Wanderings of the homeless.

A study of the different lifestyles followed across the world will be left incomplete if I do not talk about the nomadic life in North America. These nomads, or homeless people have the most adventurous lifestyles, that fascinates one too many in today’s advanced world! 

Nomadic tribes have always maintained their existence in America. These native American tribes have a strange way of lifestyle. It just depends on the need to ensure that people cooperated with another, in dangerous conditions of survival, to sustain life in uncomfortable environments. By tradition, they move 6-8 times a year, changing settlements, and staying in portable camps, which are dismantled and set up every time they are on the move! It sure is a tedious job, revolving around a series of hectic activities, but is their only practical means of survival!

Transportation in the nomadic community is carried on mainly by horses, living up to a self sufficient, simple concept of lifestyle.  Even though the nomadic lifestyle was followed years back, there are traces of its existence even today.

The members have well defined roles to carry out! By convention, the men went out to hunt and to fight the wars, while the female members stayed back at home, cooked food and looked after the house. Their idea of leisure revolved around horse racing and shooting contests. However, there seems to be a certain level of spiritual development in the member tribes. Decorations and certain practices often had religious meanings.

The nomadic tribes usually stayed in ‘tipis’, which protected them from the extreme weather and maintained a healthy atmosphere for survival. Their everyday activities are usually concerned with fulfilling the necessities in life. Unlike us, these nomadic tribes have never got a choice to live a different form of lifestyle. This life of ‘being on the move’, has been their only way of life, over the ages. Deprived of such opportunities, the nomadic people have tended to each others’ needs with care and formed a world centered around nature’s eccentricities.

The nomadic tribes have been closest to fighting every facet of nature, be it the rain, storm, or drought. There is one important lesson that pops out as we study these tribes. Living a life, without any complaints, is what all of us desire in a lifetime, but this is a practical example of one such lifestyle. With this ‘come what may’ attitude, the nomadic tribes of Northern America have managed to survive in the most challenging situations, yet live a life of harmony.