The Improvement of Tropical and Subtropical Rangelands (BOSTID) Part II Introduction to the case studies Pastoral regimes of Mauritania (introduction...) Physical geography Migration cycle The Beni Mguild of Morocco (introduction...) Physical geography Migratory cycle The Kel Tamasheq (introduction...) Introduction Camp organization References Dromedary pastoralism in Africa and Arabia (introduction...) Introduction Reproduction and risk Management and labor Subsistence production Marketing Predatory pastoralism The future of camel pastoralism References The mountain nomads of Iran: Basseri and Bakhtiari (introduction...) The physical environment The basseri The bakhtiari The Marri Baluch of Pakistan (introduction...) Physical environment Seasons and migrations A mixed economic system Conclusiones Changing patterns of resource use in the Bedthi-Aghanashini valleys of Karnataka state, India (introduction...) Introduction The setting Human communities Traditional patterns of resource management Colonial period After independence Recent trends References Kenya: Seeking remedies for desert encroachment (introduction...) Introduction Background Traditional pastoralism Baseline studies Vegetation and livestock Directions for the future The hema system in the Arabian peninsula (introduction...) Rights of ownership or use The hema system in Saudi Arabia The mahmia or marah, and the koze system in Syria Neglect of the hema and its consequences Hema in the range improvement and conservation programs in the near east References Wildlife land use at the Athi River, Kenya (introduction...) Background Some early findings Conclusion Camel husbandry in Kenya: Increasing the productivity of ranchland (introduction...) Introduction Location Vegetation Livestock Introduction of camels Management and adaptability Reproduction and lactation Veterinary notes Economics Reference The potential of faidherbia albida for desertification control and increased productivity in Chad (introduction...) Background Characteristics of faidherbia albida Project description Project analysis and evaluation Conclusions References Improving Nigeria's animal feed resources: Pastoralists and scientists cooperate in fodder bank research

The Improvement of Tropical and Subtropical Rangelands (BOSTID)

Part II

Introduction to the case studies

Successful efforts in rangeland improvement are dependent on a thorough understanding of environmental context and the broad range of interactive social, economic, and political factors that affect project formulation and implementation. The most useful and socially responsible way to achieve this understanding is through the analysis of indigenous social adaptations to particular regions. The case studies in this book illustrate the adaptations to various settings in Africa and Asia.

The adaptations described in several of these case studies (specifically, 1, 2, 5, and 6) were characterized over 20 years ago and their use here should not be taken to indicate that they continue to be reasonable reflections of current local conditions. The evolution of range and pastureland systems of resource management in response to stress has been discussed in a companion study, Proceedings of the Conference on Common Property Resource Management (National Academy Press, 1986).

The first case study, "Pastoral Regimes of Mauritania," contrasts the adaptations of the Rigaibat Lqacem of the Saharan zone with those of the Ahel bou-Lobat and other groups associated with the Mauritanian Sahel. Case study 2, "The Beni Mguild Arabs of Morocco," illustrates a complex system of adaptations to a mountainous region dominated by winter precipitation. The third case study, "The Kel Tamasheq of Mali," explores the material culture and diet of the Oulliminden tribe of the Malian Sahel. Not only do these case studies underscore the logic of indigenous adaptations, but provide insight into the probable social and environmental consequences of inappropriately designed rangeland improvement projects in the regions described.

With few exceptions, the livestock projects undertaken by governments and international assistance agencies in tropical and subtropical regions have focused on cattle. In the highly degraded rangelands of the drier zones, however, other forms of livestock often enjoy a comparative advantage. In recent years, renewed interest has been expressed in the camel. Case study 4, "Dromedary Pastoralism in Africa and Asia," discusses camel husbandry and its potential contributions to modern economies. Case study 5, "The Mountain Nomads of Iran: Basseri and Bakhtiari," describes two largely sheepbased pastoral systems seasonally adapted to the Zagros mountains and their associated lowlands. Case study 6, "The Marri Baluch of Pakistan," describes a complex livelihood system that incorporates herding, agriculture, gathering, and wage labor. Case study 7, "Changing Patterns of Resource Use in the BedthiAghanashini Valleys of Karnataka State, India," describes the dynamic interactions among differing human communities, external forces, and the regional resource base in the Uttara Kannada district of the Western Ghats.

Many contemporary efforts in rangeland improvement and regional development are based in systematic environmental analysis and the complementarily of Western science and traditional knowledge. Case study 8, "Kenya: Seeking Remedies for Desert Encroachment," describes the approach taken in UNESCO's Integrated Project in Arid Lands in northern Kenya. Other contemporary efforts draw more heavily from the past. "The Hema System in the Arabian Peninsula," case study 9, describes the successful reintroduction of one of the world's oldest systems of rangeland management into the drylands of the Middle East.

Case study 10, "Wildlife Land Use at Athi River, Kenya," explores the possibility that the most ecologically sound and economically rewarding use of rangeland in many areas may be for wildlife ranching rather than for conventional livestock projects. Case study 11, "Camel Husbandry in Kenya: Increasing the Productivity of Ranchland," discusses the complementary integration of camel and cattle husbandry on four ranches in Kenya. Both papers reflect a trend toward greater innovation in land use. Case study 12, "The Potential of Faidherbia albida for Desertification Control and Increased Productivity in Chad," while focusing on the contributions of a single species, discusses ways of better integrating agriculture and animal husbandry in the African drylands. The final case study, "Improving Nigeria's Animal Feed Resources: Pastoralists and Scientists Cooperate in Fodder Bank Research," describes a modern approach to the creation of fodder reserves that is functionally similar to the ancient hema system described in the ninth case study.

Pastoral regimes of Mauritania

DOUGLAS JOHNSON

Mauritania remains one of the few countries in the world in which pastoral activities continue to play a prominent role for a large segment of the population, despite some instances of sedentarization (1) and other modifications of livelihood reflecting changing ecological, social, economic, and political conditions. Because Mauritania covers a wide latitudinal range and contains a variety of physiographic and climatic regions with generally arid characteristics, it offers a range of marginal environments whose utilization can only be accomplished by a pastoral nomadic life. Existing in precarious balance with these marginal environments are several pastoral regimes that, in their evolution, have arrived at a combination of pastoral and agricultural activities in an attempt to best use the available resources. That the various combinations of camel, goat, sheep, and cattle herding, together with date and grain cultivation, have continued to function effectively for centuries is a telling comment on their basic rationality and efficiency.

Physical geography

Mauritania can be divided into two markedly different physiographic and environmental zones. The southern Sahel, particularly along the coast, is of low relief, with the coastal plain extending inland for 500 km before encountering a line of cliffs. The coast is a barren one, (2) replete with coastal dunes and depressions, such as the Aftout as-Sahali, while sand dunes interspersed with barren regs, or stony surfaces, stretch deep into the interior. Once away from the littoral zone, it is possible to find some grazing areas despite the generally barren nature of both dunes and regs, but vegetation is severely limited by scanty and often saline water resources. In the interior of the country, occasional plateaus rise above the level of the surrounding plains, and some of these, most notably the Adrar, contain important oases. North and east of the Adrar are several northeast to southwest oriented bands of sand dunes (extensions of Erg Chech and Erg Iguidi) that give way still farther north to the reg deserts of Ghallamane and Yetti. (3) Occasional low massifs (al-Hank, Zemmour Labyad), often with steep cliffs, as well as the Hamada of Tindouf and Wadi Draa, add variety to an otherwise sterile and monotonous landscape.

The southern and central regions of Mauritania are influenced by a tropical climatic regime, the impact of which extends as far north as the Tropic of Cancer to the northwest of the Adrar. But east of the Adrar, the 50-mm isohyet that marks the northern boundary of the tropical influence dips below the parallel of 18°N. (4) Rainfall totals increase rapidly south of this line, and the 50-mm isohyet, marking the southern boundary of the Sahel, extends westward from just north of Dakar across northern Senegal and along the southern boundary of the Hawd. Although the exact onset of the rains is variable, most of it falls during the summer months. The rainy season usually begins in May around Slibabi and Nma, and in July around Nouakchott, Boutilimit, and Tidjikja. As the rains proceed northward, the variability in their occurrence from year to year increases steadily (as, for example, the recording of 247 mm at Atar in 1927 followed by only 31 mm in 1928)5 and their inception is sometimes delayed until as late as August in Tagant and the Hawd. These summer rains are part of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, and their arrival is signaled by the outburst of violent thunderstorms that also characterize the Kel Tamasheq country farther to the east. Along the entire coast rainfall is light, but the effects of the summer heat are somewhat modified by the influence of the cool offshore current as well as by the frequent occurrence of fog and dew. In the south, three major seasons can be recognized: a hot, humid summer from June until the end of August, during which most of the year's precipitation occurs, and a winter season that is subdivided into a cool, dry period and a hot, dry period. (6)

Vegetation flourishes during the rainy summer season, is adequate during the cool, dry season, and is thoroughly dried out during the hot, dry period, when water - or, more accurately, lack of water - is the crucial concern, and a decided concentration of all nomadic groups around permanent sources of water is the rule. In the south, the vegetation is composed of a savanna complex of various acacias (Acacia nilotica, A. senegal, A. flava, and A. tortilis) with an understory of grasses and herbs, particularly cramcram (Cenchrus biflorus). (7) To the north, in keeping with the declining rainfall totals, the occurrence of acacias becomes less frequent, and the understory diminishes to scattered clumps of had (Cornulaca monacantha) and sbat (Aristida pungens). In the far north, acacias are restricted to the beds of wadis (usually dry intermittent streams) or especially favored locations in the uplands where they form a major part of the diet of camels; had, sbat, awaraj (Calligonum comosum), and various halophytes form the preferred forage of camels and sheep.

North of the Adrar, the major climatic influence is derived from the Atlantic, rather than from the tropics, and the regime is distinctly Mediterranean in character. Unlike southern Mauritania, precipitation in the north occurs at the very end of the summer and during the early months of winter. (8) Although this rainfall may be locally heavy, totals throughout the northern areas are small, and the distribution is usually sporadic and highly localized. While permanent water supplies can almost always be located in wadi beds and beneath sand dunes at no great distance from the surface, most of the rocky expanses, hamadas and regs, are devoid of dependable water resources. Here the winter rains are of crucial importance, for they cause a rich ephemeral vegetation to spring up wherever they occur, while the rainpools that collect in isolated hollows assure adequate water for man and beast during the winter grazing season, thus permitting the exploitation of what would otherwise be barren and unusable areas.

Migration cycle

The Rigaibat Lqacem

The Rigaibat, the most powerful nomadic group in upper and middle Mauritania, form the basis of this case study. They are a tribe of remarkable solidarity, with a social structure that has attracted a great deal of interest. (9) They are grouped into two major divisions, the Lqacem (or eastern) and the Sahel (or western) Rigaibats. It is the pastoral pattern of the former that will be discussed here. Despite the fact that some scholars have contended that the pastoral activities of the Rigaibat take them everywhere in the western Sahara in a patternless pursuit of rainclouds, (10) nothing could be more at odds with the truth. Albeit somewhat less structured than the regularized patterns of southern Mauritanian pastoralists, the Rigaibat regime nevertheless involves regular, seasonal movements.

The areas occupied by the Rigaibat Lqacem are largely barren. The reg of Yetti is nearly devoid of wells, a circumstance making its use impossible except when winter rains cause the formation of rainpools. The same conditions apply to the Hamada of Tindouf, although Erg Iguidi, which bisects the Lqacem country, is surprisingly rich in wells. In contrast to the aridity of the central regs and hamadas, the peripheries of the Lqacem area are more elevated, and the wadis draining the slopes of al-Hank and Zemmour Labyad offer better possibilities for locating water throughout the year. Because of the wide expanses of land that are without vegetation during most of the year, a similarly wide disperson of friqs (the basic herding unit of five or six tents) is also common. This wide dispersion is apt to create an impression of irregularity. Although individual sections within the Rigaibat tribe have traditional areas of nomadization, in any one place in the Rigaibat territory, at any one time, a number of friqs from various sections may be found as individual tent groups follow their own best advantage. This pursuit of relative advantage is not without regularity, however, even though unusually bad years may force a departure from the normal regime and a concentration of friqs in the Wadi Draa of Morocco or in the better watered portions of central and southern Mauritania (11) - peripheral areas usually well beyond the normal zone of Rigaibat Lqacem grazing.

In winter, the various Rigaibat groups can be found around permanent watering points or shallow wells in Wadi al-Saquia al-Hamra, Wadi al-Ma, and Wadi Chenachane, along the flanks of the Zemmour Labyad and al-Hank ridges, or in especially favored hollows among the sand dunes of the Erg Iguidi. (12) During the summer, the friqs are concentrated in the wadi bottoms of the ergs, and the regs and hamadas are almost totally devoid of occupation. The distribution of herds and friqs remains unchanged until the first rains begin.

Once there is a definite rainfall, scouts are sent out to determine the precise part of the hamada in which the rainfall and resulting vegetation are best. (13) A variety of different moves, or no moves at all, are possible. If precipitation fails, the herder will move great distances to the very borders, or beyond the borders, of the tribal territory. If rain is especially abundant near the summer grazing areas or if the flock is composed of animals incapable of withstanding the rigors of long-distance migration, the nomad may not move at all. In general, however, assuming a year of average rainfall, there is a movement from the summer grazing areas on the flanks of the surrounding ridges into the hamadas and regs in the center. The precise area selected for winter grazing may vary from year to year, but the overall pattern of movement from summer wells to winter pasture in the interior desert remains unchanged. The area selected depends on whether that zone has received sufficient rainfall. (14) If so, friqs from different sections concentrate around the favored area.

In 1959, the most favored areas were around the wells of al-Haiaina and Bou Ameima. Nevertheless, not all friqs went to the summer pastures in Yetti. A close check of the number of friqs present in the winter wadis (as shown in figure 1-1) indicates that nearly half failed to leave their winter locations. Admittedly, 1959 was a somewhat humid year, thus making local resources more attractive and perhaps reducing the desirability of moving. Also, the poor families, unwilling to face the potential risks involved in shifting their flocks to relatively unfamiliar territory, perhaps remained behind, while those possessing larger herds and greater ability to resist sudden catastrophe risked the migration. This points out the variation in patterns of movement that can be found within one tribe. The limited circulation of the poorer friqs around permanent water supplies and along the course of the wadi beds resembles the limited movement of the Kel Tamasheq.

The greater part of the winter is spent grazing the reg and hamada pastures until the wells, pools, and vegetation dry out and a return to the summer wells becomes imperative. During the stay at the winter pastures, the pastoral regime is complicated by the fact that the Rigaibat Lqacem, except for a few sections that are exclusively camel herders, own mixed herds of camels and sheep that are herded separately during most of the year. (15) The tents of each friq are pitched only a short distance apart and the milch camels, upon which the herding unit depends for its basic subsistence, are allowed to graze freely, under the care of the women, within a radius of three to six miles of the camp. However, the baggage camels and surplus female camels are placed under the care of the men and are herded separately from the milking herd; often these herds, representing the reserve wealth of the friq, operate at great distances from the family camp site. Most friqs also have a herd of sheep that is tended by the older children at a short distance from the camp site, to which they return twice each week to water the stock. It is quite common, therefore, for a substantial number of people and animals to be away from the friq at any time, thus conveying a false impression of small herds. This dispersal from and circulation around the actual tent site is greatest during the winter months when pastures are better and more widespread, but at all times the tent remains the focus of the pastoral system, and periodic return trips are made to the friq to water the stock. Thus, while the separate movements of the various herds during winter and summer grazing complicate the pastoral regime, they in no way detract from the essential regularity of the seasonal well-to-desert pattern of movement.

FIGURE 1 -1 Rigaibat Lqacem of northern Mauritania (after Bisson, 1963).

The Tribes of Southern Mauritania

In the broad stretch of territory extending from the Adrar to the southern border of Mauritania are found a number of different types of nomadic adjustments. Camels, sheep, goats, and cattle are all herded in this zone. Some tribes specialize in one animal, but tribal herds more often contain a variety of species, the exact mix depending upon complex balances among habit, tradition, the role of agriculture in the tribe's economy, political power and prestige, local variations in relief and climate, and other factors.

Camels are much more common in the arid north, where frequently they are the only animal herded. Their frequency and importance declines the nearer one comes to the more humid and disease-ridden regions along the Senegal River. Cattle, being less mobile, more demanding in their water requirements, and unable to utilize dune formations for forage, are found in greatest numbers in the south, where their ability to live on dry forage during the summer months makes them especially valuable. Sheep and goats are found everywhere, a function of their intermediate position between camels and cattle, for they are more mobile and more omniverous in their eating habits than cattle but less resistant to drought conditions than are camels.

Thus, groups with a greater proportion of camels than other animal species will cover longer distances in their annual migrations than will those tribes whose herds are largely composed of cattle. Also, tribes herding camels, sheep, goats, and cattle will, depending upon the size and importance of the different herding components, split their herds in an attempt to realize the optimal potential of each species.

In addition to these regularities in the areal distribution of animals and of the pastoral regimes that result from them, there is a distinct regularity in the latitudinal zones occupied by the Mauritanian nomads. During the hot, dry season, the herds and their masters are always concentrated in the southern portion of the Sahel zone, where numerous permanent wells supply water needs; in the rainy summer season, the tribes move northward to exploit pastures made green by the advancing tropical showers, and they usually remain somewhere in the northern portion of their tribal territory during the cool, dry season. (16)

The actual extent of northward penetration depends in part upon the adequacy of the rains, while in especially dry years many tribes, including the Rigaibat from the Saharan zone, can be found in the extreme southern part of Mauritania, where grass and water supplies are more assured. Also, most tribes have an association, either of reciprocity or domination, with an oasis or group of oases where they can obtain supplies of dates and grain, and this means that most tribes have a gatna (date harvest) period when they are back at the oasis for the harvest. (17)

Finally, while theoretically the need to water stock adequately is the only potential limitation upon migrations, in practice habit plays a large role in determining where a tribe will graze. (18) It is the return year after year to an area with well-known watering and grazing potentials that permits the delineation of tribal territories, and only dire necessity will force a tribe to move to an area outside its normal orbit.

In the most southerly parts of Mauritania, the fact that cattle and sheep form the basic component of the herds, coupled with the importance of cereal cultivation, keeps the extent and duration of pastoral movements small. (19) When the rains begin, the herders commonly make a short movement southward to pick up the rainfall at the earliest possible moment (20) and then follow the advance of the rains northward. Once the rainy season is over, the tribes return to their traditional summer wells, where they occupy a restricted area in close proximity to the watering point. Although the return is usually completed by October or November, some groups, for example the Ladem of the Hawd, (21) spend the cool, dry season at some intermediate point in the tribal territory.

Further north, the mixture of pastoral and agricultural forms becomes more complex. Some tribes are strictly camel herders, with little or no interest in agriculture. For example, the Ahel Noh spend the cool, dry season in the southern part of their area, the dry, hot season in an intermediate zone of sand dunes, and the rainy season on the edge of the Dar in the north. (22) The location of the dry, hotseason pastures in a zone intermediate between the pastures of the other two seasons is quite unusual, but actually represents merely an adaptation to peculiar locally favorable resources - in this case, the water resources collected at shallow depths beneath the dunes.

Most tribes, however, possess mixed herds. Those tribes herding sheep and camels divide the herds, with the sheep (and small herds of cattle, if these are owned) moving in restricted orbits in close proximity to the permanent watering points and agricultural centers of the section. Most of the family remains with the sheep and cattle herds. However, the camels, accompanied by shepherds and the young men, move in a completely different orbit and make use of this animal's superior mobility to range far into the interior. Whereas the herds of sheep follow a more fixed and definite route determined by the location of permanent watering points, the camel herders range more widely, visiting those places on their accustomed itinerary that have been especially favored by the season's rainfall. Just how long this move into the interior lasts differs from tribe to tribe.

Among the Ahel Saih Sidia, whose home wells are in the Awkar region, the movement of camels into the Inchiri region near Akjoujt lasts only during the rainy season; both the cool and hot dry seasons are spent in the southern Awkar, although during the cool season the tribe drifts south toward the wells, while at the end of the hot season they begin to move away from the wells in anticipation of the rainy period. (23)

On the other hand, the Ahel bou-Lobat (24) spend the rainy months moving slowly northward over relatively short distances, but once the rains cease they range far to the north into the Adrar, utilizing the dry but still nourishing pasture while the cool weather lasts. The Ahel bou-Lobat regime is complicated by the fact that the tribe owns palm trees at the oases of Dendane and at-Tiaiert and so must be present for the gatna season in July and August. Thus, their yearly cycle includes hot, dryseason camel camps midway between the two oases, a gatna move to the oases in July when all the herds are grouped together, a slow movement northward during the rainy season, a long loop into the Adrar in the cool season, and, finally, a southward return march to the hot-season camp site.

The combination of agricultural and pastoral activities is more complex among the Haiballah than in any other group. (25) Beginning with a gatna stop at al-Fejha in the Tamourt an-Naaj wadi (along the east side of the tribal territory), the Haiballah then move out onto the plateau during the rainy season. As they proceed northward and westward during the cool, dry season, they make stops at various agricultural areas to collect grain. Finally, as the hot season approaches, they move south into the acacia forest of Tamourt an-Naaj, where the leaves of the acacia trees form almost the sole pastoral resource during the hot, dry months. Yet, despite the importance of agriculture in determining where they are located at any time in the year, they remain essentially pastoral.

Along the coast, there is little agricultural activity, but the nomads participate in the general northward movement, parallel to the coast, during the rainy season and often also during the cool, dry season, (26) although some groups make a long move from Trarza deep into the Inchiri sand dunes. (27) Once the hot, dry season begins, a rapid southward shift takes place.

In conclusion, it seems significant that most of the nomads of southern Mauritania move in a roughly eliptical pattern. Occasionally, their outward and inward paths cross over each other, but it is more common for the herds to return to the dry-season wells by a route different from the one followed when leaving them. This difference in inbound and outbound routes is not commented upon in any of the literature, but it may be that the exhaustion of areas previously grazed during the year makes a selection of an alternative route desirable.

NOTES

1. Charles Toupet. "Quelques aspects de la sedentarisation des pomades en Mauritanie sahlienne," Annales de Geographie LXXIII(400):738-745 (1964).
2. Peveril Meigs. Geography of Coastal Deserts (Arid Zone Research No. 28, Paris: UNESCO, 1966), pp. 93-94.
3. For the physiography of northern Mauritania, see Jean Bisson, "La nomadisation des Reguibat L'Gouacem," p. 214; and Andre Cauneille, "Les pomades Regueibat," Travaux de l'Institut de Recherches Sahariennes VI:83-84 (1950) .
4. Charles Toupet. "L'volution de la nomadisation en Mauritanie sahlienne," in Nomades et nomadisme au Sahara (Recherches sur la Zone Aride No. 19; Paris: UNESCO, 1963), p. 69.
5. Ibid., p. 69.
6. For the seasonal regime, see P. Borricand, "Le nomadisme en Mauritanie," Travaux de l'lnstitut de Recherches Sahariennes, V:81-83 (1948).
7. Toupet, "L'volution de la nomadisation en Mauritanie sahlienne," pp. 69-70; and E. J. Paris, "Notes sur les puits de l'Azaouad (Soudan)," Notes Africaine: Bulletin d'information et de correspondance de l'Institut Franais d'Afrique Noire, No. 53 (Janvier 1952), p. 24.
8. Cauneille, "Les pomades Reguibat," p. 85; and Borricand, "Le nomadisme en Mauritanie," p. 86.
9. David M. Hart, "The social structure of the Reguebat Bedouins of the western Sahara," Middle East Journal XVI:515-527 (1962), makes much of this solidarity. See also A. Leriche, Notes sur les classes sociales et sur quelques tribus de Mauritanie," Bulletin de l'lnstitut Franais d'Afrique Noire, Srie B. XVII:173-203 (1955); and Modat, "Aperu sur la socit Maure de l'Adrar," Bulletin du Comit d'Etudes Historiques et Scientifiques de l'Afrique Occidentale Franaise V:264-278 (1922).
10. See, for example, Hart, ibid., p. 516.
11. Andre Cauneille and Jean Dubief, "Les Reguibat Legouacem: Chronologie et Nomadisme," Bulletin de l'lnstitut Franais de l'Afrique Noire, Srie B. XVII (1955).
12. Jean Bisson, "Nomadisation chez les Reguibat L'Gouacem," in Nomades et nomadisme au Sahara (Recherches sur la Zone Aride No. 19, Paris: UNESCO, 1963), p. 52, and map on p. 53; also idem, "La nomadisation des Reguibat L'Gouacem," p. 215, and map on p. 214.
13. Bisson, ibid., p. 52.
14. Bisson's maps (ibid., pp. 53-54; and "La nomadisation des Reguibat L'Gouacem," p. 214) point out the correlation between successive rainfalls in an area and its choice as a pastoral zone. However, since 0a data only deals with 1959 - an admittedly humid year - there is no assurance that such overlap in rainfall occurrence is an absolute prerequisite for an area's selection.
15. Bisson, "Nomadisation chez lea Reguibat L'Gouacem," p. 53; and Borricand, "Le nomadisme en Mauritanie," p. 89.
16. M. F. Bonnet-Dupeyron, Cartes de l'Elevage en Mauritanie: Dplacement saisonniers de. leveurs en basse et moyenne Mauritanie (Carte 1/500,000, en 2 feuilles: Ia-Ouest, et Ib-est; Paris: ORSTOM, 1950). These maps are an often quoted source for the pastoral regime of southern Mauritania, and they point out this pattern clearly. Although cluttered and often confusing, they remain the most detailed work on the southern half of the country. For other general statements on the regime, see Borricand, "Le nomadisme en Mauritanie," pp. 86-87; and Toupet, "L'evolution de la nomadisation en Mauritanie sahlienne," pp. 69-70.
17. Ibid., p. 70; and Capot-Rey, "Le nomadisme pastoral," Nomades et nomadisme au sahara (Recherches sur la Zone Aride No. 19; Paris: UNESCO, 1963), pp. 72-73.
18. Borricand, "Le nomadisme en Mauritania," p. 87.
19. See Paul Marty, Etudes sur l'Islam et les tribus Maures: Les Brakna (Collection de la Revue du Monde Musulman; Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1921) an example of these limited movements in the Brakna area.
20. Capot-Rey, Le Sahara franais, in L'Afrique blanche franaise Paris: Presses Universitaires de France) II :2 59; and Borricand , "Le nomadisme en Mauritanie," p. 86.
21. Toupet, "L'volution de la nomadisation en Mauritanie sahlienne," p. 73.
22. Ibid., p. 71.
23. Paul Dubie, "La vie matrielle des Maures," Mlanges Ethnologiques (Mmoires de l'Institut Franais d'Afrique Noire, No. 23; (Dakar: IFAN, 1953), pp. 122, 139.
24. Toupet, "L'volution de la nomadisation en Mauritanie sahlienne," p. 72.
25. Ibid., pp. 74-75.
26. Bonnet-Dupeyron, Carte de ;'Elevage en Mauritanie (Ia-Ouest).
27. Capot-Rey, La Sahara franais, pp. 258-259.

The Beni Mguild of Morocco

DOUGLAS L. JOHNSON

Deciding just how nomadic or sedentary a particular tribal group in rural Morocco is poses a major problem, for nearly every possible combination of nomadism and agriculture can be found from group to group and often within one group itself. Consider, for example, the At Atta on the Saharan side of the Atlas, some of whose subgroups are fully nomadic, (1) while others are either partially sedentary or are only partially nomadic. (2) It is also common for sedentary agriculturalists to keep animals as a means of using otherwise unexploitable areas and engaging in transhumant movements to bring these animals to better seasonal pastures. (3) Indeed, as Blanche points out, (4) all sedentaries keep some animals and all nomads do some supplementary farming, so that "pure" nomadism hardly exists. It becomes quite difficult, therefore, to determine what group is essentially nomadic unless primary weight is placed upon the relative importance of the role played by animal husbandry and agriculture within the tribal economy.

With this criterion in mind, it seems fair to say that the subjects of this case study, the Beni Mguild of central Morocco, are essentially a nomadic group. For while the pastoral-agricultural regime of the Beni Mguild has frequently been described as a double transhumance (5) in which the cultivation of cereal crops plays a large role, it is the necessity to shift their herds of sheep and goats between various altitudinal zones at different seasons of the year that gives the Beni Mguild Arabs their highly involved migratory pattern.

This is not to deny the importance of agriculture, but the herds are the primary source of wealth, and as such, claim priority in the system of movement. This fact is amply demonstrated by the marked decline in the size of all herds after the French penetrated the Moulouya Valley and restricted the Beni Mguild's seasonal movements. (6) Precisely because agriculture is a prominent part of their system and because they make so many moves in order to exploit as fully as possible their rugged upland environment, the Beni Mguild offer great insight into the adaptive nature of pastoral nomadism.

Physical geography

The tribal areas of the Beni Mguild are located in the central portion of the Middle Atlas and can be divided into three zones: (7) the Azaghar Plateau region, the ridges of the Middle Atlas proper, and the steppes of the Upper Moulouya Valley. The Middle Atlas range dominates the region. Aligned in a southwesterly to northeasterly direction, the Middle Atlas is a broken, mountainous area running from the High Atlas to an abrupt termination near Taza. At its southern end, the range drops rapidly to the Plain of Tadla on its western side, while it runs parallel to the High Atlas on its eastern side. It is separated from the High Atlas by the deep gorge of the Wadi al-Abid. This dividing line is more than simply a physical separation, for in the more arid areas south of the High Atlas, the Ait Atta practice a form of nomadism that differs notably from that of the Beni Mguild. (8) North of the Wadi al-Abid, the Middle Atlas trends in a more westerly direction, and the wedge-shaped upper and middle Moulouya plains intrude between the two ridges. Here, the eastern boundary of the Middle Atlas is marked by an abrupt descent into the Moulouya Valley. Boundaries for the Middle Atlas peaks, some of which exceed 2,500 m and many of which are important summer grazing areas for the herds of the Beni Mguild, are much less clear on all other sides, particularly to the northwest, where the ground gradually drops off through plateau country as it slopes gently toward the ocean.

This gently sloping upland is called the Azaghar Plateau. (9) Bounded by an abrupt drop to the Sas Plain near Mekns on the north, the Plain of Tadla and the fields along the Wadi Oum ar-Rbia on the southeast, and the cliff of Zaiane on the west, the plateau has geographical unity despite its gradual blend into the Middle Atlas. Averaging about 1,200 m in elevation, the surface of the Azaghar Plateau is dotted by a series of old volcanic cones, is cut by an intricate web of narrow valleys providing access to the area, and contains a significant number of smaller plateaus that vary quite considerably from the general elevation of the Azaghar. Both the Azaghar and the Middle Atlas are drained by a number of streams and wadis, whose courses parallel the trend of the mountains in their headwater portions, but later turn west to break through the mountains on their way to the ocean, and in so doing open up routes for passage through the mountains. It is this complex series of plateaus, old volcanic cones, and narrow valleys that forms the winter grazing territory of the Beni Mguild.

The third physiographic zone, the plain of the Upper Moulouya, is a steppe region that contrasts markedly with the mountain and upland areas to the west. Southeast of the town of Itzer, a very steep cliff emphasizes the abrupt change in elevation between the Middle Atlas and the Moulouya steppe. Here, a number of small streams tumble down out of the mountains, supporting the small agricultural villages and fortified granaries that dot these valleys. (10) West of Itzer, the slope from the Atlas into the plains is more gradual, and agricultural possibilities are more limited.

As Clrier points out, (11) it is climate, acting upon the physiography and the distribution of vegetation, that plays a key role in the Beni Mguild's adjustment to and exploitation of their environment. As is the case with much of the mountainous area of North Africa, Morocco is dominated by the Mediterranean regime of summer drought and winter precipitation. The eastward drift of cyclonic storms from the Atlantic encounters the barrier of the Middle Atlas; being forced to rise, the storms deposit considerable quantities of precipitation in the area. In the lowlands, this precipitation falls as rain, but on the higher peaks (over 2,200 m) snow is the rule and the snow cover here lasts all winter. The Azaghar Plateau, occupying an intermediate position, receives rain and snow, but its elevation is sufficiently low that snowfalls rarely result in significant accumulations. This winter snowfall is crucial, because the quality of the summer pasture depends upon the adequacy of the snowfalls (12) Although occasional violent thunderstorms bring some precipitation to the uplands, pasture is dependent upon snow melt for its nourishment. However, at the same time that snow is falling in the high Middle Atlas and blocking all winter movement of man and beast across the mountains, the absence of snow in the lower elevations is an essential prerequisite for the successful winter pasture of the Beni Mguild in the Azaghar.

Vegetation shows a vertical zonation similar to the distribution of rain and snow. (13) Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) is found on the higher slopes of the more humid northern and central portions of the Middle Atlas. The distribution of the cedar begins at about 1,300 m and extends upwards to the snow line at about 2,200 m. However, above 2,200 m regeneration is difficult; hence, an herbacious vegetation nourished by snow melt emerges in the spring. Downslope from the cedars is the zone of evergreen oaks and occasionally of thuya (Callitris articulata), which is frequently degraded by cutting, browsing, and burning into a maquis assemblage. Numerous grasses and agricultural stubble, important for foraging, are found below 2,000 m. On the eastern slopes of the Middle Atlas, the entire character of the vegetation changes, for the rainshadow effect of the mountains favors the development of a steppe complex, where esparto (Stipa tenacisima) - a tough tussock grass, inedible during most of the year - is most common.

The natural regime sketched above is one of distinct seasonal and altitudinal variation in the availability of pasture and water. In summer, agriculture engages the attention of tribesmen in lowland and plateau areas, and the herds are kept in the upland areas over 2,200 m to take advantage of pastures nourished by melting snow or the esparto of the Moulouya Valley. In winter, herds are moved to the lowland plateaus of the Azaghar, where milder temperatures and adequate rainfall permit abundant grazing on unoccupied land or harvested fields. Actually, as indicated below, the system is still more complex, for the Beni Mguild are engaged in cereal farming in the Moulouya Valley at the same time that they are shifting their herds from zone to zone.

Migratory cycle

The Beni Mguild are divided into two major groups, a northern and a southern, and it is the migratory pattern of the southern group that is considered here (figure 2-1). The southern Beni Mguild are, in turn, divided into four separate subtribes, each with its own slightly different adjustments, migratory routes, and areas of cultivation and pasturage. The northernmost of these subtribes, the Ait Lias, begin their seasonal cycle south of Itzer, while the larger Ait Ougadir (the Ait Quebel Lahram and Ait Ali) are strung out along a series of small streams descending the steep eastern face of the Middle Atlas. (14) The remaining two subtribes, the Ait Bougueman and the Ait Messaoud, are spread out widely in the wedge-shaped portion of the Upper Moulouya on both sides of the river and in the gorges of the ancient Massif of Aouli. (15)

October is taken as the starting point of the yearly cycle both for convenience and because it marks the end of the Beni Mguild's agricultural activities. (16) In October, the various Beni Mguild sections can be found in the Upper Moulonya attending to their cultivated fields on the steppe. Once the harvest is completed and stored in fortified granaries, it becomes necessary to move to the Azaghar Plateau, as pasturage in the Upper Moulouya is insufficient for all the flocks. This move to the Azaghar begins about the first of November and continues throughout most of the month. Movement is slow and follows a regular order from the southeast toward the northeast with one group of tents packing up and leaving only to be followed immediately by another douar, or village of tents, moving successively into the abandoned pasturage. (17) The nomads always travel in substantial groups, or caravans, to prevent any interference with their progress by other nomads or by sedentary villagers along their route.

The Ait Lias go first, travelling through the pass at Tizi Zad (on the main Mekns to Midelt road) to their traditional pastures around Azrou and Ifrane, (18) although some have been reported as far west as al-Hajeb. (19) Slightly later, the Ait Ougadir cross the first mountain barrier at Tizi-n 'Rechou and at a point somewhat farther north before turning northeastward up the synclinal valley of the Wadi Serrou. After skirting Jabal Tamarakoit, Jabal Hayane, and the slopes around Aguelmane-Azigza, they pass through Ain-Leuh on the way to their winter pastures in the Plateau of Tellt between Wadi Beth and Wadi Aguennor. (20) A similar route is also followed by the Ait Bougueman and Ait Messaoud, who have long taken the same path as the Ait Ougadir. They also winter on the Plateau of Tellt as well as in the plains of Messouar and Guertila and on the Plateau of Ment. At one time, various sections of the Ait Bougueman and the Ait Messaoud seem to have fallen under the authority of the Zaiane tribe to their immediate south, thus permitting them to take slightly more southerly routes to their traditional pastures, (21) but this evidently represented a departure from the more normal pattern.

FIGURE 2-1 Arabs of the Middle Atlas (after Clrier and Joly). (5)

Although the Azaghar is occupied by other nomadic groups during the summer, these groups withdraw toward the coast during the winter and, except for the agriculturists, the Azaghar is left to the Beni Mguild. (22) The Azaghar is occupied throughout the winter months; the herds utilize the pastures made rich and verdant by the winter rains. Once the snow is melted at the passes, usually about the beginning of March, and movement back to the Moulonya Valley becomes possible, the Beni Mguild leave the Azaghar. They retrace their steps, following the same route in March as they did in November; this migration usually takes an entire month.

By April, the Beni Mguild are back in the Moulonya Valley. Their tents are dispersed along the edges of the irrigated fields and their animals are pastured in the fields, thereby providing fertilizer for the next agricultural cycle. (23) At the end of the month, the fields have been planted and the Beni Mguild are ready to move once again. This time, the movement is toward the high mountain pastures made available by the melting snow, for with the steppe either planted in cereals or drying up, and with the Azagher occupied by peasant agriculturalists or other nomads, only the upland pastures, over 2,200 m, remain to be exploited.

These mountain pastures are divided in the same way as the lowland pastures, and each tribe knows what area is assigned to it and what forest areas are open to its animals. (24) In the beginning of July, the herds move out, crossing into Wadi Serrou and then turning north to Aguelmane-Azigza and the slopes of Jabal Tamarakoit in a repetition of the initial stages of their winter moves. (25) May and June are spent in carrying out this move with the herds grazing slowly upslope through the forests, much to the chagrin of the forest service. Only the Ait Messaoud fail to participate fully in this movement. Driven from the Moulonya Valley by the desiccation of its pastures, the Ait Messaoud, like the rest of the Beni Mguild, send many of their herds to the northern slopes and plateaus of the High Atlas where, shaded from the full impact of the sun's rays, adequate pasturage can be found. (26)

Not everyone follows the herds to the upland pastures, since someone must stay behind to guard the family fields. The Beni Mguild possess both large- and small-size tents, and it is the size of the tent accompanying the herds, as opposed to the size of the tent remaining behind on the agricultural fields, that indicates the relative importance of herding activities. (27) Among the Ait Ougadir, the large tent goes with the herds into the mountains, whereas the small tent remains behind near the agricultural fields; the situation is reversed among the Ait Bougueman and the Ait Messaoud. The herds and their keepers remain in the upland pastures through July and August, albeit with occasional movement of individuals between the mountains and the Moulonya Valley. In mid-September, (28) increasingly cool temperatures and the need to harvest the cereal crop lead to a rapid movement of herds and population back along the way they came, and hence into the upper Moulouya Valley by October.

The system described above is complex. Although the distances covered are not excessive (the distance from the upper Moulouya Valley to the Azaghar is only about 100 km in a straight line, but of course is longer via the nomads' route), they are extensive enough to make permanent housing impractical for the majority of the population. In every instance, the direction of movement is perpendicular to the mountain chain and utilizes streambeds and the passes between them to move from valley to valley en route to the desired pasturage zone. This gives the pattern of movement the highly constricted linear appearance characteristic of mountain nomadism. Although the Beni Mguild's pattern is more complicated than the usual oscillation between highland and lowland pasture found in mountain areas, this represents an adaptive utilization of an unusual juxtaposition of mountains, plains, and plateaus, rather than an entirely new type of pastoral exploitation.

NOTES

1. An excellent study of an Ait Atta section is found in Fernand Joly, "Les Ait Khebbache de Taouz (Maroc Sudoriental)," Travaux de l'Institut Recherches Sahariennes VII:129-159 (1951).
2. D. G. Jongmans and J. H. Jager Gerlings, Lea Au Atta. Leur Sedentarisation No. 115 (Amsterdam: Institute Royal des Tropiques, 1956) and No. 50 (Amsterdam: Dpartment d'Anthropologie Culturelle et Physique, 1956). See also G. Marcy, "Une tribu Berbere de la Confederation des Ait Warain: les Ait Jellidasen," Hsperis lX:79-142 (1919), for a similar situation among the Berber tribes near Taza.
3. Jean Dresch, Commentaire des cartes sur les genre, de vie de montagne dans le massif central du Grand Atlas, (Publications de l'lnstitut des Hautes Etudes Marocaines; Tours: Arrault, 1941), XXXV:1822, shows how intricate and involved these upslope-downslope movements can be. See also Dresch, "Migration pastorales dans le Haut Atlas calcaire (Regions de Dennat et d'Ouaouizerth)," Mlanges gographiques offerts a Ph. Arbos (Clermont-Ferrand: G. de Bussac, 1953), pp. 131-140.
4. Jules Blache, "Modes of Life in the Moroccan Countryside: Interpretations of Aerial Photographs," Geographical Review X1:482 (1921).
5. Jean Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," Hespris, VII:64 (1927); Fernand Joly, "Elevage: Ovins et Caprins," Atlas du Maroc: notices explicatives (Comit de Gographie du Maroc, Section X - Geographie Economique, Elevage, Planche No. 40a; Rabat: Comit de Gographie du Maroc, 1954), p. 54; and E. Laoust, "L'habitation chez les transhumants du Maroc Central: I, La tense et le douar," Hespris X:246 (1930).
6. Ren Raynal, "La terre et l'homme en Haute Moulouya," pp. 487-500, points out the results of French interference that resulted in the sedentarization of most of the Ma'qil Arabs on their agricultural holdings in the Moulonya. In the case of the Ait Messaoud and the Ait Bougueman, two subtribes of the Ma'qil Arabs, herds declined from over 200,000 sheep at the height of pastoral movements to 45,000 today. See also, idem Dplacements rcents et actuels des populations du Bassin de la Moulouya (Maroc Oriental)," Comptes Rendus du Congres international de Gographie, Lisbonne, 1949 (Lisbonne: 1952), IV:67-80.
7. See Pierre Birod and Jean Dresch. La Mediterrane et le Moyen-Orient (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1953-1956), 1:436-439; and Jean Despois, L'Afrique du Nord (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1949), pp.52-56.
8. Jean Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," Hesperis Vll:53-68 (see p. 55) (1927).
9. E. Laoust. "L'habitation chez les transhumants du Maroc Central 1, La tense et le douar," Hespris X:151-253 (1930) points out, the term azaghar means a specific geographic region, but it carries with it numerous other connotations such as small village, fields, grazing for animals, etc.
10. For the Upper Moulonya, see Raynal, "La terre et l'homme en Haute Moulouya,- pp. 489-490.
11. Jean Clrier, "La montagne au Maroc (Essai de definition et de classification) ," Hespris XXV: 109180 ( 1938) .
12. Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 56; and Laoust, "L'habitation, I," pp. 152-153.
13. See J. Martin et al., Gographie du Maroc (Paris: Hatier; Casablanca: Librairie Nationale, 1964), p. 123, map on p. 120. Also valuable are Birot and Dresch, La Mediterrane et le Moyen-Orient, 1:436-439; and Despois, Jean, L'Afrique du Nord, pp. 86-95.
14. Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 64.
15. Raynal, "La terre et l'homme en Haute Moulouya p. 491; and Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 64.
16. For the clearest and most concise account of the yearly cycle, see Jean Clrier, Maroc (L'union franaise; Paris: Editions Berger-Levrault, 1948), p. 90. Also extremely valuable is the map and schematic representation in Joly, Atlas du Maroc, p. 26, and the route descriptions in the new classic article by Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," pp. 64-67. A more general work treating the Ma'qil Arabs is Suzanne Nouvel, Nomades et sdentaires au Maroc (Paris: Emile Larose, 1919).17.Laoust, "L'habitation...I," p. 241.
18. Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 65; and Martin et al., Gographie du Maroc, p. 129.
19. Laoust, "L'habitation...l," p. 243.
20. Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 65.
21. Ibid., p. 66.
22. Walter B. Harris,"The Nomadic Berbers of Central Morocco," Geographical Journal 1X:639 (1897); and Nouvel, Nomades et sdentaires au Maroc, pp. 58-59.
23. Clrier, Maroc, p. 90.
24. Nouvel, Nomades et sdentaires au Maroc, p. 57.
25. Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 64.
26. Ibid., p. 65.
27. Laoust, "L'habitation...l," p. 249; and Clrier, "La transhumance dans le Moyen-Atlas," p. 65.
28. Joly, Atlas Mu Maroc, p. 26.

The Kel Tamasheq

SUSAN E. GUNN

Introduction

The following is based on nine months of fieldwork undertaken by the author in southern Mali among the nomadic Kel Tamasheq (Tuareg). Most of this time was spent with the Oulliminden tribe, which inhabits the area between Gao on the Niger River and the Niger border. These people are one of the most isolated of the Kel Tamasheq groups; the lack of outside influence is reflected both in their material culture and diet.

The Kel Tamasheq's physical setting borders the southern Sahara and is known as the West African Sahel. This region is characterized by an annual rainfall of 15-150 mm, which allows the survival of a vegetation pattern dominated by annuals such as Cenchrus biporus and Tribulus terrestris and trees such as Balanites aegyptiaca and Acacia spp. The fauna include Gazella dorcas and G. dama, as well as the ostrich, warthog, and giraffe, although these wild populations have been drastically reduced in recent years because of the use of motorized vehicles and firearms (Nicholas, 1950; Richer, 1924). Three seasonal extremes can be distinguished: a cold, dry period from December through February; a hot, dry period during April and May; and a wet season beginning in mid-June and lasting until September, during which violent storms and the only measurable precipitation during the year occur. Temperatures during the day reach highs of 46°C (115°F) in May and at night may dip as low at 4.5°C (40°F) in December. The Sahel dwellers have adapted to this environment by utilizing almost all natural resources, either directly or through the medium of animals, and have obtained them in amounts sufficient to sustain life by moving from area to area.

The nomads do not form a homogeneous society, although they have a common designation as Kel Tamasheq (Tamasheq speakers) or Kel Esuf (people of the bush). Many authors have used the Arabic term "Tuareg" in referring to this group, but since it is sometimes used to refer only to noble classes and because the nomads never use it, their own designation for themselves, Kel Tamasheq, will be followed. Recently, non-Tamasheq speakers have been moving into this area, mainly Peul (Fulani) and Arabs. The pattern of adaptation of the Arabs is very similar to that of the Tamasheq, but the Peul lifestyle differs considerably. The Tamasheq comprise five distinct social categories: nobles (known as imajaren), their vassals (for example, imrad, debakar, chamenamas), marabout tribes (Kel Essouk), slaves (iklan or bella), and artisans (inadan). Slaves and artisans may reside either independently or, as is traditional, in the camps of the wealthier nobles, vassals, and marabouts; the latter three groups may visit each other for long periods but do not live together permanently. Details of occupation, ritual, physical type, and kinship patterns vary among these groups but on the whole, their adaptation to their environment is quite similar (N'Diaye, 1970). All are pastoralists with herds including camels, cattle, sheep, and goats (as well as household animals including donkeys and dogs); they are traditionally "pure" nomads (that is, never sedentary); they are Muslim and speak a common language, Tamasheq.

Diet

Although diet varies according to the season and to the wealth age, and social position of the individual, milk - either fresh or soured - is the basic food for all. To make sour milk, a culture is placed in fresh milk (preferaby cow's), which is allowed to stand for 14 hours. It then may be drunk plain, or with the addition of water, the dried and pulverized fruit of Ziziphus spp., flour of millet or wild grains, cheese, or dates. The preparations, translated as "crme," are considered to be very fortifying. Butter is made from cow's milk and is churned in a goatskin each morning. Cheese is made only during the rainy season when there is a surplus of milk; after drying, it can be kept for more than a year. Donkey's milk is used only for medicines.

TABLE 3-1 Average Number of Lactating Animals per Household, According to Social Class and Animal Type (Example Drawn from One Camp in June 1972) *

TABLE 3-1 Average Number of Lactating Animals per Household, According to Social Class and Animal Type (Example Drawn from One Camp in June 1972) *

	Nobles (Imajaren)	Iklan for Cows	Iklan for Camels	Artisans
Animal	(5 households)	(7 households)	(5 households)	(4 households)
Camels	3.0	0	3.5	1.3
Cows	2.4	3.2	0	4.0
Goats	0	9.0	5.0	6.0
Sheep	0	+	0	0

*Ratio changes as new animals are born. +Only 1 household has lactating sheep (10).

TABLE 3-2 Approximate Yields of Milk According to Animal Type at Evening Milking (in liters).

Animal	Cold Season	Hot Season	Wet Season	Times milked per 24 hours
Camel	5-7	2-4	7-9	3
Cow	3-4	2-3	4-7	2
Goat	0-1/2	1	2	2
Sheep	2	0	3	1

In principle, the milk supply available to each family at any one time should vary according to the number of milk animals it owns, or (as in the case of iklan), the number allotted to it; and the type of animals, since this determines when lactation begins, how long it continues, and the amount produced (tables 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3). (An individual family is likely to have only one or two types.) However, these social and economic variations are minimized through a system of redistribution operating both among the households and among the social categories within the camp. The common mechanisms are trading (for example, tobacco for milk, camel's milk for cow's milk), sharing, and "stealing." Imajaren households are an exception, because they cannot share the milk itself with others of the same rank but may instead either borrow a lactating animal or send their children to drink with a family that has a surplus.

TABLE 3-3 Lactation Patterns According to Animal Type

TABLE 3-3 Lactation Patterns According to Animal Type

Animal	Months Gestation	Months between Gestations	Births per 2 Years	Months Lactation
Camel	12	10-12	1	18-24
Cow	10	2-4*, 12**	2	10-16
Goat	5	2	8 (twine)	7-8
Sheep	6	2*	6 (twine)	7

*If pasture is extraordinarily good
**if pasture is extraordinarily bad

Except during the wet season, milk is insufficient to nourish adults and therefore is supplemented with wild and domesticated grains. The wild grain gathered by the slaves and poorer vassals, consists primarily of Panicum laetum spp. (ishiban, which can be further separated into akasof and asral) and Cenchrus biflorus (wajag) (see table 3-4 for additional species). Panicum is the most important wild grain because it is more abundant, is the first to ripen after the rains, requires very little preparation (pounding), and does not cause digestive upsets. It is harvested at three different stages in the ripening process: the first, beginning in August or September, lasts only 10-15 days and involves cutting the heads from the standing grain. This harvest is especially important if the milk supply is low. The second follows in mid-September when the grain is ready to fall; the stalks are bent over a basket and the grains beaten into it. This ishiban is considered the cleanest and is most preferred. The final harvest begins in October and lasts until the next rains in June or July; it consists merely of sweeping up seeds that have fallen naturally after the dry grass has been cut or eaten by animals or burned off. Grain gathered in this manner is considered to be of lowest quality, since it requires considerable preparation before eating to remove the sand. After harvesting, the grain is dried and stored in leather sacks, mud-brick granaries rented in towns, or in holes in the sand (0.5 m in diameter and 1.5 m deep) lined with matting. Grain that is stored in this latter fashion is usually conserved for times of scarcity. When the first harvests come in (September), these reserves are immediately replenished and whatever old grain remains is either eaten or sold. The grain is said to suffer little loss in quality for at least two or three years. The location of the holes is secret but they often are placed near the wells frequented by the group, beside the stands of grain, or on the edge of a village. (Table 3-5 lists the harvest periods of the primary grains.)

TABLE 3-4 Commonly Used Wild Grains and Other Wild Foods

TABLE 3-4 Commonly Used Wild Grains and Other Wild Foods

Name of grain	Collection	Preparation	Importance or use
Asaral.	Aug-June in watered plateaux and valleys by Iklan or Imrad	Cooked always needs sauce (milk or butter)	First grain to ripen; very light; no diseases; "good for diarrhoea."
Akasof.	Drier plateaux is smaller than Asaral
Tegebart	Found in same places as Asaral, often mixed	Cooked or raw as "creme"; does not need sauce	Is considered to be the best variety of ishiban
Wajag	Needs heavy rain before growth starts, must wait till straw is dry before gathering-- by an Iklan on dunes and plains	Cooked or raw as "creme"	Considered more nutritious than ishiban; was main feed for hones with milk. If eaten excessively, can give diarrhoea
Agarof	During wet season when still slightly green on dunes	Pounded to break off spines (vicious!); cooked or raw	Flavourful, especially "good for old people as tonic, and blood diseases"
Afaso	On dunes in same areas as ishaban during October	Harder to pound than ishiban'raw or cooked	Can be found in great quan tities but only harvested if ishiban lacks--famine food low status
Tajite	A red grain Sound in clear spaces after a rain, collected by ants, can be scraped up with hands	Difficult to pount; cooked or raw day; stomach full till next good for men"	One of the few grains avail able at this time "keeps

*Asaral and akasof are both called ishiban

Grains:	Fruits:
Asaral = Panicum laetum Kunth	Amalaja = Acacia raddiana Savi
Akasof = Panicum laetum Kunth	Tadant = Boscia senegalensis Lamk.
Tegebart = Echinochloa corona Link	Abora = Balanites aegyptiaca
Wajag = Cenchrus biflorus	Terakot = Grewia populifolia Vahl.
Agarof = Tribulus terrestis	Tabakot = Ziziphus saharae
Afaso = Panicum turgidum
Tajite = Eragrostis sp.

Vegetables:	Gums:
Eshako = Glossonema bovennum	Tamat = Acacia seyal Dil
Agar = Maerus crassifolis	Afaja = Acacia raddiana Savi
Tagoya = Citrullus colocynthis Schrad
Alikid = Citrullus colocynthis Schrad
Ibellawent = Rumex
Abedebit = Boerhavia aggulutinans
Tamasalt = Limeum indicum Stacks

Domestic grains (wet rice, millet, and occasionally sorghum) that are grown by sedentary agriculturists along the Niger River were traditionally supplied to the nomads as tribute, but now the nomads purchase them when the wild grains are unavailable or for special occasions. Domestic forms constitute roughly half of the grain eaten by nobles, but only a quarter for the iklan, although this depends on the size of the harvests. During the months from September to January, ishiban and wajag are eaten by everyone, but as the supplies diminish, the wealthy nomads and imajaren eat an increasingly greater proportion of domesticated grains, whereas the poorer people resort to the less common wild grains, for example, Tribulus terrestris (agarof), as shown in table 3-6.

Both domestic and wild grains are pounded in a wooden mortar to remove the bran; it is then separated from the grain by shaking from one flat basket to another, the process also used for removing sand. No stone querns, pestles, or grinding stones were observed among the Tamasheq in the Sahel, although Nicolaisen (1963) and Gast (1968) note their use in the northern Sahara. The bran is frequently given to slaves and is eaten either raw or cooked. The cleaned grain is boiled in open metal pots, then eaten with butter, pounded meat, or sour milk and salt.

TABLE 3-5 Harvest Periods of Major Domestic and Wild Grains

Vegetables are consumed mainly when other foods are scarce, or by children of lower status groups. This is largely due to prohibitions against eating them (held by higher class Tamasheq, as well as by the slaves and artisans who live with them), and perhaps also to their relative scarcity in the Sahel. Vegetables are usually cooked in water, although the melons (tilagarien) may be roasted in hot ashes. Some (for example, tatola) are eaten raw, but this is rare.

Fruits are generally taboo, although small dried berries of Ziziphus Spp. (tabakat) and Grewia tenax (terakat), which are gathered by iklan during August and September, are sometimes used as a sweetening for sour milk. Iklan and artisan children also collect and enjoy "desert date" (aborak) and the gums of several trees. Aborak is the fruit of Balanites aegyptiaca, and not of the wild Senegal date palm, P.reclinata. The fruit of the domesticated date palm, P. dactylifera, are also used for sweetening, but they are scarce; they are not found in the Sahel, but are acquired through trade with northern oases dwellers. Some leaves that are used as medicines, Cassia obovata (agargar), for example, may impart some nutrition; they are usually chewed or brewed as tea. (Species of vegetables, fruits, and gums and the mode of preparation are listed in table 3-7.)

The imajaren are prohibited from eating fish and insects as well, but other groups, especially those whose nomadic patterns bring them close to the Niger River, eat fish. Use of locusts has been noted among the Tamasheq tribes of the Sahara by Foley (1930:209) and Gast (1968: 251).

TABLE: 3-6 Proportion of Milk, Meat, and Grain in Diet According to Season

TABLE 3-7 Commonly Used Vegetables, Fruit, and Gums

Meat of domesticated animals is used mainly on special occasions such as religious festivals, the arrival of visitors, or major camp movements, and for medicinal purposes, although Kel Tamasheq believe that meat should be eaten at least every week in order to maintain health. They have been known to stage a "special occasion" to justify butchering an animal. Goats are most frequently used because they are least valuable and are generally kept near the camp. A larger animal may be butchered when meat is scarce, if there are many visitors, or if it is too weak (from thirst, hunger, or travel), old, or sick to continue. However, the latter depends on the type of infirmity; victims of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, for example, are not eaten.

Wild animals are seldom eaten; this may be partly because of their current scarcity, food taboos, or possibly the lack of means or expertise in hunting. (Weapons consist only of knives and throwing spears; no bows are used except as toys.)

Animals are killed by slitting the throat. Blood and stomach contents are the only parts not used, and the meat is divided according to strict social rules: the chest to marabouts, if present; the ribs to the man of highest rank; the head to the shepherd or owner of the herd; the neck to elders in the shepherd's family (if he is young); the stomach and intestines to the iklan; the lower legs to children; and the rest to the owner of the animal. This pattern differs slightly according to the type of animal. Large animals such as camels or cows must be partitioned among the whole camp; sheep and goats are primarily for the family that butchered them, although almost anyone may come to eat with that family or ask for some of the meat. Organ meats (liver, heart) are roasted on hot coals immediately after butchering and are eaten with salt by the head of the family and respected guests. Later, the haunch and meaty portions are prepared in any of the following three ways: (1) roasted by being buried in the sand with a fire built on top; (2) boiled in water with the meat then removed from the bones and pounded in a mortar to break up the fibres, then served with grain, or very rarely, with butter only; (3) cut from the bones, then divided into thin pieces and hung inside the tent to dry. Bones are discarded.

Fresh milk is the first meal of the day for children and is taken at dawn; the adults drink only sweet tea and chew tobacco. At midmorning, "crme" is eaten by men and children, and less frequently by women. In early afternoon, a major meal of grain with either meat, butter, or milk is prepared, if grain is available. In the evening, fresh milk is drunk by all, occasionally supplemented by a small dish of grain if milk is scarce. Visitors are usually given a meal of meat and grain, preferably millet or rice, in the evening.

Food is served in wooden bowls with four or five people partaking from each, using either the hand or a wooden spoon. Bones are broken open with knives or "Neolithic" stone implements to obtain the marrow; the bones are then thrown outside the tent. If the camp remains in one place for more than a few days, such debris will be swept further away from the tent (8 to 10 m). Occasionally, dogs (one or two of which are present in most camps) will scatter bones further. However, scavenging is not their main means of obtaining food, since they are fed on milk and grain when it is available. Bones seem to accumulate on the west side of the tent during the cold season and on the east side during the hot months. (At other times, camps are not stationary long enough for debris to concentrate.) This difference may be due to the fact that in winter meat is eaten to celebrate the arrival of visitors and is served with the evening meal when people sit on the west side (perhaps for protection against easterly winds). During the hot season, however, meat is most frequently eaten at the main afternoon meal when tent occupants gather on the shady east side. Meat has less of a ceremonial function at this time, since visitors are not common; it is more important as a food source because milk and grain are insufficient and also because many animals die of starvation or thirst during the hot season and must be slaughtered.

Determinants of Movement

The nomads' most common response to pressures from the physical and social environment (hunger, thirst, political hostility) is to move. It is one of the most effective means of exploiting widely scattered and scarce resources. The precise nature of the movement (its time, frequency, direction, and distance) is the result of a complex interplay between the needs of people and animals and the availability of food and water, the latter being the most critical commodity.

Kel Tamasheq do not wander randomly, but circulate within general "home" regions, and within these regions, follow a habitual route, for example, south to north to south again, although both the region and the route can change in response to unusual political or seasonal situations. The nomadic pattern is oriented toward seasonal water points and key pasture areas (figure 3-1).

FIGURE 3-1 Approximate extent of areas occupied by nomadic pastoral groups in the vicinity of the lower Tilemsi Valley, Mali.

TABLE 3-8 Resistance of Animals to Thirst, Hunger, and Fatigue

TABLE 3-8 Resistance of Animals to Thirst, Hunger, and Fatigue

Animal	Maximum Days Cool Season	Without Water* Hot Season	Maximum Days Without Food Hot Season	Maximum km/day
Camel	90	5-7	5-7	80
Cow	3	2	2	20
(Calves)	1	1		10
Goat	15	2	2	20
Sheep	30	1-2	2	30

*Depends on quality of pasture.

In the first months after the rains, from September to December, water is obtained from shallow, handdug wells that are usually surrounded by adequate pasture. Camps are located near the water, and this enables the group to remain in place for as much as a month at a time. As this water dries up, usually between January and February, groups move toward more permanent sources, such as bore-holes or the traditional hand-dug wells in beds of now-dry lakes. As pasture is consumed in all directions around these wells, the camps move gradually outward, spending no more than a week in one spot, until the distance between water and pasture is the limit that mature cows and caprines can travel (table 3-8). At this point, occurring at the height of the dry season when it is tied to one water source, the camp is positioned between the well and the pasture and, again, remains immobile for several weeks. The exact placement of the camp itself at this and all other times is determined by the water requirements of the young animals that remain inside the camps, as well as by those of the people themselves. Lambs, kids, and humans do not require great quantities of water (sufficient amounts can be carried in leather water bags for two days' supply), but since calves drink more, they must be taken directly to the water source every day. The extent of their daily travel depends on age and physical condition, but is unlikely to exceed 10 km each way. It can be postulated, then, that it is the calves that determine the exact distance of the camp from water.

On the other hand, the crucial decision of when to move appears to depend on the food needs of mature animals, specifically those that are lactating. They must return to the camp each evening to be milked and to feed their young, and therefore cannot travel more than 20 km (for cows) in search of pasture. To ensure their return, herders send the mothers in one direction and their young in another, on the theory that in the evening both will converge on the camp - the young being hungry and the females seeking relief; if, however, the two somehow meet while grazing (a not uncommon occurrence), neither comes back to camp. When the pasture is consumed beyond this limit, the camp and herds must move to another permanent water source or possibly, if it is near the usual end of the dry season or if the source is beyond the capabilities of the animals to walk, the group may remain and try to eke out a living until the rains come. In either case, and especially when the rains are delayed, a considerable toll is taken in animals.

Such extreme conditions do not occur every year, but they serve to illustrate the critical balance that exists between man and land at all times in a marginal environment. Nomadic life requires a sensitive evaluation of the needs of animals and an awareness of where the optimum supply of water and pasture can be found. Increase in population or change in environmental conditions may bring nomads into competition for these limited resources. It seems likely that these mechanisms were at work 4,000 years ago when the prehistoric pastoralists were being forced out of the Sahara to find new and more permanent water sources.

During the wet season, an entirely different set of considerations dictates the location of camps and the time of movement. The needs of animals are no longer critical - new grass is growing and water is available everywhere in streams and shallow lakes. At this time, the mature nonlactating animals (which until now have been totally independent of the camps and wandering freely in search of food and water) are rounded up, a process that may take several weeks. When all the animals have eaten enough new grass to regain strength lost during the hot season, the camp and its consolidated herds embark on a month-long journey to areas of salt earth ("terre sale") which are generally located to the north on the edge of the Sahara (the precise area differs for each region). This trek serves both a health and a social function. In the first case, it allows the animals to graze on salt grasses and drink water of high mineral content, which the nomads believe is necessary for the health of both their animals and themselves. In the second, since related tribes usually frequent the same terre sale this is a time of feasting, competitive sports (camel racing, wrestling), and, above all, courtship.

During the wet season, the camps usually move each day or every other day, although the exact speed and frequency of movement depends on the strength of the young animals that are usually being born at this time; for example, newly born camels must rest at least a day after birth before they can travel, and even then they may not be able to keep up with the herd; a herder will often drop back to walk with the mother and infant. Progress is often slowed also by the need to retrieve the animals that have wandered during the previous night (during seasons when movement is infrequent, the trek animals are collected and hobbled the day before, but when camp is being moved each day, the animals must be left free to graze at night). A minor factor affecting the speed with which the salt areas are attained is the search for appropriate routes. Large lakes must be skirted, and in the Sahara region good water and pasture again become a problem. The northward journey, then, is not direct but carried out in a zigzag fashion (figure 3-2).

During all seasons, the distance that a camp moves at any one time strictly depends on the availability of water and pasture, but it normally ranges between 2 km and 30 km. Movement begins at dawn (it takes approximately half an hour to break camp) and continues only until noon. If still more territory needs to be covered, the journey will resume after the day's heat diminishes.

During August and September, the movement pattern of iklan both those who are a component of other camps and those who are independent, is slightly different from that of the nobles and marabouts, since it is influenced by their search for wild grains. At the time of the first harvest, iklan groups will converge upon the areas that have been favored by rain or soil conditions. If the yield is abundant, the second and third harvests will be limited to the collection of grains encountered while herding; movements will be less affected by the need to harvest.

A local variation of the general pattern of movement is found among groups living near the Niger River, especially those between Timbuktu and Gao. At the end of the hot season, and especially if it is prolonged or severe, the groups will reverse their pattern of following the diminishing pasture away from the river and make a forced march back toward it through now barren country in order to feed their animals on the plant species, such as Echinochloa stagnina (burgu), exposed by the lowered water levels.

Movement of all groups is influenced by death and disease. Nomads are aware of the danger of contagion and will isolate the tent of one who has an infectious illness. When traveling, they will try to pass on the upwind side of a stricken camp. When a person dies, he is buried several hundred meters from the camp, oriented to the east in the Muslim fashion, and the grave is covered with straw, after which, ideally, the camp will be moved. Kel Tamasheq do not condone amputation, surgery, or mutilation of the body, even in order to save life.

FIGURE 3-2 Seasonal pattern of movement by one nomadic group in southern Mali.

Camp organization

The necessity for more or less constant movement has greatly influenced both the material culture and the living pattern of the Kel Tamasheq. The former is restricted to household necessities that are light and not easily broken; for this reason, little pottery is used; most vessels are made of wood. The only item of pottery noted in one of the camps was a large broken pot (1 m diameter) in which hides were soaked to remove the hair before tanning. With superfluous items cut to a minimum, aesthetics are expressed in such functional items as carved tent poles, beds, bowls, and intricately woven mats, as well as through personal decoration - hair styles, necklaces, swords, charms, and leather wallets.

Tents are the logical response to needs for a shelter that can be quickly and easily dismantled and rebuilt during seasons of rapid movement (figure 3-3). Tents are placed over a framework of wooden poles; these poles are lashed together with ropes made from the bark of Acacia tortilis (afagag). They are fashioned from goat or cow hides, the number depending on the wealth or social status of the occupant - from as few as 4 to as many as 60 - sewn together with thongs. They constitute the heaviest and bulkiest item of the Kel Tamasheq's gear, but this weight is necessary: the tents must withstand the high winds and torrential rains of the wet season. During these storms, the nomads secure the tents by tying their edges to the bases of the auxiliary tent supports and by throwing across the tent ropes, whose ends are knotted around straw and buried in holes 1 m deep. Tents have an average life of 10 years and are easily repaired by stitching circular patches of leather over rips or holes. During the hot season, when the camps are stationary for weeks at a time, straw huts are constructed that are cooler than the dark tents; the latter are stretched out on the ground where they are mended and butter is melted into the leather by the hot sun to soften and preserve the skin. Red ochre (temesgeit) is then rubbed in as an additional preservative.

Camps are located in relation to natural features according to the season. In the cooler months (September-November and February March), the camp is placed near areas of small trees or bushes that can provide fodder for young goats. In the cold months of December and January, the camp is moved into the shadow of an acacia "forest," or, if that is unavailable, near a large dune to gain protection from the cold winds. During the hot and rainy seasons, the camps are made on top of high dunes to take advantage of cooling breezes during the hot season and to avoid the mosquitoes and water runoff associated with the rainy season.

The nomads explain that at no time are camps placed within 100 m of a water source, since it is prohibited to eat in such places.

Within the camps, there appears to be no pattern regarding the placement of tents other than personal preference (some family heads prefer higher ground, others like to camp beside a tree, and some families habitually camp near each other because they get along well or have herds in common). The exceptions are that tents of slaves who care primarily for camels (iklan n iminas) will be placed to the east of the master's tent and the tents of those who are "slaves of the cows" (iklan n fess) are always to the west. Tents of the artisans are generally situated in a cluster to the west of the camp. The chief or most respected person chooses his place first and the others follow, apparently in order of seniority. Tents appear to be always oriented toward the east, which is contrary to the observations of others: (Briggs, 1960) in the northern Sahara, and Nicolaisen (1963) among the Kel Ayr. Baggage is piled on the north and south sides allowing the east and west sides to be opened when sunlight, and sometimes wind, is not coming from these directions (at noon, tents are opened on both sides to give maximum shade and ventilation).

FIGURE 3-4 Typical pastoral nomad's camp on a sand dune during the wet season.

The distance between tents varies according to the terrain. On small dune tops, the major family tents of nobles, for example, may be as close as 10 m to each other, with the household slave tents clustered within 2 m (figure 3-4), whereas on open plains they may be separated by 40 m, (figure 3-5) obliging the women to ride donkeys when visiting friends on the opposite side of the camp.

FIGURE 3-5 Typical pastoral nomad's camp on the open plateau during the hot season.

Camps as a whole are vaguely crescent- or U-shaped. At night when the animals return to the camp for milking, the camels are placed on the inside, and goats, sheep, and cattle lie outside. There is no rigid rule concerning this and it is largely a matter of what is most convenient for those who care for them. Newborn sheep and goats are kept inside the tents. Older ones are allowed to run free in the camp during the day but are tied by their necks to a rope stretched between two stakes at night. Bush enclosures are sometimes made to protect goats and sheep from jackals. Newborn camels are tied by one foreleg to individual stakes in the middle of the camel yard; when older ones come back from pasture they are tethered in a group to one stake. Calves are tied individually by the neck at night and are sent to pasture during the day. Donkeys'front feet are hobbled when they are likely to be needed, but otherwise they are allowed to roam freely. It must be emphasized that it is only young animals and mature lactating females that are usually found in the camps; the others are brought in only when camp is about to be moved and even then not all are found.

Since material culture is limited among the nomads, abandoned cool-season campsites are indicated only by trampled earth, dung, lack of grass in the surrounding area, and a few wooden branches used as auxiliary tent supports. Hot-weather sites may show traces of straw huts, and rainy season camps often have remains of "nests" that children build in trees to escape the mosquitoes, or occasionally, bed supports that lift sleeping mats 1-1.5 m off the ground for the same purpose. There are sometimes remnants of charred branches left from the huge bonfires that are built during wet-season storms to keep goats f