TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

246 IMPROVEMENT OF TROPIOAL AND SUBTROPIOAL RANGELANDS
from each, using either the hand or a wooden spoon. Bones are
broken open with knives or "Neolithic· stone implements to obtain
the marrow; the bones are then thrown outside the tent. Ifthe camp
remains in one place for more than a few days, such debris will be
swept further away from the tent (8 to 10 m). Occasionally, dogs (one
or two ofwhich are present in most camps) will scatter bones further.
However, scavenging is not their main means of obtaining food, since
they are fed on milk and grain when it is available. Bones aeem to
accumulate on the west side ofthe tent during the cold season and on
the east side during the hot months. (At other times, camps are not
stationary long enough for debris to concentrate.) This difference
may be due to the fact that in winter meat is eaten to celebrate
the arrival of visitors and is served with the evening meal when
people sit on the west side (perhaps for protection against easterly
winds). During the hot season, however, meat is most frequently
eaten at the main afternoon meal when tent occupants gather on
the shady east side. Meat has less of a ceremonial function at this
time, since visitors are not common; it is more important as a food
source because milk and grain are insufficient and aleo because many
animals die ofstarvation or thirst during the hot season and must be
slaughtered.
Determinants ofMovement
The nomads' most common response to pressures from the physical
and social environment (hunger, thirst, political hostility) is to
move. It is one of the most effective means of exploiting widely scattered
and scarce resources. The precise nature of the movement (its
time, frequency, direction, and distance) is the result of a complex interplay
between the needs of people and animals and the availability
offood and water, the latter being the most critical commodity.
Kel Tamasheq do not wander randomly, but circulate within
general "home" regions, and within these regions, follow a habitual
route, for example, south to north to south again, although both the
region and the route can change in response to unusual political or
seasonal situations. The nomadic pattern is oriented toward seasonal
water points and key pasture areas (figure 3-1).
In the first months after the rains, from September to December,
water is obtained from shallow, hand-dug wells that are usually
surrounded by adequate pasture. Camps are located near the water,
and this enables the group to remain in place for as much as a