Nomadic

Definition:

Nomadism is a term used for a group or society that does not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or periodically. It is distinguished from migration, which is noncyclic and involves a total change of habitat. Nomadism is a very ancient and traditional way of living on the land, which is becoming harder to do in industrialised countries and with the settlement and ownership of land.

People:

Nomadic people, also known as nomads, are communities of people that move from one place to another in the deserts or winter-climated places, rather than settling down in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world.

Types:

There are several types of nomadism. There are hunter-gatherers,pastoralists and travelling workers. Examples of hunter-gatherer groups are Inuit’s, Kalahari San, Amazonian and Australian indigenous peoples. Hunter-gatherer nomads travel to productive areas of land, following the seasons and climate to where hunting and the collection food is the most plentiful. When the seasons changed and resources are scarce, the cycle continue again. Although if resources are plentiful all year round and the climate is habitable, hunter-gatherers can reside permeantly. An area that has been a permenant living area for hunter-gatherers is the Pacific Northwest coast.

Pastoral nomads travel with dismountable houses in search of productive pastoral lands for their herds. They rely on herds of animals for cultivation of land and as a food source, which travel with them. They travel across productive areas of lands for their herds, moving on when the herd have exhausted the natural resources in that area, to move onto another. An example of pastoral nomads are the Saami people of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. The Saami travelled with herds of reindeer to find food sources along trails of productive land. Although in the present day many Saami do not live nomadic lives.

The animals and the Pastoralists rely on each other. The animals rely on the humans for food sources and the humans rely on the animals for food, products, income, transportaion. An example of modern nomadism is the lappish suomali who have designated lands where they can herd their reindeer.

Travelling workers or Roma usually are neither hunter-gatherers nor pastoral nomads. They generally are seasonal workers, travelling from one territory to another and offering a trade wherever they go. They are an example of a nomadic culture living in an industrialised countries. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomadism

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9056052/nomadism

http://nomadism.pbwiki.com/2%20easy%20ways

by Aneta Paulíková