Kurdish Transhumance: Pastoral practices in South-east Turkey

Abstract

Background: In a book dated 2002, there is a map of the Mediterranean region which identifies areas where seasonal movements of sheep flocks still take place. Turkey figures prominently, but only the western part of the country is mentioned. From the eastern part, the Kurdish region, nothing seems to filter through. In fact, for the past 40 years, Kurdish shepherds and their traditions seem to have been forgotten by the pastoral world and also by Kurdish elites. After the period of conflict in the 1980s and 1990s, a general ethnographic updating is due. Results: Pastoralism in southeast Turkey has two aspects: village pastoralism and pastoralism with vertical and horizontal movements. The latter comes in many forms and is practiced by seminomads or nomads within complex issues of identity. Conclusions: The daily lives of these Kurdish shepherds are affected by the changes in their environment and the difficulties of the Turkish nation at whole. Today, Kurdish pastoralism is a heritage that remains to be assessed, which includes an example of enclosed nomadism in a settled context, that is able to persist notwithstanding its adaptability and malleability.