Occasional Nomads
NOMADISM, a socioeconomic mode of life based on intensive domestication of livestock which requires a regular movement of the community in an annual cycle in order to sustain the communal ecological system.
Nomads ★★½ 1986 (R) A supernatural thriller set in Los Angeles about a French anthropologist who is mysteriously killed, and the woman doctor who investigates and becomes the next target of a band of strange street people with nomadic spirits. Nomad notables include pop stars Adam Ant and Josie Cotton. A nomad (Middle French: nomade 'people without fixed habitation') dubious – discuss is a member of a community without fixed habitation which regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock ), and tinkers or trader nomads.
14 Likes, 1 Comments - The Occasional Nomads (@theoccasionalnomads) on Instagram: “November farmers’ market haul: bananas, rambutan, a dragonfruit, papayas, cilantro, some green”.
Definition
The defining feature of pastoral nomadism is movement, which is neither aimless nor boundless, from pasture to pasture and from watering point to watering point, along well-defined routes, at fixed periods, in rhythm with the rainy and dry seasons, and in greater or lesser comity with adjoining nomadic and settled groups. Little or no agriculture is practiced. Nomads necessarily rely upon trade with or raids upon agriculturalists for food and other necessities or occasional luxuries not supplied by their herds. Pastoral nomads often supply settled peoples with transport services by providing animals and serving as caravaneers. Occasionally, control of routes and specialization in trade lead to settlement of nomad elites in commercial centers such as Palmyra in Syria and Petra in Edom. Ethnographers are generally agreed that pastoral nomadism arose later than the emergence of neolithic agriculture in the Middle East. At first it involved herders of sheep and goats who adapted themselves to the spartan conditions of life on the steppe but who were unable to venture more than one or two days' journey from water. Full nomadism emerged only in about 1500–1000 B.C.E. with the domestication of camels which can go as long as 17 days without water. Introduction of the horse at a somewhat later date allowed for still more flexibility of movement and agility in warfare. Full nomadism never replaced seminomadism altogether and agriculturalists learned how to specialize on the side in pastoralism through a form of nomadism known as transhumance. Actual nomadic groups are extremely varied according to environmental conditions, types of animals bred, communal forms for establishing kinship, wealth, and status, historical fortunes of the group, and relations to surrounding nomadic and settled peoples.
In Ancient Israel
Ancient Israel was in contact with peoples who practiced pastoral nomadism. Some segments of Israel proper were pastoral nomads for varying periods of time in the arid and semiarid zones of Sinai and the Negev, Transjordan, and the rain shadow regions of Canaan, i.e., mostly on the eastern slopes of the central highlands. Excluded from consideration is animal husbandry, which is frequent in agricultural communities in which a few animals raised by farmers are allowed to forage in the human settlement and to graze on farmland stubble and fallow land. The animals referred to in the early Israelite Book of the Covenant (e.g., Ex. 21:28–37; 22:3–4, 9–12; 23:4–5, 12) reveal that the laws applied to resident farmers for whom animal husbandry was a secondary activity and among whom vast pasturage as a special ecological aspect shaping the entire socioeconomic life was absent. Also, we omit all consideration of non-pastoral nomadism, e.g., wild species moving on their own through an annual cycle and nomadic human communities of hunters, fishers, and gatherers. Full or classic pastoral nomadism entailed maximum independence through human symbiosis with the camel and, to a lesser degree, with the horse. It allowed the nomad to keep a safe distance from the settled lands but, when required to trade or raid, he could do so from a position of considerable strength. The occasional camels mentioned in early Israel, if not an outright anachronism, were for transport and were too few in number and
SEMINOMADISM
Seminomadism or partial nomadism (also known as ass nomadism to distinguish the ass from the camel as the chief form of transport) is a mode of pastoral nomadism loosely applied to peoples who are often conceived as midway in the process of settling down after an earlier fully nomadic life. This is misleading in some instances and erroneous in others. In its origins pastoral nomadism was a specific adaptation of animal domestication to desert conditions after it was first developed among agriculturalists. There are of course instances of full nomads reverting to seminomadism and finally to agricultural settlement. But there are also cases of agriculturalists who are 'depressed' into seminomadism by geopolitical circumstances. Sometimes this depression is permanent, while in other cases it is temporary. There is some reason to believe that the Israelite groups in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan were thrown temporarily into a more fully nomadic life than they had known either in Egypt or prior to their entrance into Egypt and, furthermore, that they were consciously seeking a return to a more stable and perhaps even largely agricultural existence. More precisely, seminomadism indicates the relative dependence of herders of sheep, goats, and asses on the settled peoples or on full nomads for the sharing of water rights and for permission to graze. It also refers to their relative military weakness, lacking as they do a striking force of camels or horses. The concomitant of this reality is the high probability that the seminomad will engage in some form of limited agriculture. He is often sedentary for part of the year; fields and pasture are often interspersed; and the herd sizes relative to the human population are much smaller than in full nomadism. Accordingly, the seminomad will often appear to be an incipient peasant who has not yet attained his goal or a decadent farmer who has lapsed into a less secure life. In many cases, however, the seminomad regards his way of life as more satisfying than the softer and more politically lettered existence of the peasant. Traits of seminomadism appear frequently in the patriarchal stories concerning Abraham and Lot (Gen. 12:16; 13:2–12; 18:1–8; 20:14–15; 21:25–26), Isaac (Gen. 26:12–22), Jacob and Esau (Gen. 30:43; 31:17–18; 32:13–15; 33:18–20; 36:6–8), and Joseph (Gen. 37:2, 7; 42:1–5; 43:11; 46:31–34; 47:6). The precise nature of this type (or these types) of seminomadism is difficult to assess in that the movements are not strictly described as regular but are explained largely with reference to famine, intermarriage, religious pilgrimage, and conflicts within and between groups. The Israelites in Egypt are pictured as small stock breeders who also cultivate vegetable gardens (Ex. 10:24–26; 12:1–13, 31–34, 37–39; Num. 11:4–6). Living close to the Egyptian frontier with Sinai (Ex. 1:11; 9:26; 12:37), the holy place of their deity is located a three-day journey away in the desert (Ex. 3:18; 5:3; 8:24). Their relatively self-contained economy was threatened by the recent imperial policy which forced them to work on state building projects and in state-owned fields. One tradition has it that, as they departed Egypt with their flocks, the Israelites despoiled the Egyptians of jewelry and clothing in the manner of a nomadic razzia (Ex. 3:21–22; 12:35–36). In the wilderness the Israelites present a confused picture of a seminomadic people thrust suddenly into conditions where only well-provisioned travel parties or full nomads with camels might normally survive. The Israelites adjusted to this crisis by retaining their flocks for dairy products, wool, and hides. Occasional sacrifice of their animals provided some meat but food staples were supplied by improvising with quail and wild plant products ('manna'). Water was available from oasis to oasis. Even so they seem to have survived only because the Midianites, into whom Moses is said to have married, supplied them with knowledge of the terrain and with basic survival skills; at least some of these Midianites accompanied certain of the Israelite groups into Canaan (Ex. 2:15b–22; 3:1; 18:1ff.; Num. 10:29–32; Judg. 1:16; 4:11). Although unreported, it is reasonable to suppose that the Israelites cultivated small vegetable plots during the time they spent at the oases in the vicinity of Kadesh. All available evidence points to the fact that the component groups in the larger Israelite confederation in Canaan were predominantly agricultural and engaged in supplementary animal husbandry (cf. the laws of the Covenant Code, Ex. 20:24 (19)–23:9 and the descriptions of tribal life in Gen. 49 and Deut. 33). This type of economy characterized a large majority of the population in the highlands of Galilee, Gilead, Samaria, and Judah – the heartland of ancient Israel. However, a significant minority of Israelites, who lived in the semiarid regions to the east and south, sustained a seminomadic economy. A diminishing frequency of references to such seminomadic life in later biblical books suggests that the percentage of seminomadic Israelites relative to the total population steadily declined. Given the marginal rainfall of the land, however, and the abiding attraction of the steppe for certain individuals and groups, seminomadism never ceased in biblical times. In fact, the *Rechabites were one group who made a sectarian virtue of their seminomadism, identifying it with the pure form of Yahwism and refusing adamantly to build houses or to engage in viticulture or grain-growing (Jer. 35). According to one tradition these Rechabites were actual descendants of the Midianite-Kenite group into which Moses married (I Chron. 2:55). A more individualistic version of the tendency to equate holiness with seminomadic culture was the 'consecration' of a person as a nazirite, perhaps originally associated with the spontaneous leadership of a war chieftain (Num. 6:1–21; Judg. 13:5, 7; 16:17). While such primitivist equations of Yahwism with seminomadism were not central to biblical traditions, it is nonetheless striking that many of the features of the early religion of Israel, although developed by a
CUSTOMS AND WAY OF LIFE
As a congeries of ethnically, geographically, economically, socially, and politically diverse people formed Israel in Canaan, they adopted a framework for their socioeconomic life which drew on the norms, institutions, and practices of pastoral nomadism, with suitable modifications to settled conditions. Among these abiding influences were the practice of blood revenge (Gen. 9:5–6; Num. 35:19; Judg. 8:18–21; II Sam. 3:30; 14:4–7; 21:1–14); protection of the integrity of the patriarchal family (Ex. 20:12, 14, 17; 21:15, 17; 22:15–16, 21; Lev. 18:6–18; Deut. 25:5–10); the institutions of the ger – the protected resident alien (e.g., Ex. 22:20; Deut. 10:19); and the asylum (Ex. 21:13–14; Num. 35; Deut. 19), related to the nomad law of hospitality and asylum. Instead of a primitivist attempt to construct seminomadism in Canaan, early Israel was a synthetic socioeconomic formation of loosely federated seminomadic and peasant populations arranged in a socially fictitious kinship network and cemented by a common cult of HWHY. The complex transformation and adaptation of the seminomadic elements in the Israelite confederation are reflected in the ambivalent biblical attitude toward the desert, which is sometimes idealized as the setting for an originally pure Yahwism but which is more often pictured as a place of rebellion and division, in itself a region of waste and horror, the quintessence of death and danger.
Yet another form of pastoral nomadism is transhumance which occurs in communities with developed agricultural specialization where herds are moved to select pastures for a part of the year by herders who specialize in their tasks. A common form of transhumance is to take the herds into mountain ranges for summer upland pasturage after the snows have melted. In Canaan transhumance took at least two forms. Immediately following the winter rains, herds were taken some distance into the steppes to feed on the temporary spring growth. As the summer wore on, and pasturage withered, they were taken to the better watered seaward-facing plains and mountain slopes. There are some biblical data which may be read as evidence for the practice of transhumance nomadism among the Israelites. Joseph and his brothers care for the flocks near Shechem and Dothan while Jacob remains at Hebron (Gen. 37:12–17). Nabal is a man of wealth in Maon whose hired men or slaves care for his large flocks at Carmel (I Sam. 25). Wealthy landowners in Transjordan provision the exiled David with agricultural and pastoral products (II Sam. 17:27–29; 19:31–32). The Job of the prose framework (Job. 1:1ff.; 42:12–17) is a wealthy farmer who also has thousands of domesticated animals cared for by his servants. The region of Bashan in northern Transjordan was well known as a prime cattle-breeding area, to which wealthy Israelites appear to have sent their flocks and herds (Ezek. 39:18; Amos 4:1; Ps. 22:13). Israelite kings capitalized on this process by appointing stewards over royal herds and flocks which were permanently located in the most attractive pastoral regions (II Sam. 13:23; I Chron. 27:28–30; II Chron. 26:10; 32:27–29).
In order to achieve a more exact socioeconomic characterization of early Israel, scholars will increasingly require expertise both in biblical studies and in ethnography and the social sciences. It is evident that the assumption that Arab Bedouin nomadism supplies the nearest surviving approximation to Israel's nomadism, while broadly apt, lacks all exactitude unless care is taken to distinguish among the various sub-forms and historical constellations of Bedouin existence.
It is necessary to reject the vague notion that full nomadism in the Arabian peninsula was the temporally original base for Middle Eastern socioeconomic evolutionary development. Far from full nomadism having been some simple state from which seminomadism and agriculture grew, almost precisely the opposite occurred in the Middle East over millennia of time as agriculture originated animal domestication was introduced into the sparse conditions of the desert and was elaborated through the eventual introduction of the camel and the horse. Identification of the mutually illuminating affinities between Arab and Israelite nomadism must not obscure the complex web of cultural and historical factors at work in the two different contexts from age to age and from subregion to subregion.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
K. Budde, The New World, 4 (1895), 726–45; M. de Goeje, in: EI, 1 (1913), 372–7; J. Flight, in: JBL, 42 (1923), 158–226; L. Febvre, A Geographical Introduction to History (1925), 261–94; A. Musil, The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins (1930); M. von Oppenheim, Die Beduinen, 1–3 (1939–53); S. Nystroem, Beduinentum und Jahwismus (1946); C.S. Coon et al., in: EI2, 1 (1960), 872–92; de Vaux, Anc Isr, 3–15; A. Jeffery, in: IDB, 1 (1962), 181–4; C. Wolf, ibid., 3 (1962), 558–60; D. Amiran and Y. Ben-Arieh, in: IEJ, 13 (1963), 161–81; S. Talmon, in: A. Altmann (ed.), Biblical Motifs (1966), 31–63; L. Krader, in: IESS, 11 (1968), 453–61; M. Sahlins, Tribesmen (1968), 32–39.
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
In recent years, Tulum has become a Mecca for yogis, artists, musicians, and digital nomads all over the world. The small town in southern Mexico has been expanding and quickly becoming a trendy location for international DJs, bohemian wanderers, and anyone who is on a path of self-discovery or a beautiful place in the sun.
It is an area with a great deal to offer the visitor, as a comfortable and fun location to spend a few months and as a place of healing and learning. Tulum was a Mayan port before the arrival of the Spanish, so maybe it is the beliefs and wisdom of the ancient people that have bestowed a sense of tribal mystique.
Why is Tulum a Great Spot for Digital Nomads?
Tulum is one of those paradise beach locations that has natural beauty and a culture of art, music, and wellness. It has escaped the crime and scams of other resort towns and the people it attracts are mainly those who are here to enjoy a positive lifestyle.
There is the chance to indulge in some delicious and healthy vegetarian food and traditional Mexican dishes. Tulum can be a place to rest and recover both physically and mentally or a place to be active with tours, sports, and parties.
Getting to Tulum
Tulum is a journey of around two hours south of Cancun, where there is an international airport. It is also less than an hour’s drive from Playa del Carmen and all three locations are on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, facing the Caribbean sea. Traveling south from Tulum for about three hours will take you to the border with Belize, which is also close to the eastern region of Guatemala.
In Tulum, there is a distance from the main town of Tulum and Tulum beach. This is at least 2 miles (3.2km) depending on the route you take.
Tulum Town
This is the main part of Tulum, where most of the restaurants, shops, services, and residential housing. It is a more convenient and affordable place to live than the beach, with neighborhoods like Aldea Zama and La Valeta as the popular residential areas. Tulum town is often referred to as ‘la Puebla’ or downtown.
Tulum Beach
There is a long strip of restaurants, bars, and hotels that extend down the coast to the Sian Ka’an national reserve. Staying on the beach is more expensive and usually better for short rather than long-term stays, but waking up to the fresh sea air and a swim before breakfast is an attractive prospect. If not, frequent trips can be made from the town for the beach, activities, and parties.
The Best Places to Work
Tulum is not a large town, but it does have an impressive range of places that are suitable for working remotely, both in the town and on the beach. Here are some of those options:
Coworking Spaces
Bunko Tulum: A beautifully designed and well-equipped corking space in La Puebla with fast internet, as well as a restaurant, music lab, and tattoo studio. A popular and cozy place to work with a positive atmosphere.
Digital Jungle: Another stylish space with hi-speed Wi-Fi and attractive furniture, Digital Jungle is in the La Valeta neighborhood of downtown Tulum. Guests can help themselves to fresh coffee and the fruit bar.
Selina Tulum: A coworking and coliving space that has a beautiful location on the beach area of Tulum. It offers a range of private and community rooms, spaces for working, a pool and beach club, yoga facilities, and regular events.
Cafes and Restaurants
Tulum Art Club: A great place to work from in the pueblo that has the feel of a creative coworking space. It has comfortable furniture, reliable Wi-Fi, good ventilation, and plenty of power outlets.
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Con Con Amor: This is a downtown vegetarian café and restaurant that has great food and a relaxed atmosphere in an outdoor setting. A good place to work, but charging your phone or laptop is not too easy.
Babel Cafe: An appealing option for working in the center of town that does a good selection of food and drinks, and has strong wifi and powerpoints. It is not very large and it can at times get crowded.
NEST Tulum: A hotel on the beach that has a restaurant and bar. It is in a beautiful setting and the Wi-Fi is reliably strong, but it doesn’t have a lot of space that is suitable for working.
Papaya Playa Project: This is another beautifully designed and styled beachside complex that is famed for its DJ sets. The Wi-Fi is also strong, but when the party vibes begin it may not be the most productive environment for getting work done.
Useful Things to Know About Tulum
There are some things that it is always good to know before arriving in a new temporary home. These include the following:
Visas
An excellent benefit of staying in Mexico for long periods is that visitors from many countries are issued a 6-month visa on arrival. These countries include the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and all EU member states. It is also easy to do visa runs from Tulum as it is close to the border, though people entering Mexico overland will sometimes only be granted 3-month visas.
Timezone
The timezone in Quintana Roo is UTC-5, which is conveniently aligned with Eastern Standard Time (EST) for those with employers or clients on the east coast of the U.S. The time difference to European countries is also manageable.
Climate
Tulum, and the rest of the Yucatan peninsular in southern Mexico, has a tropical climate that is hot all year round, with temperatures from 70º to 80º Fahrenheit (20-27ºC). From May to October, the weather is wet and humid, and October is also hurricane season. The high season is from November to January, which means prices are higher, so the best time to visit could be from February to April when it is cooler, drier, and more affordable.
Internet Connectivity
Wi-Fi connections are not always the best in Tulum, so it is best to check the speed of hotels and restaurants before you get settled. It is also a good idea to make sure you have mobile data with a reliable carrier like Telcel, for those occasional emergencies. Coworking spaces and cafés often have powerful internet speeds, but remember to check first.
Cost of Living
As an extremely popular Mexican location, the cost of living is markedly different from other parts of the country. Of course, this depends on the lifestyle choices you make, but monthly costs are usually considered to be from two to three thousand dollars a month. The figure will vary slightly depending on the time of year, with the high season as the most expensive.
Getting Around
Tulum town is flat and fairly easy to walk around, though walking from one end to the other takes some time and can be a challenge in the blistering heat. The journey to the beach is even more of a struggle, and taxis can be slightly expensive. The best option is to rent or buy a bicycle, so it’s a good idea to ask your accommodation if they have one available. For longer trips around the area, car or scooter hire is possible, but this would be costly on an ongoing basis, especially in high season.
Leisure Activities
Yoga
Tulum is probably Mexico’s number one spot for yoga breaks, so there is an abundance of yoga studios and training centers. Many of these are health spas with retreats and wellness programs that also offer drop-in sessions, spa treatments, yoga teacher training, and temazcal (sweat lodge) ceremonies. These include Yoga Shala Tulum, Maya Tulum, Ahau Tulum, Yoga Dicha Studio, and Yaan Wellness.
Mayan Ruins
Tulum has its own Mayan ruins, a citadel that is at the north end of the Tulum stretch of beaches. This is an interesting Mayan building complex with much lower prices than the other Mayan sites in the region, such as Chichén Itzá. It is perched on rocks overlooking the sea and it is also visited by large iguanas.
Cenotes
There are more than 6,000 cenotes in the Yucatan peninsula, which are miraculous subterranean pools in the limestone rock where diving and swimming are usually permitted. These can be found all along the Riviera Maya and several, such as Gran Cenote and Cenotes Tankah, are close to Tulum.
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Sian Ka’an Reserve
This is a large area of wetlands and mangrove swamps that is home to an incredible range of flora and fauna, including bottlenose dolphins, howler monkeys, manatees, crocodiles, and jaguars. There are also some Mayan ruins to visit in the biosphere. Eco-tours can be arranged for groups of all sizes and you can participate in birdwatching, snorkeling, and fly-fishing.
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Watersports
In the Tulum area, it is possible to take part in a wide range of activities, both on one of the beaches and at cenotes. This includes snorkeling, scuba diving, kitesurfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing, and surfing. People who like to stay active will not be short of things to do in Tulum, and there are many gyms and classes to attend if you are interested in learning a new sport or fitness practice.
Tulum is a special place to visit in Mexico, with a selection of activities and sights, as well as culinary delights and luxurious comforts. While it is certainly not as affordable as most other places in Mexico, it is still not very expensive by comparison with many North American or European countries. In Tulum, there is the chance for relaxation, personal development, and making valuable new connections.
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