Their songs reference and describe lands where Kazakh people have lived and traveled. As they map their movement, they share information about social and ecological values and emotional attachment to the land.
The herders reject some national Mongolian language names and have established their own Kazakh names for places they frequent. Using song genres and performance styles passed down in close-knit communities, their songs reflect not only their rootedness in place, but also the significance of mobility.
They also mobilize their communities to act in support of the land in the face of change and claim space for their pastoralist activities. The frequent references to specific places by Kazakh name, using the two-string dombyra and older highly respected Kazakh song genres are part of an ongoing effort to maintain a local language and a way of life and to claim land that during the last 25 years has been entangled in social and political processes of change.
Skip to main content. Advertisement Hide. Living reference work entry First Online: 23 March This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. Balehegn, M. Ecological and social wisdom in camel praise poetry sung by Afar nomads of Ethiopia.
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