PEOPLES ON THE MOVE: INTRODUCING THE NOMADS OF THE WORLD

Written by David J. Phillips Reviewed By David Burnett

Peoples on the Move is a unique encyclopaedia of nomadic people that makes essential reading for Christians wanting to work among such communities. Every care has gone into producing a book that is attractive in format and contains many excellent maps, diagrams and photographs. Although the author has made much use of anthropological data, he has avoided using technical terms so making the text easily understandable.

The book is helpfully divided into three parts. The first explores the characteristics of nomadic lifestyles. As with many anthropologists, the book divides nomads into three main types: hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and the peripatetic. Hunter-gathers include small-scale societies such as the Australian Aborigines and the Pigmies of central Africa. Pastoralists are those whose lifestyle is based around domestic animals and the quest for suitable pasture. The Bedouin of the Middle East and North Africa, the Sami of Scandinavia and the Fulbe of West Africa are examples. The third type are the peripatetics such as travelling traders, craftsmen and entertainers. The Gypsies are the best known of this group in Europe. Phillips not only provides information on the people but he also discusses the tensions that often occur with the surrounding people and the prejudice that often results.

Part two of the book looks at the missionary challenge of nomadic people. This is essentially a biblical reflection relevant to nomads and begins with the book of Genesis, by reminding the reader that God’s chosen people were nomads in the Middle East. Not only was Jesus’ ministry peripatetic, he used many illustrations that related specifically to pastoral nomads. In this way Phillips challenges the Church to have greater concern for migratory peoples, and proposes a ‘nomadic’ theology for communicating with them. This is not a theology in the general sense of the word, but a series of 13 suggestions showing where the gospel can easily be expressed in relevant forms. For example, to recognise God as the ‘transcendent pastoralist’ of a travelling people rather than a sedentary god of some temple. The final three chapters of this part provide some useful pointers for Christian work among nomads including the importance of oral communication that is essential as most nomads are not literate.

The third and largest part of the book is a world survey of pastoral and peripatetic peoples. Phillips has worked with Patrick Johnstone on the well-known Operation World, and makes great use of that experience and data gathering. In a little over 300 pages Phillips gives brief surveys of over 100 peoples. For each he gives a brief history, followed by an explanation of their nomadic patterns, the characteristics of their society, traditions, language and finally a summary of what Christian outreach has been done among the people. Peoples described include the Afar of Somalia to the Xinjing of China, the Nenet of the Russian Arctic to the Maasai of East Africa. The book does not merely focus on exotic peoples in distant lands, but includes valuable descriptions of the eight, or so, million Gypsies in Europe including Romani Gypsies, Irish Tinkers and English Travellers.

Nomads have often been despised by urban-dwellers and neglected by Christian missionaries. Their way of life is being transformed by national boundaries, social and ecological change. This book will stand on my bookshelf as a challenge to remember and pray for the ‘peoples on the move’.


David Burnett

All Nations Christian College, Ware