Appropriate Distance

2020/06/10

Since 2001, I have been conducting fieldwork among pastoralists living in Ethiopia. They are nomads who lead a migratory life with their livestock. When I asked them, "Why do you move?" people often replied, "Because the air here has turned bad." Many people might think that pastoralists move out of necessity—that they wander in search of resources because the grass for their livestock has run out. However, that is merely a conjecture based on a sedentary-centric perspective.

For example, it has been pointed out that in Africa, sedentary agricultural societies have a lot of sorcery, while migratory pastoral societies have little. Sedentary people, who must continue living with the same people in one place, find it difficult to vent their frustrations directly at unpleasant neighbors. Therefore, they attempt to resolve conflicts in human relationships using supernatural powers. In contrast, nomads suspend conflict by one party leaving the shared space and moving their dwelling elsewhere. Even if there is someone you dislike, your irritation will likely soften if you do not see their face for a while. For nomads, maintaining physical interpersonal distance through movement is a primary means of adjusting human relationships.

Anthropologist Masaki Nishida emphasizes the multi-functionality of movement by nomads and points out that nomads also engage in "movement as a habit." This point is well understood by those who have experience living with pastoralists for a long time. Even if there is plenty of grass and no problems with human relationships in the village, they may move to a location just a few hundred meters away. It seems that people feel some kind of discomfort in simply continuing to stay in the same space. The aforementioned phrase "the air has turned bad" is an expression that well conveys such physical sensations of theirs.

With the spread of COVID-19, determining the "appropriate way to maintain distance" from others and the environment has become an important issue for humanity. Fieldwork, which is the primary methodology of anthropology—my major—seems likely to be difficult to conduct for the time being. This is because meeting subjects face-to-face to hear their stories is a defining element of fieldwork. For a while, I would like to deepen my analysis of what "appropriate distance" means for nomads, who are masters of movement, using the field data I have on hand.