DOI Artikel:
Strømgaard, Peter: The infield-outfield system of shifting cultivation among the Bemba of South Central Africa
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49002#0073
THE INFIELD-OUTFIELD SYSTEM OF
SHIFTING CULTIVATION AMONG THE
BEMBA OF SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA
By
Peter Stromgaard
A very old and extremely widespread type of
agriculture is that of shifting cultivation. It
has been practised since ancient times - in
Africa since the Neolithic (Seddon 1968) -
and has survived up to this century even in
parts of Scandinavia (Montelius 1953) as well
as in Central Europe (Steensberg 1955), and
an extensive bibliography has been collected
and published from other parts of the world
(Conklin 1963). Its use in Africa has been
the focus for a great deal of debate; young
African governments condemned its use,
with the full support of the findings of colo-
nial African science. Shifting cultivation was
condemned as wasteful, “a backward type of
agricultural practice” (FAO 1957), and
“among the lowest rungs of the latter of hu-
man activities” (Jurion and Henry 1969).
There is now a better understanding,
many of the ecostabilizing features of the
traditional agricultural systems are now rec-
ognized, and shifting cultivation is widely
accepted as an ecologically well adapted agri-
cultural system (Chin 1977; Dove 1983).
Earlier evolutionist assumptions are being
replaced by an environmental resource de-
velopment strategy, where indigenous
ecological knowledge and traditional land
management techniques are considered ap-
propriate to changing environmental and
economic conditions. Richards (1983) intro-
duced the term “counter-colonial ecology”
for this new approach.
Shifting cultivation has, through the
years, been described not only in relation to
its aspects of shifting either fields or home-
sites, but also to the clearing technique used,
cultivation methods, and the original vegeta-
tion (Spencer 1966). More fruitfully, Con-
klin (1961) argues that cultural and environ-
mental dimensions should be taken into con-
sideration in describing the system, as does
de Schlippe (1956) in his writings on the
Zande, where he emphasizes the ethno-
ecological aspect of the agricultural system.
A definition has not been generally agreed
(Christiansen 1981), but as usually de-
scribed, shifting cultivation relates to a type
of agriculture/horticulture where a fallow
period longer than the cultivation period is
used to restore the soil to fertility. As a con-
sequence, the area under crop is constantly
shifted, the changing area under crop con-
trasting with the non-cropped area under
some sort of wild vegetation.
It follows from this definition that neither
the cultivation technique nor the settlement
pattern are the most important characteris-
tics. Shifting cultivation is not identical with
swidden cultivation. Fire is not necessarily
used in shifting cultivation, though some
shifting cultivators practise the swidden
technique of burning felled vegetation.
Likewise, the temporary movement of the
dwelling place often found among shifting
cultivators, is only an attributive characteris-
SHIFTING CULTIVATION AMONG THE
BEMBA OF SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA
By
Peter Stromgaard
A very old and extremely widespread type of
agriculture is that of shifting cultivation. It
has been practised since ancient times - in
Africa since the Neolithic (Seddon 1968) -
and has survived up to this century even in
parts of Scandinavia (Montelius 1953) as well
as in Central Europe (Steensberg 1955), and
an extensive bibliography has been collected
and published from other parts of the world
(Conklin 1963). Its use in Africa has been
the focus for a great deal of debate; young
African governments condemned its use,
with the full support of the findings of colo-
nial African science. Shifting cultivation was
condemned as wasteful, “a backward type of
agricultural practice” (FAO 1957), and
“among the lowest rungs of the latter of hu-
man activities” (Jurion and Henry 1969).
There is now a better understanding,
many of the ecostabilizing features of the
traditional agricultural systems are now rec-
ognized, and shifting cultivation is widely
accepted as an ecologically well adapted agri-
cultural system (Chin 1977; Dove 1983).
Earlier evolutionist assumptions are being
replaced by an environmental resource de-
velopment strategy, where indigenous
ecological knowledge and traditional land
management techniques are considered ap-
propriate to changing environmental and
economic conditions. Richards (1983) intro-
duced the term “counter-colonial ecology”
for this new approach.
Shifting cultivation has, through the
years, been described not only in relation to
its aspects of shifting either fields or home-
sites, but also to the clearing technique used,
cultivation methods, and the original vegeta-
tion (Spencer 1966). More fruitfully, Con-
klin (1961) argues that cultural and environ-
mental dimensions should be taken into con-
sideration in describing the system, as does
de Schlippe (1956) in his writings on the
Zande, where he emphasizes the ethno-
ecological aspect of the agricultural system.
A definition has not been generally agreed
(Christiansen 1981), but as usually de-
scribed, shifting cultivation relates to a type
of agriculture/horticulture where a fallow
period longer than the cultivation period is
used to restore the soil to fertility. As a con-
sequence, the area under crop is constantly
shifted, the changing area under crop con-
trasting with the non-cropped area under
some sort of wild vegetation.
It follows from this definition that neither
the cultivation technique nor the settlement
pattern are the most important characteris-
tics. Shifting cultivation is not identical with
swidden cultivation. Fire is not necessarily
used in shifting cultivation, though some
shifting cultivators practise the swidden
technique of burning felled vegetation.
Likewise, the temporary movement of the
dwelling place often found among shifting
cultivators, is only an attributive characteris-