West European Studies

Over time, different communities around the world have taken on different characteristics. Some have settled in once place, choosing to establish communities and take advantage of the resources at that given location. Others have traveled through different regions, living a nomadic life that required a different approach and dictated a different standard of living. Both types of communities have been important in the development of civilization, with each bringing something a little bit different to the table. In addition, they have sometimes clashed, as nomadic communities have moved through areas that have been inhabited by permanent peoples at that time. Some of these conflicts have been violent, while others have been resolved peacefully. They all share the common bond of being fought over important available resources and territorial rights, though. These nomadic communities are significant to the development of many of the worlds civilizations, given their penchant for discovering new things and pushing the supposed boundaries of human existence.

Nomadic communities were distinctly their own in terms of inherent characteristics. There were some important differences that must be acknowledged between these communities and those that were settled and static. One of the things that was characteristic of nomadic communities was a sense of uninformed bravery that they seemed to possess. As they went from place to place, they encountered a host of different natural barriers and the communities always seemed to overcome them. While the settled, urban communities that have popped up recently in history have relied upon their comfort zones and have taken the safe route, nomadic communities have not been afraid to face the natural challenges that earth has provided. This can be seen at one point in the Epic of Gilgamesh. That work reads, Together they went down into the forest and they came to the green mountain. There they stood still, they were struck dumb they stood still and gazed at the forest. They saw the height of the cedar, they saw the way into the forest and the track where Humbaba was used to walk. The way was broad and the going was good. They gazed at the mountain of cedars, the dwelling-place of the gods and the throne of Ishtar(Gilgamesh, 9). It is important to note the fearlessness, as well as the unity that seemed to exist within these communities. While some of the urban communities of recent history might be splintered, with different groups looking to assert power within a community, the nomadic groups had no choice but to band together. These communities were characteristically smaller, and that was out of necessity. With the amount of traveling taking place, it would have been impractical for the communities to be larger. The word together is used for a reason in the passage, as it shows that getting across the challenges and making it on a day-to-day basis was really a collective effort. This happened as a result of their desire to survive, which was the a basic primal need for these communities, and was further dictated by the circumstances that they found themselves in.

A report by Harvard University also speaks to what exactly characterized these nomadic groups. Their motivations were what brought them together and set them apart. While the stationary cultures might have been able to mold their surroundings to produce an adequate living, the nomadic groups were much more interested in finding this living out in the world. The Harvard report reads, A majority of the Nomadic and Denotified tribes exhibit the primitive traits even today. They still live in tribal groups moving from place to place in caravans in search of livelihood.

When nomadic communities came into contact with the stationary peoples around them, there was naturally a degree of conflict that existed. These conflicts occurred mostly as a result of competition for resources. Since the majority of resources are fixed and limited, there is only so much to go around for the various communities living in one place. The nomadic peoples were always going around looking for places where they could establish their own practices and use whatever the land provided. In some cases, this meant agriculture. In other instances, this meant farming the land. Whatever the case, there were times when nomadic peoples would either settle down in an already established area or they would simply pass through a territory that belonged to some other group. In addition, many of the conflicts were religious in nature, which is something that is indicated in the work Bhagavad-Gita. The importance of religious preference to the established cultures was something that they would not relent, and when people threatened this by moving into an area and establishing new cultures, it was time to take up the fight (Bhagavad-Gita). This was ingrained into the established cultures to the extent that it was almost a foregone conclusion. These differences were irreconcilable, and nomadic peoples often had to move on from one area or another in order to find a more tolerant place to stop.

Nomadic peoples played an important role in shaping developing civilizations overall. One of the key elements of all nomadic cultures was that they picked up little things along the way. As they moved from place to place, these cultures would take cultural traditions with them and export them to other areas of a country or civilization. This helped to connect all of the areas within given civilizations, allowing for a greater sense of nationalism. Additionally, the exploratory sense of these nomadic nations dictated that they would push some of the boundaries that countries had originally set. As indicated in the Epic of Gilgamesh, these nomadic communities went and explored things that many people had not seen before, which made it much easier for the civilizations to go in after them. All of these things combined to make life much easier on growing and emerging civilizations, which were able to overcome extensive barriers of communication at that time as a result of the work of nomadic peoples. Though this was certainly not an intentional consequence of the nomadic peoples, it did serve as the impetus for expansion for many civilizations. Dr. Malcom J. Hunter sums up his thoughts on the significance of nomadic peoples in his article for the International Journal of Frontier Missions. He writes, Although they may not be numerically very impressive, and it is undeniable that as a proportion of the global population nomads are certainly diminishing, their significance does not depend on their numbers as United Nations statisticians count them, but on their authentic ethnic identity and their viable, tenacious social systems (Hunter, 2000). Their vibrant cultures provided some different and interesting viewpoints that helped to enhance the civilizations where they were present. Though they often created problems for stationary peoples, these communities were an important player in the process.

In total, nomadic peoples were distinctive in nature and their interactions with stationary communities were important. These communities were close nit and they had little fear, which helped the civilizations around them develop to a greater extent. Their importance cannot be overstated, as they helped to enrich and expand certain emerging cultures over time.