Differing images of Nyangatom pastoralism in south Ethiopia

The article “Making sense of past, present and future: images of modern and past pastoralism among Nyangatom herders in South Omo, Ethiopia” by Jill Blau (2018, 11pp, published in the journal Land*), asks how Nyangatom pastoralists currently regard the past, present and future of their pastoralist livelihood. Like all agropastoralist groups in southern Ethiopia, the Nyangatom face enormous structural changes in their immediate surroundings, primarily because of large-scale industrial agriculture and a government policy encouraging them to settle. The author highlights the results of a qualitative study, which shows how discourses of modernity and culture are translated into the everyday lives of herders. While the past is constructed as a cultural/traditional time by the older Nyangatom, an image of modernity shapes the present life of younger generations. The government administration transmits contradictory images, envisioning a future of modern pastoralism yet reflecting general pessimism that pastoralism will persist.

 

* Blau, J.P. Making sense of past, present and future: images of modern and past pastoralism among Nyangatom herders in South Omo, Ethiopia. Land 2018, 7, 54.

Posted on 6 May 2018 in Pastoralism & Culture, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition