The articles in this book attempt to illuminate the complex interactions between ecology and society in arid lands and the range of representations developed by africans - be they pastoralists, fishermen or farmers.
Contents: 1. Introduction / Gisli Pálsson -- 2. The Sources of Life: Boran Conceptions of Wells and Water / Gudrun Dahl and Gemetchu Megerssa -- 3. Cattle are Companions, Goats are Gifts: Animals and People in Turkana Thought / Vigdis Broch-Due -- 4. Formal Categories in Maasai Symbolism / Arvi Hurskainen -- 5. Ways of Milk and Meat Among the Maasai: Gender Identity and Food Resources in a Pastoral Economy / Aud Talle -- 6. Cultural Models in Cape Verdean Fishing / Gisli Pálsson -- 7. Symbolic Identification Among the Hadendowa of Eastern Sudan / M. A. Moharned Salih -- 8. From Slave to Citizen: Cultural Change Among the Lafofa Nuba of Central Sudan / Leif Manger -- 9. The Changing Patterns of Pastoral Production in Somali Society 135 / Ebbe Poulsen -- 10. Drought and Change Amongst Northern Kenya Nomadic Pastoralists: The Case of the Rendille and Gabra / Michael F. O 'Leay -- 11. Pastoral Territoriality and Land Degradation in Tanzania / Daniel K. Ndagala