Different Types of People Living in the Desert

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Peoples in desert

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They are tall, fair-skinned, Berber-speaking nomadic people in the Sahara. They are both pastoralists and traders move from north to south and east to west, following the well-established routes. About a quarter to half million of them are Muslims. There are noble, vassal and craftsmen classes in their society. The lower orders may keep Negro " slaves" who act as herdsmen.

The Bedouin in the Sahara

They call themselves " people of the tent". They are naturalized Arabs descended from Ishmell. There maybe about 10 millions of them, spreading from their origins in Arabia to the arid regions of the Middle East. Some of them are camel raisers and drivers, sheep and goat nomads, cattle-driving nomads, merchants, artisan and entertainer castes.

In general, they despite agricultural and manual labour, but there are still tribes settle in fertile areas near to oases and raise cereal crops, using camel dung as fuels.

The Bushmen of the Kalahari

They have yellow-brown skin and are generally short (about 150cm). They speak a language full of extraordinary clicking sounds. Most of them became herders or farmers, while some are still rather primitive, living a life of hunting and gathering with their naked bodies.

The Aborigines in Australia

They lived a nomadic life closest to nature, with least amount of material possessions among the desert peoples. They were hunter-gatherers. They formed into small and spread-out food-gathering groups and shared the animals and plants they found.

Out in the bush, large Aborigine groups came together for gatherings called corroborees, but the base camps rarely last longer than a few weeks. When they move to other places, the men would carry the hunting weapons, spears, throwing sticks and boomerangs. The women would carry a few stone and bone tools and digging sticks which can be used as weapons.

They had their own art, music, social functions like corroborees and some religious time. There is a musicianstoryteller in each tribe. The stories would be passes orally. Almost all Aborigines were naked. At night, they would gather around a campfire to keep them warm.

The American Indians

It is believed that during the last ice age, Alaska in North America was linked to Siberia by a land-bridge across the Bering Strait and that North America was first invaded by Mongol peoples. Facial, language and cultural similarities show that there are some kind of relationships between the American Indians and Mongol peoples.

Herds of buffalo, deer and antelope on the prairie lands provide major food source for the Indians. There were small groups wandered from place to place in search of plants and seeds. Apparatus for grinding plant seeds into flour had been developed in the earliest-known tribes. Plant and animal fibres were used to make tools like baskets, mats, clothing and sandals. They had pointed digging sticks, spearheads and stone axes.

In the hot desert area of the Great Basin (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Texas, Colorado and Mexico), the Indians preferred more stable and permanent farming.

To cope with the difficult physical conditions, the Hopi from the high, dry Colorado plateau harnessed flood-waters to form crude irrigation systems to grow cereals. They share resources, such as labour and food with other families. The Hopi's society, sober , peaceful and well-organized, was almost an utopian one. They were never aggressive, but always seeked a self-sufficient life. There were forerunners of parliaments and committees.

The Zuni people had access to more predictable waterholes and river courses, hence had a more stable food supply. Their life emphasized on ceremonials and dancing.

The Pueblo tribes are excellent desert architects. The houses were made of stone or adobe mud, with think walls and small windows to maximize shade and insulation. They built houses connected by network of ladders. There were water-storage cisterns and grain-storage silos. The ladders could be drawn up to protect the occupants from attack.

Peoples of the desert corridor of Asia

The farmers lived in villages of sun-dried mud-brick houses. Irrigation canals were built to water the fast-growing cereals. The herding peoples live in portable tents, conducted their stock horses, asses, camels, sheeps, goats and cattle) to places with ample pastures on the tracks established centuries earlier. They traded their stock with the farmers and the people in the neighbouring countries for cereal foods like flour.