Yuvasenthilkumar
R., Research Associate, KM portal project
Shiva
kumar P., Junior Research Fellow, KM Portal project
Pastures and professions
“Pastures” is a word that denotes the large grasslands of
Savanna of North America and Europe. Sometimes it will start with the dense
forest and exist in kilometers. It is also extended in the semi arid forests of
Africa from Sahara to Zambia. The Pastoralists were the nomad communities
around the world, who thrive by animal grazing in the pastures for their
livelihood. In some places, the pastoralists were accused for high soil erosion
and destruction of forests. In some areas, the pastoralists suffer from the
denial of rights to graze in the ecological reserves and in grasslands. Their
grassland and the grazing grounds were encroached and these were the soil
problems around the world between them and the administrators. Even in India,
the pastoralists were regulated under the ancient economic regulation book
written by Kaudilya known as Arthasasthra. It reveals the laws that have
governed the village forests and the cultivable lands from over-grazing.
Arthasasthra penalizes the pastoralists or the cattle herders, one who graze
the land without the permission of the owner of the cultivable land or the
governing body of the village administrative unit. The vegetation on the soil was
considered as the major resource as well as the protection in the village
governance.
Pastoralism Vs Cattle penning
Cattle penners have Socio-functional utility with their
profession, unlike the nomadic pastoralists, who thrive for their livelihood
alone. In short the Cattle Penners and their communities was the flower of the
civilization’s excellence and the societies have evolved in such a way to
protect and effectively utilize the existing resources. These cattle penners
stand as the symbol for sustainability. The life of the cattle penners and
their community is the best coping mechanism in the Eastern Tamil nadu’s
livelihood. “The Konars” is the name of the community that has followed this
profession for millenniums forms a key position in the civilized society.
Coping mechanism how?
The Cattle and the Sheep penners of Eastern Tamil nadu,
take the cattle and the sheep of the agrarian communities of dry upland in the
summer and bring them to the greenish lowlands. Here the agrarian communities
of dryland insure the cattle thrive in the summer with Konars. In rainy season,
the Konars return the respective cattle to the agrarian communities and help
them for their profession for ploughing. In this way the upland agrarian communities’
by-pass the dry spell and protect the cattle with Konars. This coping mechanism
has evolved along with the nature in the course of time. There was a talk among
the farmers in the lowland, once upon a time the vice versa was also true. The
lowland agrarian communities have sent the cattle to the upland in flood season
to save their cattle.
Win-win-win situation
The profession of Cattle penning, an intelligent natural
design leads to a win-win-win situation among the communities of Eastern Tamil
nadu with the coping mechanism. This differentiates the nomads of other region
and the cattle penners in terms of socio-functional means.
For Upland Agrarian communities
For the Lowland Agrarian communities
The
lowland agrarian communities use the cattle and sheep penners for enriching the
cultivable lands with the manures. For each day the penners charge Rs.300-500
depending upon the number of animals. The delta farmers will be happy in
allowing the cattle to pen on their lands. They get good yields in the
subsequent crop. Here the delta farmers also get benefitted.
For the Konars
For the Konars after mutually benefitting the agrarian
communities of both the elevations gets profit as money these days for their
family. They use the money for their family investments in purchasing own cattle
or sometimes for developing their lands. The cases described in the figures
will tell the story of their lives. There are n number families which involves
in this profession today, which live prosperously.
Keystones have become
useless
The
cattle penners were considered once as keystones for retaining the fetility of
the cultivable lands, with the cattle management have become unimportant these
days. The majority of the agrarian population has switched to synthetic
fertilizers slowly in decades and the population of the cattles have also
reduced slowly on the other side because of the unimportance of animals in
agriculture. Moreover the young Konars have changed their profession based on
their modern education and have become employers for urban. “Today most of the
Konar communities were running the last generation of their traditional
profession” says Mr.Ravanachandran, a sheep penner from Budhalur. He adds, “it
is same also for the agrarian communities that we have served with our
profession”.
Research Opening
The
deltaic regions have started losing it 80% of the fertility due to the lack of
silt deposition and bad silt management strategies due to various historical
and administrative reasons. The waning
practice of animal penning again seriously threatens the fertility management
of the cultivable lands of delta. The last source of the organic matters
deposition in the delta is also threatened. The only organic matter that is
most common in the delta is the green manuring practice. It should be seriously
considered to make a census over the Konar and the cattle penning communities
and their livelihood and their spatial spread out in the Delta and the
adjoining uplands of Ramanathapuram and Pdukottai in South and Ariyalur,
Perambalur and Tiruvannamalai districts of North. The traditional practices or
the art of cattle penning should be documented scientifically and it have to be
conserved through the special schools for educating and encouraging their
offspring among themselves. There are success stories of the young generation
cattle penners in Budhalur block of Thanjavur district, where the five children
of the traditional father were engaged in the cattle penning have earned in
million of Rupees and have bought 70 acres of land and some 100s of own animals
in his farm. Such farms have to be encouraged to create interest among the
younger generation. The Government and
the Banks should consider these people for availing the bank loans to by-pass
the risk of economic losses due to epidemics in cattles. The need special focus
from the animal husbandry and the agricultural ministries for protect their
livelihood in the Eastern Tamil nadu for the welfare of the region.
