Living with camels

Aarib
Morocco southern Draa valley east to Tafilalt

The Aarib are nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists, The majority live at the southern end of the Draa Valley. Although approximately 60 percent of the nomads there have become sedentary during the past 25 years, the territory utilized by remaining nomadic Aarib extends from the Draa Valley in the west to the Tafilalt in the east. Their migration is seasonal, with the spring and simmer spent in the eastern part of their territory and the autumn and winter in the southern part.
The Aarib raise camels predominantly for milk, meat and hair, which are used for subsistence and are traded or sold to the surrounding sedentary and transhumant population with whom they have a long history of exchange.

Ababda

Egypt – Southern Red Sea Governorate

The Arabic-speaking Ababda live in Egypt’s Red Sea Hills,, in the area between Aswan on the Nile and Qoseir and Marsa Alam on the Red Sea. They share a common heritage with the Bidhaawyeet-speaking Beja tribes who live to the south. They keep goats, sheep and camels.
They live in the desert with their flocks of camels, sheep and goats. They are always on the move, looking for water and food for their animals. They have no permanent settlements; they live in wooden shelters which they simply leave behind when they move on, building new ones at the next place.

Ahamda

Sudan – Kassala, Gedaref, White Nile

The Ahamda are a Arabic-speaking, Muslim pastoralist group in Central Sudan. They keep camels, goats, sheep and a few cattle. They are variously calssified as Abbala (camel-keeping) or Baggara (cattle-keeping). They are traditionally nomadic herders who also cultivate rainfed sorghum on a seasonal basis. They move their herds into the semi-desert areas east of the Nile during the rainy season, and back to the Nile Valley during the dry season.
Many have settled in villages near the Nile, where they seek wage labour but still invest in livestock and may practise a form of seasonal transhumance.
The boys and men are responsible for animal care, while the girls and women take care of the household and of small flocks near the campsite or settlement.

Aït Atta

Morocco – Azilal, Ouarzazate, Zagora, Tinghir, Errachidia

The Aït Atta are a large semi-nomadic tribal confederation living around the Jbel Saghro moutains in southeastern Morocco. They are divided into five sub-tribes: the Ait Ouallal, Ait Ouahlim, Ait Isfoul, Ait Iazza and Ait Ounbgi.
They used to engage in two transhumant migrations a year: to the High Altas in spring (where they lived in goat-hair tents during the summer) and to the southern valleys in autumn. These movements have become more limited, and are now restricted to around 20-30 km.
The Aït Atta also grow barley and harvest dates. A few keep camels.

Bedouin
Beduin, Bedu

Arabian peninsula, North Africa

Sudan,Algeria,Saudi Arabia,Iraq,Jordan,Libya,Egypt,United Arab Emirates,Syria,Yemen,Kuwait,Iran,Morocco,Israel,Lebanon,Tunisia,Mauritania,Bahrain,Qatar,Palestine,Oman,

The name “Bedouin” comes from the Badia, the arid steppe of eastern Syria and western Iraq.
The Bedouin are loosely associated mobile kin groups who share a harsh and difficult terrain. Their primary economic activity was, and to an extent still is, animal husbandry by natural graze of mainly camels and goats.
Many Bedouin in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere have replaced their dromedaries with trucks to carry their livestock, households and goods. This has led to a decline in the importance of dromedaries and a shift towards sheep. They also use trucks to carry water and feed to their livestock.
Many have given up the nomadic lifestyle and have settled in the towns and cities of the Arab world. Richer Bedouin employ workers to manage their herds, visiting them at the weekends and on holidays.

Berber
Amazigh, Imazighen, أمازيغ‎

Morocco – Central High Atlas, Ait M’Hamed,Algeria,Libya,Tunisia,Mauritania,Niger,Mali,Burkina Faso,Egypt

The Berbers are large group of peoples indigenous to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, the Canary Islands, and to a lesser extent in Mauritania, northern Mali, and northern Niger. Smaller Berber populations are also found in Burkina Faso and Egypt’s Siwa Oasis.
The Berbers include a number of groups, including the Blida/Médéa Atlas Berbers, Chaoui people, Chenini and Douiret Berbers, Chenoui Berbers, Chleuhs, Djerba Berbers, Kabyles, Matmata Berbers, Mozabites, Nafusis, Riffians, Sanhaja, Ghomaras, Siwi, Beni Snous Berbers, Tuareg, Zayanes and Zuwaras.
Many Berbers are traditionally farmers or agropastoralists, growing cereals and keeping flocks of 20 to 150 sheep and goats.

Bishaari

Egypt-Southern Red Sea Governorate, Aswan
Sudan- Northern Red Sea State

The Cushitic-Bidhaawyeet speaking Bishaari, live in the Red Sea Hills in northeastern Sudan and southeastern Egypt between the Nile and the Red Sea. They keep goats, sheep and camels.
They take their herds to the Awliib (the hills and inland desert to the west of the mountains which receive summer or autumn rain) for seasonal pasture after occasional summer rains, in the Guunub (the coastal land receiving winter rain) after winter rains, and in their mountain homeland, between khors and wadis, for more permanent browse from trees. In years when resources fail groups may move to the common rescue areas where there are trees on alluvial fans at the foothills of the mountains.

Chaamba
شعانبة

Algeria- Ghardaïa, El Menia, Ouargla, El Oued, Adrar, Béchar provinces

The Chamba are a large Arab tribe of the northern Sahara in Algeria. They live around Métlili, El Golea, Ouargla, El Oued, and the Great Western Erg, including Timimoun and Béni Abbès. While traditionally they were nomads specialized in raising camels, most have settled in the oases over the past century.
They include various groups and subgroups, including the Mouadhi, Bou Rouba, Ouled Allouch, Ouled Touameur, Ouled Abd-el-Kader, OuledHanich, OuledAicha, Ouled Fredj and Beni Merzoug.

Dar Hamid

Sudan-North Kordofan

The Dar Hamid are a group of about 19 Abbala (camel-keeping) tribes and smaller groups in semi-arid areas of North Kordofan, Sudan. They combine agriculture, gum Arabic collection with pastoral production. Some are nomadic, while many have settled and grow irrigated crops, but still own large numbers of livestock.
They are nomadic, moving with their herds in search of vegetation. Their system of migration is complex, and families often split up and move to different areas at various times of the year. They trade livestock for essentials such as grain, salt, tea and cloth. Dromedaries are extremely important: they provide milk, as well as meat, hair for tents, and transportation.
They live in tents made of camel hair and cotton. The men move with the herds, while the women and children remain with the tents and tend to the crops.

Hamar

Sudan- Central Sudan

The Hamar of Sudan are primarily herders. They mainly keep cattle, along with some sheep and goats. They use camels for riding and as pack animals. They are known for hollowing out the trunks of baobab trees to use a reservoirs of drinking water, and for breeding the Hammari sheep, a breed prized for its meat in the Middle East.
Most Hamar are sedentary, growing sorghum, the staple crop, sesame and beans.

Izayen Zayanes

Morocco- Middle Atlas mountain range in the area of Khénifra

The Izayen are part of the Aït Oumalou, a large tribe of semi-nomadic Berbers who live in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco. The practise transhumance twice a year: in winter they move to the Azaghar, the plains, near Boujad, where the weather is milder; in summer they move to the cedar forested mountains of Ajdir Izayane.

Manasir
المناصير‎

Sudan- River Nile: Dar al-Manasir, Bayudah Desert

The Manasir are an indigenous Nile culture who adopted Islam and became Arabic speakers. Unlike other riverine tribes of the Sudan, a considerable part of their population lives as Bedouins in the adjacent Bayudah Desert. The nomadic life of herding their stock of goats, sheep and camels in desert valleys is limited for many to the rainy season, coinciding with the annual inundation of the Nile.
The riverain Manasir pursue small scale agriculture on alluvial soils in the immediate vicinity of the Nile.
Much of their homeland has been submerged by the reservoir lake of the Merowe High Dam, and many of the Manasir were forcibly relocated. Some have turned to fishing in the lake to earn a living.

Maˁaza

Egypt- Northern Red Sea Governorate

The Maˁaza are Arabic speakers who live in Egypt’s northern Red Sea Hills. They are Bedouin whose hearth is in northwest Saudi Arabia and who settled in the northern Eastern Desert beginning about 300 years ago. Today few Maˁaza practice traditional nomadic pastoralism, though until recently most moved about their wide and sparsely populated territory in search of seasonal grazing and water.

Ouled Naïl

Algeria- Djelfa, Laghouat, M’sila, EL Bayadh, Biskra, Tiaret

The Ouled Nail are a large Arab tribe from the Algerian highlands. They live mainly around Djelfa, Laghouat, M’sila, Biskra and Tiaret. While they were traditionally nomads specializing in sheep and goat breeding, they have in the last two generations become agro-pastoralists who occasionally engage in transhumance.

Sahrawi

Algeria-Tindouf
Mauritania- Northern Mauritania

Sahrawi, literally “people from the desert”, is the name given to nomadic tribes who traditionally inhabited the coastal area of northwestern Africa, which includes Western Sahara, Northern Mauritania, and part of southwestern Algeria. Sahrawi people were essentially nomadic, raising camels, goats, and sheep in the rocky and sandy low-lying plains of this area and relying for food on camel milk and meat, dates, sugar, cereals and legumes bartered for livestock in local markets. In 1975, 50 years of Spanish colonial rule ended and following the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco, about 70,000 Sahrawi became refugees after fleeing the Moroccan army. Nowadays, about 165,000 Sahrawi live in four refugee camps located on a desert plateau called Hamada, near the Algerian city of Tindouf. Besides the camps, Sahrawi – through their political representative, the Polisario Front – also control the eastern part of the Western Sahara, which was taken away from Moroccan control through a guerrilla war that lasted until the peace agreement of 1991. These inland areas of Western Sahara are the so-called ‘liberated territories’ (approximately 20% of the Western Sahara), while the remaining is under the administering authority of the Moroccan government.

Tekna

Algeria- Tindouf
Morocco- Guelmim-Oued Noun
Western Sahara- Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra

The Tekna are partly nomadic, based on camel and goat herding, and partly sedentary, controlling routes of the Saharan caravan trade.
They are divided into several Berber-speaking and Arabic-speaking tribes, organized into two tribal confederations or leff:
– The Aït Djemel confederacy (Western Tekna) consists of the tribes of Aït Lahcen, Izerguiyen, Yaggout, and Aït Moussa Ou Ali.
– The Aït Atman (or Aït Bella) confederacy (Eastern Tekna) consists of the tribes of Azouafit, Aït Yassine, Aït Oussa, Aït Brahim, and Aït Hmad.

Tuareg Kel Adagh

Kel Adrar, Kel Adghagh, Kel Ifoghas

Algeria –
Mali- Adrar des Ifoghas,

A Tuareg confederation of clans (or “Drum-Groups”) living in the region of the Adrar des Iforas highlands in Mali.

Tuareg Kel Ahaggar

Ahaggaren

Algeria
Mali- Adrar des Ifoghas,

A Tuareg confederation of clans (or “Drum-Groups”) living in the region of the Adrar des Iforas highlands in Mali.

Tuareg Kel Ahaggar

Ahaggaren Algeria- Ahaggar mountains

Kel Ahaggar (Berber: ⴾⵍ ⵂⴴⵔ) (trans: “People of Ahaggar”) is a Tuareg confederation inhabiting the Hoggar Mountains (Ahaggar mountains) in Algeria.
In the 1960s, 90% of them were nomadic. By the early 2000s, some 90% were sedentary.

Tuareg Kel Ajjer

Kel Azjar, Kel Azjer

Algeria-Eastern
Libya- Western

The Kel Ajjer is a Tuareg confederation in western Libya and eastern Algeria. Their main stronghold are Ghat and Ubari, The Kel Ajjer speak Tamahaq, or Northern Tuareg.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Abbala

Sudan- North and West Darfur
Chad Niger

The Abbala are an Arab ethnic group in Sudan and Chad. They are named after their subsistence practice of camel herding, in contrast to the Baggara, who raise cattle.
Livestock provide their main wealth and subsistence. They occasionally grow grain, usually bulrush millet but sometimes sorghum, in wadi beds or other favourable areas, but they acquire most grain by purchase or exchange. They may also tap gum arabic for sale.
The Abbala include the following tribes:
Kassala Province: Hadendowa, Beni Amer, Rashaida, Bisharin, Shukriya, Lahawin, Bawadra, Kawahla, Ahamda
Northern Kordofan: Kababish, Kawahla, Hawawir, Hamar, Shenabla, Dar Hamid
Northern Darfur:: Meidob, Zaghawa, Zayadiya, Rizeiqat

Bua

Niellim

Chad- Moyen, Chari

The Bua live in the forested plains and hills north of Sarh in southern Chad, along the Chari River. They are traditionally nomadic herders and subsistence farmers. Those near the Chari River also fish.

Dazaga

Dazagara, Daza, Dassa, Gouran, Gorane, Goran, Gourane

Nigeria, Niger -Eastern Chad -North-central

A subgroup of the Toubou people. Sometimes referred to as Gouran (or Gorane, Goran, Gourane).
The Dazagra consist of numerous clans. Some major clans of the Dazagara, or Gouran, include the Anakaza, Dazza, Donza, Gaida, Kamaya, Karra, Kokorda, Mourdia, Wanja, Yierah, and Choraga. The Dazagra cover the northern regions of Bourkou, the Ennedi Plateau, the Tibesti Mountains and Bahr el Gazel in the south.
Toubou life centres on raising and herding their livestock, or on farming the scattered oases where they cultivate dates and grain and legumes. Their herds include dromedaries, goats, cattle, donkeys and sheep. The livestock is a major part of their wealth, and they trade the animals. The livestock is also used as a part of dowry payment during marriage.

Dendi

DendiBe, DendiraaBe, Dandawa

Benin- Alibori, Atakora
Niger- Tillabéri, Dosso
Nigeria- Kebbi
Togo

The Dendi are an ethnic group who live mainly in the plains of the Niger River in northern Benin and Togo, northwestern Nigeria, and southern Niger. Their economy is very diverse. They are traders, subsistence farmers (growing millet, maize, plantains, cassava, rice, cowpeas, groundnuts, vegetables and squash.), as well as keeping cattle, camels, sheep, goats, and chickens. The Dendi of Niger drink milk of cows and goats.
Some Dendi have traditionally entrusted their cattle to the care of FulBe herders, keeping only those animals that they need for ploughing on their own farms.

Diffa Arabs

Mahamid Arabs

Niger- Diffa

The Diffa Arabs are Arabized nomadic tribespeople who live in eastern Niger. They keep camels. In 2006, many were threatened with deportation by the Nigerien government because they lack residence papers.

Fulbe

Fula, Fulani, Peul, Peulh, Fallata

Senegal,Gambia,Guinea-Bissau,Guinea,Mali,Cote d’Ivoire,Niger,Nigeria,Central African Republic,Sudan,Mauritania,Benin,Chad,Cameroon,Burkina Faso,South Sudan,Ethiopia

The Fulbe are a numerous group distributed throughout the Sahel from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, and especially in West Africa, Estimates of their numbers vary from 25 to 40 million.
They fall into three types based on their settlement patterns:
Nomadic/pastoral or Mbororo move around with their cattle throughout the year. Typically, they do not stay around for long stretches (not more than 2–4 months at a time). Transportation is often on foot, although some families have donkeys, horses, and camels.

Semi-Nomadic Fulani can either be Fulɓe families who happen to settle down temporarily at particular times of the year or, those who remain in a particular area and do not move far from a fixed or settled homestead.
Settled or “Town Fulani” live in villages, towns, and cities permanently and have given up nomadic life completely.
Perhaps one-third, or 12-13 million, are pastoralists, making the Fulbe the largest group of nomadic pastoralists in the world. Most, however, are semi-sedentary or sedentary farmers, and many have gone into other occupations. They are bound together by the Fula language, their history and culture. More than 99% are Muslims.
They are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist trading people who herd cattle, goats and sheep. They keep somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations.
In recent years, conflicts between the pastoralist Fulbe and sedentary populations have increased. Recurrent droughts have forced many to give up their pastoralist lifestyle. Urbanization and the expansion of farming have taken over a lot of traditional grazing lands.

Iwellemmedan

Iullemmeden, Aulliminden, Ouilliminden, Lullemmeden, Iwellemmeden

Mali- East and north central, Azawagh valley
Niger- Northwestern
Nigeria- Northern

A Tuareg clan confederation divided into Kel Ataram (west) and Kel Dinnik (east) confederations.

Kanuri

Kanouri, Kanowri, Yerwa, Bare Bari

Nigeria- Northeast
Niger- Southeast
Chad- near Lake Chad West and north of Lake Chad
Originally a pastoral people, the Kanuri were one of many Nilo-Saharan groups indigenous to the Central South Sahara, beginning their expansion in the area of Lake Chad in the late 7th century, and absorbing both indigenous Nilo-Saharan and Chadic (Afro-Asiatic) speakers.
In contrast to the neighboring Toubou or Zaghawa pastoralists, Kanuri groups have traditionally been sedentary, engaging in farming, fishing, trade and salt processing. They grow millet (the staple), sorghum and groundnuts. They keep horses as symbols of prestige, and use donkeys as draft animals. Many keep sheep and goats, but trade grain and craftwork with the pastoral Shuwa and Fulbe (Fulani, Peul) cattle herders for beef. In a few areas, the Kanuri keep large herds of cattle.

Kel Ataram

Mali- Ménaka Region

A subgroup of the Iwellemmedan Tuareg clan confederation. The Kel Ataram (“people of the west”) are the western arm of the Iwellemmedan, centred on the Malian town of Ménaka. Component “free” clans (mostly “maraboutic” or “Imajeghen” tribes which inherit local religious leadership) include the Tahabanaten and Ighatafan.
The Kel Ataram are traditionally pastoralists whose migration patterns take them north into the Sahara during the brief rainy season, and south as far as Nigeria and Burkina Faso during the dry season. Like all Tuareg groups, they are formed from a number of highly stratified castes, who interweave loyalty from a number of clans, some of whom are limited to specific castes. Ruling caste clans lead the large confederations, and engage in seasonal migration, herding, trade, war, and religious duties. Lower castes, and clans made up of subject groups of free clans are more likely sedentary and not part of confederations, even if their traditional suzerains are members of a confederation such as the Iwellemmedan. In addition, large confederations may include allied non-Tuaregs, such as local Arabic speaking tribes.

Kel Dinnik

Kel Dinnig, Ouilliminden Kel Dinnik

Niger- Azawagh (Agadez and Tahoua regions)

A subgroup of the Iwellemmedan Tuareg clan confederation.
The Kel Dinnik (“people of the east”) are the major eastern arm of the confederation, sometimes named the “Ouilliminden Kel Dinnik”, and centred in the Azawagh, near Tchin-Tabaraden and Tahoua. Their major “free”/”Imajeghen” components include the Irreulen, Lisawan, Tiggirmat, Tellemidez, and Ikhekheren. The free/noble Kel Nan clan is the traditional source of the Amenokal, the paramount confederation leader chosen by clan heads.
The Kel Dinnik are traditionally pastoralists, whose migration patterns take them north into the Sahara during the brief rainy season, and south as far as Nigeria and Burkina Faso during the dry season. Like all Tuareg groups, they are formed from a number of highly stratified castes, who interweave loyalty from a number of clans, some of whom are limited to specific castes. Ruling caste clans lead the large confederations, and engage in seasonal migration, herding, trade, war, and religious duties. Lower castes, and clans made up of subject groups of free clans are more likely sedentary and not part of confederations, even if their traditional suzerains are members of a confederation such as the Iwellemmedan. In addition, large confederations may include allied non-Tuaregs, such as local Arabic speaking tribes.

Moor

Maure, Azawagh Arabs

Gambia,Mali,Mauritania,Morocco,Niger,Senegal,Western Sahara

The term “Moor” refers to two overlapping groups: a large, Sunni Muslim ethnic group of mixed Arab-Berber descent, and any individual (regardless of race) who speak a Hassaniya Arabic dialect.
The Moors inhabit Mauretania and neighbouring countries. Reliable population figures are scant: an estimated 3,765,000 live in Mauritania, another 3 million in Morocco, 638,000 in Mali, 427,000 in Niger, and 40,000 in Senegal and Gambia.
Their traditional life was nomadic, moving their herds of sheep, goats, cattle and dromedaries in search of pasture. Many still do so, living in movable tents of animal skins and grass matting. But many now now live and work in towns and cities. Some live in oases, cultivating dates, vegetables and wheat. The milk collected from a camel, will be made into camel cheese. Camel cheese would put cash into the hands of this nomads.

Today, Moorish society is divided into four major elements, based on race, lineage, and occupation. The black Moors, known as sudan, occupy the lower stratum of Moorish society and often live as slaves, even though the institution of slavery has been outlawed throughout North Africa. Those Moors with a heavy black African background living in towns and cities constitute a poor urban proletariat. Most Moors are faithful to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam.

Nomadic herders of northern Mauritania

Moor, Maure

Mauritania- Adrar, Tiris Zemmour, Tagant, Hodh Ech Charguir

The camel pastoralists of northern Mauritania are among the most nomadic people known. Their extreme mobility enables their camels to use pastures in two different climate systems: the Sahelian summer rainfall pastures in the south, and Mediterranean winter rainfall pastures in the north.
Their seasonal movements cover long distances and last for many months. During the short rainy season, the animals are moved as far north as feed resources and water allow. Camels can stay far to the north in certain years, especially when there is winter rainfall, feeding on succulent acheb vegetation. These provide enough moisture to free camels from the need to drink liquid water.
Herd management is extensive. Daily feeding ambits are large and, while small ruminants usually
return to a temporary camp, the camels may be absent for several days.
Some urban residents, such as merchants, civil servants and military personnel purchase stock as investment and hire professional herders.

Reguibat

Mauritania,Western Sahara

Initially an important Arabic zawiya or religious tribe with a semi-sedentary lifestyle, the Reguibat gradually turned during the 18th century towards camel-rearing, raiding and nomadism, in response attacks from neighbouring tribes which provoked them into taking up arms and leaving the subordinate position they had previously held.
This started a process of rapid expansion, and set the Reguibat on the course towards total transformation into a traditional warrior tribe In the late 19th century, they had become well-established as the largest Sahrawi tribe, and were recognized as the most powerful warrior tribe of the area.

Southeast Mauritanian transhumant herders

Moor, Maure

Mali- Kayes, Koulikoro
Mauritania- Assaba, Hodh El Gharbi, Hodh Ech Charguir

Transhumant herders in southeastern Mauritania generally move their herds northwards at the start of the rainy season in August towards Aoukar, a broad depression in south-central Mauritania between Kiffa and Néma. Some herds (especially those with many dromedaries) remain there until March; others (espcially those with many sheep) return south in October, at the end of the rainy season, crossing the border deep into Mali for the dry season. Herds with many cattle tend to stay near the villages in Mauritania during the rainy season, moving south towards Mali later as the dry season sets in.
One herder cares for 100-200 animals, often an employee rather than the owner. The herds may be composed of animals belonging to several different owners, who may be wealthy people who live in cities in Mauritania or even abroad, or sedentary residents in rural areas. The owners often have family ties to the herders, though a new class of novice urban investors is emerging who have no family ties to the herders they employ.
The herder is paid in the form of milk and a proportion of the offspring, as well as in cash. The herder makes management decisions about feed, reproduction and health, while the owner decides which animals to sell (in collaboration with the herder), when to sell, and the price negotiations.

Teda

Tubu, Toubou, GoranNiger- Northeastern
Chad- Northern
Libya- Southern
Sudan- Northwestern

A subgroup of the Toubou people.
Live in the far north of Chad, around the borders of Libya and Niger and the Tibesti Mountains. They consider themselves a warrior people.
The Toubou people have historically lived in northern Chad, northeastern Niger, and southern Libya. They have sometimes been called the “black nomads of the Sahara”.
Toubou life centres on raising and herding their livestock, or on farming the scattered oases where they cultivate dates and grain and legumes. Their herds include dromedaries, goats, cattle, donkeys and sheep. The livestock is a major part of their wealth, and they trade the animals. The livestock is also used as a part of dowry payment during marriage.

Touareg

Tuareg

Niger,Nigeria,Burkina Faso,Algeria,Libya,Mali

Central Sahara

The Tuareg people are also referred to as the Twareg, Touareg, Tamasheq and Tamachek.
The Tuareg people are a large Berber ethnic confederation. They principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern Nigeria.
The Tuareg speak the Tuareg languages (also known as Tamasheq), which belong to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family.
The Tuaregs have been called the “blue people” for the indigo-dye coloured clothes they traditionally wear and which stains their skin. A semi-nomadic Muslim people, they are believed to be descendants of the Berber natives of North Africa. The Tuaregs have been one of the ethnic groups that have been historically influential in the spread of Islam and its legacy in North Africa and the adjacent Sahel region.
Tuareg society has traditionally featured clan membership, social status and caste hierarchies within each political confederation. The Tuareg have controlled several trans-Saharan trade routes and have been an important party to the conflicts in the Saharan region during the colonial and post-colonial era.

The Tuareg use specific branding marks, or “burning marks” (often called wasm or ousm), to identify camel ownership and tribal affiliation. These marks are typically burned onto the camel’s skin:

Toubou

Niger- Northeastern
Chad- Northern
Libya- Southern
Sudan- Northwestern

The Toubou people are also referred to as the Tabu, Tebu, Tebou, Tibu, Tibbu, Toda, Todga, Todaga, Tubu, Tuda, Tudaga, and Umbararo.
The Toubou are generally divided into two closely related groups: the Teda (or Téda, Toda) and the Dazagra (or Dazaga, Dazagara, Daza).
The Toubou people have historically lived in northern Chad, northeastern Niger, and southern Libya. They have sometimes been called the “black nomads of the Sahara”.
Toubou life centres on raising and herding their livestock, or on farming the scattered oases where they cultivate dates and grain and legumes. Their herds include dromedaries, goats, cattle, donkeys and sheep. The livestock is a major part of their wealth, and they trade the animals. The livestock is also used as a part of dowry payment during marriage.

Tuareg Kel Air

Niger- Aïr mountains

The Tuareg Kel Air are Tuareg who live in the Air Mountains of northern Niger. They are subdivided into various subgroups who live to the west and south of the Air massif.

Uled Suliman

Chad- Lake Chad region
Niger- Eastern
Nigeria- Northeast
Libya- Fezzan

Originally from Fezzan, Libya, they have migrated to the Lake Chad region. Camel pastoralists who make distinctive whale-backed tents from dum-palm mats over a wooden frame. They sell cuku, dried camel cheese, or occasionally the camels themselves, to buy grain.

Waila Fallata

Waila

Chad
Nigeria- Bornu

The Waila are one of 16 nomadic tribes of West African, Fulani ethnic origin whp share a similar languages, dress and hair style, and socioeconomic structures as cow herders.

Zaghawa

Beri, Zakhawa

Chad- Eastern
Sudan- Northern Darfur
Libya- Southern

The Zaghawa are pastoralists, and a breed of sheep that they herd is called Zaghawa by the Arabs. They are nomadic and obtain much of their livelihood through herding cattle, camels and sheep and harvesting wild grains. It has been estimated that there are between 4,000,000 and 4,512,000 Zaghawa.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Addun pastoralists

Somalia- Inland areas of Mudug, Galgadug, Nugaal

The Addun area is an arid plateau that slopes gently towards the Indian Ocean in the east. It includes the large flat Mudug Plain and the Nugaal Valley. Pastoralism is the main economic activity, and residents’ main source of income is the sale of livestock and livestock products. Severe water shortages are common, particularly during the long jilaal dry season from January to March. The gu rains replenish pastures and refill aquifers and groundwater. The deyr rains help people to consolidate any gains they have made during the gu season. People get water from boreholes, shallow wells and individually-owned small concrete catchments known as berkads. Pastoralists depend on water trucking during dry seasons.
The population is nomadic and highly mobile. People here belong to the Hawiya Somali clan. They rely on goats and sheep to meet their food and cash needs, and wealthier people have camels. There is not enough water for cattle. Camels are the most valuable livestock in the herd: they produce milk for consumption and sale, and they also bring in the highest price of all animals sold on the hoof. Goats and sheep are sold in large numbers and are slaughtered during religious festivities for household needs and to serve important guests. The number of sheep increases towards the east.
The animals are moved throughout the year to seek pasture and water. In a normal year, this migration remain within the Addun area, but in bad droughts the herders may move to distant water sources and pasture in Hawd, Nugaal and even across the border to Ethiopia.
Men are responsible for moving the camels in the dry season. Women stay with the children and smaller animals around temporary homesteads; they are responsible for milking the goats and taking care of the children; they also collect water each day.

Afar

Danakil, Denakil, Adali, Odali, Adali, Teltal

Djibouti
Eritrea- Southern Red Sea
Ethiopia- Afar: Amibara, Awash Fentale, Asaita, Dubti
Somalia

The Afar are traditionally herders who live in southern Eritrea, the Afar region of Ethiopia, Djibouti and northwestern Somalia. Some also practice commerce and agriculture. Those who live near the sea are fishers and traders. They inhabit one of the least hospitable terrains on earth and are known to have a strong relationship with their environment and its wildlife.
Camels are the most common means of transport, Most move to higher ground with the arrival of the November rainy season to avoid flooding and mosquitoes.
The pastoralism of the Afar is a form of transhumance rather than full nomadism. They move among several regularly visited locations, at least one of which is permanently occupied has a permanent structure such as a house, corral, or storage bin. The encampments may be nothing more than grass lean-tos, or may be large, hemispheric tents known as ari, made of hides and woven mats stretched across a framework of wooden poles that can be easily dismantled and carried by camel over long distances.
The migrating unit has a more permanent homestead somewhere else, with larger dwelling structures surrounded by thorn-and-brush fences. Often, it is only the younger people who go on the seasonal migrations; they take the more highly valued camels and cattle to higher pastures, leaving the sheep and goats in the care of the older folk at the more permanent location.
The Afar supplement their diet of milk and meat by selling salt that they dig from the desert, along with milk and animal hides at markets.
The Afra Region of Ethiopia is a sparsely populated region of 1.4 million people, 87% of whom live in rural areas and 29.5% of whom are pastoralists. Livestock is the basis of their livelihood: the region has 700,000 cattle, 1 million sheep, 2 million goats, 320,000 camels and 17,000 donkeys. Wealth is measured in the number of camels: a rich person may have as many as 1000 camels.

Afar culture is oral in tradition. Afar oral literature reveals a high esteem for military prowess, with a whole repertoire of war chants. Today, Afar songs tend to extol the virtues of the camel.

To the east of Ethiopia live this desert nomads, whom National Geographic considers to be one of the toughest and most ferocious peoples on earth. They live with their camel and cattle herds in one of the most hostile places on earth, the Afar Desert and Danakil Depression, where temperatures can climb to 60°C or 140°f. Salt bars are still mined here and sold as currency.

Agropastoralists in high-potential sorghum areas

Somalia-Bay, Gedo, Middle Juba, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle

People in high-potential areas of southern Somalia grow rainfed sorghum, some maize, plus cowpeas, sesame and groundnuts. These crops are a source of food and cash income, but the main source of cash is livestock. Animals are sold on the hoof and produce milk for consumption and sale.
People here belong to the Rahanwein Somali clan. Cattle are the most important livestock, with goats important for poorer households who have few cattle. Better off households have some camels as well.
Although people live in settled communities, the livestock are normally taken to pasture-rich areas in the wet seasons. Men and older boys take camels off to browse and graze farther away, while the women keep the cattle, sheep and goats behind within 10-20 km of the home settlements. The men return during the dry seasons to graze the camels on the crop residues.
During a bad year it is common for livestock to be taken to the Shabelle regions, the Juba Valley and other areas with more favourable pasture conditions.
The most common source of water in Bay are shallow wells, around 12-15 m deep. Water catchments and boreholes supply around a third of the water needs.

Although boys are more highly valued among the Somali than girls, one or more sheep or goats will be killed to celebrate the birth of either. Death also results in feasting. The type and number of animals killed varies directly with the status of the deceased: a goat for a young child, to one or more camels for the death of an old, wealthy male.
Marriage is viewed by Somalis as a bond between two kinship groups, rather than only between two individuals, and is marked by a series of exchanges and ceremonies. Men do not usually marry until they are in their late 20s and have
been able to accumulate some camels and cattle. Women, on the other hand, marry for the first time at 13 or 14 years of age.

The bride-price (meher) is gathered by the groom’s patrilineal kinfolk and can consist of camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. These animals are given to the family of the bride and are further distributed to close kin of the bride’s father. The bride’s family prepares the items necessary for family life: the aqal (a portable house), a bed, cooking utensils, mats, ropes, and skins. These are given to the married couple. The groom’s family is responsible for slaughtering a camel and/or cow, which is consumed by the two immediate families. The bride’s family will slaughter one or more animals to feed all the other guests.

Unmarried males in their late teens and early 20s are responsible for herding their
family’s camels and often spend months far away from their homes. Food delicacies include camel’s hump, sheep’s tail, goat’s liver, and camel’s milk. Camel’s hump and sheep’s tail (which are primarily fat stored by the animal in order to be reabsorbed
during the dry season) and goat’s liver are fried, and are only served on special occasions. Camel’s milk is drunk more frequently, especially by unmarried males who are responsible for herding these animals.

Amarar

Amarer

Sudan- Central Red Sea State

The Cushitic-Bidhaawyeet speaking Amar Ar live in the Red Sea Hills, to the south of the Bishaari and to the north of the Hadandawa. They keep goats, sheep and camels.
They take their animals to the Awliib (the hills and inland desert to the west of the mountains which receive summer or autumn rain) for seasonal pasture after occasional summer rains, in the Guunub (the coastal land receiving winter rain) after winter rains, and in their mountain homeland, between khors and wadis, for more permanent browse from trees. In years when resources fail groups may move to the common rescue areas where there are trees on alluvial fans at the foothills of the mountains, or to the Gash or Tokar inland deltas, or to the Nile valley. Some people cultivate crops, mainly sorghum using flood irrigation.

Ariaal

Rendille

Kenya- Marsabit

The Ariaal are sub-group of the Rendille, who are of mixed Nilotic and Cushitic descent. They speak the Samburu language.
Ariaal pastoralists manage cattle, donkeys, dromedaries, goats and sheep, and grow some crops. They have recently started to keep chickens and bees.

Bani Halba

Beni Halba

Sudan- Southern Darfur

The Bani Halba are a Baggara (cattle herding) tribe in southern Darfur.

Bani Hussein

Beni Hussein

Saudi Arabia- Makkah, Al Bahah

The Bani Malik are an Arab tribe from the region south of Taif in the Hejaz.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Banna

Bana, Benna, Bena, Banya

Ethiopia SNNPR: Lower Omo Valley, primarily between t-he Weyto and Omo rivers

The Banna engage primarily in agriculture and supplement this by pastoralism, hunting, and gathering. They keep cattle, sheep and goats for milk and meat, as well as hides for clothing, shelter and sleeping mats. They use camels for riding and as pack animals.
Banna are primarily Muslim, though several thousand are Christian, and they have their own king.
Most Banna plant fields of sorghum at the beginning of the rainy season before leaving on their annual nomadic journey. During the dry season, the men walk long distances with their herds to search for water and grass, and to harvest wild honey.
Their livelihoods are threatened by the building of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam on the Omo river.

Batahin

Sudan Butana

Bay Bakool agropastoralists

Somalia -Bakool, Bay

The low-potential areas of Bay and Bakool consists of open shrubland which provides extensive grazing and browse. The grazing areas are communal and shared peacefully in years with enough rain, but conflict may arise during drought. Water comes from shallow wells and water catchments, which are communally shared. People here belong to the Rahanwein Somali clan.
The local economy now depends on both crops and livestock. Sorghum and cowpeas provide food, while livestock produce both cash and food in the form of milk, ghee and meat. Crops are grown in rainfed areas, after floods have receded along seasonal streams, and in lowland areas that benefit from runoff from neighbouring upland areas.
Camels are by far the most valuable animals, providing a dependable source of milk and relatively high sale prices. Their milk is used for both consumption and sale, and brings in a good portion of a household’s income. The distribution of different animals varies: in general cattle are dominant everywhere, but camels are more numerous in the Bay Region, and goats and sheep in Bakool.
People live in settled communities, but they migrate seasonally with their livestock to richer pastures in the wet seasons. Men and older boys take the camels off to browse and graze farther away, while the women keep the cattle, sheep and goats within a 10-20 km of the home settlements. The men return with during the dry seasons to graze the animals on the crop residues.

Beja

Beja Hidareb, Bedawiyet, Oobja, البجا‎, በጃ Egypt- Red Sea Governorate
Sudan- Red Sea, River Nile, Al Qadarif, Kassala
Eritrea- Northern Red Sea, Gash-Barka, Anseba

The Beja are a Cushitic-language speaking people who live in Sudan, Egypt, and Eritrea. They live mainly in the Eastern Desert (east of the Nile).
They are divided into clans, including the Bisharin, Hedareb, Hadendawa (or Hadendowa), the Amarar (or Amar’ar), Beni-Amer, Hallenga , Habab, Belin and Hamran, some of whom are partly mixed with Bedouins in the east.
They still follow a nomadic lifestyle centred around herding of cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and dromedaries. They are best known as camel traders, moving up and down the Red Sea area from Egypt to Eritrea. They also manage food crops, usually grown for them by West Africans engaged for this purpose. They trade their crafts of straw mats and woollen rugs or charcoal and firewood for food in the markets.
Some Beja groups are more nomadic than others. The more nomadic do not have permanent homes and carry few possessions, but they live in hemispherical or rectangular tents made of straw mats laid over a wooden frame. The more sedentary Beja build mud-walled houses with more furnishings.

Beni Amer

Amer, Nabtab Sudan- Eastern Sudan
Eritrea Subgroup of the Tigre people.
They lead a tribal pastoral life, with those in the northern territories raising camels, and the southerners raising cattle. In contemporary era, many have adopted a farming lifestyle and become migrant wage labor providers.

Many people travel by foot and carry loads on donkeys, mules, and camels. (Camels and mules also carry salt tablets from salt beds below sea-level in the Danakil depression up to the 8,000 ft plateaus of Tigray, where they are loaded onto
trucks for transport to other parts of Ethiopia.)

Bisharin Umm Ali

Egypt- Southern Red Sea governorate
Sudan- Atabai (Northern, River Nile, Red Sea states)

The Bishari live in the eastern part of the Nubian Desert in Sudan and southern Egypt, between the Nile River and the Red Sea, north of the Amarar and south of the Ababda. They are traditionally nomadic people, working in husbandry of camels, sheep, and goats.

Borana

Borana Oromo Ethiopia
Oromia Region: Borena
Somali Region: Liben
Kenya- Isiolo, Marsabit

Borana pastoralists are indigenous people of southern and southeastern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. They are nomadic and semi-nomadic camel pastoralists keeping and raising camels, cattle, goats and sheep. Their main products are milk and meat.
They use the goats and sheep as source of meat or to sell when they need cash. Cattle and camels reflect their owner’s status and wealth.
They are specialists in extensive cattle raising in a semi-sedentary production system. They use traditional deep wells to water their animals. Control over the well determines who can use the surrounding pastures.
The Borana practise an indigenous democratic system of governance known as Gada, which was recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.

Central Somalia agropastoralists

Somalia- Mugud, Galgadug, Middle Shabelle Central Somalia north of the Shabelle River is a flat, high, arid plateau that slopes gently down to the Indian Ocean.

Grass grows after the rains but during the dry season, the land is mainly covered with thick bush and thorn trees. People here practise shifting cultivation to grow cowpeas as an additional source of food and income. They clear a plot and cultivate it for around 3 years, then leave it fallow for several decades. They protect the crops from grazing livestock by making thick fences from vegetation cleared from the fields. This has led to significant vegetation degradation over the years.
People here belong to the Hawiya Somali clan. Production of camels and goats is the main source of livelihood, with people also keeping some cattle and sheep. They use groundwater and shallow wells for domestic use and for watering livestock. Better-off households own private berkads (concrete-lined reservoirs) for watering their livestock. There are very few boreholes.
Camel and goat milk and ghee are important food sources in season, and herders also sell camel milk. Sheep, goats and cattle have a limited grazing range of about 20-30 km from the village. During the rains, livestock usually move inland to take advantage of fresh vegetation and surface water. During the cool, dry, hagaa season, herders shift with their livestock toward the coast. From January, as the rangelands get drier, the animals congregate near the main water points. Camels are frequently on the move to where browse can be found, following seasonal migration patterns. Herders have to travel long distances to find water and browse. During the hot, dry jilaal season, men herd the camels several hundred km in search of suitable rangeland. Women stay in the village with the children to cultivate their fields and guard the rest of the herd. During years of poor rainfall, herders in the southern part of the zone take their livestock to the Shabelle riverine area, where large numbers of livestock may lead to tensions with local farmers.

Coastal Deeh pastoralists and fishers

Darod, Hawiya Somalia- Coast of Bari, Nugal, Mudug,Galgadug, Middle Shabelle The plain along Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast is mainly arid scrubland with some sand dunes in the southern areas. Fishing and livestock production are the twin pillars of the local economy, with livestock playing a bigger role than fishing. Sheep and goats predominate, and donkeys are used as pack animals. Only better-off households own camels. People here belong to the Darod and Hawiya Somali clans.
The decline of fish stocks because of overfishing by foreign boats forced some fishers to take up piracy. Anti-piracy measures have led to greater emphasis on livestock.
Herders are often on the move with their animals in search of good rangeland. After below-average rains, they usually migrate to the interior such as to the Sool Plateau, the Nugaal Valley or Mudug plains. Conversely, when rains fail elsewhere, herders from neighboring areas migrate into the coastal area in search of pasture and water .
Milk production peaks during the rainy season, particularly the deyr (October-December). Milk, ghee and fish are consumed in the wet season. For households with only sheep and goats, the milking season lasts just 60 days. A goat produces on average 0.5 litres/day, enough for tea for a couple of months for the poor. Sheep and goats have an important cash value and are sold locally as well as for export. Livestock sales peak in the hagaa dry season (July-August). However, export markets are not assured because of periodic bans by importing countries due to disease outbreaks in Somalia.

Daasanach

Dassanech, Marille, Geleba, Turkana

Ethiopia- SNNPR: Debub Omo Zone
Kenya- Northern Kenya

The Daasanach are traditionally pastoralists but are now mainly agropastoralists because they have been forced off their former rangelands on either side of Lake Turkana. They keep cattle and goats for milk, meat and hides. They grow sorghum, maize, pumpkins and beans when the Omo river and its delta floods. Those who herd cattle live in dome-shaped houses made from a frame of branches, covered with hides and woven boxes (which are used to carry possessions on donkeys when they migrate).
Their livelihoods are threatened by the building of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam on the Omo river.

Didinga

Lango, Toi, Xaroxa

South Sudan- Eastern Equatoria

The Didinga are herders and agriculturists who live in the Didinga Mountains region in Budi County, Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. Originally pastoralists, many migrated to Uganda in the 1970s due to political disturbances. When then returned to South Sudan, they began farming. Many still aspire to owning large herds. They use their cattle as a source of wealth, and as a source of milk, butter and fresh blood, which they draw from the animals’ necks. Eating of fish is taboo in their culture.
The Didinga live in scattered clan homesteads. Their houses are round with cone-shaped roofs. During certain seasons and during grazing periods, they live in camps.
The Didinga are pastoralists by inclination and agriculturalists by necessity. They cultivate maize, sorghum, beans, wheat, tobacco, millet, sesame, pumpkins or tobacco. They engage in craft making, pottery, etc.

East Golis frankincense harvesters

Isaaq, Darod Somalia- Northern coast of Sanag, Bari

Households along the northern coast of Somalia earn income by harvesting, selling and sorting frankincense and other resins. They also keep livestock, especially goats, plus some sheep and camels, and catch fish. People here belong to the Ishaak and Darod Somali clans.

Fallata

Fellata, Felata, Fula, Fulani, Mbororo

Chad,Sudan- Southern Darfur

Fallata is the name given to the Fulbe in Sudan. They keep cattle, sheep and goats.
The Falata in Sudan are semi-nomadic, mixing farming with shepherding. Although some Fulani tribes travel seasonally with their flocks, the Falata have a permanent home they live in for half of the year. Their homes typically are built inside walled compounds. Mud bricks held together with straw and camel dung are used to
make the walls and the roofs.

They only travel during the dry season, when grazing lands and water are scarce.

Gabbra

Gabra, Gebra

Ethiopia,Kenya- Moyale, Marsabit, northern Kenya The Gabbra, a nomadic tribe of 31,000 people, live in northeast Kenya along both sides of its border with Ethiopia. They are an eastern Cushitic (Oromo) speaking people who originated in southern Ethiopia. Pastoralists with a strong attachment to camels, the Gabbra have a rich culture stemming from the harsh environment in which they live. Camels are traditionally raised by pastoral and agropastoral communities of the area primarily for milk production, which drives the system. In addition to camels, most households (81.7%) keep cattle and small ruminants, with 13.3% of them keeping either cattle or small ruminants alongside with camels.
They use goats and sheep as an easily liquidated resource when they need cash or protein , and regard cattle and camels as a source of status and wealth.

Garissa

Somali Awlihan, Talamoge, Mohamad Zubeyr, Darod-Ogaden, Daarood-Ogaadeen Kenya- Garissa County

The inhabitants of Garissa County are pastoralists and agropastoralists who keep camels, cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys. They also grow some crops along the river Tana. Most are Somalis of the Awlihan, Talamoge and Mohamad Zubeyr sub-clans of the Darod-Ogaden clan.
The livestock keepers maintain herds for their milk, as replacement stock and as income insurance. The most important animals in terms of numbers are goats, which are also the main source of subsistence. They are followed by cattle, sheep, dromedaries and donkeys, in that order. The owners frequently buy and sell livestock.
The livestock market in Garissa town is the largest in East Africa, and supplies livestock for both the local market and export. The market serves both the immediate surroundings and large areas of northeastern Kenya, southern Somalia and southern Ethiopia.

Garri

Garre

Ethiopia- Somali region
Kenya- Mandera, Isiolo
Somalia-

Southern Nomadic and semi-nomadic camel pastoralists keeping and raising camel. The main products are dairy products particularly milk (not dairy by-products) and meat.

Guban pastoralists

Somalia- Coastal areas of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed

The Guban is a low-lying coastal plain of northwestern Somalia, which runs parallel to the Gulf of Aden and narrows gradually from 50 km in the west to about 6 km in the east. It is bordered by the much higher Golis mountain range to the south. The area is sandy and has a sparse steppe vegetation cover, high temperatures and high humidity, but very little rainfall (guban means “burnt area” in Somali). There are two main seasons: the xays wet season (December – January) and the jiilaal long dry period (February – November).
The basis of the economy is pastoralism. People here belong to the Dir and Ishaak Somali clans. They rear camels, goats and sheep for milk production and trade. Goats are the dominant small species because of successive droughts. Camels are the most valuable animals; they provide milk during the dry seasons, they serve as pack animals and they are prized trading commodities.
Poor households own 30-40 goats,15-20 sheep, and 4-5 camels; while the middle households have about 45-55 goats, 20-25 sheep and 8-12 camels. Better-off households have 80-90 goats, 30-35 sheep and 20-30 camels. Most households do not own cattle. Cropping is completely absent from this zone, so all cereals and non-staple foods must be purchased (or bartered).
Livestock production follows the seasons as water and pasture availability is crucial in determining the outcome of reproductive cycles and milk yields. Normal livestock migration routes are limited to the Guban area if the xays rains have been normal. These rains also attract pastoral communities from further south in Somaliland.
Pastoral communities do migrate outside the zone to seek water and pastures once the benefits of the xays rains are no longer visible. During a bad year, livestock are moved south to the Golis, to the Galbeed region and up to the Haud of Hargeisa or to as far as the Shinile or Siti zones in Ethiopia’s Somali region. Family members move with livestock, particularly the father and the eldest son, sometimes accompanied by additional family members.

Guji

Guji Oromo

Ethiopia-Oromia: Guji, Borena

The Guji are agropastoralists who live at a range of altitudes, from the hot, dry lowlands to the cool uplands over 3000 m in altitude. In the uplands they grow barley and beans, while in the lowlands they grow maize, teff and ensete. They put great value on cattle. They also keep sheep, goats and horses. Some Guji herders have recently started keeping dromedary camels.
Hadandawa Hadendoa Sudan- Southern Red Sea State The Cushitic-Bidhaawyeet speaking Hadandawa inhabit the Red Sea Hills of eastern Sudan. They raise goats, sheep and camels.
They move to the Awliib (the hills and inland desert to the west of the mountains which receive summer or autumn rain) for seasonal pasture after occasional summer rains, in the Guunub (the coastal land receiving winter rain) after winter rains, and in their mountain homeland, between khors and wadis, for more permanent browse from trees. In years when resources fail groups may move to the common rescue areas where there are trees on alluvial fans at the foothills of the mountains, or to the Gash or Tokar inland deltas, or to the Nile valley. Some people cultivate crops, mainly sorghum using flood irrigation.

Hassaniya

Sudan- Central Sudan

Hawawir

Sudan- Central Sudan

The Hawawir are a tribe in Northern Kordofan, Sudan. They keep dromedaries, goats and sheep.

Hawd pastoralists

Ethiopia,Somalia- Inland areas of Woqooyi Galbeed, Toghdeer, Sool, Nugal, Mudug, Galgadud, Hiran

The Hawd (which includes inland parts of Somalia and Ethiopia) is a vast plateau that forms a prime grazing and browsing area, with patches of flat lowland covered with extensive bush and shrubs.
The livestock consist of camels, goats and sheep. Goats are at least three times more numerous than sheep, because the vegetation cover offers more extensive and dependable browse than grasses across the year (even given the banka grassy plains where sheep predominate), and the watering regime is
limited. The vast majority of herders do not keep no cattle because of recent years of rain failure.
People here belong to the Ishaak and Darod Somali clans.
The herding is done traditionally with limited nomadism: households move their animals and portable huts (aqals) in a limited circuit from pasture to pasture, water-point to water-point from one season to the next, undertaking extensive migration only in bad years.
Pastoralists are currently shifting from pure nomadic to semi-nomadic management, reducing their movements. There is a growing tendency for wealthier pastoralists to settle in fixed houses in small settlements, where they may own one or several berkads (reservoirs) and possibly a tea-shop or small goods store, and from where they send out their animals with family members or herders contracted from less wealthy households. Other people typically have no income except from livestock, except from casual labour, firewood collection and the sale of charcoal.
The herders earn money by selling live animals, using the cash to buy cereals and other types of food. The animals are exported to the Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Oman. Sheep of “export quality” are prized above goats and fetch prices at least one-third higher. Periodic export bans due to disease outbreaks in Somalia interrupt this trade.

Hedareb

Hadareb, T’bdawe, To-bdawe

Eritrea- Barka: northwestern

The Hedareb are an amalgamated agro-pastoralist and Arabic-Tigre speaking people composed of Arabic and Cushitic ethnolinguistic groups living in the arid and semi-arid lands of northwestern Barka in Eritrea.
Most Hedareb are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who move from place to place on a seasonal basis with their large herds of dromedaries, sheep and goats.
Each clan has its own pastures and water sites. They permit other clans to use their water when in need. They settle disputes using traditional law.
The nomads live in portable, rectangular tents made by the women from woven black or grey goat hair. The more sedentary Hedareb build mud-walled houses with more furnishings.
They consume dairy products (especially camel milk), meat and some grain.

Issa

Esa, Eesah, Aysa, Ciise, Reer Sheikh Ciise, 𐒋𐒕𐒜𐒈, عيسى

Djibouti- Southern
Ethiopia- Afar, Oromia, Somali, Dire Dawa
Somalia- Somaliland

The Issa are a Somali clan who live in Djibouti and in neighbouring areas of Ethiopia and Somalia. Some are nomadic herders who live in branch-framed, portable huts. These are covered with woven mats or boiled bark that has been pulled into fine strands and plaited. These may be carried from place to place on camels.
Ituu Ituu Oromo, Ituu Carcar Ethiopia- Oromo: Fentale The Ituu Oromo of Fentale woreda (district) are a clan of the Oromo people. They are agropastoralists who grow maize and vegetables close to the Awash River using irrigation and practise traditional and extensive livestock rearing. They keep cattle, sheep, goats and some dromedaries in that order of importance, and use donkeys as pack animals.
The livestock in the local area for most parts of the year and move to areas close to Shashemene, 200 km to the southwest, when there is critical shortage of pasture.
The agropastoralists sell their animals at markets in Metahara, Haro adi, or Arsi-bole, where they also buy food and other items. They consume camel or goat milk and maize they have produced themselves or cereals they have bought. They sell vegetables such as tomatoes and onions, as well as livestock. Poorer people sell firewood and charcoal, and earn wages by working on the nearby state farms that grow fruit, vegetables and sugar cane.

Kababish

Sudan- North Kordofan

Kababish camel herders keep high percentages of breeding females while breeding males amount to a quarter of the herd. Sheep and goats are also raised besides camel. Castration of males is practised for fattening purposes by many herders. Seasonal migration is practised by the majority of the herders to the northern and southern parts of the state.
There are three main types of management systems, the traditional nomadic; semi- nomadic and sedentary systems which permit wide utilization of the range lands.
Karimojong Uganda- Northern: Moroto, Kaabong, Nakapiriprit, Kotido The Karamojong are nomadic pastoralists who keep cattle, goats, sheep and other species. A few own camels. They consume the milk and blood of their cattle (they puncture the cow’s skin to tap the blood): They also eat fresh and smoked meat, yoghurt and ghee.
The boys and men tend livestock, while the girls and women are responsible for erecting and maintaining the house, fetching water, cooking, and growing crops during the rainy season.
Armed raids to rustle livestock are a feature of Karamojong culture. Young men must pay a bride price in the form of cattle, sheep and goats to the bride’s parents.
Due to the arid climate of the region, the Karamojong have always practised a sort of pastoral transhumance, where for 3–4 months in a year, they move their livestock to the neighboring districts in search of water and pasture for their animals.

Kawahla

Sudan- Central Sudan, Blue Nile

The Kawahla are a tribe of camel herders in Kassala and Northern Kordofan, Sudan. They keep cattle, dromedaries, goats and sheep.

Kereyu

Karrayyu Oromo, Kerrayu, Karrayyuu

Ethiopia- Oromo: Fentale

The Kerayu of Fentale woreda (district) are a pastoralist Oromo clan in the Awash valley in the Awash Valley, around the volcano of Mount Fentale and the Metehara Plain. They practise traditional and extensive livestock rearing. They keep dromedaries, goats, cattle and sheep in their order of importance, and use donkeys as pack animals. They may grow a little rainfed maize.
Different livestock species follow different migration patterns. The camels are the main migratory herd, even in good years moving long distances to the border of the neighbouring Boset district to the southwest. Cattle move shorter distances, while the sheep and goats remain in the local area. In normal years, the livestock movement starts in mid-September, while in bad years, depending on the drought situation, they migrate to different grazing areas both inside and outside the area, including towards Arsi Negelae (Shashemene district, 200 km to the southwest). During bad years, migrations often start before the end of the usual rainy season.
The herders consume maize (either that they have grown or purchased), and milk from sheep, goats and camels. Poorer people depend on food aid. They earn income by selling livestock, as well as firewood and charcoal. The main trade routes for livestock are to abattoirs in Modjo, Nazareth/Adama and Addis Ababa, and to Djibouti for export.
The establishment of the Awash National Park and large sugarcane plantations, plus climate change and population growth, have restricted their grazing lands and access to water and led to overgrazing and soil erosion. This fuels conflicts with neighbouring tribes such as the Afar or the Argoba, as well as with other Oromo subgroups such as the Arsi Oromo. Rangeland degradation intensifies cattle raiding. The Kerayu have abandoned some grazing lands for fear of conflict.

Kunama

Eritrea- Between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia

One of the smallest populations in Eritrea, constituting only 2% of the population. Formerly nomadic, today they are farmers and settled pastoralists living mainly from cattle. Many have been forced by war to flee to Ethiopia.
The pastoral system is based on large, mobile, predominantly female herds that go for long-range grazing and cattle are mainly kept for milk and milk products. In the highland farming communities, cattle are sedentary, relatively fewer, predominantly male and are mainly kept to provide energy for agricultural purposes.
The majority of the pastoralists own cattle with some goats and sheep. Some specialize in raising camels. In the western lowlands, cattle herds are large, predominantly females that graze over a wide geographical area and so come into contact with other herds in grazing or watering areas. The cattle type in this region is known locally as ‘Eirshay’ but is commonly known as ‘Barca or Begait’.
Cattle are managed through vocal commands. It is the belief of the pastoralists that cattle should not be hit. They believe if you stay with cattle for five continuous days, do not hit them and repeat certain vocal commands, you will be able to manage them. A shepherd will lead the herd from the front and not from the rear. Each clan or family cattle will have their particular vocal commands to the extent that one can tell the owner from listening to these commands.

Lahaween

Lahawin, Lahawiyin

Sudan- Gedarif

The Lahaween are a nomadic tribe who live in tents made from hair and wool.
Traditional livestock movement to the northern part of Gedarif State takes place from May to October (rainy season) and towards the southern part of the state from November-April to take maximum advantage of the natural grazing and water sources. Nomadic livestock owners who used to find ample dry season resources (water + grazing) in the Atbara valley now traverse the area and take their animals either across the border with Ethiopia or in to and beyond the southern part of the Gedarif state to Sennar state (the Dinder game reserve) or Blue Nile state due to the fodder availability and ample grazing ground in those areas.

Laikipia Maasai

Laikipiak Maasai, Mukogodo

Kenya- Laikipia

The Maasai in Laikipia maintain group ranches where they herd cattle, dromedaries, goats and sheep. They live in traditional “bomas”, or family compounds surrounded by thorn fences, that they move from time to time. They use the land communally,
Because many of the men work outside, including on nearby commercial ranches, women are often responsible for the herding and management.
The pastoralists increasingly come into conflict with nearby smallholder farmers of Kikuyu ethnicity, who keep high-yielding dairy cattle. Armed raids by pastoralist sometimes lead to deaths.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Ajman
Ujman, Al-Ajman. Al-‘Ijman, العُجمان Kuwait
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- Eastern
United Arab Emirates- Ajman

The Ajman are a tribal confederation in the Arabian Peninsula. Nearly all have abandoned nomadic life and have settled. Their main tribal territory is Joudah, or Wadi el-Ajman (“the valley of the Ajman”), on the road between Riyadh and Dammam.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Al Murrah

Murra, Marar, آل مرة

Bahrain,Kuwait,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,United Arab Emirates,Yemen

The Al-Murrah are a Bedouin tribe who traditionally herded dromedaries in southern Arabia, particularly in and around the Rub’ al Khali (the sandy desert of the Empty Quarter). They have since spread to reside in various countries in the Arabian peninsula. Some have settled in fixed locations, and work in urban occupations and in the Saudi armed forces.
Others maintain a nomadic lifestyle. They herd dromedaries, goats and sheep. Many have swapped their camels for trucks that they use to transport their households and animals, and use to provide commercial transport services.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Al-Dhafeer

Dhafir, الظفير Iraq
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia- Eastern

The Al-Dhafeer are a tribe originally from the Hejaz in Saudi Arabia that has migrated to the east. Its homeland is now southern Iraq, northern and western Kuwait and the border areas of Saudi Arabia.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Al-Fadl

Lebanon- Bekaa Valley
Syria- Homs

The Al-Fadl are a Bedouin Arab tribe in Syria, part of the Aneza confederacy. The are traditionally Sunni camel herders, so are regarded as “asil” (noble), but after the 1920s relied on sheep-raising, using camels as beasts of burden. Similar to the Al-Hassanna, they traditionally migrated to steppe land in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon at the end of the rainy winter season (April-May), gradually moving south with their household and herds. After the grain harvest in June, they arranged with landowners in the Bekaa Valley to graze their animals on stubble: a mutually beneficial arrangement as the animals fertilized the fields with their dung. At the end of the hot, dry summer, in September and October, they began to return north, and then east into the Badia steppe near Tudmor (Palmyra). There the camps dispersed to take advantage of the pastures that bloom during January to March. At the end of the winter, they again moved south into the Bekaa Valley.
The camels have now largely been replaced by trucks as a source of transport. A migration that used to last months can now take place in one day.
Many of the tribe’s members have settled into urban life and are no longer pastoralists. A small minority still maintain a herd. Some have a permanent winter home and stay in tents in the rest of the year. Others are fully settled but still keep livestock and hire herders to move their animals. They use trucks to transport their animals to fresh pastures and to market, to carry water and feed, to transport the family belongings when moving camp, and to provide commercial transport services. They supply milk to dairies in Beirut. They also earn from the sale of live animals and wool.
Some households have acquired land to use as pasture for their sheep, to rent out to farmers (who supply them with the agricultural products they need), or to cultivate it themselves. They may seed the land as pasture, grow vegetables, or grow sugar beet. They sell the beet to a factory, then buy the pulp to use as winter feed.

Al-Hassanna

Lebanon- Bekaa Valley
Syria- Homs, As-Suwayda

The Al-Hassanna are a Bedouin Arab tribe in Syria, part of the Aneza confederacy. The are traditionally Sunni camel herders, so are regarded as “asil” (noble), but after the 1920s relied on sheep-raising, using camels as beasts of burden. Similar to the Al-Fadl, they traditionally migrated to steppe land in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon at the end of the rainy winter season (April-May), gradually moving south with their household and herds. After the grain harvest in June, they arranged with landowners in the Bekaa Valley to graze their animals on stubble: a mutually beneficial arrangement as the animals fertilized the fields with their dung. At the end of the hot, dry summer, in September and October, they began to return north, and then east into the Badia steppe near Tudmor (Palmyra). There the camps dispersed to take advantage of the pastures that bloom during January to March. At the end of the winter, they again moved south into the Bekaa Valley.
The camels have now largely been replaced by trucks as a source of transport. A migration that used to last months can now take place in one day.
Many of the tribe’s members have settled into urban life and are no longer pastoralists. A small minority still maintain a herd. Some have a permanent winter home and stay in tents in the rest of the year. Others are fully settled but still keep livestock and hire herders to move their animals. They use trucks to transport their animals to fresh pastures and to market, to carry water and feed, to transport the family belongings when moving camp, and to provide commercial transport services.
Some households have acquired land to use as pasture for their sheep, to rent out to farmers (who supply them with the agricultural products they need), or to cultivate it themselves. They may seed the land as pasture, grow vegetables, or grow sugar beet. They have sell the beet to a factory, then buy the pulp to use as winter feed.

Aneza

Anazzah, Aniza, عنزwaة Bahrain

Kuwait
Iran- Ahwaz
Iraq- Western
Jordan
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Palestine- West Bank.
Saudi Arabia- northern
Syria- Badia
United Arab Emirates

The Aneza are a large tribal confederation of Bedouin Sunni camel herders. They are the largest Bedouin tribe, and include the ‘Amarat, Ruwallah, Hassana, Ageidat, Fedaan, and Sbaa tribes. As many as 25 million Arabs may trace their lineage to the Aneza. They are most numerous in Saudi Arabia, but are also found in Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Ahwaz (Iran) and the West Bank.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many Bedouin throughout the Middle East began to leave the traditional, nomadic life and join the general population. Most are now settled in towns and villages. They can be identified by their family name, but do not engage in pastoralism.
The Aneza are traditionally camel herders, so are regarded as “asil” (noble). But by the 1970s, camels were replaced by trucks as a source of transport, so many switched to herding sheep, formerly regarded as a non-noble occupation.
A small minority still maintain a herd. Some have a permanent winter home and stay in tents in the rest of the year. Others are fully settled but still keep livestock and hire herders to move their animals. They use trucks to transport their animals to fresh pastures and to market, to carry water and feed, to transport the family belongings when moving camp, and to provide commercial transport services.
In Syria, many Bedouin were forced to settle in the 1960s as a result of land reforms under the Baath Party. Land that was registered under the name of the tribal chief was redistributed to individual families. This forced the families to settle, and deprived the chiefs of their power and income, thereby reducing the strength of tribal government.

Awazim

Awazem, Azmi. Al-Awazem, العوازم

Bahrain
Egypt
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- Eastern
Sudan
Syria
Yemen

The Awazim are a large tribe in the Arabian peninsula, some of whom have moved to Egypt and Sudan. They were well known for breeding horses and dromedaries. Historically they controlled Kuwait and the northern part of the Saudi Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf. They herded their sheep widely across much of the Arabian Peninsula, from Oman and Yemen in the south to Madinah in the west and Kuwait in the north. Many have given up their nomadic lifestyle and settled in the cities.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Bahmadi Clan Iran
Bali Billi, Bli, Al-Farani, بلي

Jordan
Saudi Arabia- Tabuk, Madinah
Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine

The Bali are a Bedouin tribe who inhabit the western coastlands of the Hejaz in Saudi Arabia. They are also present in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Palestine.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Bani Hajir

Al-Hawajir, بني هاجر

Bahrain
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- Eastern
United Arab Emirates

The Bani Hajir are an influential tribe in eastern Saudi Arabia. They are also present in other countries in the Gulf.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Bani Hareth

Banu al-Harith, بَنُو الْحَارِث

Saudi Arabia- Makkah

The Bani Hareth are a Qahtani (of southern origin) Arab tribe living around Ta’if in Saudi Arabia. The tribe is one of the largest in the kingdom and occupies the area between Taif and Al Bahah.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Bani Malek

Banu Malik, بني مالك

Saudi Arabia- Makkah, Al Bahah

The Bani Malik are an Arab tribe from the region south of Taif in the Hejaz.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Banu Lam

Beni Lam, بنو لام Iraq- Southern
Saudi Arabia- Riyadh

The Banu Lam are an Arab tribe of Nejd (central Arabia) and southern Iraq. The tribe split into three main Bedouin (nomadic) groups: the Fudhool, the Al Kathir, and the Al Mughira. Many clans from Bani Lam stayed in Nejd as settled townspeople. In southern Iraq, the tribe converted to Shia Islam in the late eighteenth century.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Banu Thaqif بنو ثقيف

Saudi Arabia- Makkah, Bahah

The Banu Thaqif are an Arab tribe that came originally from the Ta’if area.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Banu Yam

Yam, Yam Hamadan, بنو يام

Bahrain
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- Najran
United Arab Emirates

The Banu Yam are an Qahtanite Arab tribe from Najran, in southern Saudi Arabia. Many of its members follow the Sulaymani Isma’ili branch of Shi’ite Islam. Most have moved into small villages and given up their previous nomadic way of life.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Barahoei Clan

Iran- Sistan and Baluchestan

Beni Sakher

Beni Sakhr, بنو صخر

Jordan
Syria

The Beni Sakher are a “noble” (traditionally camel-raising) tribe of Bedouin who are one of the most powerful tribal confederacies in Jordan. With the decline of the camel as a means of transport, they have taken up sheep-raising. They are regarded as staunch supporters of the Jordanian monarchy.

Bohlooli Clan

Iran
Razavi Khorasan: Khaf
South Khorasan: Ghayenat, Sarbisheh
Yazd: Yakhab
Brahui Zahedan Clan Iran
South Khorasan: Sarbisheh
Sistan and Baluchestan: Zabol

Choudhry Clan

Iran- Semnan

The Choudhry clan migrated from Afghanistan (Harat) into East Iran and lives in Semnan and Khorasan provinces. Some members practise a semi-nomadic lifestyle in the Khar and Turan regions in Shahrood and Sabzevar and Ferdous in Khorasan.

Dawasir

Ad-Dawaser, الدواسر

Saudi Arabia- Riyadh

The Duwasir are a Bedouin tribe from southern Najd in central Saudi Arabia, who have spread in other parts of Najd. Most live in towns or rural communities. The town of Wadi Ad-Dawasir in southern Riyadh province is named after the tribe.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Fadan

Fed’aan

Syria- Raqqa, Deir-al-Zour

The Fadan are a major tribe in the Anaza confederation of Bedouin tribes. They are one of the few Bedouin tribes that were (in the 1980s) all still nomadic. They include two factions: the Kharasa and the Wa’ad.
The Kharasa spread in the summer season along the Balikh and the Euphrates rivers in Syria; they are not allowed by the Syrian authorities to cross both rivers to the west. In winter, they go eastward into Iraq, especially during the years of drought.
They use trucks to transport their animals to fresh pastures and to market, to carry water and feed, to transport the family belongings when moving camp, and to provide commercial transport services.

Haddiddiin

Hadidiyin, Hadidi, الحديدي‎

Syria- Aleppo Province

The Haddiddiin are an Arab tribe in Jordan, Syria, Egypt and northern Iraq. They traditionally herd sheep.
Until the 1950s, the Haddiddiin in Syria were fully nomadic, but they have since become settled or semi-nomadic as a result of land reform in 1958 and the coming of mechanization and irrigation, which led to the cultivation of large areas of former rangeland. Many Haddiddiin now live in villages and during the winter feed their flocks on purchased feed (barley grain, cereal straw, what bran, sugarbeet pulp, cottonseed cake, hulls and seed, and dry bread). In the spring they take their animals eastwards to the drier steppes to graze on natural rangeland. They also provide supplementary feed at this time.
In the slightly wetter areas, where most of the land is now under cultivation, flock sizes has fallen to less than 50 sheep, which are kept on supplementary feed, fallow or uncultivated land (such as roadsides), as well as crop stubble and residues. Such small flocks are never taken to the rangelands.
In villages in drier areas, the Bedouin have reverted to a more nomadic existence, moving their flocks more frequently to seek grazing. They graze their animals wither on rangelands (where grazing is free) or on crop stubble or residues (which they have to pay for). They also graze on standing green barley (the barley is harvested for grain only in good years). Some families move their flocks to the Mediterranean coast during the winter, grazing on irrigated crop residues, in orchards and on barren land on hillsides.

Hadhil

Banu Hudhayl, Hothail, Huthail, هذيل

Saudi Arabia- Makkah

The Hadhil are an Arab tribe from around Makkah, in the Hejaz, Saudi Arabia.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Harasiis

Oman- Al Wusta: Jiddat al-Harasis

The Harasiis inhabit the Jiddat al-Harasis, a stony desert in central Oman. They keep goats, sheep and dromedary camels. Traditionally nomadic, their lifestyle has been changed by two things: oil drilling and trucks. The oil-drilling projects have created roads and other infrastructure, and the trucks have largely replaced the need for camels for transport but have created the need for money to purchase and maintain vehicles and to buy fuel.
Many of the men now have jobs to earn money, leaving the women and children to care for the livestock – often also those of other people. Herd sizes have risen, leading to overgrazing and the destruction of the traditional pasturelands. Women also have adapted their traditional handicrafts, such as camel straps and decorations to make items such as key fobs and gearstick covers for their menfolk and for sale through commercial outlets.

Harb

Beni Harb, حرب

Saudi Arabia- Madinah, Makkah

The Harb are a Bedouin tribal confederacy in the area of the Hejaz between Mecca and Madinah.
Many have moved to the major cities of Saudi Arabia, especially Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, in search of better education and employment.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Howeitat

Huwaytat, الحويطات

Egypt- Sinai
Jordan- Aqaba
Palestine
Saudi Arabia- Tabuk, Al-Jawf

The Howeitat are a “noble” (traditionally camel-raising) tribe of Bedouin who inhabit the deserts of southern Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia, and are also found in Palestine and Egypt (Sinai). With the decline of the dromedary as a beast of burden and its replacement by the truck, they took up sheep-raising. The majority have settled into villages. In Jordan many are members of the Jordanian armed forces. In Wadi Rum, a tourist area, the Howeitat act as tourist guides.
In Saudi Arabia, much of their traditional homeland is threatened by the proposed development of the proposed city of Neom.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Hutaym

Hutaim, هتيم

Saudi Arabia- Al-Jawf, Madinah, Red Sea coast

The Hutaym are a tribal confederacy of northwestern Saudi Arabia. They are sometimes regarded as pariahs by other Arab tribes. They keep dromedaries, goats and sheep, and are regarded as good hunters. The Hutaym of the coast are fishers.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Jabali

Oman- Dhofar

The Jabali are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd cattle and dromedaries in the mountains to the north of Salalah, Dhofar province of Oman. They also grow vegetables and fruit for sale in the cities.
As a result of the availability of hay from coastal fodder farms and feed from the Dhofar Cattle Feed Company in Salalah, the Jabali herd sizes have grown, leading to overgrazing. At the same time, the Jabali must compete with intensive dairy farms in the coastal plan and with imported beef from Europe and America and sheep from Australia. No market has developed for milk from the mountains, so the excess milk produced by the Jabali sometimes has to be destroyed. On the inland plateau, the Jabali must compete for grazing and other resources with Bedouin who own large herds of dromedaries. Omani men carry a camel stick, which is the length of bamboo
with a curved handle, like a cane.

Wealthier Jabali livestock owners hire foreign workers to herd their cattle, while poorer Jabali must buy feed and often fall into debt.

Juhaynah

Juhaina, جهينة

Saudi Arabia- Tabuk, Madinah

The Juhaynah are a large Bedouin tribe residing in the northern Hejaz and Tihamah (the Red Sea coastal plain), mostly in the region of Madinah and the cities of Yanbu, Umluj, Alshabaha, Tabuk, and Jeddah.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Kalkooyi
Kallekouhi

Iran- Qom

The Kalkooyi are a group of Kurdish pastoralists in Qom province. They keep dromedaries, goats and sheep, including the Kallekouhi fat-tailed sheep breed named after them.

Mohammad Hasani Clan

Iran- South Khorasan

Mutayr

Mutair, مطير

Iraq
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia- Madinah, Al Qassim, Ha’il

The Mutair are one of the largest tribes of the Arabian peninsula.
They were historically Bedouin, though nearly all are now settled in the cities and towns of Saudi Arabia, making up to 400 villages across the country and especially Riyadh, Medina and central region of the country. A large section of the tribe also settled in Iraq and Kuwait.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Nakhai Clan

Iran- South Khorasan

Narouie Zahedan Clan

Iran- Sistan and Baluchestan

Otaibah

Utaybah, Otaiba, Ataiban, عتيبة

Bahrain

Iraq
Kuwait
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- Riyadh, Madinah, Makkah
United Arab Emirates

The Otaibah are a large Bedouin confederation of the western Najd in central Saudi Arabia. Members of the tribe now also live in various other countries.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Qahtan

قحطان

Bahrain
Kuwait
Morocco
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- ‘Asir, Riyadh
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

The Qahtan are an Arab tribal confederation composed of three main tribes: Sanhan, Junb, and Rufaida. Members are now based in Yemen (where most of the tribe is congregated), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Ramazani-Khorasan Clan

Iran- South Khorasan

Rashaida

Beni Rashid, Bani Rashid, بني رشيد

Egypt
Eritrea
Jordan
Kuwait
Libya
Oman
Saudi Arabia- Tabuk, Madinah
Sudan
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

The Rashaida are Bedouin Arabs from the Hejaz area of Saudi Arabia. Many emigrated to Sudan and Eritrea in the mid-19th century.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased.

The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Ruwallah

Ruwalla, Rwala, الرولة

Jordan
Saudi Arabia- Northern Borders
Syria- Damascus, Homs

The Ruwallah are a large tribe of northern Arabia, part of the Aneza confederacy. The are traditionally Sunni camel herders. They are found in northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.
The Ruwallah are traditionally camel herders, so are regarded as “asil” (noble). But by the 1970s, camels were replaced by trucks as a source of transport, so many switched to herding sheep, formerly regarded as a non-noble occupation. Most of the tribe’s members have settled into urban life and are no longer pastoralists.
A small minority still maintain a herd. Some have a permanent winter home and stay in tents in the rest of the year. Others are fully settled but still keep livestock and hire herders to move their animals. They use trucks to transport their animals to fresh pastures and to market, to carry water and feed, to transport the family belongings when moving camp, and to provide commercial transport services.
In Syria, many Bedouin were forced to settle in the 1960s as a result of land reforms under the Baath Party. Land that was registered under the name of the tribal chief was redistributed to individual families. This forced the families to settle, and deprived the chiefs of their power and income, thereby reducing the strength of tribal government.

Sarani-Birjand Clan

Iran
South Khorasan: Sarbisheh, Nehbandan
Sistan and Baluchestan: Zabol

Shahran

شهران

Kuwait
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- ‘Asir
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

The Shahran are a tribal confederation originating in ‘Asir province of southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Shammar

شَمَّر

Iraq,Saudi Arabia- Ha’il
Syria- Aleppo Province

The Shammar are one of the largest and most powerful tribes in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria. Most now live in cities, but some still maintain a pastoralist lifestyle.
The Shammar are one of the largest tribes in Iraq, owning large areas of land. Many have given up migration to settle in cities.
The Shammar are also an important tribe in Saudi Arabia. especially in Ha’il province.
In Syria, until the 1950s, the Shammar were fully nomadic, but they settled in villages as a result of land reform in 1958 and the coming of mechanization and irrigation, which led to the cultivation of large areas of former rangeland. In the 1980s they grazed their flocks on rangeland near the village (or feeding them with supplements) during late autumn and winter, moving them to the rangelands in the spring and returning to graze on cereal stubble during the summer.
But in the 1990s they again became more mobile. They graze their flocks on standing barley or stubble near the village in late spring and early summer. They them move them to Al Jazirah (the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) or to wetter parts of Aleppo province to graze on cereal stubble and irrigated crop residues. There are no fixed grazing locations: the Shammar negotiate with landowners in advance for the right to graze on the fields. They may return to the village in late February, grazing the animals around the village and providing supplementary food. In March they move them southeast into the steppe.

Shararat
Sherarat

Saudi Arabia- Northern Borders, A-Jawf

The Sherarat are a Bedouin tribal confederacy of northern Saudi Arabia. Previously nomadic, most of them became settled in the 1950s as a result of drought.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Sibaʿa

Sbaa’, Asbiʿa

Syria- Homs, Hama, Deir-al-Zour

The Sibaʿa is a major tribe of the Aneza confederation of Bedouin tribes. The other faction is al-Abda tribe. They spend the summer season north of al-Salamiyya in Syria, to the east of Hama and east of Homs. They include the Butayna.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Soqotran

Socotran

Yemen- Soqotra

Soqotran pastoralists mainly keep goats, followed by sheep, with a few cattle, dromedaries and donkey in the eastern areas of Soqotra.
The pastoralists practise three types of movements:

1. Transhumance, or intra-territorial migration. This is a regular, long-distance migration within a clan’s territory. In the first movement, known as mezhīro. the herders move from higher to lowland pastures toward the end of the SW monsoon (horf ) season in early October. The return movement is merqīyo, from lower to higher grazing grounds, toward the end of the NE monsoon season of sereb in January or after the end of the cold weather at higher elevations.
2. Situational nomadism, or cross-territorial displacement. This movement, known as mat’ino, is triggered by a crisis such as a long drought. The herders negotiate with communities outside their clan territory for permission to move their animals into their area.
3. Agropastoral movement, or food harvesting relocation. This is where pastoralists (and coastal fishermen) move to date gardens to harvest dates.

Subay’

Alsubaie’, Sbei’, Subei, سبيع

Kuwait
Qatar
Saudi Arabia- Riyadh
United Arab Emirates

The Subay’ are traditionally a partially sedentary, partially nomadic tribal confederation of central Saudi Arabia.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Xamseh Khamseh

Basseri

Iran-
Fars: Bavanat, Lar
Yazd: Abarkooh

The Khamseh is a tribal confederation in the province of Fars in southwestern Iran. It consists of five tribes, hence its name Khamseh, “the five”. The tribes are partly nomadic, Some are Persian speaking Basseri, some are Arabic speaking Arabs, and some are Qashqai Language speaking (Inalu, Baharlu and Nafar). They are sheep breeders, which they herd mounted on camels.
The history of the Khamseh confederation of tribes starts in 1861–1862 when Naser al-Din Shah Qajar created the Khamseh Tribal Confederation. He combined five existing nomadic tribes, the Arab, Nafar, Baharlu, Inalu, and the Basseri and placed them under the control of the Qavam ol-Molk family. The pattern of forcibly uniting tribes was not a new idea, as the Safavid Shahs previously created homogenous Qizilbash confederations to temper the increasing strength of the Qashqai, who were gaining so much power. The Khamseh tribes were a mixture of Persians, Turks, and Arabs.

Zahran قبيلة زهران

Saudi Arabia- Bahah

The Zahran are an Arab tribe originating in Bahah province. Large numbers also now live in western Saudi Arabia (mainly in Mecca, Jeddah), Riyadh and Dammam.
Traditional nomadism as a production system no longer exists in Saudi Arabia. Herders now feed their animals with a combination of range forage and feed such as barley brought in from outside by truck. They also truck in water if necessary. Herders have shifted from rearing dromedaries to sheep, and the herd sizes have increased. The larger operations have increased the demand for foreign labour. The new system of mechanized nomadism, with trucks and water tankers, requires a lot of capital investment and cash. Production levels are low. These factors favour large enterprises that can take advantage of economies of scale.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Baloch

Baluch

Pakistan- Balochistan: Suleiman Mountainou, Barkhan, Killa Saifullah, Kohlu, Loralai, Musakhel
Afghanistan
Iran

The Balochs are a large Iranian people divided into over 130 tribes. They inhabit Balochistan, an area of western Pakistan (Balochistan), Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan) and southern Afghanistan (Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar).
Many Balochs have a predominantly pastoral, nomadic lifestyle. They own herds of dromedary camels, cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys. They use camels for transport in the remote areas. They may hire camel herders for extensive grazing.

Bhopa Raika

India- Rajasthan

The Bhopa are traditional healers of livestock, though are not livestock keepers per se. They are associated with pastoralist communities.

Bishnoi

Prahlad Panthi

India- Rajasthan: Jodhpur, Pali, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara

The Bishnoi are members of a Hindu religious sect founded in 1485 by Shree Guru Jambheshwar. The teachings are based on 29 principles (“bishnoi” means 29 in the local language). Three of the principles are “Be merciful to all living beings and love them”, “Do not cut green trees, save the environment”, and “Do not eat meat, always remain purely vegetarian”.
In accordance with these principles, the Bishnoi live in harmony with the environment. They keep livestock but use them for milk and transport, not for meat.
The Bishnoi community are found throughout north India, but most are from Jat and Rajput castes of Rajasthan.

Dhangar

Gavli, Golla, Ahir, Dange, Mhaske, Dhangar Gavli, Kuruba, Kuruma

India- Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh

The Dhangar are a caste of herders in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They are referred as Gavli in southern Maharashtra, Goa and northern Karnataka, Golla in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and Ahir in northern Maharashtra (Khandesh region). Some Gavlis live in forested hill tracts of India’s Western Ghats. Gavli, also known as Dange or Mhaske, and Ahir are a sub-caste of Dhangar. However, there are many distinct Gavli castes in Maharashtra; one of them is Dhangar; Gavli.
The Dhangar are traditionally shepherds, cowherds, buffalo keepers, blanket and wool weavers, butchers and farmers.

Ahirs seek recreation and entertainment at the numerous fairs and festivals of rural India. One of the biggest and best-known of these is the Pushkar Camel and Cattle Fair in Rajasthan, which is attended by livestock breeders and farmers from a wide area. The fair has even become an attraction for Western tourists.

Fakirani Jat

Jat

India- Gujarat: Kachchh

The Fakirani Jat are one of two groups that keep camels of the Kharai (“salty”) breed (the other group is the Rabari). During the summer from March-April to mid-July, the camels swim up to 3 kilometres out to small islands off the coast of Kachchh to feed on marine mangroves. They spend 3-4 days at a time on the islands before swimming back to the mainland to drink water. They then swim back to the islands again. Their herders swim with them or accompany them by boat.
Once the rains start, the herders leave the camels on the islands. In mid-September they bring the animals back to the mainland and allow them to graze on grass and shoreline mangroves.
This way of life is being threatened by the destruction of mangroves to create salt pans.

Jath of Kutch

Jat, جاٹ مسلمان

India- Gujarat: Kutch
Pakistan- Sindh

The Jath of Kutch are a cattle-breeding nomadic Muslim community, found in the Kutch region of Gujarat in India. They are one of a number of communities of Maldhari pastoral nomads found in the Banni region of Kutch. They occasionally keep dromedaries. They speak Kutchii.
They are different from the Jat (pronounced with a long “a”), who are a Hindu farming community.

Kachchh Rabari

India- Gujarat

The Rabari in Kachchh, Gujarat, keep Kachchhi and Kharai camels, as well as Kankrej cattle, Banni buffalo, Marwari and Patanwadi sheep and Kutchi goats.
In coastal areas, during the summer from March-April to mid-July, the Kharai camels swim up to 3 kilometres out to small islands off the coast of Kachchh to feed on marine mangroves. They spend 3-4 days at a time on the islands before swimming back to the mainland to drink water. They then swim back to the islands again. Their herders swim with them or accompany them by boat.
Once the rains start, the herders leave the camels on the islands. In mid-September they bring the animals back to the mainland and allow them to graze on grass and shoreline mangroves.
This way of life is being threatened by the destruction of mangroves to create salt pans.

Maldhari

India- Gujarati: Kutch

The Maldharis are pastoralists who rely on seasonal livestock rearing in Gujarat. The name, which means “herdsman” or “stock keeper”, comes from the Gujarati maal (animal stock) and dhari (owner/keeper). Many are landless or own only small parcels of land.
They are the traditional dairymen of Gujarat, who once supplied milk and cheese to the kingdoms. Their main sources of income are the sale of pure ghee, milk, wool, animals, and handicrafts. They keep a range of indigenous breeds of buffalo, cattle, sheep, goats, dromedaries, horses and donkeys. They also grow vegetables and collect wild honey.
Many Maldharis are semi-nomadic herders who spend 8 months of the year with their herds searching for fodder in the sparse pasturelands with their livestock. During the monsoon season, they generally return to their home villages so the animals can graze on fresh grass closer to home.
In different regions, the Maldharis belong to different castes. The majority of the Maldharis in Gir belong to Charan, Bharwad and Rabari castes. Minority castes include Koli, Kathi, Bawa, Meghwal and Makranis.
In Kachchh, Maldhari herders keep Kharai camels, which are famed for swimming out to islands off the coast to graze on mangroves there.

Marri

Pakistan- Balochistan: Kohlu, Chamalang, Sibbi

The camel breeders of Marri tribe are traditionally and historically professional camel breeders. The camel of Marri the area (Kohi breed) is well adapted to climatic extremes and is well praised for their significance in the pastoral economy. Camels still play an important role, provides cash earning, transportation, food and wool. The camel herders follow a regular pattern of seasonal migration according to the season, foliage availability and agricultural operations. Women perform all management practices at home, and take care of young and sick animals. Camels are a valuable animal genetic resource.

Mer

Maher, Mehar, मेर, महेर, मेहर, મેર, મહેર, મેહર

India- Gujarat: Saurashtra: Porbandar district

The Mer are a Hindu group who keep cattle and water buffaloes for their milk. Prosperous Mer also own horses.

Raika

Rabari, Rebari, Raika

India-Rajasthan: Marwar, Pali, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara

The Raika are a subgroup of the Rebari who live in Rajasthan. They are the largest pastoralist group in Western India and are traditionally associated with camel breeding. However, many of them are involved in sheep and goat herding, going on long-distance migrations for 9 months out of the year.
They retain their reputation as “camel people” until today, as only a minority raise sheep or goats. Sources from the colonial period describe the Maru Raika of Bikaner, Jodhpur and Pali district as camel breeders, and the Godwar Raika (Godwar area of Pali and Sirohi districts) as goat raisers, but this no longer applies as both groups herd goats as well as camels.
Nomadic pastoralism is critically important to the economy of Rajasthan. Aridity and poor soils, especially in the western districts, make it well-suited to a combination of agriculture and livestock rearing. Raika agropastoralists combine animal husbandry with crop production. The fodder resources in the Marwar area cannot support the large number of animals, so the Raika migrate with many animals annually in search for grazing grounds.
The Raika have built a large network of traditional healers (bhopa, ghuni and daam) and make use of a large variety of indigenous plants, minerals and animal products to cure their animals.

Rebari

Rabari

India- Rajasthan, Gujarat

The Rebari (known as Raika in Rajasthan) are the most numerous pastoral group in western India. They live in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with some in Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and other states. Traditionally associated with camel breeding. many also raise sheep and goats, going on long-distance migrations for 9 months out of the year. Some families specialize in breeding Nari cattle.

Rohi

Pakistan-Punjab: Cholistan desert

The Cholistan Desert also locally known as Rohi (Robi) and the people belong to this desert are also called Rohi. It is one of the largest deserts in Pakistan, inhabited by around 1.2 million Rohi pastoral people practising mobile livestock husbandry. This production system is extremely important for food security and conservation of livestock and landscape. The camel is one of the important animal genetic resources and about 80,000 are found in the desert. The main tribe with camel herds is Marrecha. The desert pastoralists also raise goats, sheep and cattle breeds. The major camel breed is Marrecha followed by Brela.

Sama

India- Gujarat: Kachchh

The Sama are agropastoralists in Kachchh region of Gujarat. They practise rainfed farming and keep cattle and buffaloes. A few families keep dromedaries.
Saraiki Pakistan- Punjab The Saraiki are one of the major ethnic groups in rural Pakistan. The people lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The local tribes store rainwater in man-made ponds called tobas, dug in the ground or between sand hills. This water serves the consumption of people and livestock alike. Habitations are small and sometimes extremely scattered around the tobas. Various locations within the desert are named after the owners of tobas or historical forts.

Sindhi Muslims

Sindhi Sipahi, Sindhi Musalman, Sindhi: سنڌي سپاهی , Urdu: سندھی سپاهی
India- Rajasthan: Marwar, Jaisalmer
Pakistan- Sindh

The Sindhi Sipahi are converst to Islam who keep mainly camels, as well as some cattle and sheep. The community are now mainly settled agriculturists, though many are still herders. Many of their villages are situated in the Thar Desert.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Dawtanni

Afghanistan-Ghazn: Qarabagh

Durrani

Abbadali دراني

Afghanistan-Hilmand: Nad-e-Ali;,
Mazar Sharif: Mazar;
Kunooz: Khan abad;
Ghazni: Dasht-e Nawar;
Baghlan: Pol-e-Khomri;
Orzgan: Khas Urozgan

The Durrani are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan. They are also settled in other parts of Afghanistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

Dutanni

Afghanistan-Hilmand: Panjwaii, Nad-e- Ali
Ghazni: Dasht-e Nawar
Baghlan: Pol-e-Khomri, Orzgan

Jalal khil

Afghanistan-Logar: Baraki Barak

Karakalpak

Qaraqalpaqs, Qaraqalpaqlar, Қарақалпақлар, قاراقلپقلر

Uzbekistan- Karakalpakstan

The Karakalpak are a Turkic group living in the delta of the Amu Darya River, around the southern part of what used to be the Aral Sea. This has now dried out as a result of large-scale irrigation during Soviet times using the waters of the rivers that flow into it. This has created the Aralkum Desert in the dried-out former sea bed, and an environmental catastrophe.
Before Soviet times, the Karakalpak were seminomadic pastoralists, keeping mainly cattle and sheep, plus some dromedaries, Bactrian camels, goats and horses. Most now live in urban areas or in villages. Some rural people keep cattle and sheep. Most of the cattle do not tolerate the high summer temperatures caused by environmental change, so they are driven out to pasture in April and are brought back into the cowsheds in May. They return to pastures from September to December.

As Muslims, Karakalpaks do not eat certain foods, with pork being one of the most prominent dietary restrictions. Other food taboos have little to do with religion, but more to do with customs. For example, a pregnant woman must not eat a rabbit’s head for fear her newborn will have a harelip, and the consumption of camel meat for a pregnant woman may result in a longer than normal term pregnancy.

Niazi

Afghanistan-Ghazn: Qarabagh, Andar;
Paktia: Zurmat;
Khost: Tanni;
Hirat: Kohsan;
Laghman: Mihterlam

Pashtun

Pushtun, Pashtoon

Pakistan-Balochistan: Suleiman Mountainous, Barkhan, Killa Saifullah, Kohlu, Loralai, Musakhel, Zhob, Bajaur

The Pashtun are a pastoral tribe who own herds of dromedary camels, cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys. There are an estimated 350–400 Pashtun tribes and clans.
They use camels are used for transport in remote areas. There are three major camel production systems in this region, i.e. nomadic, transhumant and sedentary. The owners may hire camel herders for extensive grazing.

Rushani

Afghanistan-Badakhshan

The residents of these villages are agriculturalists who also keep animals such as goats, sheep, and camels in pastures during the spring and summer seasons.

Shughni

Afghanistan-Badakhshan

The residents of these villages are agriculturalists who also keep animals such as goats, sheep, and camels in pastures during the spring and summer seasons.

Suliman khil

Afghanistan-Wardak: Wardak;
Ghazni: Qarabagh, Andar, Dasht-e Nawar;
Paktika: Argan;
Hilmand: Panjwaii, Nad-e- Ali;
Logar: Baraki Barak;
Hirat: Kohsan;
Baghlan: Pol-e-Khomri;
Orzgan: Khas Urozgan
Sulimanzi Afghanistan
Ghazn: Qarabagh, Andar
Hirat: Kohsan

Turkmen

Turkmenistan
Iran- Northeast
Afghanistan- Northern

Most Turkmen were nomads until the 19th century when they began to settle the area south of the Amu Darya. Many Turkmen became semi-nomadic, herding sheep and camels during spring, summer, and fall, but planting crops, wintering in oasis camps, and harvesting the crops in the summer and autumn. As a rule they did not settle in cities and towns until the advent of the Soviet government.
Turkmen lifestyle was heavily invested in horsemanship and as a prominent horse culture, Turkmen horse-breeding was an ages old tradition.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Traprock graziers

Traprock woolgrowers and cattle keepers

Australia- Queensland: Southeastern: Rosenthal, Stanthorpe, Inglewood

The Traprock area (named after the type of volcanic rock that underlies it) is an area of southern Queensland that is traditionally a wool-growing area. Nowadays the numbers of sheep are declining, being replaced with beef cattle. Farmers also raise goats; some have started to invest in water buffaloes and dromedaries.
Many sheep-raisers in this area also grow grapes for wine, stone fruits and olives. They also grow fodder crops such as lucerne, sorghum and oats, as well as wheat and barley.
Most of the area is under native pasture. The average carrying capacity is approximately 1.5 Dry Sheep Equivalent (DSE) per hectare, although this can be as high as 2.5 DSE on good quality open pastures. Some pastures have been modified with clover, introduced grasses and even lucerne, but these are generally confined to small areas.
The particular mix of livestock depends on the location, local climate and the presence of rivers for stock watering.
The Traprock area is well-known for its wool production. Most successful operations have extensive areas of improved grazing and can sustain breeding enterprises. Stocking rates depend on the rainfall and property improvement. Dry winters with heavy frosts mean that sheep pastoralists have provide supplementary feed in the winter.
Cattle are more dependent than sheep on access to water, so they are concentrated in wetter areas and near rivers. Many are sold as store animals to feedlots in the area.

Dromedary camel pastoralists from interactive World map of camelids

Name of the breed and their identifiable coat color phenotype is also mentioned along with their most common use.

Front Genet. 2019 Feb 19;10:17. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00017