'Lanterns are all we need'
Nomadic shepherds in Nineveh keep centuries-old lifestyle untouched by modern tech
NINEVEH — Known locally as “Araban,” “Bedouins,” or “Nomadic Arabs,” a community of shepherds on the outskirts of Mosul continues a centuries-old tradition of roaming in search of water and pasture. They reside in mud houses or goat-hair tents—some handmade, others bought—and eschew modern amenities such as electricity, mobile phones or the internet.
A 964media reporter recently met several shepherds near Quba and Shreikhan, north of Mosul, where daily life remains largely unaffected by the region’s social and political pressures. Winter’s abundance of pasture offers relative comfort, since sheep provide their primary livelihood through milk production and lambing. Lanterns remain their chief source of light.
“We’ve inherited this way of life from our ancestors,” said Ahmad Salman, a local shepherd. “We move between areas for grazing. Sometimes, we stay in one place for a month; other times, it’s years, depending on water and pasture.”
Salman described their austere existence: “We live in mud houses or goat-hair tents. We don’t own televisions or phones, but we are comfortable. We have no disputes with the government or anyone else.”
Neither Salman nor his children have attended school, and raising sheep is the family’s only source of income. “In winter, we head to open fields,” Salman said. “During harvest, we bring our flocks to graze on leftover wheat and barley crops.”
Another shepherd, Abd, highlighted the nomadic nature of their livelihood. “Our work is raising sheep, a profession I inherited from my father,” he said. “People call us ‘Nomadic Arabs’ because we travel with our livestock, setting up wherever the grass is abundant.”
Abd said some aspects of their life have changed. “We’ve stayed here for a while. We still have mud houses, but we also buy ready-made tents now. Sometimes, we purchase extra fodder. We live on whatever comes from selling sheep and sheep products.”
Although electricity is absent, occasional makeshift solutions do appear. “Sometimes, we use car lights,” Abd said, “but mostly, lanterns are all we need, just as our ancestors did.”