Tibetan Nomad Fences
There is evidence that the Tibetan Plateau has been home to human activity for hundreds of thousands of years, beginning with groups of hunter-gatherers who followed herds of wild yaks and hunted them for sustenance. Gradually, they domesticated the yak and led the herds across the Plateau in patterns of seasonal migration. Though the pasture may seem vast and empty, and today’s nomads are often perceived asroaming freely, they have spent centuries carefully managing their resources, which in some areas became limited, rendering their lives complex and highly regulated. For a nomad, satisfying the needs of their animals while preserving pasture for future use is a delicate balancing act.
Each area, with its designated inhabitants, has a defined territory that the nomads manage in common. This takes a high level of coordination, with limits on grazing for areas in certain seasons to ensure sufficient grazing to satisfy everyone’s needs. Nowadays, the nomad way of life varies according to whether the pasture has been divided up among families and each area fenced or shared in common by the nomadic community. Sankhe, home of Norden, is a large area where fencing was implemented over twenty years ago.
The animals still migrate between summer and winter pastures but remain in fenced areas of several hectares. Zorgey, where Ritoma is located, is fence free and nomads migrate in family groups. The first move is in June when the pasture has regenerated enough to be grazed on anew. In July, they go to Chakka, the highest and farthest pasture. At the end of August, they move to the fall pasture, then the winter pastures at the end of September. The latter, closest to the winter dwellings, are free of animals in summer and carpeted with wildflowers from June.
Being a nomad demands a high level of coordination and skill; direct sheep in one direction or other with a movement of the sling, gather a hundred sheep in a few minutes, tie and untie the dris for milking and, most important of all, know one’s animals from thousands of others.
