Premium
Never give a shepherd an even break: class and labor among the Komachi
Author(s) -
BRADBURD DANIEL A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1980.7.4.02a00010
Subject(s) - alienation , parallels , ideology , pastoralism , sociology , middle class , division of labour , class conflict , political economy , economics , political science , geography , law , market economy , operations management , livestock , politics , forestry
Problems inherent in the use of hired shepherds by Middle Eastern nomadic pastoralists have been generally overlooked. This paper examines this question and argues that, at least among the Komachi of Kerman, Iran, the employment of shepherds by nomads marks the division of tribal society into classes which parallels the class structure of capitalist societies. The paper then examines the bases and implications of this aspect of Komachi society in terms of differential access to basic resources, conflict, alienation, and ideological palliatives. Through the penetration of an external capitalist market, Komachi shepherds have come to embody the contradictions of the Komachi social formation best described as “ambulatory peasantry.” [Middle East, pastoralism, economic anthropology]