Book contents
- Shaping the African Savannah
- African Studies Series
- Shaping the African Savannah
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Part 1 Introduction
- Part 2 The Evolution of Pre-Colonial Environmental Infrastructure
- 2 The Prehistory of North-Western Namibia and the Emergence of Pastoralism
- 3 Elephants and Humans in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century
- Part 3 Encapsulation and Pastoralisation, 1900s to 1940s
- Part 4 The State, Intervention, and Local Appropriations between the 1950s and 1980s
- Part 5 Dynamics of Social-Ecological Relations between the 1990s and the Present
- Part 6 Theorising Time, Space, and Change in a Pastoral System
- Bibliography
- Index
- African Studies Series
2 - The Prehistory of North-Western Namibia and the Emergence of Pastoralism
from Part 2 - The Evolution of Pre-Colonial Environmental Infrastructure
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 June 2020
- Shaping the African Savannah
- African Studies Series
- Shaping the African Savannah
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Part 1 Introduction
- Part 2 The Evolution of Pre-Colonial Environmental Infrastructure
- 2 The Prehistory of North-Western Namibia and the Emergence of Pastoralism
- 3 Elephants and Humans in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century
- Part 3 Encapsulation and Pastoralisation, 1900s to 1940s
- Part 4 The State, Intervention, and Local Appropriations between the 1950s and 1980s
- Part 5 Dynamics of Social-Ecological Relations between the 1990s and the Present
- Part 6 Theorising Time, Space, and Change in a Pastoral System
- Bibliography
- Index
- African Studies Series
Summary
The second chapter deals with the emergence of pastoralism in the region. Three controversial versions of pastoralisation are discussed: pastoralisation brought about by immigrating specialised herder communities, pastoralisation as a consequence of slave raiding and political centralisation in southern Angola, and gradual pastoralisation within a forager context. The chapter offers an in-depth study of oral traditions which have much detail on this process. They depict communities that practise both foraging and pastoral strategies. The phase of gradual pastoralisation comes to an abrupt end when Nama commandos from the south raid north-west Namibia's pastoral communities and violently force them into exile in southern Angola. The engagement of refugees with Portuguese colonial forces as mercenaries and cheap labourers helped them to regain livestock and options as pastoralists.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Shaping the African SavannahFrom Capitalist Frontier to Arid Eden in Namibia, pp. 21 - 48Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020