Herding
Herders travel around, deriving much of their nutrition from a herd of herbivores. In areas where the land is not fertile enough to support intensive farming, or with cultures that value mobility over stability, people may become herders. There are two kinds of herder community. In some groups only the actual herders travel with the herds while the rest of the community stays in a village and tends gardens and small crops. This is called "transhumance." In other groups everybody in the community travels with the herd. This second type of herding is called "pastoral nomadism." Though herders receive much nutrition from their animals they need more. They may get other nutrition from their own gardening or from trade with other communities with lands that border on their routes from pasture to pasture.
Herders tend to move from lowlands gradually to highland pastures. Lowland pastures are best during the winter and spring months. When lowland fields dry up with summer heat then they guide their herds to highland pastures. Often they follow a traditional route to the mountains, one which they have taken for generations. They will know every pasture along the way, and every natural feature that could trap one of their herd. Herders will be expert in the lay of the land along their traditional routes, and may record much of it in myth and legend.
Aside from travel time herding doesn't require much daily work, at least during most of the year. Herders have plenty of time to socialize or engage in other diversions. Herders require few tools. They own their herds and the products they get from them: milk; wool; meat; leather; manure. Usually the herds are the property of a family rather than an individual. Some herders, such as herders of cattle and horses, ride mounts to keep up with their herds. Others, such as goat-herds and shepherds, tend to walk. Herders do not require complex tools, and as a result of their mobile lifestyle do not tend to accumulate much wealth. Some herders who become proficient traders do get quite wealthy, and they are highly respected in their community.
Herding people require even more land for their territory than foragers do. They have to support not only themselves but their animals, and so good pasturage is very important. This creates conflicts with others, with farmers and foragers whose territories are close to their own. As a result herders tend to be very competitive and aggressive. They need to occasionally trespass on the lands of farmers so their herds can survive. Herders pass through areas only once a year, so if farmers claim land smack in the middle of a migratory route they might not find out until the herd descends on their fields, eating some crops, trampling others. The herders may only want to reach pasturage further on, but if farms are in the way of the only route then they must continue regardless. Not only must they get through regardless but many herders trade for much of their food. This forces them to cultivate friendships and business partnerships with neighboring farmers, merchants, and those who live in cities. Since trade is important to their survival people in herding cultures tend to be good at it, and especially good traders can get rich.
Transhumance
Transhumance is one style of herding in which some people farm and others travel with and tend to the animals. The farming engaged in is non-intensive and requires no special tools or skills. Some of the community actually herd the animals, and travel with the herd along their route. They tend to the animals and are expert in the geography of their routes. Sheep are often herded in this manner, as are goats. During the winter and spring the flock subsists on stored grain; in balmier latitudes it grazes on lowland pasturage. During the summer and fall shepherds guide their flocks into mountain pastures, and must drive them back at the end of fall before winter can trap them. The shepherd's life is a lonely one, and they must adjust to months away from their families. Herders in this lifestyle have plenty of free time to socialize but no-one to socialize with. They often travel by themselves for months, so they lack social contact. This can cause and aggravate serious conflicts back in the home village or out in scattered pastures.
Pastoral Nomadism
Pastoral Nomadism is a lifestyle where the entire community is on the move with the animals, except at cyclical festival times. These groups do not farm. They may hunt and forage for some things, such as honey, dates, and figs, but they either trade with or raid neighboring societies for other things they need. Usually nomads trade for grains or bread, both staple foods they cannot produce themselves. They may also get cloth, tools, and other items from trade. Nomadic raiding brings back slaves, animals, and valuables: Slaves for various uses including farming; Animals for food which doesn't require nomads to slaughter their own herds; and valuables which can be traded again for necessities. Nomad warriors are also herders. Generally the animals belonging to each family are marked, but all the animals travel in the same herd. So too with the herders, who travel together and socialize a lot. Nomads are not lonely, unlike shepherds and other solitary herders, but they do tend towards an "us versus them" attitude. The herding camp is as good as family. The rest of the world consists of those who must be conquered in raiding and those who must be outwitted by crafty bargaining.
Religious Tendencies of Herders
Some herders have little time for religious ritual. They travel all the time, leaving them unable to practice complex rituals or celebrate many holidays. Their traditional routes take on religious meaning. Traditional routes are incorporated in myth and legend. The very process of herding takes on a religious significance. The chief divine figure is likened to a herder and the tribe to his herd. The Patron Deity who commands and guides the tribe is the common pattern of herder religion. Sometimes the patron deity rescues people from certain harm. Other times he might kill individuals. They are as sheep to him. But at all times the patron acts for the good of the tribe. The tribe is not expected to understand the patron deity's motives or reasoning; can sheep understand the motives or reason of the shepherd? Pastoral nomads may have similarly subservient relationships to the divine figures they worship but rather than worshipping a single patron deity they may acknowledge a number of deities, each with a particular specialty.
Cheers!
Loren Miller
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End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #13
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