TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

THE MARRI BALUOH OF PAKISTAN 295
are traditional enemies and the Marri sheep are Ie. tolerant of cold
than are thoee of the potuintlGM, the Marri are forced to fall back on
their tribal lands or to the Khetran lands around Karkhana. 28
Movement east and 80uthwest into Sind represents a symbiotic
respODse to the lowland agriculturalists' need for labor to harvest
crops and clean irrigation ditches. Although this offers an opportunity
for Marri to earn cash and increase their flocks in an area
with few pastoralists, it interferes with the Mani's own agricultural
practices and 80 represents an alternative largely restricted to the
impoverished, who have small flocks and little seed.2'T The seasonal
migration ofMarri groups from the hot Sind plains into the Marri and
Pathan highlands seems to represent a miniature potDintlah patternj28
groups that occupy the central valley during summer adhere to the
traditional mixed agricultural-pastoral system, which means that
long-distance movement outside tribal territories would impose an
intolerable burden in commuting to their agricultural holdings. Finally,
concentration in the central valleys is reputed to be due to
more reliable mOD800n rain there. 2D However, if the mon800n rains
fail, theae groups, as well as thoee that remain in the 80uth near
Kahan, move 80Uth into the Sindhi plains where their more heatresistant
stock has a better chance of survival and where water is
available in poorly drained areas and along irrigation canals.
CONCLUSIONS
The overall pattern of Mani pastoralism can be defined with
reasonable accuracy. It is a system that allows a great deal of flexibility
both at the camp level-to accommodate the difFerent demands
of a variety of animals and scattered agricultural holdings-and at
the tribal level, where a flexible response to a sporadic rainfall and
scattered pasture makes pOlSible the occupation of open ecological
niches. The system is characterised by a generallowland-to-highland
movement in summer, although the movement to Sind and to the
central valleys complicates the picture. Despite the fact that data is
not available for the study of movements of individual camp units,
it is reasonable to suppoee that movement of individual camping
units would be fairly constricted, since palSage through the country
is largely restricted to valley bottoms and infrequent passes as the
herding units oscillate between their summer and winter pastures.
While individual families from one clan may participate in a variety