, Bakarwals are also found in all the three regions of the state including Jammu(comprising districts of Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Poonch, Rajouri Districts), the Kashmir Valley (comprising the districts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara, Pulwama, Budgam and Anantnag) and Ladakh(comprising Kargil).  

When grazing lands were taken over and turned into cultivated fields, the available area of pastureland declined. Similarly, the reservation of forests meant that shepherds and cattle herders could no longer freely pasture their cattle in the forests. 

Under colonial rule, the life of pastoralists changed dramatically. When grazing
lands were taken over and turned into cultivated fields, the available
area of pastureland declined.  When restrictions were imposed
on pastoral movements, grazing lands came to be continuously used
and the quality of pastures declined. This, in turn, created a further
shortage of forage for animals and the deterioration of animal stock.
Underfed cattle died in large numbers during scarcities and famines.

Banjaras are a well-known group of graziers. They were
to be found in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In search of good pastureland
for their cattle, they moved over long distances, selling plow cattle
and other goods to villagers in exchange for grain and fodder.

The Maasai lost about 60 percent of their pre-colonial lands. They were confined to an arid zone with uncertain rainfall and poor pastures. The loss of the finest grazing lands and water resources created pressure on the small area of land that the Maasai were confined within. Continuous grazing within a small area inevitably meant a deterioration of the quality of pastures. Fodder was always in short supply.

In the early twentieth century their population in this region was estimated to be 467,000. Most of them were shepherds, some were blanket weavers, and still others were buffalo herders. 

 Many of them migrated to this region in the nineteenth century in search of pastures for their animals. 

In the deserts of Rajasthan lived the Raikas. the Raikas combined cultivation with pastoralism. During  the monsoons, the Raikas of  Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner stayed in their home villages, where pasture was available. The camel herders of the region are Maru (desert) Raikas, and their settlement is called a dhandi.

The Kurumas and Kurubas reared sheep and goats and sold woven blankets. They lived near the woods, cultivated small patches of land, engaged in a variety of petty trades and took care of their herds. In the dry season they moved to the coastal tracts, and left when the rains came. 

Before colonial times, Maasailand stretched over a vast area from north Kenya to the steppes of northern Tanzania. In the late nineteenth century, European imperial powers scrambled for territorial possessions in Africa, slicing up the region into different colonies. In 1885, Maasailand was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanganyika. 

To the east, in Garhwal and Kumaon, the Gujjar cattle herders came down to the dry forests of the bhabar in the winter, and went up to the high meadows – the bugyals – in summer. Many of them were originally from Jammu and came to the UP hills in the nineteenth century in search of good pastures. 

• Maldhari herder's villages are in the Rann of Kutch.
• Maldharis are nomadic tribal herdsmen who live in the Gujarat state of India. The literal meaning of Maldhari is "owner of animal stock". They are notable as the traditional dairymen of the region, and once supplied milk and cheese to the palaces of rajas.

Historical and demographic studies of pastoralism in Africa estimate that over 22 million people rely on pastoral activities for their livelihood.

The Serengeti National Park is a world-famous wildlife reserve located in Tanzania, known for its vast plains and animal migrations.

Gaddi, Gujjar Bakarwals, and Bhotiyas are mountain-dwelling pastoralists, whereas the Raikas are primarily associated with the arid plains of Rajasthan.