Pastoralism in Africa - Concepts - Chapter 5 Class 9 History - Pastoralists in the Modern World - History

Pastoralism in Africa

• Africa is home to more than half of the world's pastoral people .
• Over 22 million Africans depend on some form of pastoral activity for their livelihood , even today.
• They include communities like Bedouins , Berbers , Maasai , Somali , Boran and Turkana .
• Most of them now live in semi-arid grasslands or arid deserts where rainfed agriculture is difficult . 
• They raise cattle , camels , goats , sheep and donkeys ; and sell milk , meat , animal skin and wool . 
• Some also earn through trade and transport , others combine pastoral activity with agriculture and others do a variety of odd jobs to supplement their meagre and uncertain earnings from pastoralism .
• The lives of pastoralists in Africa have undergone significant transformation over the colonial and post-colonial periods , much like those of pastoralists in India .
• We’ll discuss these changes by looking at one pastoral community - the Maasai .
• East Africa is home to the majority of the Maasai cattle herders , 300,000 of whom reside in southern Kenya and another 150,000 in Tanzania .
• We will see how new laws and regulations took away their land and restricted their movement .
• In times of drought , this had an impact on their lives and even changed the way they interacted with one another .

Where have the Grazing Lands Gone?

• One of the problems faced by the Maasais is the continuous loss of their grazing lands .
• Maasailand , before colonialism, covered a sizable territory that spanned from northern Kenya to the steppes of northern Tanzania .
• As European imperial powers scrambled for control over Africa in the late nineteenth century, the region was divided into colonies . 
• An international boundary was established between British Kenya and German Tanganyika in 1885 , cutting Maasailand in half .
• The Maasai were forced into a narrow area in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania as the prime grazing lands were gradually taken over for European settlement .
• About 60% of the Maasai's pre-colonial territories were lost.
• They were limited to an arid zone with uncertain rainfall and poor pastures .
• From the late nineteenth century, the British colonial government in east Africa encouraged local peasant communities to expand cultivation .
• Pasturelands were transformed into cultivated areas as cultivation grew .
• In pre-colonial times , the Maasai pastoralists dominated their agricultural neighbours both economically and politically but by the end of colonial rule , the situation had reversed .
• 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 prohibited from entering these reserves , and they were also not permitted to hunt or graze their herds there.
• Very often these reserves were in areas that had traditionally been regular grazing grounds for Maasai herds .
• For instance, the Serengeti National Park has created over 14,760 km. of Maasai grazing land.  
• The Maasai were limited inside a narrow region of land that was under strain due to the loss of the best grazing pastures and water resources .
• Continuous grazing in a small area meant that pasture quality deteriorated.
• Fodder was always in short supply . Feeding the cattle became a problem.

The Borders are Closed

• In the nineteenth century, African pastoralists could move over vast areas for pastures .
• When the pastures in one place were exhausted they moved to a different area to graze their cattle .
• The colonial authority started placing different limits on their migration in the late nineteenth century.
• Other pastoral groups too were also forced to live within the confines of special reserves like the Maasai .
• The boundaries of these reserves became the limits within which they could move . They were not allowed to move out with their stock without special permits . 
• Permits were difficult to get without trouble and harassment . Those found to have broken the regulations received harsh punishment .
• Pastoralists were not allowed to enter the markets in white areas .
• They were frequently forbidden from engaging in any kind of trade .
• Pastoralists were viewed as dangerous and primitive by white settlers and European colonists , with whom any interaction was to be minimised .
• However cutting off all links was never really possible , because white colonists depend on black labour to bore mines and, build roads and towns .
• The new territorial boundaries and restrictions imposed on them suddenly changed their lives.
• This adversely affected both their pastoral and trading activities . 
• Earlier, pastoralists not only looked after animal herds but traded in various products .
• Although the constraints imposed by colonial control did not completely ce ase their trading , they were now subject to a number of restrictions .

When Pastures Dry

• Drought affects the life of pastoralists everywhere. 
• Cattle are likely to starve if they can't be transferred to places where there is feed available when rainfall is insufficient and meadows are dry .
• Because of this, pastoralists are typically nomadic and move from one location to another .
• This nomadism allows them to survive bad times and avoid crises .
• But starting with the colonial era, the Maasai were confined to a fixed region , kept inside a reserve , and forbade from travelling in pursuit of greener pastures .
• They were cut off from the best grazing lands and forced to live within a semi-arid tract prone to frequent droughts .
• Large numbers of Maasai cattle perished from malnutrition and disease during these years of drought because they were unable to move their herds to locations with suitable pastures. 
• According to a 1930 investigation , the Maasai in Kenya owned 171,000 donkeys , 820,000 sheep , and 720,000 cattle . Over half of the cattle in the Maasai Reserve perished in just two years of extreme drought , 1933 and 1934 .
• As the area of grazing lands shrank , the adverse effect of the droughts increased in intensity .
• The frequent bad years led to a steady decline in the animal stock of the pastoralists . 

Not All were Equally Affected

• As elsewhere in Africa, in Maasailand too, not all pastoralists were equally affected by the changes in the colonial period .
• In pre-colonial times, the Maasai society was divided into two social categories – elders and warriors .
• The elders served as the ruling body , convening in councils on a regular basis to make decisions about the community's affairs and resolve conflicts .
• The warriors consisted of younger people, mainly responsible for the protection of the tribe .
• They defended the community and organised cattle raids . 
• Raiding was important in a society where cattle was wealth . 
• The dominance of several pastoral clans was established by raids .
• When young men demonstrated their manliness by robbing the cattle of other pastoral tribes and fighting in battles , they were accepted as members of the warrior class .
• They were subject to the authority of the elders .
• To administer the affairs of the Maasai , the British introduced a series of measures that had important implications .
• Chiefs for different sub-groups of Maasai , were appointed and were made responsible for the affairs of the tribe . 
• Restrictions were imposed on raiding and warfare .
• The traditional authority of both elders and warriors was adversely affected .
• The colonial authority frequently chose wealthy chiefs , who would amass wealth over time.
• They had a regular income with which they could buy animals , goods and land.  
• They provided loans to their needy neighbours who required money to pay taxes .
• Many of them began living in towns and became involved in the trade . 
• To take care of the livestock , their wives and kids remained in the villages .
• These chiefs were able to endure the destruction of both drought and war .
• They could purchase animals when their stock was low because they received both pastoral and non-pastoral income .
• But the life of the poor pastoralists who depended only on their livestock was different . 
• Most often, they did not have the resources to tide them over bad times . 
• They lost almost everything during times of conflict and famine .
• They had to look for work in the towns .
• Some eked out a living as charcoal burners , and others did odd jobs . 
• The lucky ones got more regular work in the road or building construction .
• Two levels of social transformation took place in Maasai society.
• The typical age gap between elders and warriors was first challenged, although it did not completely disappear .
• Second , a fresh line of demarcation between prosperous and impoverished pastoralists emerged.