general

definition of nomad

The word nomadic we use it in our language when we want to express that an individual, a group, town or community are characterized by moving from one geographic location to another, not settling for too long in one place.

Person, town or group that constantly moves from one place to another and does not have a permanent residence

That is, the nomad stands out for not having a permanent residence.

Many communities and cultures before us stood out precisely for being nomads, even more, prehistoric time was essentially nomadic.

Likewise, thousands of years later, the indigenous tribes that knew how to occupy the lands before the colonizing countries found them had nomadic habits.

Way of life of our ancestors in the face of the need to procure food

The need to provide themselves with food, given that agricultural activities did not yet exist, led to these peoples having to move from one place to another to get it, and somehow this determined their nomadic characteristics.

Industrialization and other factors contributed to its gradual disappearance and the installation of rather sedentary customs.

In the beginnings of humanity, no other option was considered other than nomadism and, for example, it was seen as something normal, so men went from one place to another to satisfy their need for food.

Until approximately the Neolithic period, man functioned in this way, moving from one geographic location to another when food was scarce.

Development and agricultural activity change the paradigm to a sedentary way

From this stage in which the beginning of a more active time in terms of technological development coincides, man begins to grow his own food and this leads him to settle permanently in that place, giving way to a sedentary society .

We must say that nomadism has traditionally been associated with the absence of civilization and the presence of barbarism, an association that is not really correct since this characteristic is rather linked to a logical process of growth and development that does not have to be presumed as barbarian .

Now, although it is a reality that the sedentary habit has prevailed over the nomad, today there are some communities that continue to maintain this old custom of moving from one place to another.

Nomadism today

Meanwhile, today's nomads are distinguished based on the economic specialty they present.

Thus we meet the Hunter-gatherers, the most outstanding specimens of this type being Greenland Eskimos; in the case of nomadic herders stick out the bedouins and the gypsy people; and finally the itinerant nomads , which are characterized by offering in their movement some special art, a trade or type of trade.

Organization

Regarding their political and administrative organization, the nomads present not so elaborate and rather simple structures.

They do not have a king or leader who rules for a long time since constant movement prevents it; the elderly or the elderly are those who have the greatest authority given their experience.

And they are organized into clans or tribes, which can ally themselves with the mission of facing threats, establishing ties such as marriage, among others.

Person with nomadic habits

On the other hand, in the colloquial language of our days, it is common to use this concept when we want to show that a person in a matter of geographical establishment is characterized by moving from one place to another, without settling permanently, or constantly, in one place. .

Generally, the individuals who like adventure and new experiences are those who worship this way of living.

They are characterized by not presenting any attachment to places or people, a fact that of course makes it easier for them to move from one place to another, and start something like a new life in a different place from time to time.

Of course, this situation is recurrent in people who have not yet formed a family, since moving with children continuously is not only more complex in terms of logistics but also in terms of education, which is recommended to take place in a framework of stability in every sense.

Those who choose this way of life put off or flatly discard the possibility of starting a family and settling in a geographic place forever.

Among the synonyms that we normally use as a substitute for the word in question, the one of itinerant stands out, which is also a word that refers to that characteristic of moving from one place to another.

Meanwhile, the word that opposes nomadic is sedentary, which precisely proposes the opposite, that person or community that is settled in a specific territory.

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