Anthony Satin takes a joyous ride with nomadic communities, and discovers why 21st century ‘shepherds’ are being pushed over the edge
Anthony Satin takes a joyous ride with nomadic communities, and discovers why 21st century ‘shepherds’ are being pushed over the edge
“Where have they come from? Why have they come here? When are they leaving? How do they survive? Who are they?” Where have they come from? Why have they come here? When are they leaving? How do they survive? Who are they?”
Many of us ask these questions in relation to nomadic communities. As Anthony Satin explains in his work Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World“Seeing a family on the go with animals and all their belongings excites some of us, but it fills others with terror or disgust or disdain.”
In school we are taught that human civilization started when people started settling in specific areas. Satin, however, takes an opposite view: that we see outsiders as those who had a profound influence on the history of our civilization; Which we choose to ignore and forget.
with grace
The book begins on a lyrical note with the Bakhtiyari tribe traveling through the Zagros Mountains of Iran, conjuring up images of stunning beauty. In his conversations with members of the tribe, he hears not only about the diverse knowledge that his journey gave him, but also about the “challenges of being a shepherd in the 21st century”. This is a problem faced by most of the nomadic communities around the world. Due to lack of land and wanting for many other needs, they are being pushed to the shores and often forced to settle.
Beginning with the discovery of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, Satin traces the achievements of nomadic communities across the continents. There’s also an interesting take on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Satin recounts this as a conflict between the settled farmer Cain and the nomadic shepherd Abel. The murder, he writes, “exposes one of the consequences of Neolithic development, the conflicting interests of herders and tillers, of nomads and settlers.”
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India, China… Satin goes on a world tour in an attempt to convince his readers that nomads were at the center of most achievements. There is even a discussion on the “nomadic gene” (though Satin is careful to quote a doctor that the label is unhelpful and unscientific) that might be behind ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). .
Although some of his words seem thin. For example, writing about the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires, he states, “Each of these empires still had a significant nomadic core and all maintained some association with seasonal cycles, at least because Not that the lives and holy days of their Muslim rulers were governed by the lunar calendar.” While Babur led a nomadic life early in his career, is it the same as a nomad? Also what nomadic core is he talking about?
change attitude
Satin then talks about the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment and how attitudes towards nomads and wanderers changed. He quotes from Macaulay’s speech and explains that nomads were now considered barbarians, “people without art, morality, literature, law or logic.” Although one may not agree with Satin’s views, there is no denying the fact that it is a majorly readable book.
The writing is evocative and makes you turn the pages. Satin ends his story where he started it: with Bakhtiyari in the Zagros Mountains. “Perhaps,” says his friend Feredune, “thoughts and thoughts should always wander like sheep and goats, like this and that, now together, now separate.” This is a fitting end to the book.
Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World, Anthony Satin, Hatchet India, ₹799.
krthika.r@thehindu.co.in