Bakarwals
Topic: Primary Activities: Gathering, Pastoralism, Agriculture and Mining · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Primary Activities"
Meaning
Bakarwals are goat and sheep herders of Jammu and Kashmir. They practise transhumance, which means moving with their animals between the same places every season. In summer they climb to the cool, grassy high pastures of the Pir Panjal range. In winter, when snow covers the mountains, they come down to the warmer plains and foothills of Jammu. They are closely related to the Gujjars.
Example
Each summer, Bakarwal families walk their flocks up from the Jammu foothills to the meadows of the Pir Panjal. They return before the winter snows close the passes.
Don't confuse with
- Gujjars: they mainly rear buffaloes. The Bakarwals mainly rear goats and sheep.
- Gaddis: they are the transhumant shepherds of Himachal Pradesh, not of Jammu and Kashmir.
Related concepts
- Pastoralism
- Nomadic herding
- Regions of pastoral nomadism
- Transhumance
- Gujjars
- Bhotiyas
- Commercial livestock rearing
- Carrying capacity of pasture