Question 1
Explain why nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another. What are the advantages to the environment of this continuous movement?
Solution
Nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another due to following factors:
(i) They did not have regular fields to get fodder for the herds or to graze them in their own pastures. They needed pastures to graze their live stocks.
(ii) They had to judge how long to stay in one area because the availability of pasture and water were limited.
(iii) In winter, when the high mountains were covered with snow, they lived in the low hills. The dry scrub forests provided pasture for their herd. In summer, they began their march up the mountain slopes from their summer grazing ground. With the onset of summer, snow melted and the mountain fields were lush green. Therefore, they had to complete a cyclic movement between summer and winter in hilly region.
Advantages to the environment:
The cyclic movement of the pastoralists allow sufficient time for natural restoration of vegetation. The vegetation of the higher tracts of mountains and in the foothills are not allowed to overgrow but become helpful to man and animals. The continuous movement of pastoralists also manure the fields and allowed the pastures to recover, thereby preventing their overuse.
