Turkana Herders of the Dry Savanna

Abstract

Abstract The Turkana people live in the savanna of northwestern Kenya, a dry grassland where they herd livestock, spending at least part of the year on migration in search of grazing pasture. Their herds provide them with food, as well as being an essential source of wealth and resources to be sold and exchanged. This unique, multidisciplinary study of the Turkana integrates findings about the ways in which their social and cultural organization, health, biology, demography, and economic practices enable them to survive in a difficult and uncertain environment. At a time when the Turkana find their way of life increasingly under threat from political and business interests seeking to develop their lands, this book is an important analytical record of their lifestyle and ecology.