Page 120 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

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The nomadic way of life moves along routes that are not random, however, but where

cyclical routes take place in very large spaces. The traditional Tuareg herders in northern
Nigeria, for example, regularly set up camp near settled farmers to exchange camel dung,
coveted as fuel, for millet, wood and water. The contacts were peaceful or conflictual,
depending on the situation, time and circumstances.

In contrast to classical transhumance (seasonal long-distance grazing by paid itinerant
herders), (classical) pastoral nomads - as owners of the herds - accompany the livestock
in a closed family unit together with the household goods on their migrations to fresh
pastures.

The example Henri Lhote gives us here describes a path over the year of several hundred
kilometres. On this path there are many encounters where the coming together of

females and males allows a varied choice of mates and thus a wide range of genetic
combinations.

Map of the Tuareg tribes, A. Lhote, in
Les Touaregs p.24-25