Cattle Bring Us to Our Enemies: Turkana Ecology, Politics, and Raiding in a Disequilibrium System

4. Ngisonyoka Ecology: Land and Livestock

chapter 4 Ngisonyoka Ecology Land and Livestock 7 The Ngisonyoka are one of eighteen sections of the Turkana and occupy approximately 9,600 square kilometers1 in the southwestern part of Turkana district. The ecologists of the South Turkana Ecosystem Project decided on the territory of the Ngisonyoka to define the ecosystem boundaries of their study. Thus from the very beginning of the project the ecosystem boundaries were defined by how the people living there conceptualized and used the land and its natural resources. Ecologists, at least those with whom I have worked for over twenty years, seem less concerned with the issue of boundaries than do many anthropologists and other social scientists who comment on and critique the use of ecosystems. Although a tightly bounded ecosystem has some conceptual advantages, everyone recognizes that no natural ecosystem, however small, is self-contained. The general objective is to understand the ecological relationships that influence and to some extent determine the structure and dynamics of the ecosystem, not to precisely define its boundaries. The way resident people have conceptualized and use the land, and how access to natural resources is mediated through the system of social relations, are critical components to the overall study and are a major thrust of my research. The relevant features of topography, climate, and vegetation of Ngisonyoka territory are presented here (as was done for the district 61 in the last chapter). These features come together to form a partial basis for how the Ngisonyoka people conceptualize the landscape. In addition to the natural features, the Ngisonyoka-conceptualized landscape includes the quality and abundance of resources that their livestock depend upon, as well as an area’s potential risks, especially disease and raiding. The Environment Topography The topography of Ngisonyoka territory is highly diverse, consisting of plains, eroded lava hills and plateaus, and a chain of basement complex mountains that bisects Ngisonyoka from south to north. The two largest rivers in Turkana District roughly form the eastern and western boundaries of Ngisonyoka territory. The elevation of the Rift Valley floor gently slopes from south to north; the base elevation of the southern plains is approximately 1,000 meters, while the elevation of plains surrounding the confluence of the Kerio River and Lake Turkana is approximately 700 meters. Elevations in the central mountain range vary from 1,000 to 1,400 meters, except for the two southernmost peaks, Loretit and Lateruk, which rise to approximately 2,000 meters. Although not as high as either of these two mountains, the massif called Kailongkol dominates the central portion of the chain. The northern end of the central mountain range consists of isolated highly eroded peaks that stretch from the town of Lokichar north to the district capital of Lodwar. The material underlying this part of the Rift Valley floor consists of gneisses and schists, but the only area where this Precambrian basement is exposed is in the central mountains. The foot slopes of the mountains are made up of coarse sands, gravels, and boulders. Lava deposits laid down in the Miocene cover most of the eastern third of Ngisonyoka territory, and isolated volcanic cones are found frequently between the central mountain range and the Kerio River. Although technically not part of Ngisonyoka territory, the volcanic Loriu Plateau rises to the east of the Kerio River and is an important dry season area for Ngisonyoka cattle. On the eastern side of the central mountains a series of coalesced 62 cattle bring us to our enemies alluvial fans made up of loamy sands forms a bajada that ends at the edge of the lava deposits (Coughenour and Ellis 1993). A dominating feature of the eastern plains is the frequency with which they are cut by dry river courses (aiyanai), which drain the central mountains during the rains. Water flows eastward to the Kalapatta River and then on into the Kerio, eventually emptying into Lake Turkana. The plains on the western side of the central mountains are slightly higher than the eastern plains, and the drainages are fewer but more deeply incised. Climate The climate of Ngisonyoka territory, like most of Turkana District, is hot and dry. Rain most often falls during the months of April and May, and sometimes a short rainy period occurs in November as well. Like in the rest of the district, the timing and duration of the rains is highly unreliable, and drought episodes are frequent. The...