Factors Affecting the Perception and Practice of Iranian Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Pastoralists in Regard to Biosecurity Practices in Sheep and Goat Farms: A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Study

Preventing the spread of diseases between and within farms (biosecurity) is essential for minimizing animal mortality and morbidity, as well as for reducing the risk of spread of zoonotic diseases. These effects are even greater in countries such as Iran, which have to deal with multiple ongoing epidemics of infectious disease. However, there is currently no published information about biosecurity practices on sheep and goat farms in Iran in published research. The aim of this study was to collect such information and to identify some of the factors affecting biosecurity practices. Data were gathered using a checklist and in-depth interviews with 99 nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between the collected variables and the biosecurity scores. The results showed that neither within- nor between-farm disease prevention measures were appropriately applied on most farms (median total score of total biosecurity was 37.3/90; Q1 = 29.0 and Q3 = 44.7). Almost all the farmers reported slaughtering animals on farms and nobody properly disposed of the bodies of the dead animals. Additionally, the majority of the participants did not disinfect the umbilical cords of newborns. Of the collected variables, the annual mortality rate was associated with most within-farm biosecurity practices. The increase in annual mortality rates was associated with the regular cleaning of troughs (p = 0.03), preventing feed and water from being contaminated by urine and feces (p = 0.02), providing a clean and dry place for animals to rest (p = 0.05) and disinfecting the navel cord (p = 0.03). The results of this survey suggest that there is a clear need for extension programs to enhance Iranian and sheep and goat farmers’ perceptions and practices regarding biosecurity measures.

Kainar: A Late 18th to Early 20th Century Ritual and Housing Complex in the Northern Ustyurt

This is the fi rst description of a key Kazakh recent permanent settlement at Donyztau, in the northern Ustyurt. Such sites, evidencing major historical processes during the transition of nomadic pastoralists to a semi-sedentary lifestyle (mid-19th to early 20th century), are known as “ritual and housing complexes” (RHC). Kainar, a highly representative site, is viewed as a socio-cultural phenomenon and an integral architectural and landscape ensemble. The excavation history of RHCs in the Donyztau area and their evolution are discussed, and the role of ascetics such as Doszhan-Ishan Kashakuly is described. We highlight separate parts of the complex (the settlement and cemetery) and their elements. The architecture of the RHC is reconstructed with regard to structure, function, and continuity with the landscape. The layout of the site as a whole and of the madrasah with its typical elements are compared with those of similar sites in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. A reconstruction of the complex is proposed and the function of public halls is interpreted. The role of the cemetery and of its parts in the structure of the RHC is evaluated; the evolution of its spatial organization is traced. Types of memorial complexes are listed in terms of harmony with the landscape, archaic beliefs, architecture, and style, specifi cally stone carving. The historical and cultural signifi cance of Kainar as a source of knowledge about the transition to a semi-sedentary way of life and the Islamization of the steppe is discussed.

‘A pilgrimage of camels’: Dairy capitalism, nomadic pastoralism, and subnational Hindutva statism in Rajasthan

Hindu nationalists and NGOs proffer camel dairying as an employment strategy for Rajasthan's nomadic pastoralists, akin to the commodification of bovine milk for poverty alleviation in India. Commercial dairying however is inconsistent with pastoralist ethics though it is consistent with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's broader agenda to consolidate Hindutva at the national and subnational levels in India, and with developmentalism that regards animals as capital. In an original contribution bringing together pastoralist studies and critical animal geographies, this paper introduces species to the ‘conjugated oppressions’ in agrarian economies, currently composing caste, tribes, and class, through the suturing of (dairy) capitalism and right-wing ultranationalism. Focussing the camels and the Raika herders in the subregions of Jaisalmer, and Sirohi, home to India's only camel sanctuary, the paper delineates how the camel is entrapped in the coalescing and conflicts of dairy-based development and Hindutva nationalism. Interconnected oppressions upon the camels and herders are conceptualised and enacted through the control and appropriation of rangelands, understood as yatra or pilgrimage by the pastoralists. However, the camel is also enmeshed in the older violent histories of domestication, raising difficult questions about how nomadic and camel sovereignties may be imagined, together. Arguing that dairy capitalism will discipline the nomads and camels while strengthening Hindutva in Rajasthan, the paper draws on pastoralist worldviews as a starting point to re-imagine human–animal relations, based on an ethic of de-commodification.

Advances in Understanding of the Immune Response to Mycobacterial Pathogens and Vaccines through Use of Cattle and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis as a Prototypic Mycobacterial Pathogen

Lack of understanding of the immune response to mycobacterial pathogens has impeded progress in development of vaccines. Infection leads to development of an immune response that controls infection but is unable to eliminate the pathogen, resulting in a persistent infection. Although this puzzle remains to be solved, progress has been made using cattle as a model species to study the immune response to a prototypic mycobacterium, Mycobacterium a. paratuberculosis (Map). As chronicled in the review, incremental advances in characterizing the immune response to mycobacteria during the last 30 years with increases in information on the evolution of mycobacteria and relA, a gene regulating the stringent response, have brought us closer to an answer. We provide a brief overview of how mycobacterial pathogens were introduced into cattle during the transition of humankind to nomadic pastoralists who domesticated animals for food and farming. We summarize what is known about speciation of mycobacteria since the discovery of Mybacterium tuberculsis Mtb, M. bovis Mbv, and Map as zoonotic pathogens and discuss the challenges inherent in the development of vaccines to mycobacteria. We then describe how cattle were used to characterize the immune response to a prototypic mycobacterial pathogen and development of novel candidate vaccines.

BoLA-DRB3 gene haplotypes show divergence in native Sudanese cattle from taurine and indicine breeds

Autochthonous Sudanese cattle breeds, namely Baggara for beef and Butana and Kenana for dairy, are characterized by their adaptive characteristics and high performance in hot and dry agro-ecosystems. They are thus used largely by nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists. We analyzed the diversity and genetic structure of the BoLA-DRB3 gene, a genetic locus linked to the immune response, for the indigenous cattle of Sudan and in the context of the global cattle repository. Blood samples (n = 225) were taken from three indigenous breeds (Baggara; n = 113, Butana; n = 60 and Kenana; n = 52) distributed across six regions of Sudan. Nucleotide sequences were genotyped using the sequence-based typing method. We describe 53 alleles, including seven novel alleles. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the protein pockets implicated in the antigen-binding function of the MHC complex revealed that pockets 4 and 9 (respectively) differentiate Kenana-Baggara and Kenana-Butana breeds from other breeds. Venn analysis of Sudanese, Southeast Asian, European and American cattle breeds with 115 alleles showed 14 were unique to Sudanese breeds. Gene frequency distributions of Baggara cattle showed an even distribution suggesting balancing selection, while the selection index (ω) revealed the presence of diversifying selection in several amino acid sites along the BoLA-DRB3 exon 2 of these native breeds. The results of several PCA were in agreement with clustering patterns observed on the neighbor joining (NJ) trees. These results provide insight into their high survival rate for different tropical diseases and their reproductive capacity in Sudan's harsh environment.

Reproductive health decision making among nomadic pastoralists in North Eastern Kenya: a qualitative social network analysis

Background To our knowledge, no studies exist on the influence of nomadic pastoralist women’s networks on their reproductive and sexual health (RSH), including uptake of modern family planning (FP). Methods Using name generator questions, we carried out qualitative egocentric social network analysis (SNA) to explore the networks of four women. Networks were analyzed in R, visuals created in Visone and a framework approach used for the qualitative data. Results Women named 10–12 individuals. Husbands were key in RSH decisions and never supported modern FP use. Women were unsure who supported their use of modern FP and we found evidence for a norm against it within their networks. Conclusions Egocentric SNA proves valuable to exploring RSH reference groups, particularly where there exists little prior research. Pastoralist women’s networks likely change as a result of migration and conflict; however, husbands make RSH decisions and mothers and female neighbors provide key support in broader RSH issues. Interventions to increase awareness of modern FP should engage with women’s wider networks.

What do “barbarians” eat? Integrating ceramic use-wear and residue analysis in the study of food and society at the margins of Bronze Age China

The Siwa archaeological culture (ca. 3350 and 2650 cal yr BP) has often been associated with the tribes referenced in textual sources as Qiang and Rong: prized captives commonly sacrificed by the Shang and marauding hordes who toppled the Western Zhou dynasty. In early Chinese writings, food plays a key role in accentuating the ‘sino-barbarian’ dichotomy believed to have taken root over 3000 years ago, with the Qiang and Rong described as nomadic pastoralists who consumed more meat than grain and knew little of proper dining etiquette. To date, however, little direct archaeological evidence has allowed us to reconstruct the diet and foodways of the groups who occupied the Loess Plateau during this pivotal period. Here we present the results of the first ceramic use-wear study performed on the Siwa ma’an jars from the site of Zhanqi, combined with the molecular and isotopic characterization of lipid residues from foodcrusts, and evidence from experimental cooking. We report molecular data indicating the preparation of meals composed of millet and ruminant dairy among the Siwa community of Zhanqi. Use-wear analysis shows that Zhanqi community members were sophisticated creators of ceramic equipment, the ma’an cooking pot, which allowed them to prepare a wide number of dishes with limited fuel. These findings support recent isotope studies at Zhanqi as well as nuance the centrality of meat in the Siwa period diet.

Power

By introducing the idea of economies of violence, this chapter explains the connection of seasonal movements from the dry zone of mercenaries, horse traders, and nomadic pastoralists and their herds to the production and exercise of hard power in monsoon south Asia. Zooming in, it then examines the rise of the Durrani Empire in the northwest borderlands of the Mughal Empire in the eighteenth century. It shows how this process of expansion—alongside the expansion of the Qing and Romanov empires deeper into Eurasia around the same time—brought into this space more of the liquid wealth derived from the increasingly globalised economy which was emerging along the continental seaboards. This wealth was used to bolster a different form of power: that deriving from the management of the state’s material resources (the land and its productivity, not least) and the expansion of the state’s fiscal base.

The Ghosts at the Feast: Contested Land, Settlement, and Identity in the Jordanian BāDīya

This article considers how enactions of hospitality, everyday politics and livelihoods in the largely sedentarised, but still discursively Bedouin villages south-east of Amman continue to be shaped by long, contested and intersecting processes of land settlement, sedentarisation and state encompassment. I combine a specific ethnographic encounter (a village feast and the anxious, tense talk about land that occurred at it) with a reading of history to show how ideas of settlement remain crucial, though contested, for understanding the positionality of former nomadic pastoralists in Jordan. I focus on how Jordan's Bādīya – its arid and sparsely-populated eastern steppe – has been conceived of as a socially, politically and legally different, but encompassed, part of the nation-state. This discourse, I argue, has precedents in deep history and classical Arabic thought, but has taken on a particular form in the postcolonial and developmental state of Jordan.