Saharan migrant camel herders: Znaga social status and the global age

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Periodical article

Title:	Saharan migrant camel herders: Znaga social status and the global age
Author:	Freire, Francisco
Year:	2014
Periodical:	Journal of Modern African Studies (ISSN 0022-278X)
Volume:	52
Issue:	3
Pages:	425-446
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Mauritania Gulf States
Subjects:	migration camels pastoralists reintegration social status
Abstract:	In the late 20th century, 300 Mauritanian shepherds travelled to the United Arab Emirates in order to tend the herds of some of that country's most prominent leaders. These low-tech subjects of global migration flows were particularly valued and sought after by their Emirati employers for their expertise in raising camels. The author analyses the forms and consequences of this migration, focusing on the reintegration of these shepherds into Mauritanian stratified tribal spheres following their return to the Sahara. The possibility of a change in their social status (after a financially rewarding experience in the Gulf) is a central theme of this article. This issue arises from the pervasive designation of these shepherds as a 'tributary' (znaga) group, through the application of the tripartite social model that, to a large extent, still defines Mauritania's arabophone population. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract]