It’s time to rethink our understanding of nomadic societies - Nomad Games Conference
At a conference dedicated to Nomad games, Sabitov Zhaksylyk, Candidate of Political Sciences, Head of the Scientific Institute for the Study of Ulus Jochi, spoke, focusing on the need to revise existing scientific concepts about nomads, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
He noted that Western-centric theories view nomadic societies as less developed than sedentary civilizations, namely that the nomadic way of life did not lead to the creation of stable and developed state structures.
“Nomadic and sedentary states of the agrarian era should not be separated, since they should be considered as equal in their degree of development. Modern concepts should recognize that nomadic states were full-fledged, despite their differences from sedentary ones,” says Sabitov.
Theories about the development of states based on the ideas of Hegel and Marx assume the presence of classes in the state, but they do not take into account the specifics of nomadic societies, where the dominant tribes played the role of classes.
Nomadic states also had their own unique political institutions. For example, they had a system of wings that allowed them to delegate power and maintain balance.
Khans among nomads were always elected, which was an advanced practice for its time. Settled states had stricter laws of succession, which also reflected the differences between political systems
According to the Head of the Scientific Institute for the Study of Ulus Jochi, it is also wrong to say that nomads did not have a state because they did not have a standing army. He notes that professional armies of nomads were no less effective than the armies of sedentary states.
Sabitov proposed introducing new approaches in curricula and research, emphasizing the importance of recognizing nomadic and sedentary states as equals in the agrarian era. He called for a methodological critique of outdated concepts and a search for a new scientific consensus based on modern data and research.
