Posted by Tom Cole on April 01, 1999 at 14:53:46:
In Reply to: Re: Nomads, Pastoral and Otherwise posted by Steve Price on April 01, 1999 at 09:17:52:
: Dear Tom,
: I hadn't intended to imply that nomads are incessant wanderers, although an incessant wanderer would certainly be one kind of nomad. My impression (and what I intended to convey) is that a pastoral nomad is someone who migrates seasonally between summer and winter pastures. If he stays in the same place all the time he isn't a nomad. I never really gave much thought to the situation in which part of the family migrates and part doesn't, but I guess I'd consider the part that migrates to be nomadic and tha stay-at-homes not to be.
: Regards,
: Steve Price
While my personal experience does not extend to Turkoman nomads, I do have a feel for the Tibetan style of nomadism, which is just what I described. I have a feeling (no knowledge, just a feeling) that this is the way it is throughout much of Central Asia, where vertical nomadism is widely practiced. Vertical referring to lowland pasture in the winter, and higher pasture land in the summer. Murray Eiland once wrote an article in ORR, I believe, examining the issue of tribal and nomad terminology as it related to the lifestyles of the people described. Not a very romantic piece of writing, but grounded and not without some veracity.