What are Kuchi?
Background document on Afghan Pastoralists
Recent assessments of the Kuchi
Maps of locations and migration routes
Other documentation on Afghan Pastoralists
‘Kuchi’ is a term that is generally used to describe the transhumant or nomadic pastoralists of Afghanistan. In fact it is a term that may cause confusion, since it refers to both a lifestyle (migratory), a production mode (livestock dependent), and a cultural identity.
The livestock production mode traditionally employed by the kuchi is called ‘pastoralism’. Pastoralism is a social and economic system based on the raising and herding of livestock, in which they migrate to benefit to the maximum of seasonal pasture for the livestock. In Afghanistan, the climate serves as an additional motivating factor for migration, since tents do not provide adequate protection for neither heat nor cold.
Historical, geo-political, environmental and ethnic factors have led to many changes in the context to which the kuchi have had to adapt. This has led to a myriad of livelihood styles employed by the ‘kuchi’ nowadays, and the single term ‘kuchi’ can now refer to people with very different livelihood patterns:
Many ‘kuchi’ may have settled decades ago, own land or large transportation companies, and still refer to themselves as ‘kuchi’. Also those that have lost their livestock during the years of war or the recent drought and have been forced to settle (temporarily?) still refer to themselves as kuchi, and have as yet not been able to establish an alternative livelihood.
These ‘settled kuchi’ may still perceive themselves as kuchi and may be represented by the kuchi leaders. In socio-political terms they still form part of the kuchi community. However, they are not migratory, and not livestock dependent.
Particularly in the north, the migration patterns of the (former) kuchi have been disrupted quite severely which has led to major changes in livelihood patterns. Land ownership among ‘kuchi’ is relatively high in the north, which has led to a high number of settled ‘kuchi’ in those areas. This combined with the fact that many ‘non-kuchi’ residents of the area also practice a transhumant production mode where they migrate to more elevated grazing areas (ayloq) during the spring or summer season, leads to a serious blurring of boundaries between ‘kuchi’ and non-kuchi’.
In the west, the term ‘kuchi’ needs to be avoided, since the term ‘maldar’ is preferred for the livestock dependent migratory communities; which include both Pashtun and other tribes (Aimaq, Arab, etc)
It will have become clear from the above that several sub-categories exist under the broader term ‘kuchi’, and that in fact the boundaries are blurred. Three categories can be differentiated:
- migratory, livestock dependent
- recently settled, formerly migratory, livestock dependent
- settled people, that still hold on to the cultural identity and refer to themselves as kuchi.
The first category consists of different ethnic groups, predominantly Pashtun, Beluchi, Arab, but also Aimaq, and even some Tajik and Uzbek in the north.
The second category is similar to the one above, but these people have recently settled due to the effects of war and drought. They will often live in the same areas as the first category, and belong to the same communities. Therefore they are difficult to separate from the first category, especially considering that many ‘pastoralists’ that have lost all their livestock still continue their migration in order to benefit from community support mechanisms or seasonal labour.
The third category consists of those people that have become settled over the last decades, but still consider themselves to be ‘kuchi’ and still only feel represented politically by kuchi leaders. These people are predominantly Pashtun.