A Threatened Way of Life: the Van Gujjars of Northern India

 

American writer and photographer Michael Benanav has traveled around the world studying the cultures of nomadic¹ people.

His work has taken him to places from Mali to Jordan to Mongolia.

Benanav writes about people who are threatened, endangered or chased from their land.

Recently he joined a nomadic tribe² in northern Indian called the Van Gujjar as they moved across the country.

He said that he was surprised by how open and welcoming the group was to him.

“They really invited me and welcomed me into their world, and really was taken into the family with an incredible³ amount of warmth and trust.”

Benanav noticed how the tribesmen cared for their herd⁴ of water buffalo⁵. He found they consider the animals family members and would never kill them for food. Instead they keep the animals for the milk they produce.

“Every Van Gujjar buffalo has a name. Every buffalo, they say, has a unique personality. If a buffalo was to get sick, the family would be really wracked with concern…And if a buffalo dies they’ll bury it and mourn for it almost as if it was human.”

Benanav followed the tribe as they moved with the seasons over 44 days.

“In the fall and the winter they live in an area called The Sivalik Hills.”

They are a group of hills in northern India with a forest that provides enough food for the buffalo. By April, however, the area becomes very hot and the food is mostly gone, so they move to the cooler Himalaya Mountains.

There, Benanav said, the Van Gujjar find food and water for their buffalo all summer.

But India has begun turning some of it best lands into national parks, pushing out the Van Gujjar.

“Some of them have already been forcibly evicted⁶ from the forests where they and their ancestors have lived for over 1,000 years.”

The photographer also noted⁷ that the people he studied had a deep, or profound⁸, connection to their environment.

“There’s a really profound relationship with the natural world. Maybe some of that comes from the fact they're living really in intimate contact with the natural world but also their perspective on it as something that is essentially⁹ sacred.”

The Van Gujjar are Muslims. Benanav said he found them to be among the more open communities within India, especially the women.

He says he experienced no barriers and he could spend time with the women in the family.

Benanav says his experiences have made him understand the differences in the many cultures around the world.

He noted, “As the world becomes a more homogenized place, I think it's really important to be remembering all of the different possible ways that it is to be human.”

Benanav has written about his time with the Van Gujjar in his latest book Himalaya Bound. He says he hopes it will expand the world of his readers.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

nomadic– adj.a member of a group of people who move from place to place instead of living in one place all the time

caravan– n.a group of vehicles (such as cars or wagons) traveling together

unique– adj.very special or unusual

buffalo– n.a large animal like a cow with long horns that lives in Asia and is often used to pull plows¹⁰

consumption–n.the act of eating

migration– n.the act of moving to a new place

meadow– n. field

evict–v.to be thrown out of one’s house or land

intimate–adj. having a very close relationship

homogenize– v. to make everything pure

1 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

2 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

3 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 profound   

adj.深奥的，造诣深的；深度的，极度的

参考例句：

• I give you my profound thanks for saving my life.我对您的救命之恩深表谢意。
• He has a profound knowledge of mathematics.他数学知识渊博。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。