Nomadic People

Territories

'The politics of place are made manifest trhough different groups' territorail claims. Often people fight to amintain divided or to dissolve them completely. Others tyry simply to slip through them undetected.. These are the marks of ideology upon the earth. Some artists reflect and reflect upon these territorial battles; others explore the absurdities that can occur in the demarcation of such places. But what of those who choose to live on the land nomadically, without making a claim on it? ' (Dean/.Millar 2005:133)

"Nomadism is more than just traveling from A to B. It is everything about Travellers. I live in a house and have done so for a long time but that doesn't make me a settled person. Many country people, who call themselves "settled", may in fact travel more than some Travellers, but this does not make them nomadic. Nomadism is your whole outlook on life… Just as settled people remain settled when they travel, Travellers remain Travellers even when they are not traveling. Travellers who are not moving can, and do, retain the mindset of a nomad." -- Michael McDonagh

Nomads - what is a nomad

'....a member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons'.... wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

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

Many cultures have been traditionally nomadic, but traditional nomadic behavior is increasingly rare in industrialized countries. http://www.answers.com/

Floating Houses
Central Viet Nam(Mid-1800s - today)

These houses are built on rafts so that the nomadic people who live in the Annam Mountains of central Viet Nam can move about freely from one side of the lake to the other. The houses are built from hardwood trees that grow slowly in the mountains. This hard wood takes a long time to rot, so it's perfect for building a house that sits in the water.
http://www.architectstudio3d.org/AS3d/people_annamese.html

Tuareg People

www.africaguide.com/culture/tibes/tuareg

The Tuareg people are predominently nomadic people of the sahara deseret. Because of their blue robes they are often referred to as the 'Blue men of the desert'. They live in small tribes of between 30 and 100 family members and have animals like goats, cattle, chickens and camels.They are a proud race of people and live mostly in the northern reaches of Mali near Timbuktu and Kidal where they tend to do most of their trading.

Each of the family members plays an important role with the women making milk, butter and clothing etc from the animals and collecting firewood. The men dirve the animals and take responsibility for trading. They sell camels and buy millet for bread making.

Drought and government policy has impacted on their way of life and increasingly many are living a more sedentary lifestyle.

Mongolian Nomads

'The nomad moves, but he is always at the centre of the desert, at the centre of the steppe.' Gaston Bacheland (Dean/Millar 2005:147)

These images were taken of Mongolian Gers and Mongloian people by Mette Tronvoll in 2003. He undertook a documentary expedition over a period of six weeks where he travelled across Mongolia from the Gobi Desert in the soputh to Khenti region in the north photographing the landscape, the nomads in and outside of their Gers (Yurts) and images of the Gers themselves. The name Ger comes from the turkish word jurte and is a round white tent and is the home of the nomades living on the steppes in Mongolia. The shape and function of this tent has stayed the same.
(Dean/millar 2005:146)

Click on the link below to go to Tronvolls archive page showing his 2005 exhibition of the Nomads of Mongoplia in Stockholm.


www.nordenhake.com/php/exhibition.php?id=55&year=2005



mongolian yurts

The yurt (mongolian: Ger) is the traditional dwelling of the nomads in Mongolia, as well as in the neighbouring countries, over to as far as in Turkey. It is a tent-like structure made from a wooden frame and covered by wool felt. A traditional yurt is very easy to collapse and assemble again, and it can be transported on no more than three animals (horses, camels, yaks). Today it will fit nicely on a small all-terrain vehicle. http://www.mongolyurt.com/