TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

256 IMPROVEMENT OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL RANGELANDS
free in the camp during the day but are tied by their necks to a
rope stretched between two stakes at night. Bush enclosures are
sometimes made to protect goats and sheep from jackals. Newborn
camels are tied by one foreleg to individual stakes in the middle of
the camel yardj when older ones come back from pasture they are
tethered in a group to one stake. Calves are tied individually by the
neck at night and are sent to pasture during the day. Donkeys' front
feet are hobbled when they are likely to be needed, but otherwise
they are allowed to roam freely. It must be emphasized that it is only
young animals and mature lactating females that are usually found
in the campsj the others are brought in only when camp is about to
be moved and even then not all are found.
Since material culture is limited among the nomads, abandoned
cool-season campsites are indicated only by trampled earth, dung,
lack of grass in the surrounding area, and a few wooden branches
used as auxiliary tent supports. Hot-weather sites may show traces
of straw huts, and rainy season camps often have remains of "nests"
that children build in trees to escape the mosquitoes, or occasionally,
bed supports that lift sleeping mats 1-1.5 m oft'the ground for the
same purpose. There are sometimes remnants of charred branches
left from the huge bonfires that are built during wet-season storms
to keep goats from stampeding. In the section of the camp inhabited
by artisans, small pieces of brass and iron staples used for mending
chips and cracks in wooden bowls may be found. Also, there are
discarded pods of ACllcill niloticlI (tll,lIrt) that have been used for
tanning hides, as well as numerous strips of leather and pieces of
matter. Nearby trees may have scars where strips of bark have been
removed for use in medicines, tanning, and rope making, depending
on the type of tree. In noble camps, the pounding and winnowing
of grains is done by ikllln beside their tentsj therefore, seeds and
chaff may remain in these areas. Cooking fires are usually built near
the tents of the household ikllln, whereas fires for warmth, used only
during the cold months, are located directly in front of the imlljllren
tents. No stones are placed around campfires, and such places are
indicated only by darkened sand, charcoal, and ashes (however, this
could be because of the scarcity of rocks in the areas observed). The
precise location of tents is indicated by areas swept free of dung and
straw. The debris from the tents (such as cooked grains, seeds of
tarakot, excreta of babies, camel dung and wood fragments used for
games, and pieces of charcoal used for heating tea) are accumulated