2. SHELTER FOR THE NOMADS Living in the Desert * Desert: could be hot or cold, low rain, few vegetation, poor soil. * “ San ” tribe live in Kalahari desert (called Bushmen ) live on life sustaining bulbs, tubers, truffles, and nuts. San tribe in Namibia Rendille tribe in Kenya
3. * Until recently they were classified as “hunter-gatherer” of about 50,000.
4. * “San” tribe uses “ kuas ” as their dwellings. * Very similar to their surrounding (bushes). * Could be built within an hour: branches, wands, grasses. If they want to stay longer they make it more sturdy. * Men help clear the site and insert the poles, most of the construction and covering was done by women.
5. * Thin peeled sticks would be inserted in the ground, in a circle of less than 2m in diameter and the ends tied to provide a light and pointed dome. * Horizontal wands were woven into the frame at intervals and bundles of grass tied to them to give a thatch covering. * When food is exhausted they move on. All belongings have to be light (as well as their dwelling) transporting building elements by donkey or camels to carry them.
6. * “ Rendille ” are nomadic pastoralists from Keneya. They mainly look for food and water for their camels, goats, and some cattle. * Most settlements have 30-50 houses and each married or widowed have their own. * Rendille tribe have dwellings called “ min ”
7. 1/3 2/3 * “ min ” is not as symmetrical as kua . * Thin sticks are bent, while straight poles are inclined inward to form the frame for the front. * A long rope bound round the whole structure to resist wind. * The structure is covered with mats of knotted fibers from a wild sisal ( a plant fiber used for making rope ).
8. Inside : * While there is no partitioning inside the Rendille , the space is divided into sections of functional and symbolic significance. * Front is used to store the milk, firewood, sandals. Rear is used as sleeping area.
9. * When grazing is thin the elders debate next move. Dismantling takes 2 - 3 hours. This happens about 6 times a year. * Starting from dawn until sunset over 50 houses ( a village of 200-300 people) can be moved to over 40 km in distance.
10. Tents : * Tents can be seen in the culture of pastoral nomads from Mauritania in the West (extremely hot) to the Tibet in the East (extremely cold). * Widely spread throughout North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Afghanistan, into the Plateau of Tibet. * Black tents mean more shading (darker) not hot.
11. Beit Al-Shaar : * The Beduin called it so because the membrane is made up of black or brown coarse cloth from pure goat hair or mixture of goat and sheep or camel wool. * Pieces of membrane (strips) are sewn together. The size of the tent depend on the wealth, but on average it is 12m x 6m. * The membrane is supported by tent poles. Each pole has 2 ropes one in front and one its back. * When these pieces are worn, the worn parts are repaired and renewed by tribal women (another example of survival technique). The best material is from goat’s hair and not from sheep’s wool because it is darker and thicker. 60 cm
12. * Researchers believe that the shape of the tents have reached the culmination in term of its evolution ands adaptation to the desert climate: - Roof is flattened to give it an aerodynamic profile with minimum wind resistance . - The use of timber is reduced as much as possible. - Long ropes which, like ship, work best when stretch horizontally.
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14. Basseri tribe of Faris (southern Iran): * Herders of goats and sheep. * Each group has specific rights to summer pasture assigned by chief. * It is necessary for their animal to move frequently for different ecological areas.
15. Tuareq (Central Sahar): * Berbers, tribes in central Sahara (Algeria, Mali, Niger) who raise camel and some goats. Very arid area and dry. However, they do survive in these arid regions because of the presence of occasional oases, water holes and wells. * “ Tuareq ” used to be raiders; today they are traders of camels, other transport salts, cereal, tea and cotton. * Skin tents are used by most Tuareq groups.
16. * Both sides of the tent are open for ventilation, during storm they are closed. * The skins are obtained from domestic animals (goats, sheep, calves. etc). * The 35 to 40 skins are used to make tent of 4m x 3.5m. It can also take 60-80 skin if tent is very large. * These pieces are sewn together with leather thread using small awl. * Exposed to the harsh climate, the skin actually deteriorate: They are renewed a strip of a two at a time. * Not all “Tuareq” are nomads; tribes have taken up forms of agriculture (more sedentary life). * In the future many nomadic people will abandon their pastoral, hunting or food gathering due to: 1. Pressure of environmental deterioration. 2. Political changes
