Abstract
This paper examines the effects of the 1984 drought upon household wealth differences in a community of Ariaal pastoralists of northern Kenya. The database consists of 1985 post-drought livestock counts and informants' statements of species-specific drought loss, compared to 1976 livestock counts on the same 38 households. The analysis confirms the hypothesis that the drought resulted in increased household wealth inequalities. It is suggested that the combination of differential herd growth, differential participation in the cash market, and differential loss to the drought has contributed to a polarization within Ariaal of rich and poor, resulting in rural proletarianization and urban migration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barth, F. (1964). Capital, investment and the social structure of a pastoral nomad group in south Persia. In Firth, R., and Yamey, B. X. (eds.),Capital, Savings, and Credit in Peasant Societies. George Allen and Unwin, London, pp. 69–81.
Bates, D. (1973).Nomads and Farmers: A Study of the Yoruk of Southeastern Turkey. Museum of Anthropology, Anthropological Papers 52, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Beck, L. (1980). Herd owners and hired shepherds: The Qashq'ai of Iran.Ethnology 19(3): 327–351.
Bradburd, D. (1982). Volatility of animal wealth among southwest Asian pastoralists.Human Ecology 10(1): 85–106.
Campbell, D. J. (1984). Responses to drought among farmers and herders in southern Kajiado District, Kenya.Human Ecology 12(1): 35–64.
Cossins, N. J. (1985). The productivity and potential of pastoral systems.ILCA Bulletin 21: 10–15, International Livestock Centre for Africa, Nairobi.
Coughenour, M., Ellis, J., Swift, D., Coppock, D., Galvin, K., McCabe, T., and Hart, T. (1985). Energy extraction and use in a nomadic pastoral ecosystem.Science 230: 619–625.
Dahl, G. (1979a). Ecology and equality: The Boran case. In Equipe Ecologie (ed.),Pastoral Production and Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 261–281.
Dahl, G. (1979b).Suffering Grass: Subsistence and Society of Waso Borana. Stockholm Studies in Social Anthropology, University of Stockholm, Stockholm.
Dahl, G. and Hjort, A., (1976).Having Herds: Pastoral Herd Growth and Household Economy. Stockholm Studies in Social Anthropology 2, University of Stockholm, Stockholm.
Dyson-Hudson, R., and Dyson-Hudson, N. (1980). Nomadic pastoralism.Annual Reviews of Anthropology 9: 15–61.
Dyson-Hudson, N., and Dyson-Hudson, R. (1982). The structure of East African herds and the future of East African herders.Development and Change 13: 214–238.
Ensminger, J. (1984). Political Economy Among the Pastoral Galole Orma: The Effects of Market Integration. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston.
Field, C. R., and Simpkin, S. P. (1985). The Importance of Camels to Subsistence Pastoralists in Kenya. IPAL technical report E-7, UNESCO, Nairobi, pp. 161–192.
Fratkin, E. (1986). Stability and resilience in East African pastoralism: The Ariaal and Rendille of Northern Kenya.Human Ecology 14: 269–286.
Fratkin, E. (1989a). Household variation and gender inequality in Ariaal pastoral production.American Anthropologist 91(2): 430–440.
Fratkin, E. (1989b). Two lives for the Ariaal.Natural History 98(5): 39–49.
Fratkin, E. (1991).Surviving Drought and Development: Ariaal Pastoralists of Northern Kenya. Westview Press, Boulder.
Galaty, J. G. (1981). Land and livestock among Kenyan Maasai. In J. G. Galaty and Salzman, P. C. (eds.),Change and Development in Nomadic and Pastoral Societies. E. J. Brill, Leiden, pp. 68–88.
Galvin, K. (1985). Food Procurement, Diet, Activities and Nutrition of Nkisonyoka Turkana Pastoralists in an Ecological and Social Context. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Anthropology, New York State University, Binghamton.
Goldschmidt, W. (1971). Independence as an element in pastoral social systems.Anthropological Quarterly 44(3): 132–142.
Grandin, B. E. (1983). The importance of wealth effects on pastoral production: A rapid method for wealth ranking. In ILCA (ed.),Pastoral Systems Research in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Nairobi, pp. 237–255.
Grandin, B. E. (1988). Wealth and pastoral dairy production: A case study from Maasailand.Human Ecology 16(1): 1–21.
Hjort, A. (1979).Savanna Town. Stockholm Studies in Anthropology No. 7, University of Stockholm, Stockholm.
Hogg, R. (1986). The new pastoralism: Poverty and dependency in northern Kenya.Africa 56(3): 319–333.
Horowitz, M. M. (1979). The Sociology of Pastoralism and African Livestock Projects. AID Program Evaluation Discussion Paper No. 6, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C.
Horowitz, M. M., and Little, P. D. (1987). African pastoralism and poverty: Some implications for drought and famine. In Glantz, M. H. (ed.),Drought and Hunger in Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 59–82.
Irons, W. (1979). Political stratification among pastoral nomads. In Equipe Ecologie (eds.),Pastoral Production and Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 361–374.
Little, P. D. (1985). Social differentiation and pastoralist sedentarization in northern Kenya.Africa 55(3): 243–261.
McCabe, J. T. (1987a). Inter-household variation in livestock production in South Turkana District, Kenya.Research in Economic Anthropology 8: 277–293.
McCabe, J. T. (1987b). Drought and recovery: Livestock dynamics among the Ngisonyoka Turkana of Kenya.Human Ecology 15(4): 371–390.
O'Leary, M. F. (1985). The Economics of Pastoralism in Northern Kenya: The Rendille and the Gabra. IPAL technical report F-3, UNESCO-MAB FRG Integrated Project in Arid Lands, UNESCO, Nairobi.
O'Leary, M. F. (1990). Drought and change amongst northern Kenya nomadic pastoralists: The case of Rendille and Gabra. In Palsson, G. (ed.),From Water to World-Making: African Models in Arid Lands. The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, pp. 151–174.
Pratt, D., and Gwynne, M. (1977).Rangeland Management and Ecology in East Africa. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Rigby, P. (1979). Olpul and entoroj: The economy of sharing among the pastoral Baraguyu of Tanzania. In Equipe Ecologie (eds.),Pastoral Production and Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 329–347.
Roth, E. A. (1991). Education, tradition, and household labor among Rendille pastoralists of northern Kenya.Human Organization 50: 136–141.
Salzman, P. C. (1980). Processes of settlement among the nomads of Baluchistan. In Salzman, P. C. (ed.),When Nomads Settle. Bergin Publishers, New York, pp. 95–110.
Sobania, N. W. (1988). Fisherman herders: Subsistence, survival, and cultural change in northern Kenya.Journal of African History 29: 41–56.
Spencer, P. (1973).Nomads in Alliance. Oxford University Press, London.
Sperling, L. (1987). Food acquisition during the African drought of 1983–1984: A study of Kenyan herders.Disasters 11(4): 263–272.
Thomas, D. (1986).Refiguring Anthropology: First Principles of Probability and Statistics. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Illinois.
Waller, R. (1988). Emutai: Crisis and response in Maasailand 1883–1902. In Johnson, D. H., and Anderson, D. M. (eds.),The Ecology of Survival. Lester Crook Academic Publishing, London, pp. 73–112.
Western, D., and Finch, V. (1986). Cattle and pastoralism: Survival and production in arid lands.Human Ecology 14(1): 77–94.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fratkin, E., Roth, E.A. Drought and economic differentiation among Ariaal pastoralists of Kenya. Hum Ecol 18, 385–402 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889464
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889464