Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

On a hazy morning, a family tends their flock on a hillside covered with fresh grass and spring flowers. A woman with a white veil trailing behind her is carrying a tea tray up the slope from lower left, and the rest of the family has begun to gather together. This woman emerged from a house that is not visible in the picture, but the presence of a house does not mean that these people do not have tribal, nomadic roots. The line between nomadic and sedentary inhabitants of Central Asia and the Middle East is not a clear one. The relationship between nomadic, pastoral tribes and settled, agrarian societies is complex, and fluid. Nomadic pastoralism here may also be a more recent development than sedentary agriculture, not necessarily a more ancient way of life. Nor is the nomad always the poor cousin of the city dweller; in this part of the world, the reverse has often been the case. The culture of Central Asia and of the Islamic world in general has grown from a complex interweaving of these two traditions.


Springtime

Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, April 1975